Podcast appearances and mentions of James W Foley

What can a mother say to the cold-blooded executioner of her son? In American Mother, the heartrending story of the murdered American journalist Jim Foley, the writer Colum McCann and Diane Foley, Foley's mother and founder of the Foley Foundation, explore this terrible dilemma. This memorable conversation with Foley and McCann explores forgiveness, faith, and the moral complexities of justice. Most of all, though, it's the conversation about a mother's remarkable love for her dead son which she maintains and even redirects to his ISIS killer.Here are the five KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with McCann and Foley:* The Power of Forgiveness: Diane Foley's ability to forgive Alexander Kotey, one of her son Jim's killers, demonstrates extraordinary grace. Her Christian faith played a crucial role in this process, though forgiveness wasn't easy or natural - it was a conscious choice that led to meaningful human connection even in the most difficult circumstances.* Policy Impact Through Tragedy: Jim Foley's death led to significant changes in U.S. hostage policy. The Foley Foundation's work has helped bring home nearly 150 Americans since 2015, and led to the creation of a formal government structure for handling hostage situations - a direct result of the Obama administration's initial failures and subsequent reforms.* The Complexity of Justice: The case highlights nuanced views on justice and the death penalty. The Foleys advocated against the death penalty for their son's killers, arguing that life imprisonment offers a chance for reflection and potential redemption, while execution would simply perpetuate cycles of violence.* Grief's Individual Journey: Diane's experience shows how grief manifests differently for each person. While her other children needed distance from the situation to heal, she channeled her grief into activism and forgiveness. Her willingness to meet her son's killer was not shared by other family members.* The Value of Journalism: Jim Foley's story underscores the importance and dangers of conflict journalism. His commitment to telling stories of people yearning for freedom in the Middle East, even after being kidnapped once in Libya, reflects the crucial role journalists play in helping the world understand complex situations and human struggles.Diane M. Foley is President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which she created in September 2014 less than a month after the public beheading by ISIS in Syria of her son James W. Foley, an American freelance conflict journalist. In 2015, she led JWFLF efforts to fund the start of Hostage US and the International Alliance for a Culture of Safety, ACOS. She actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center hostage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30. This directive created the current US hostage enterprise consisting of an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and a White House Hostage Response Group to free innocent Americans taken hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. JWFLF was instrumental in the passage of the Robert Levinson Hostage Taking and Accountability Act. She has been a tireless hostage, wrongful detainee and family advocate within the US hostage enterprise, Congress, and every presidential administration since 2014. She has raised awareness of international hostage-taking and wrongful detention using the award-winning documentary, “Jim, the James Foley story”, opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today and media interviews. Diane has spoken on the power of forgiveness in various faith communities and was included in 200 Women, edited by Geoff Blackwell. She co-authored the book “American Mother” which was published in 2024 with writer Colum McCann. Diane is also the author of a chapter called, “Life For A Voice: the Work of Journalist James W. Foley through the Eyes of his Family” in Living with Precariousness, edited by Christina Lee and Susan Leong, which was published in 2023.Previously, Diane worked as a community health nurse and as a family nurse practitioner for 18 years. She received both her undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of New Hampshire. She is active in her Roman Catholic parish of St Katherine Drexel in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where she lives with her husband, Dr. John W. Foley. She is the mother of five children.Colum McCann is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic. His newest novel, Apeirogon, will appear in 2020. It has already been acclaimed as a "transformative novel" (Raja Shehadeh). He is also the author of Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Songdogs, as well as three critically acclaimed story collections. His fiction has been published in more than forty languages. As well as a National Book Award winner, Colum has been a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was the inaugural winner of the Ireland Fund of Monaco Literary Award in Memory of Princess Grace. He has been named one of Esquire's "Best and Brightest," and his short film Everything in This Country Must was nominated for an Oscar in 2005. A contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Paris Review, he teaches in the Hunter College MFA Creative Writing Program. He lives in New York City with his wife and their three children.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

For time immemorial, various groups have been taking hostages, political prisoners, and illegally detaining people with impunity. This tried-and-true method of gaining leverage over a rival state or group continues today, despite the fact that is runs contrary to established international law. As of this posting 42 Americans are being illegally detained by foreign governments and the United States, after a long practice of not negotiating, is finally getting serious about bringing its citizens home. As this delicate dance continues to play out on the international stage, the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation continues to lead the way on responses to these illegal and immoral actions taken by foreign governments, rebel groups, and terrorist organizations. In this month's episode, we speak with Diane Foley, mother of slain journalist James Foley, about the work of their family's foundation to help ensure no other family has to endure the pain they did back in 2012 when ISIS killed their son. We dive into what the research tells us about different responses, what is effective, what needs to change, and how we all can work to keep ourselves safe while traveling abroad. This important conversation provides audiences with key information and hope for the future. The more international attention we can bring to this practice, the more we can pressure governments to sign on to the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, a global initiative started by Canada in 2021, the less likely it is that people will continue to be used as political pawns, simply because of their nationality. 2024 Foley Foundation Hostage Report10th Annual James W. Foley Freedom RunDiane M. Foley is President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which she created in September 2014 less than a month after the public beheading by ISIS in Syria of her son James W. Foley, an American freelance conflict journalist.In 2015, she led JWFLF efforts to fund the start of Hostage US and the International Alliance for a Culture of Safety, ACOS. She actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center hostage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30, which created the current US hostage enterprise to free innocent Americans taken hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. JWFLF was instrumental in the passage of the Robert Levinson Hostage Taking and Accountability Act.She has been a tireless hostage, wrongful detainee and family advocate within the US hostage enterprise, Congress, and every presidential administration since 2014. She has raised awareness of international hostage-taking and wrongful detention using the award-winning documentary, “Jim, the James Foley story”, opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today and media interviews.She co-authored the book “American Mother” which was published in 2024 with writer Colum McCann. Diane is also the author of a chapter called, “Life For A Voice: the Work of Journalist James W. Foley through the Eyes of his Family” in Living with Precariousness, edited by Christina Lee and Susan Leong, which was published in 2023.

Tom Raffio speaks with Diane Foley, President and Founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, on the organization's work protecting and helping journalists and other US citizens wrongfully detained abroad.

This week, David and Anna talk with Cynthia Loertscher of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to advocating for all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. The interview surveys recent developments in U.S. policy before diving into how government agencies can support hostages and their loved ones before and after their return home. Tune in for a fascinating conversation on the state of hostage affairs, family advocacy, and ways to bring more Americans home.

Diane Foley is the mother of five children, including American freelance conflict journalist, James W Foley. Jim was kidnapped in Syria on 22 November 2012 and he was murdered on 19 August 2014. Diane founded the James W Foley Legacy Foundation (JWFLF) in September 2014 less than a month after his public execution to ensure Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained overseas as well as their families are made a priority by the US government and given all the support they need. Diane is currently the President of the Foundation.This week, we have the honour of speaking to Diane Foley herself. She talks about her son, James and the JWFLF. We discuss the different types of hostage-taking, the difference between ‘hostage' and ‘wrongful detainee' classifications, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs office, American hostage Robert Levinson, the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, support for the families, ensuring there is a punishment for hostage-taking e.g. sanctions, US government stance on not-negotiating with hostage-takers, the case for negotiating as well as the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations launched by Canada. We also discuss what businesses with operations and employees around the world, academic institutions, journalists, news organisations as well as the public can all do to help. Follow Pod Hostage Diplomacy on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with our work.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PodHostageDiplo)

Creative Guts presents episode no. 100!In addition to being Creative Guts' 100th episode, it also happens to be our guest's birthday!In this extra special episode, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Sarah Wrightsman sit down with Amy Regan, co-founder of the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts in Rochester, NH (and longtime friend and fan of Creative Guts)! The Rochester Museum of Fine Arts, which recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary, is an all-volunteer, community art initiative dedicated to making art accessible to everyone. In the decade since the museum's founding, Amy (and co-founder and star of episode 17, Matt Wyatt) have shown around 700 artists!In this episode of Creative Guts, we talk with Amy about how she deals with burnout, how she and Matt manage the museum's workload, and how the museum has grown and changed over the past ten years. Amy offers up her advice for greener artists interested in exhibiting their work, talks about how the pandemic affected the museum, and, yes, in case you are wondering, some of Amy's confidence does come from her amazing collection of blazers!Learn more about the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts at www.rochestermfa.org or visit in person at Suite 135 and the Bernier Room in the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center. Find the rMFA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rochestermfa and Instagram at www.instagram.com/rochester_mfa. If you know Amy, be sure to reach out and wish her a very happy birthday!As always, come hang out with the Creative Guts team online at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CreativeGutsPodcast and Instagram at  www.Instagram.com/CreativeGutsPodcast 

In this episode of the Stratfor Pen and Sword podcast, Fred Burton speaks with Margaux Ewing, the director of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. The Foundation was named for American independent journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped and murdered in Syria by ISIS. HIs mother, Diane, launched the Foundation to advocate for the freedom of all Americans held hostage abroad and promote the safety of journalists worldwide.

In this edition of AML Conversations, John Byrne sits down with Thomas Durkin, the Education Program Director of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. Tom takes you through an emotional discussion of the impact his friend and photojournalist, Jim Foley, has had on hostage advocacy and the security needs of journalists everywhere. In 2014, Jim was captured and later murdered by ISIS. Jim's death prompted the creation of the Foundation whose vision is that all American hostages will return home and conflict journalists who bring truth to light, like Jim, will be protected.

This event is sponsored by the IWP's Student Veterans Association. About the Lecture: Ms. Diane Foley will discuss her personal account of her son, James W. Foley, an American freelance journalist who was taken hostage in Syria in 2012, tortured and executed by ISIS in 2014. Ms. Foley will explore how Jim aspired to moral courage and how it could inform the United States' hostage policy. In light of Pearl Harbor Day as a reminder of the need for constant vigilance, she will discuss how having a well-thought-out hostage policy will minimize risk to American citizens. About the Speaker: Diane M. Foley is the mother of five children, including American freelance conflict journalist James W. Foley. She founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation in September 2014, less than a month after his public execution. Diane is currently serving as the President and Executive Director of JWFLF. Since 2014, she has led JWFLF efforts to fund the start of Hostage U.S. and the international Alliance for a Culture of Safety, ACOS. In 2015, she actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center hostage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30. This directive re-organized U.S. efforts on behalf of Americans taken hostage abroad into an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and a White Hostage Response Group. Previously, Diane worked first as a community health nurse and then as a family nurse practitioner for 18 years. She received both her undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH.

Emma Beals is an investigative journalist and producer from New Zealand who has focused on the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and the rise of ISIS since 2012. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Vice News, Raconteur Magazine, USA Today, Al Jazeera, and many other outlets. She is the 2017 James W. Foley World Press Freedom honoree and a nominee for the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards in food reporting. She co-founded the Frontline Freelance Register and the ACOS Alliance, both of which strive to improve safety for freelance journalists working in conflict. ““I get a gut feeling about countries, and Syria just grabbed me.””