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Searching for America with Robyn Curnow

Searching for America with Robyn Curnow

By: Robyn Curnow Bleav
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Why is America the way it is? That's the question we seek to answer in Searching for America, hosted by award-winning foreign correspondent, Robyn Curnow. As a South African living in Atlanta, Georgia, Robyn is on a quest to understand her neighbours, her community, and her adoptive nation. Join Robyn as she dives into everything from Dolly Parton to Halloween and political homelessness, hoping to understand the impossible large puzzle of America by putting together its pieces.2025 Robyn Curnow Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Arctic Isn't Frozen Anymore | Robyn Curnow
    Jan 12 2026

    Is Greenland the next frontline of great-power competition?

    In this episode of Searching for America, Robyn Curnow examines why the Arctic — and Greenland in particular — has moved from geopolitical afterthought to strategic imperative for the United States. As Washington revives a Trump-era, Monroe-Doctrine-style focus on hemispheric control, allies in Denmark and Greenland are left shocked by the tone — and alarmed by what it reveals about American power and insecurity.

    We separate Arctic myth from verified reality: Russia’s expanded military posture in the High North, China’s long-term economic and scientific positioning, and the uncomfortable truth about how NATO and the U.S. allowed leverage to build through neglect rather than invasion.

    This is not a story about invasion or hysteria. It’s about trade routes, maritime corridors, missile warning systems, melting sea ice, critical minerals, undersea cables, and why the U.S. doesn’t fully trust alliance capabilities to hold Greenland in a crisis.

    The Arctic isn’t frozen anymore — politically or strategically. And Greenland sits at the center of a new Cold War that’s unfolding quietly, far from the headlines.

    http://www.youtube.com/therobyncurnow

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    More on Robyn

    http://www.robyncurnow.net

    • Got a great idea for an episode? Drop Robyn a message here with the subject line PODCAST IDEA
      Subscribe to Robyn's Substack.
    • Visit her website here.
    • To book Robyn to speak at your event, get in touch here.

    More about Robyn's public speaking
    Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

    She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

    She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

    She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.


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    15 mins
  • Trump's Venezuela Gamble | Robyn Curnow
    Jan 6 2026

    What a start to the year! Robyn Curnow looks at the big picture behind Trump’s Venezuela operation. She says it's not about American adventurism, or regime change, or a greedy neo-colonial oil grab. It’s bigger and more consquential. It was a balance sheet operation.

    The trigger points of this century’s conflicts are going to be centered around chokepoints; access to trade routes and control over critical energy. The White House is arguing that Venezuela was America’s belated response to deeply entrenched Chinese economic threats across the world.

    Like Trump’s methods or not - there’s a lot not to like, for sure - but the reality is that Beijing is a tinsy-tiny bit more vulnerable with out Venezuela’s energy security, and Xi Jing Ping has a little less wriggle room on Taiwan.

    But still, be warned, the battle for strategic assets in critical geo-economic nodes is about to go to eleven.

    WATCH ON YOUTUBE

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    FOLLOW ON X

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    ROBYN CURNOW'S BIO

    http://www.robyncurnow.net

    • Got a great idea for an episode? Drop Robyn a message here with the subject line PODCAST IDEA
      Subscribe to Robyn's Substack.
    • Visit her website here.
    • To book Robyn to speak at your event, get in touch here.

    More about Robyn's public speaking
    Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

    She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

    She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

    She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    12 mins
  • Thanksgiving Thanks
    Nov 24 2025

    When I first moved to the US, I didn’t fully understand Thanksgiving. Now, after years of living here, this holiday reveals more about America than almost anything else.

    In this episode, I unpack the history, the travel madness, the affordability of the classic Thanksgiving meal, and the national instinct toward connection that defines this time of year. I also share my own Thanksgiving list—why I’m grateful for America’s opportunity culture, its democratic protections, and its deep spirit of generosity.

    Listen and subscribe to Searching for America, and explore more of my work on Substack, YouTube, and beyond.

    • Got a great idea for an episode? Drop Robyn a message here with the subject line PODCAST IDEA
      Subscribe to Robyn's Substack.
    • Visit her website here.
    • To book Robyn to speak at your event, get in touch here.

    More about Robyn's public speaking
    Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

    She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

    She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

    She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Show More Show Less
    8 mins
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