Brian Katulis speaks with Dr. Marvin Weinbaum—senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and former Department of State analyst—about his remarkable career spanning more than five decades in academia, government, and policy analysis. Drawing on his deep expertise in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Weinbaum reflects on the evolution of U.S. foreign policy, the lessons learned from state-building efforts, and how personal conviction and intellectual curiosity have shaped his life’s work. He offers a rare, first-hand look at how policy is made, and what it means to dedicate a lifetime to understanding one of the world’s most complex regions.