# Former “Diplomat” on Iraq, Gaza, and Espionage | Chris Merritt Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706/former-diplomat-on-iraq-gaza-and-espionage-chris-merritt Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706/former-diplomat-on-iraq-gaza-and-espionage-chris-merritt.md Podcast: [The Team House](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706) Published: 2026-05-30T07:09:39+00:00 Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/former-diplomat-on-iraq-gaza-and-espionage-chris-merritt--72227599 Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72227599/chris_merrit_spreaker.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-team-house-817706/episodes/former-diplomat-on-iraq-gaza-and-espionage-chris-merritt Duration seconds: 5972 ## Resource Former British Foreign Office official Chris Merritt joins us to discuss his time as a diplomat in Iraq, Gaza, and Jerusalem, including Basra’s deteriorating security situation, Iranian-backed militias, Hamas, the Fatah split, and the realities of doing diplomacy in war zones. He also breaks down how those experiences shaped his later work as a trauma psychologist and spy novelist, including Committed and his new book Octagon. Grab Chris' new book here:⬇️ https://amzn.eu/d/0haKB5uW Chris' other books:⬇️ https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07B9ZHBF5/allbooks?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=aufs_ap_ahdr_dsk_ab&pd_rd_w=O64uG&content-id=amzn1.sym.7e190e19-9f6f-4df8-807a-5a7608594741&pf_rd_p=7e190e19-9f6f-4df8-807a-5a7608594741&pf_rd_r=144-9783160-8516900&pd_rd_wg=RnoiZ&pd_rd_r=09cfe4a7-daad-4ab8-9dc1-dc378f894a38&ccs_id=6c35d69b-90e0-4701-8fc4-178090b51c0e Today's Sponsors: GhostBed ⬇️ https://www.ghostbed.com/house FOR 10% off! Van Man ⬇️ Go to http://vanman.shop/teamhouse and use code TEAMHOUSE for 15% off your first order. Quince⬇️ go to: https://www.quince.com/house for free shipping and 365 day returns For ad free video and audio and access to live streams and Eyes On Geopolitics...JOIN OUR PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTeamHouse To help support the show and for all bonus content including: -live shows and asking guest questions -ad free audio and video -early access to shows -Access to ALL bonus segments with our guests Subscribe to our Patreon! ⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse Support the show here:⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse ___________________________________________________ PRE ORDER JACK'S NEW BOOK "THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN" ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803651/the-most-dangerous-man-by-jack-mu… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-team-house-817706/episodes/former-diplomat-on-iraq-gaza-and-espionage-chris-merritt/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706/former-diplomat-on-iraq-gaza-and-espionage-chris-merritt.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.