.png)
At the Coalface
At the Coalface is a series of conversations hosted by Philippe Rose.
Philippe's guests share stories about their life beyond the headlines of international affairs. They look for lessons learned about making an impact in the world as practitioners in diplomacy, international organisations, NGOs, journalism and the private sector.
Many of Philippe's guests are connected by their common experience of taking time away from work to attend graduate school at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University.
At the Coalface
Mariana Deluera - Between Roots and Reinvention: Making Sense of a Changing World
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, I sit down with Mariana Deluera, a geopolitical risk analyst whose life has been shaped by movement, adaptation, and the search for belonging.
Mariana reflects on growing up across five countries as the daughter of a Mexican diplomat. She shares what it was like to become repeatedly uprooted and re-rooted, and how returning to Mexico as a teenager left her feeling both at home and like a foreigner.
We talk about the influence of her mother and grandmother, two women whose very different life journeys shaped her outlook, as well as her path from immigration and asylum work into geopolitical analysis during the uncertainty of the COVID pandemic.
In the latter part of the conversation, Mariana reflects on how living between cultures influences the way she thinks about geopolitical risk today, the importance of staying open to different perspectives, and why adaptability matters in a rapidly changing world.
Recorded on 23 April 2026.
Connect with Mariana on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mariana-deluera-aa9626142.
Instagram: @at.the.coalface
And don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.
Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!
