Madeline Vellturo Teaches Resilience through Storytelling

Madeline Vellturo spent the last decade working on violence prevention, peacebuilding, and stability. Between April and July, the State Department eliminated the entire Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau, where Madeline worked as a stabilization advisor implementing the Global Fragility Act.

Now Madeline is continuing her mission through storytelling. Along with former colleagues, she launched their YouTube channel Former Feds & Friends, where they share their expertise in violence prevention while reacting to popular film and media. By looking at conflict prevention through the lens of fiction, Madeline and friends are making complex problems approachable and digestible in an age of weaponized media.

In their first season, they took on topics from authoritarianism and atrocities to insurgencies and refugees while running the pop culture gauntlet through DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Disney, and others. In the spirit of Christmas, Philip and Jill joined Madeline for an age-old holiday tradition: watching Die Hard. Together, we discussed the dangers of biases, interagency conflict, and mislabeling violent criminals as terrorists.

Madeline isn't spending all of her time on YouTube though. She is staying sharp by consulting on violence prevention and recently published an article analyzing foreign investment risk and opportunity in Guinea. She's also enjoying life as a newlywed and pursuing future research opportunities.

Connect with Madeline on LinkedIn, and make sure to check out Former Feds & Friends on YouTube.

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Former Feds & Friends

Welcome to Former Feds & Friends 🎬✨ We’re former diplomats, development experts, and human rights practitioners using TV, movies, and pop culture to unpack big ideas about democracy, peace, and stability. From Andor to Encanto, we break down what stories get right (and wrong) about authoritarianism, resistance, and community resilience. Why? Because democracy isn’t just about politics—it’s about how we live together every day. By connecting complex concepts to the shows and films you already love, we help make sense of today’s challenges in a way that’s engaging and relatable. 👉 New episodes every Tuesday. 👉 Shorts on Instagram & TikTok. 👉 Join the conversation in the comments—your insights and questions help shape future episodes. We’re the spinach in your stable democracy smoothie. 🥤🌱 Subscribe and be part of the community.

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