Screening of candidates
Only guests who fit one of the 6 roles of the Atrium spec are kept.
Guests identified28,587
Excluded19,663
Selected8,924
Selected by role
AcademicNamed position at a university or research institution4,498Think tankNamed position at a think tank or public policy institute736Former officialHeld a position in a public authority: ministry, regulator, central bank, parliament551LawyerPractices law, in a firm, in-house or at the bar255Economist or consultantEconomist, analyst or adviser, in a firm or independent873CommentatorAnalyzes current affairs or ideas for the general public: columnist, essayist2,011
Why the others are excluded
People
589 people
| Person | Decision | Role or reason | Why | Podcasts | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dietmar Bartsch ehemaliger Fraktionsvorsitzender · Die Linke | Selected | Former official | Former leader (former) of The Left faction. | 5 | 6 |
| James Comey former FBI director · FBI | Selected | Former official | Former FBI director. | 5 | 6 |
| Liz Cheney Vice Chair · January 6th select committee | Selected | Former official | Former Congresswoman, committee now dissolved. | 5 | 6 |
| Lue Elizondo former AATIP (Gov't UFO program) director | Selected | Former official | Former AATIP director, government program. | 5 | 6 |
| Nadine Dorries former Tory cabinet minister | Selected | Former official | Former Conservative cabinet minister. | 5 | 6 |
| Kenneth Roth former longtime executive director · Human Rights Watch | Selected | Former official | Former executive director of Human Rights Watch. | 5 | 5 |
| Aaron David Miller | Selected | Think tank et Former official | Senior researcher at foreign policy think tank. | 5 | 5 |
| Annie Lööf | Selected | Former official | Former Minister for Enterprise (ended 2014). | 5 | 5 |
| Christiana Figueres chief negotiator · Paris Agreement | Selected | Former official | Former executive secretary of UNFCCC (end 2016). | 5 | 5 |
| Dana Stroul former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer · Senate Foreign Relations Committee | Selected | Former official | Former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer. | 5 | 5 |
| Marques Mendes | Selected | Commentator et Former official | Political commentator, former Portuguese minister. | 5 | 5 |
| Mathias Sundin f.d. riksdagsledamot · WARP Institute | Selected | Former official | Former member of parliament. | 5 | 5 |
| Oana Lungescu former NATO spokesperson · NATO | Selected | Former official | Former NATO spokesperson. | 5 | 5 |
| Sigrid Kaag former Dutch deputy prime minister | Selected | Former official | Former Dutch deputy prime minister and finance minister. | 5 | 5 |
| Tom Wheeler Former FCC Chair · FCC | Selected | Former official | Former president of FCC. | 5 | 5 |
| Scott Ritter former United Nations Weapons Inspector | Selected | Former official | Former weapons inspector at United Nations. | 4 | 218 |
| Lawrence Wilkerson COL. | Selected | Former official | Retired American colonel, former chief of staff. | 4 | 142 |
| Karen Kwiatkowski LtCOL | Selected | Former official | Former USAF, former military officer. | 4 | 129 |
| Chas Freeman Ambassador | Selected | Former official | Ambassador (former diplomat). | 4 | 120 |
| Matthew Hoh fmr State Dept · State Dept | Selected | Former official | Former State Department official. | 4 | 22 |
| Harald Kujat Generalinspekteur (retraité) · Bundeswehr | Selected | Former official | Former Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (retired). | 4 | 20 |
| Ursula Stenzel | Selected | Former official | Former Member of European Parliament and Vienna parliament. | 4 | 18 |
| Ed Balls UK Government | Selected | Former official | Former Secretary of State (end 2010, 2015). | 4 | 17 |
| Andrew McCarthy Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney | Selected | Former official | Former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney. | 4 | 13 |
| Shane Ross former TD, minister and journalist | Selected | Former official | Former TD and minister, former Irish politician. | 4 | 10 |
| Heinz Fischer Altbundespräsident | Selected | Former official | Former president. | 4 | 9 |
| Eddy van Hijum demissionair vicepremier · NSC | Selected | Former official | Demissionair vice-premier (former vice-prime minister). | 4 | 7 |
| Franz Vranitzky Bundeskanzler 1986-1997 | Selected | Former official | Former Chancellor of Austria. | 4 | 7 |
| Klaus von Dohnanyi Jahrhundertzeuge | Selected | Former official | Former mayor of Hamburg and minister. | 4 | 7 |
| John McTernan former political secretary · Tony Blair | Selected | Former official | Former political secretary to Tony Blair. | 4 | 6 |
| Elliott Abrams Special Representative for Iran from 2020 to 2021 | Selected | Former official | Former Special Representative for Iran 2020-2021. | 4 | 6 |
| Johan Remkes Oud-informateur en oud-minister | Selected | Former official | Former informateur and former minister. | 4 | 6 |
| Kwasi Kwarteng former Chancellor of the Exchequer | Selected | Former official | Former Chancellor of the Exchequer. | 4 | 6 |
| Mick Mulvaney former White House Chief of Staff | Selected | Former official | Former White House Chief of Staff. | 4 | 6 |
| Piotr Skwieciński | Selected | Former official | Ambassador (end of 2024), also opinion journalist. | 4 | 6 |
| Roselyne Bachelot Ancienne ministre | Selected | Former official | Former minister. | 4 | 6 |
| Wojciech Hermeliński były szef Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej · Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza | Selected | Former official | Former chief of Electoral Commission. | 4 | 6 |
| Rüdiger von Fritsch ehemaliger Botschafter | Selected | Former official | Former ambassador to Moscow. | 4 | 5 |
| Ben Wallace Secretary of State for Defence · UK Government | Selected | Former official | Former Secretary of Defense (2019-2023). | 4 | 5 |
| Catherine Ashton Außenpolitikchefin der EU · European Union | Selected | Former official | Former EU commissioner. | 4 | 5 |
| Rod Blagojevich Former Illinois Governor · Illinois | Selected | Former official | Former governor of Illinois, 'Former' explicitly indicated. | 4 | 5 |
| Ami Ayalon former director · Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) | Selected | Former official | Former director of Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet). | 4 | 5 |
| Andrzej Duda | Selected | Former official | President of Poland, term ended 2025. | 4 | 5 |
| Bertrand Badré Ancien directeur général · Banque mondiale | Selected | Former official | Former General Director of World Bank. | 4 | 5 |
| Charles Parton | Selected | Former official | Former diplomat. | 4 | 5 |
| Gen Ben Hodges former Commanding General of US Army Europe | Selected | Former official | Former Commanding General of US Army Europe. | 4 | 5 |
| Henrique Gouveia e Melo almirante na reserva | Selected | Former official | Admiral retired, former high-ranking military. | 4 | 5 |
| Jonna Mendez chief of disguise · CIA | Selected | Former official | Former U.S. spy, CIA's chief of disguise. | 4 | 5 |
| Joschka Fischer Bundesaußenminister a.D. | Selected | Former official | Former federal foreign minister. | 4 | 5 |
| Mark Kimmitt retired General | Selected | Former official | Retired general, former military official. | 4 | 5 |