Podcasts about post soviet

In this SPICe seminar Professor Luke March, Personal Chair of Post-Soviet and Comparative Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Professor Peter Jackson, Chair in Global Security at the University of Glasgow explore the current geopolitical situation in relation to Ukraine. We look to explain:  Russia's approach to Ukraine and what that might also mean for countries in Eastern Europe; The international response to the crisis including the change of approach by the United States under President Trump; and Given the change of position in Washington, what Europe and NATO's response should be and how the UK fits into the approach. We hope you enjoy this discussion!

Maria was joined by Tinatin Japaridze and Volodymyr Dubovyk to discuss how post-Soviet countries, particularly Ukraine and the states of the South Caucasus, are reckoning with the Trump administration's positions on the war in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 7, 2025.

Hello Interactors,From election lies to climate denial, misinformation isn't just about deception — it's about making truth feel unknowable. Fact-checking can't keep up, and trust in institutions is fading. If reality is up for debate, where does that leave us?I wanted to explore this idea of “post-truth” and ways to move beyond it — not by enforcing truth from the top down, but by engaging in inquiry and open dialogue. I examine how truth doesn't have to be imposed but continually rediscovered — shaped through questioning, testing, and refining what we know. If nothing feels certain, how do we rebuild trust in the process of knowing something is true?THE SLOW SLIDE OF FACTUAL FOUNDATIONSThe term "post-truth" was first popularized in the 1990s but took off in 2016. That's when Oxford Dictionaries named it their Word of the Year. Defined as “circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”, the term reflects a shift in how truth functions in public discourse.Though the concept of truth manipulation is not new, post-truth represents a systemic weakening of shared standards for knowledge-making. Sadly, truth in the eyes of most of the public is no longer determined by factual verification but by ideological alignment and emotional resonance.The erosion of truth infrastructure — once upheld by journalism, education, and government — has destabilized knowledge credibility. Mid-20th-century institutions like The New York Times and the National Science Foundation ensured rigorous verification. But with rising political polarization, digital misinformation, and distrust in authority, these institutions have lost their stabilizing role, leaving truth increasingly contested rather than collectively affirmed.The mid-20th century exposed truth's fragility as propaganda reshaped public perception. Nazi ideology co-opted esoteric myths like the Vril Society, a fictitious occult group inspired by the 1871 novel The Coming Race, which depicted a subterranean master race wielding a powerful life force called "Vril." This myth fed into Nazi racial ideology and SS occult research, prioritizing myth over fact. Later, as German aviation advanced, the Vril myth evolved into UFO conspiracies, claiming secret Nazi technologies stemmed from extraterrestrial contact and Vril energy, fueling rumors of hidden Antarctic bases and breakaway civilizations.Distorted truths have long justified extreme political action, demonstrating how knowledge control sustains authoritarianism. Theodor Adorno and Hannah Arendt, Jewish-German intellectuals who fled the Nazis, later warned that even democracies are vulnerable to propaganda. Adorno (1951) analyzed how mass media manufactures consent, while Arendt (1972) showed how totalitarian regimes rewrite reality to maintain control.Postwar skepticism, civil rights movements, and decolonization fueled academic critiques of traditional, biased historical narratives. By the late 20th century, universities embraced theories questioning the stability of truth, labeled postmodernist, critical, and constructivist.Once considered a pillar of civilization, truth was reframed by French postmodernist philosophers Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard as a construct of power. Foucault argued institutions define truth to reinforce authority, while Baudrillard claimed modern society had replaced reality with media-driven illusions. While these ideas exposed existing power dynamics in academic institutions, they also fueled skepticism about objective truth — paving the way for today's post-truth crisis. Australian philosophy professor, Catherine (Cathy) Legg highlights how intellectual and cultural shifts led universities to question their neutrality, reinforcing postmodern critiques that foreground subjectivity, discourse, and power in shaping truth. Over time, this skepticism extended beyond academia, challenging whether any authority could claim objectivity without reinforcing existing power structures.These efforts to deconstruct dominant narratives unintentionally legitimized radical relativism — the idea that all truths hold equal weight, regardless of evidence or logic. This opened the door for "alternative facts", now weaponized by propaganda. What began as a challenge to authoritarian knowledge structures within academia escaped its origins, eroding shared standards of truth. In the post-truth era, misinformation, ideological mythmaking, and conspiracy theories thrive by rejecting objective verification altogether.Historian Naomi Oreskes describes "merchants of doubt" as corporate and political actors who manufacture uncertainty to obstruct policy and sustain truth relativism. By falsely equating expertise with opinion, they create the illusion of debate, delaying action on climate change, public health, and social inequities while eroding trust in science. In this landscape, any opinion can masquerade as fact, undermining those who dedicate their lives to truth-seeking.PIXELS AND MYTHOLOGY SHAPE THE GEOGRAPHYThe erosion of truth infrastructures has accelerated with digital media, which both globalizes misinformation and reinforces localized silos of belief. This was evident during COVID-19, where false claims — such as vaccine microchips — spread widely but took deeper root in communities with preexisting distrust in institutions. While research confirms that misinformation spreads faster than facts, it's still unclear if algorithmic amplification or deeper socio-political distrust are root causes.This ideological shift is strongest in Eastern Europe and parts of the U.S., where institutional distrust and digital subcultures fuel esoteric nationalism. Post-Soviet propaganda, economic instability, and geopolitical tensions have revived alternative knowledge systems in Russia, Poland, and the Balkans, from Slavic paganism to the return of the Vril myth, now fused with the Save Europe movement — a digital blend of racial mysticism, ethnic nostalgia, and reactionary politics.Above ☝️is a compilation of TikTok videos currently being pushed to my 21 year old son. They fuse ordinary, common, and recognizable pop culture imagery with Vril imagery (like UFO's and stealth bombers) and esoteric racist nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and hyper-masculine mythologies. A similar trend appears in post-industrial and rural America, where economic decline, government distrust, and cultural divides sustain conspiratorial thinking, religious fundamentalism, and hyper-masculine mythologies. The alt-right manosphere mirrors Eastern Europe's Vril revival, with figures like Zyzz and Bronze Age Pervert offering visions of lost strength. Both Vril and Save Europe frame empowerment as a return to ethnic or esoteric power (Vril) or militant resistance to diversity (Save Europe), turning myth into a tool of political radicalization.Climate change denial follows these localized patterns, where scientific consensus clashes with economic and cultural narratives. While misinformation spreads globally, belief adoption varies, shaped by economic hardship, institutional trust, and political identity.In coal regions like Appalachia and Poland, skepticism stems from economic survival, with climate policies seen as elitist attacks on jobs. In rural Australia, extreme weather fuels conspiracies about government overreach rather than shifting attitudes toward climate action. Meanwhile, in coastal Louisiana and the Netherlands, where climate impacts are immediate and undeniable, denial is rarer, though myths persist, often deflecting blame from human causes.Just as Vril revivalism, Save Europe, and the MAGA manosphere thrive on post-industrial uncertainty, climate misinformation can also flourish in economically vulnerable regions. Digital platforms fuel a worldview skewed, where scrolling myths and beliefs are spatially glued — a twisted take on 'think globally, act locally,' where fantasy folklore becomes fervent ideology.FINDING TRUTH WITH FRACTURED FACTS…AND FRIENDSThe post-truth era has reshaped how we think about knowledge. The challenge isn't just misinformation but growing distrust in expertise, institutions, and shared reality. In classrooms and research, traditional ways of proving truth often fail when personal belief outweighs evidence. Scholars and educators now seek new ways to communicate knowledge, moving beyond rigid certainty or radical relativism.Professor Legg has turned to the work of 19th-century American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, whose ideas about truth feel surprisingly relevant today. Peirce didn't see truth as something fixed or final but as a process — something we work toward through questioning, testing, and refining our understanding over time.His approach, known as pragmatism, emphasizes collaborative inquiry, self-correction, and fallibilism — the idea that no belief is ever beyond revision. In a time when facts are constantly challenged, Peirce's philosophy offers not just a theory of truth, but a process for rebuilding trust in knowledge itself.For those unfamiliar with Peirce and American pragmatism, a process that requires collaborating with truth deniers may seem not only unfun, but counterproductive. But research on deradicalization strategies suggests that confrontational debunking (a failed strategy Democrats continue to adhere to) often backfires. Lecturing skeptics only reinforces belief entrenchment.In the early 1700's Britain was embroiled in the War of Spanish Succession. Political factions spread blatant falsehoods through partisan newspapers. It prompted Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels, to observe in The Art of Political Lying (1710) that"Reasoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion, which by reasoning he never acquired."This is likely where we get the more familiar saying: you can't argue someone out of a belief they didn't reason themselves into. Swift's critique of propaganda and public gullibility foreshadowed modern research on cognitive bias. People rarely abandon deeply held beliefs when confronted with facts.Traditionally, truth is seen as either objectively discoverable (classical empiricism) — like physics — or constructed by discourse and power (postmodernism) — like the Lost Cause myth, which recast the Confederacy as noble rather than pro-slavery. It should be noted that traditional truth also comes about by paying for it. Scientific funding from private sources often dictates which research is legitimized. As Legg observes,“Ironically, such epistemic assurance perhaps rendered educated folk in the modern era overly gullible to the written word as authority, and the resulting ‘fetishisation' of texts in the education sector has arguably led to some of our current problems.”Peirce, however, offered a different path:truth is not a fixed thing, but an eventual process of consensus reached by a community of inquirers.It turns out open-ended dialogue that challenges inconsistencies within a belief system is shown to be a more effective strategy.This process requires time, scrutiny, and open dialogue. None of which are very popular these days! It should be no surprise that in today's fractured knowledge-making landscape of passive acceptance of authority or unchecked personal belief, ideological silos reinforce institutional dogma or blatant misinformation. But Peirce's ‘community of inquiry' model suggests that truth can't be lectured or bought but strengthened through collective reasoning and self-correction.Legg embraces this model because it directly addresses why knowledge crises emerge and how they can be countered. The digital age has resulted in a world where beliefs are reinforced within isolated networks rather than tested against broader inquiry. Trump or Musk can tweet fake news and it spreads to millions around the world instantaneously.During Trump's 2016 campaign, false claims that Pope Francis endorsed him spread faster than legitimate news. Misinformation, revisionist history, and esoteric nationalism thrive in these unchecked spaces.Legg's approach to critical thinking education follows Peirce's philosophy of inquiry. She helps students see knowledge not as fixed truths but as a network of interwoven, evolving understandings — what Peirce called an epistemic cable made up of many small but interconnected fibers. Rather than viewing the flood of online information as overwhelming or deceptive, she encourages students to see it as a resource to be navigated with the right tools and the right intent.To make this practical, she introduces fact-checking strategies used by professionals, teaching students to ask three key questions when evaluating an online source:* Who is behind this information? (Identifying the author's credibility and possible biases)* What is the evidence for their claims? (Assessing whether their argument is supported by verifiable facts)* What do other sources say about these claims? (Cross-referencing to see if the information holds up in a broader context)By practicing these habits, students learn to engage critically with digital content. It strengthens their ability to distinguish reliable knowledge from misinformation rather than simply memorizing facts. It also meets them where they are without judgement of whatever beliefs they may hold at the time of inquiry.If post-truth misinformation reflects a shift in how we construct knowledge, can we ever return to a shared trust in truth — or even a shared reality? As institutional trust erodes, fueled by academic relativism, digital misinformation, and ideological silos, myths like climate denial and Vril revivalism take hold where skepticism runs deep. Digital platforms don't just spread misinformation; they shape belief systems, reinforcing global echo chambers.But is truth lost, or just contested? Peirce saw truth as a process, built through inquiry and self-correction. Legg extends this, arguing that fact-checking alone won't solve post-truth; instead, we need a culture of questioning — where people test their own beliefs rather than being told what's right or wrong.I won't pretend to have the answer. You can tell by my bibliography that I'm a fan of classical empiricism. But I'm also a pragmatic interactionist who believes knowledge is refined through collaborative inquiry. I believe, as Legg does, that to move beyond post-truth isn't about the impossible mission of defeating misinformation — it's about making truth-seeking more compelling than belief. Maybe even fun.What do you think? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

Kate Adie presents stories from Ukraine, the United States, The Gambia and Uzbekistan. Its three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, during which time hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured - though others have simply disappeared without trace. Sarah Rainsford travelled to Ukraine, where she met one woman trying to find out what happened to her parents after they were detained during Russia's occupation of her home town. US President Donald Trump has pledged to curb government waste by cutting spending. Under review are the billions of dollars set aside for research grants, intended for universities and scientific institutions. At the annual gathering of one of the country's oldest scientific societies, which took place in Boston last week, Sandra Kanthal found a decidedly dampened mood. Each year thousands of people leave sub-Saharan Africa in hope of reaching Europe and forging a better life. It's a dangerous and potentially deadly journey - and for some the challenge is just too much. So what happens after they return home? Alex Last went to The Gambia to find out. The city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan is located on the route of the legendary Silk Road, and in the Middle Ages it became a major intellectual hub of the Islamic world. It's also home to a centuries-old Jewish community, which over generations blended culture with the Muslim community. Post-Soviet emigration means it's now much smaller than it used to be, but Monica Whitlock met one man who is still happy to call Bukhara home.

Glenn Diesen & Arman Grigoryan - The Incoming Multipolar World | Ep 411, Feb 9, 2025Conversations on Groong - February 9, 2025TopicsThe Ongoing conflicts: Gaza, Syria, UkraineShifting Global Power and AlliancesSmall Countries in a Multipolar WorldGuestGlenn DiesenArman GrigoryanHostsHovik ManucharyanAsbed BedrossianEpisode 411 | Recorded: February 6, 2025Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Professor Donnacha O'Beachain, Lecturer of Foreign Policy and Post Soviet politics at DCU.

In this episode of Guerrilla History, we bring on Georgian labor union leader and writer Sopo Japaridze to run through post-Soviet Georgia's history to help us understand the events that are unfolding today!  This is a critical discussion that hopefully will be of use to many of you who find yourself not knowing as much about Georgia as you wish you did, and will allow you to understand the ongoing events much better.  We certainly found quite a bit of value in this episode, and look forward to bringing Sopo back to discuss the history of Soviet Georgia in the future!   Sopo Japaridze is a Georgian labor union leader and writer.  You can follow her on twitter @sopjap, and keep up to date with many of her writings on her Substack.  Also subscribe to her podcast Reimagining Soviet Georgia wherever you get your pods, and follow the show on twitter @ReimaginingG Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory  Also subscribe to our Substack (free!) to keep up to date with what we are doing.  guerrillahistory.substack.com

This episode features a conversation with investigative journalist, Tsira Gvasalia. It was recorded in person, in Tbilisi, Georgia, in August, 2024, at the n-ost conference for climate journalism. It is one of four episodes dedicated to issues complicating climate communication in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. Tsira is an investigative and science journalist based in Tbilisi, Georgia. She is the founder of Cactus Media, a bilingual news platform raising awareness about the interconnection of human health and environmental pollution. Since 2010, she's worked for a number of Georgian print and online media organizations, while also contributing to international outlets. With a focus on investigating corruption connected to natural resource extraction and environmental pollution in Georgia, as well as Russian business interests in precious metal mining across the region, Tsira works to shed light on the lack of climate, environment, and health data in Post-Soviet countries, stressing the importance of improving data collection and evidence-based decision-making processes. Amongst other things, Tsira and I discussed the challenges facing climate journalists living under rising authoritarianism, the interconnectedness of climate change and the rest of our lives, and the identity crises facing post-Soviet countries like Georgia, as they try to establish who they are and what they stand for. Additional links:Check out Tsira's platform, Cactus MediaRead the article about gold mining producing golden pollutionRead about the Shovi landslide disasterKatherine Dunn's piece about the Georgian Foreign Agent LawInstitute for the Study of War's article about the 2024 Georgian electionTsira's profile on the n-ost websiteTsira's profile on the Journalismfund Europe website

Send us a textIn this episode we let you listen to one of the most impressive statemen of the century, Secretary of State James Baker. He was a graduate of Princeton University and after the Soviet Union Coup attempt finally calms down he returned to his Alma Mater to talk about the future he hoped would occur in the Soviet Union. We will be covering James Baker quite a bit over the next seasons as he takes a central role in managing the end of the Cold War, and running the re-election of his friend George H. W. Bush in 1992.   Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

The comics version of Yelena Belova, aka the White Widow, goes full MCU, while Steve digs into something truly bizarre and uniquely Russian in Soldier X. And we continue our ongoing reading of Exiles! Will comics: Spider-Man 2099: Miguel O'Hara, Avengers by Jed MacKay vol 2: Twilight Dreaming, Thunderbolts: Worldstrike, White Widow: Welcome to Idylhaven, and Exiles vol 1 #14-19. Steve comics: Exiles vol 1 #14-19, Soldier X vol 1 #1-6, Agent X vol 1 #1-6.

The fall of the Soviet wall and the opening of the iron curtain presented ample space for hope, optimism and opportunity for westerners eager to share culture, creativity, business and democracy concepts with the citizens of the former Soviet Union. David Junk leapt at the chance to work for Polygram/Universal Records in a country hungry for music and freedom. David's 15 years in Russia were a unique window of time between Gorbachov's Glasnost and Putin's re-consolidation of power. David stepped into a landscape that he called “the wild, wild, east,” teaming with gangsters and corruption and also talented, enterprising Russians, eager to explore new possibilities. David's journey is documented in his book, Rockin' The Kremlin which gives readers an inside look at boots-on-the-ground life and work in Russia from the perspective of a Russian speaking, idealistic American. David and his co-writer Fred Bronson join us for a fascinating dive into David's adventures… Contract negations with Polygram which included kidnapping insurance, Russian kids' obsession with hip hop, discovering and exporting Russian talent including two young girls called t.A.T.u. who kissed on The Tonight Show, wearing “F*** War” tee-shirts which they got past everyone because the words were written in Russian. David says that those tee-shirts are now being worn by kids in Ukraine. This window in time introduced a generation to a complex intersection of culture and politics which was ultimately snuffed by Putin's coalition with the Russian Orthodox Church and a renewed, vehement opposition to LGBTQ rights and individual expression. Ultimately, it was David's deep disappointment in colleagues' support for the invasion of Ukraine and concerns for his family's safety which brought him back to the states. But still, so much was learned and exchanged.All this, plus Fritz and Weezy are recommending The English Teacher on FX (streaming on Hulu) and the making of The Sopranos doc, Wiseguy on HBO Max.Path Points of Interest:Rocking The Kremlin: My Incredible, True Story Of Gangsters, Oligarchs, And Pop Stars In Putin's Russia by David Junk with Fred BronsonDavid Junk on FacebookDavid Junk on InstagramFred Bronson on TwitterArt During Wartime PodcastGift of Democracy The English Teacher FX and Huluhttps://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/english-teacherWiseguy - HBOhttps://www.hbo.com/movies/wise-guy-david-chase-and-the-sopranos

It comes a week after Ukraine's first incursion into the Kursk region of Western Russia. We speak to Professor of Post-Soviet politics at DCU, Donnacha Ó Beacháin

RUSSIA: Shoigu in Tehran and why? John Hardie serves as deputy director of FDD's Russia Program. His research focuses on Russian foreign and security policy, U.S. policy toward Russia and the post-Soviet space, and transatlantic relations. Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 1930 MOSCOW

It's Thursday, August 8th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes and heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Rwanda closes over 4,000 churches Rwanda, Africa has shut down over 4,000 churches in the last month in a so-called safety crackdown.  Many churches have allegedly broken health and safety regulations such as not having enough soundproofing. Pastors must also hold a degree in religious studies to open a church.  The central African country introduced legislation to regulate churches back in 2018 which led to thousands of closures. The crackdowns primarily affect small Protestant churches. When that law passed, one senior pastor told Religious News Service, “Thousands of faithful are now secretly praying in their houses for fear of government crackdown.” French authorities arrest Christian activists Officials in France arrested six Christian activists with CitizenGO on Monday.  The activists were riding around Paris in a bus with the message: “STOP ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS.” The bus also featured a link to a CitizenGO petition, calling on the International Olympic Committee to apologize for its blasphemous opening ceremony where drag queens were re-enacting the Last Supper. Commenting on its bus campaign, CitizenGO said, “There is nothing illegal or wrong about this. This is clearly anti-Christian persecution from French authorities.”  U.S. and Russia prisoner swap The United States and Russia exchanged prisoners last Thursday in the largest swap in Post-Soviet history.  The 24-person exchange included several American citizens who are now back in the U.S. Among them are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan. Russia also received back several of its citizens being held in U.S. prisons. As part of the deal, Russia released a dozen political dissidents to Germany.  U.S. President Joe Biden said, “I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome— including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey.”  Abortions increased after Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade The pro-abortion group Society of Family Planning released a new study on abortions yesterday. The report found the murder of unborn babies increased during the first three months of this year compared to 2022 before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.  Reported abortions fell significantly in states with abortion bans while abortions increased in states without such bans.  Abortions are also rising as abortionists use telemedicine to prescribe abortion kill pills for women in states with abortion bans.  Isaiah 59:6-7 says, “Their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood.”  Biden admin lets in illegal immigrants on terrorist watchlist  The U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a report on Monday entitled “Terror at the Border.”  The report found Border Patrol encountered 250 illegal aliens at the southwest border on the terrorist watchlist between 2021 and 2023. The Biden administration allowed 99 of those individuals into our country.  The report noted, “Releasing terrorists into the United States has become almost routine for the Biden-Harris Administration.” Household debt doubled in 10 years The New York Federal Reserve Bank reports U.S. household debt rose by $109 billion to reach $17.8 trillion during the second quarter of this year. The bank noted, “Mortgage balances were up $77 billion to reach $12.52 trillion, while auto loans increased by $10 billion to reach $1.63 trillion and credit card balances increased by $27 billion to reach $1.14 trillion.”  Overall, household debt is now double what it was 10 years ago.  Tennessee Senator: "Jesus Christ is Lord" And finally, Christians gathered in Nashville, Tennessee last Wednesday for a time of prayer. This capped off a month in which state lawmakers called for prayer, fasting, and repentance.  A Tennessee House resolution stated, “We as public servants in the Tennessee General Assembly, seek God's mercy upon our land and beseech Him to not withdraw His hand of blessing from us.”  Republican State Senator Mark Pody  spoke to CBN News about the effort. PODY: “We want to invite God back to Tennessee. We want to be as public as we can to say Jesus Christ is Lord. We even wrote it in the resolution.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, August 8th, in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

AP correspondent Norman Hall reports on the completion of the large US-Russia prisoner swap. ((watch for dating, they are on their way back to the states))

The United States and Russia have completed a 24-person prisoner swap, the largest in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan in a multinational deal. We talk with Hoover Fellow Sergey Sanovich from Stanford University. At least three protesters were killed in Nigeria's Kaduna state on Thursday. And weed-killing robots roll through farms.

AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports on the United States and Russia's prisoner swap.

Brian Kilmeade, Fox & Friends Host joins Mark Reardon to discuss the controversial prisoner swap, Secret Service failures, and more.

From acclaimed director Levan Akin (AND THEN WE DANCED), CROSSING is a moving and tender tale of identity, acceptance and unlikely connection that transcends borders and generations. Lia, a retired school teacher living in the country of Georgia, hears from a young neighbor Achi that her long lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Turkey. Hoping to bring Tekla home, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Exploring the hidden depths of the city, they cross paths with a transgender lawyer called Evrim, who helps them in their search. Humanistic and compassionate, Akin's third feature is a heartfelt portrayal of overcoming the degrees of separation that divide us. Director and writer Levan Adkin joins us for a conversation on his own connection to the setting for Crossing, Turkey, how the story lent itself to exploring the generational divide between Soviet era and Post-Soviet era attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ rights, his reaction to Crossing being selected by Sweden as their Oscar entry for 2024 Best International Feature and working with lead actor Mzia Arabuli as Lia. For more go to: mubi.com/crossing-2023-levan-akin Or go to: totem-films.com/crossing

Olympic hero turned peace campaigner Ruslan Shanidza sets out on his most ambitious undertaking, leading a campaign to unseat the brutal strongman who rules his post-communist homeland.He assembles a fractious coalition of rivals and former enemies. But they must confront some very dangerous men, who have so much blood on their hands that they can never allow their grip on power to slip.The conflict quickly escalates as the President and his henchmen plot a murderous crackdown. Ruslan soon learns that he has placed himself and his family right in the firing line in an increasingly desperate fight to the finish.This third Ruslan Shanidza novel can be enjoyed without reading the other two. It is a political thriller rooted in time and place that draws upon real historical events as it races to its denouement."Clark uses real events as inspiration, weaving history into an engaging narrative…told through the story of Ruslan and his family alongside a cast of other (many unsavoury) characters. It's a style I enjoy…It's also engaging in a way that I found myself thinking about it while I wasn't reading it… Although the last in a trilogy (and I haven't read the others), that didn't hold me back and it can be read as a standalone."Lachlan Page, author of Magical Disinformation and The General of Caracas"…the quality of the characters depicted in this book was superb. The author did an amazing job at comprehensively developing the characters by giving them really strong personalities that will stick with the reader till the end of the story."…gripped my interest throughout the entire book due to its powerful message of freedom from tyranny. The political and military aspects of the book were very intriguing..."I recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction and thrillers...if you seek a great read, Day of the Long Knivesby Paul Clark is the book for you."OnlineBookClub.Org Official Review

On this episode, Nick speaks with Susanna Weygandt a scholar studying performance theories of Russian and East European theater. She discusses the work of Anatoly Vasiliev, famed Russian theater director for the Moscow School of Dramatic Arts. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE GUEST: Elena Susanna Weygandt analyzes and documents performance theories indigenous to Russia and East Europe that have not yet been documented. She draws on methods of interview and ethnography as well as digital display in her research on contemporary topics. In her soon-to-be published book with the University of Wisconsin Press, From Metaphor to Direct Speech: Drama and Performance Theory in Contemporary Russia, she identifies the main writers and performance theories of the vibrant movement, Novaia Drama, and situates this pioneering literature in the contemporary Russian literary canon, the Performance Studies field, and within Post-Soviet studies. The New Dramatists assert that it is precisely in the theatre, with its inherent form of critique and reflection provided by the stage, where the contemporary moment of the present can be held at arm's length away, which creates enough of a distance from the present for a historical perspective about it to emerge. This research has shaped her into a scholar and teacher of visual language, the body, feminist art, gender, exhibition on digital platforms, and all genres of documentary and realism in Russian and East European literature. Her publications on these topics of cultural history in Russia and East Europe from 1953 to the present appear in The Russian Review, Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema, TDR: The Drama Review, Apparatus: Film, Media, and Digital Cultures in Central and Eastern Europe, and in a co-edited anthology published by Columbia UP. She received her training in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Princeton (PhD 2015; Graduate Certificate in History of Science 2015). At Sewanee: The University of the South she teaches all levels of Russian in the Russian Department and her joint affiliation in the Humanities Program. https://new.sewanee.edu/programs-of-study/russian/faculty-staff/susanna-weygandt/ If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! PRODUCTION CREDITS Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Eliza Fisher Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp Assistant Producer/Videographer: Basil Fedun Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Crowander, Dlay) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png

On this episode, Nick speaks with Susanna Weygandt a scholar studying performance theories of Russian and East European theater. She discusses the work of Anatoly Vasiliev, famed Russian theater director for the Moscow School of Dramatic Arts. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE GUEST: Elena Susanna Weygandt analyzes and documents performance theories indigenous to Russia and East Europe that have not yet been documented. She draws on methods of interview and ethnography as well as digital display in her research on contemporary topics. In her soon-to-be published book with the University of Wisconsin Press, From Metaphor to Direct Speech: Drama and Performance Theory in Contemporary Russia, she identifies the main writers and performance theories of the vibrant movement, Novaia Drama, and situates this pioneering literature in the contemporary Russian literary canon, the Performance Studies field, and within Post-Soviet studies.  The New Dramatists assert that it is precisely in the theatre, with its inherent form of critique and reflection provided by the stage, where the contemporary moment of the present can be held at arm's length away, which creates enough of a distance from the present for a historical perspective about it to emerge. This research has shaped her into a scholar and teacher of visual language, the body, feminist art, gender, exhibition on digital platforms, and all genres of documentary and realism in Russian and East European literature. Her publications on these topics of cultural history in Russia and East Europe from 1953 to the present appear in The Russian Review, Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema, TDR: The Drama Review, Apparatus: Film, Media, and Digital Cultures in Central and Eastern Europe, and in a co-edited anthology published by Columbia UP. She received her training in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Princeton (PhD 2015; Graduate Certificate in History of Science 2015). At Sewanee: The University of the South she teaches all levels of Russian in the Russian Department and her joint affiliation in the Humanities Program. https://new.sewanee.edu/programs-of-study/russian/faculty-staff/susanna-weygandt/ If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! PRODUCTION CREDITSAssistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)Associate Producer: Eliza FisherAssistant Producer: Taylor HelmcampAssistant Producer/Videographer: Basil FedunSocial Media Manager: Faith VanVleetHost/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Crowander, Dlay) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

Pawel Klimczak is the game designer and a publisher of Slav Borg, a Post-Soviet, Semi-Fantasy Role-Playing Game. He is also a journalist and a musician interested in the intersection of the social conditions and art. I immediately backed Slav Borg when I saw it on Kickstarter. It had cool looking post-apocalyptic cars. It was inspired by Mörk Borg, an incredible game I love, and it drew from a topic that interests me a lot, which is the the culture from other countries that did experience socialism and now live under something else. And this is one of the themes explored in the book as well. In this chat we talked about many interesting topics which include all the origin story of Slav Borg, the love/hate relationship Pawel has with cars, how he loves bikes, art, process, creativity, mental health, influences and all sorts of weirdness. It was very cool and enlightening. So listen up and get weird with us! Check out Pawel's links! https://slavdom-studio.com/https://discord.com/invite/Tn6MWNVnTphttps://www.instagram.com/slavdomstudio/ Thank you for listening to Weird Games & Weirder People! Please subscribe to the show to keep up with new episodes! If you would like to support the show, leave a review and/or head to our ko-fi page and pay us a coffee! It will help keep the podcast going! It will really help us!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/wgnwp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can also support me buy buying one of my games! Kosmosaurs just got released in print, and it is my new RPG inspired by Saturday morning cartoons about Space Dinosaur Rangers defending the galaxy from evildoers!   Get your copy right here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bit.ly/kosmosaurs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Get other games of mine on Exalted Funeral: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/search?q=Diogo+nogueira⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or buy anything at DriveThruRPG using this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate_id=338514⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or buy something from my itch store: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://diogo-old-skull.itch.io⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER! This is super new and I am trying a new thing! I share offers, news, behind the scenes, articles, curiosities, and rants about being me! Fun, right? RIGHT!? Check out our latest post:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://diogonogueira.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Stuff mentioned in the Episode: Skinamarink: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21307994/ BattleTech: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BattleTech Gaijin Blues: https://gaijinblues.bandcamp.com/album/gaijin-blues Ranger of Shadow Deep: https://modiphius.net/collections/rangers-of-shadow-deep Frostgrave: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/177354/frostgrave Planet Smasher Games: https://planetsmashergames.com Johan Nohr: https://nohr.se Dragon Quest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest

Galina Ackerman is Editor in Chief at Desk Russia, and is a French writer, historian, journalist, translator, and researcher at the University of Caen, specializing in Ukraine and Post-Soviet states. She was also a translator for the Russian journalist murdered by the Putin regime, Anna Politkovskaya. Galia was born into a Russian Jewish family and holds a doctorate in history from the University of Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne. In 1998, Galia translated into French 'Chernobyl Prayer' by Svetlana Alexievich, a book about the Chernobyl disaster. While working on the translation, she travelled to the poisoned territories called the 'Zone' (short for Chernobyl Exclusion Zone) and interviewed local people who had witnessed the nuclear catastrophe at first hand. ---------- LINKS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galia_Ackerman https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galia_Ackerman https://x.com/GaliaAckerman https://x.com/DeskRussie https://www.linkedin.com/in/galina-ackerman-8305b790/ ---------- BOOKS: L'Ukraine: Atlas géopolitique d'une idée européenne Edizione Francese | di Philippe Lemarchand, Galina Ackerman, e al. (2023) ---------- ARTICLES: https://desk-russie.eu/auteur/galia-ackerman https://desk-russie.info/2024/05/23/giorgi-gakharia-this-law-serves-russian-interests.html https://desk-russie.info/2024/05/12/comrade-putins-sexennial-plan.html https://desk-russie.info/2024/05/10/the-quarrels-of-the-russian-opposition.html https://desk-russie.info/2024/04/22/the-russian-state-in-the-face-of-terrorism.html ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Donnacha Ó Beacháin, Professor of Post-Soviet politics at Dublin City University, on the significance of the passing of the controversial 'foreign agent' law in Georgia.

On this episode, attorney and business consultant Daniel Satinsky shares about his new book, which tells the story of American participation in the dismantling of the Soviet economy and the creation of the Russian market economy in the 1990s. Creating the Post-Soviet Russian Market Economy: Through American Eyes is based on more than 100 interviews with citizen diplomats, entrepreneurs, bankers, consultants, and aid program administrators active in Russia in those years. The book chronicles the real-life experiences of these Americans as they participated in building new sectors of the post-Soviet Russian economy in finance, investment, stock trading, real estate, restaurants, public relations, law, and media (television, radio, newspapers, and movies) at a time of historically unprecedented collaboration and interaction between Russians and Americans. ABOUT THE GUEST Daniel Satinsky is an attorney, business consultant, and independent scholar. He first visited the USSR in 1984 and was active in business there and in Russia from 1990 to 2014. He is the co-author of "Hammer and Silicon: The Soviet Diaspora in the U.S. Innovation Economy" (2018). He is also former president of the board of the U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England (1998-2014) and a Davis Center associate. He holds a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and a JD from Northeastern University Law School. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on February 16, 2024 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! PRODUCTION CREDITS Host/Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce Assistant Producer: Basil Fedun Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher Assistant Producer: Katherine Birch Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by kaleidoplasm, Holizna, Crowander, Blue Dot Sessions, Ketsa, Eazy) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Daniel Satinsky.

One of Georgia's most exciting contemporary filmmakers is Levan Koguashvili. His films are as comedic as they are tragic, focusing on the intricacies (both beautiful and heartbreaking) of the day to day struggles Georgians live through today. In this discussion, we explore Levan's approach to filmmaking, stories behind the scripts, and the way his films reflect economic and social realities both in Georgia and of those Georgians who have emigrated abroad. Levan is a film director from Tbilisi and his films include Brighton 4th (2021), Gogitas New Life (2016), Blind Dates (2013) and Street Days (2010).

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine entered its 3rd year and an end still seems to be far away. While the destruction of infrastructure is ongoing, millions of people were forced to flee, the population is traumatized and, on the battlefield, there seems to be a stalemate. Yet, the EU - countries are still voicing their support for Ukraine. However, in the US the narrative is slowly shifting towards the necessity of entering negotiations in light of US elections later this year. On the other hand, the sanctions regime is still upheld and, at least in the short-term, the expected results have not materialized. How could an end to the war look like? Who could be negotiating considering Russia still didn`t abandon its maximalist demands. What role has the so-called global South and how is the economic relationship between Russia and China developing? What does the destruction and the loss of population mean in the long-term for Ukrainian economy and what role does the EU-perspective man in this context? With the global shift of attention towards the war of Israel against Hamas in Gaza, is peace still possible in Ukraine? Guests: Gerhard Mangott is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck since October 2015. Specialization on International Relations and Security in the Post-Soviet region. He is scientific Adviser on Post-Soviet Affairs at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) in Vienna February 2009-2015 October and from1991–June 2008 served as Permanent and Senior Research Fellow on Eastern Europe and the former USSR at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) in Vienna. He is also a Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna since 1995 and a Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna since 2004. Richard Grieveson is Deputy Director at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). He coordinates wiiw's analysis and forecasting of Central, East and Southeast Europe. In addition, he works on European policy analysis, European integration, EU enlargement, economic history, and political economy. He holds degrees from the universities of Cambridge, Vienna and Birkbeck. Previously he worked as a Director in the Emerging Europe Sovereigns team at Fitch Ratings and Regional Manager in the Europe team at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, IIP Director. The episode was recorded on 27 March 2024.

Top news of the day: Future Gaming & Hotel accounts for 77% of DMK's electoral bond receipts, At least 10 people were rescued after an under-construction building collapsed in kolkata, President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide in Russia's election on Sunday, Bangalore clinch eight-wicket WPL final win after Delhi collapse

1/2: #Russia: #Migration: The migrants of the Post-Soviet era come to Moscow. Ekaterina Zolotova, @GPFutures  https://geopoliticalfutures.com/russia-walks-a-demographic-tightrope/ UNDATED EURASIA NOMADS

2/2: #Russia: #Migration: The migrants of the Post-Soviet era come to Moscow. Ekaterina Zolotova, @GPFutures  https://geopoliticalfutures.com/russia-walks-a-demographic-tightrope/ 1917 TASHKENT

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Can we predict the future? In The Will to Predict: Orchestrating the Future Through Science (Cornell UP, 2023), Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, an Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University, tells the story of Soviet and Post-Soviet attempts to order economy and society using a variety of scientific and management techniques. The analysis is wide ranging, demonstrating the contemporary importance, as well as the historical context, of prediction and its associated intellectual and governmental champions. Rich with details, as well as accessible and fascinating, the book is essential reading across history and the social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in how we know the past present and future of the modern world. Dave O'Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, at the University of Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever tried kefir? Some people love it, some hate it. It's a very healthy drink and one of the most typical beverages in the Post-Soviet countries. But when did people start drinking it? It has a very interesting story behind! Tune in to the episode to discover the legend of kefir! Work with the transcript and the worksheet if you actually want to learn! https://www.patreon.com/russianconnection I launched Speaking club! https://forms.gle/aivca9MNA2ytVqrE8 If you want to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rusconnection Join my Telegram channel to see updates: https://t.me/podcastrussianconnection⁠⁠ _________ Вы пробовали кефир? Некоторые обожают его, некоторые ненавидят. Это супер полезный напиток для здоровья и один из самых типичных напитков в странах СНГ. А когда его начали пить? У него очень интересная история! Слушайте выпуск, чтобы узнать легенду о кефире!

Sean and Andy are joined by Volodymyr Ishchenko, Ukrainian Marxist and sociologist, to discuss his upcoming collection of essays "Toward the Abyss" from Verso Books. (You can and should preorder here.)How does a 'civilizational' or 'cultural' or 'decolonial' understanding of the Russia-Ukraine conflict obscure the underlying class conflict at its heart? What is the political economy of 'corruption' and anti-corruption? How has the delegitimization of the post-Soviet political capitalist ruling class led to stagnation and civil war? Why have their been a series of Occupys, EuroMaidans and Arab Springs that seem to change nothing?This is part one of an extended discussion. In the bonus we pose the question, "What does the left look like in Ukraine at the moment and how can internationalists help build a working class movement adequate to social revolution in a global capitalist social order in steep decline?" For access to this content and much more, become a patron at www.patreon.com/theantifadaArticles:https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii138/articles/volodymyr-ishchenko-ukrainian-voiceshttps://jacobin.com/2022/10/russia-ukraine-war-explanation-class-conflictSong: RotFront - Sovietoblaster

This week, we welcome Professor Isak Froumin onto the podcast. Froumin is Head of the Observatory of Higher Education Innovations at Jacobs University, in Bremen Germany and the co-editor of two key books on what has happened to universities across the 15 ex-republics. The first, 25 Years of Transformations of Higher Education Systems in Post-Soviet Countries: Reform and Continuity, which appeared in 2018, and the second is Building Research Capacity at Universities: Insights from Post-Soviet Countries, out earlier this year from Palgrave Macmillan. The discussion ranges over a wide variety of topics: how to develop system typologies in post-Soviet space, how various nations went about de-Sovietifcation and also how a few seem now to be re-Sovietizing just in the past couple of years. Books:25 Years of Transformations of Higher Education Systems in Post-Soviet Countries: Reform and ContinuityBuilding Research Capacity at Universities: Insights from Post-Soviet Countries

Guests: Elmira Muratova and Michael Kemper on Islam in the Soviet and Post-Soviet contexts. The post Islam, Repression, and Memory appeared first on The Eurasian Knot.

Jacob welcomes Eugene Chausovsky, former Stratfor alum and now Senior Director at Newlines Institute, to discuss all things post-soviet: wtf is going on in the Western Balkans, prospects for Ukraine's inclusion in the EU, whether Azerbaijan will stop at Nagorno-Karabakh, and the many intersecting interests of Central Asia. From there they discuss China and what lessons China may have learned from Russia's invasion of Ukraine re: Taiwan. They also make a global plea for more Georgian food, plz and thx.--Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro(01:14) – Serbia/Kosovo(06:08) - Ukraine/Russia(19:07) – The South Caucasus(31:36) – Central Asia(41:05) - end – China-- Referenced in the Show:--CI Site: cognitive.investmentsJacob Site: jacobshapiro.comJacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShapSubscribe to the Newsletter: bit.ly/weekly-sitrep--Cognitive Investments is an investment advisory firm, founded in 2019 that provides clients with a nuanced array of financial planning, investment advisory and wealth management services. We aim to grow both our clients' material wealth (i.e. their existing financial assets) and their human wealth (i.e. their ability to make good strategic decisions for their business, family, and career).--Disclaimer: Cognitive Investments LLC (“Cognitive Investments”) is a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Cognitive Investments and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor's particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status or investment horizon. You should consult your attorney or tax advisorThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacyPodtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

On this episode, Misha talks with Ruslan Pukhov, a Russian defense analyst and the director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST). Mr. Pukhov shares about the origins of CAST during the late 90s, the state of Russia's defense economy, and his views on the current war in Ukraine. He states that neither the Ukrainian public nor Ukrainian leadership and elites understand what "victory" means in terms of a realistic approach and that continued American support, strongly dependent upon the upcoming US presidential elections in his view, is critical to Ukraine's prospects in this war. EPISODE NOTES: 1. The journalist Mr. Pukhov mentions is Yuri Lyamin. The link to his blog the Imperial Navigator, where his latest pieces analyze Hamas propaganda following the recent eruption of hostilities between Iran-backed Hamas and Israel: https://imp-navigator.livejournal.com/. 2. Select articles from a variety of sources that include commentary from the demographer Alexey Raksha: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-20/rogue-demographer-says-russia-covid-deaths-may-be-europe-s-worst https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/putin-s-war-escalation-is-hastening-demographic-crash-for-russia https://fortune.com/2022/10/18/russia-population-historic-decline-emigration-war-plunging-birth-rate-form-perfect-storm/ https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/04/russias-population-nightmare-is-going-to-get-even-worse https://theweek.com/russia/1017914/russias-catastrophic-missing-men-problem https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/conflict-deepens-russias-demographic-crisis 3. For a list of pieces by Mr. Pukhov as written for The Moscow Times visit https://www.themoscowtimes.com/author/ruslan-pukhov PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 1, 2023 via Zoom. The views expressed in this episode belong to the speakers and do not reflect those of either the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies or the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at The University of Texas at Austin. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Broke For Free, KAZKA) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Ruslan Pukhov.

Creating the Post-Soviet Russian Market Economy: Through American Eyes (Routledge, 2023) captures the essence of the period when Russians and Americans collaborated in creating new structures of government and new businesses in completely uncharted conditions. It presents the experiences of key American participants in late Soviet and post-Soviet Russia during a time when Americans thought anything was possible in Russia. Using an analytic framework of foreground ideas (Western, liberal & neo-liberal) and background forces (Russian cultural influences, nationalism, and lingering Soviet ideology), it examines the ideas and intentions of the people involved. First-person interviews with consultants, businesspeople, and citizen diplomats help capture the essence of this turbulent reform period through the eyes of those who experienced it and presents the importance of this experience as a piece of the puzzle in understanding contemporary Russia. It will be an invaluable resource for students of international relations, Russian studies majors, researchers, and members of the general public who are trying to understand the evolution of the current antagonism between the US and Russia. Daniel Satinsky, J.D., M.A.L.D., Consultant, Author, and Associate of Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Creating the Post-Soviet Russian Market Economy: Through American Eyes (Routledge, 2023) captures the essence of the period when Russians and Americans collaborated in creating new structures of government and new businesses in completely uncharted conditions. It presents the experiences of key American participants in late Soviet and post-Soviet Russia during a time when Americans thought anything was possible in Russia. Using an analytic framework of foreground ideas (Western, liberal & neo-liberal) and background forces (Russian cultural influences, nationalism, and lingering Soviet ideology), it examines the ideas and intentions of the people involved. First-person interviews with consultants, businesspeople, and citizen diplomats help capture the essence of this turbulent reform period through the eyes of those who experienced it and presents the importance of this experience as a piece of the puzzle in understanding contemporary Russia. It will be an invaluable resource for students of international relations, Russian studies majors, researchers, and members of the general public who are trying to understand the evolution of the current antagonism between the US and Russia. Daniel Satinsky, J.D., M.A.L.D., Consultant, Author, and Associate of Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Creating the Post-Soviet Russian Market Economy: Through American Eyes (Routledge, 2023) captures the essence of the period when Russians and Americans collaborated in creating new structures of government and new businesses in completely uncharted conditions. It presents the experiences of key American participants in late Soviet and post-Soviet Russia during a time when Americans thought anything was possible in Russia. Using an analytic framework of foreground ideas (Western, liberal & neo-liberal) and background forces (Russian cultural influences, nationalism, and lingering Soviet ideology), it examines the ideas and intentions of the people involved. First-person interviews with consultants, businesspeople, and citizen diplomats help capture the essence of this turbulent reform period through the eyes of those who experienced it and presents the importance of this experience as a piece of the puzzle in understanding contemporary Russia. It will be an invaluable resource for students of international relations, Russian studies majors, researchers, and members of the general public who are trying to understand the evolution of the current antagonism between the US and Russia. Daniel Satinsky, J.D., M.A.L.D., Consultant, Author, and Associate of Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

On this episode, Lera and Cullan chat with Tatiana Tkacheva, a research fellow at the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, about the strategies of the autocrat in dealing with regional governors. In her paper, she and her co-authors attempt to answer this question by using the example of premature withdrawals and dismissals of Russia's regional governors from office. Tatiana also talks about her previous publications about the United Russia (UR) party and their declining popularity in Russia. Thanks for listening! PRODUCER'S NOTE: If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! We are conducting a talent search and are now auditioning university students (graduate level preferred) for all team positions, but especially to be show hosts. Please be in touch if you would like to become a part of the SlavX team. This episode was recorded on November 10th, 2022 in Chicago at the ASEEES 2022 Convention. CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Host/Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Broke For Free, Joey Hendrixx, Polkavant) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Tatiana Tkacheva.

2h31m                                              3h08m NCD SPECIAL GUEST Frank Wright Follow Frank on Twitter/X - @frankwrighter Everyone has known about this for years. This has been an open secret if you were. The truth of the matter is it is deeply crooked and he convicts himself by his own words. It is important to remember and not surrender the fact this should be punished. We are being conditioned to react as if this is normal and we know it isn't. Long term involvement in Ukraine -  It is only a matter of time for them to really nail Hunter Biden and subsequently Joe b/c his son is a drugged up addict and didn't cover his tracks very well. I predict a call will be made “we have the receipt Mr President you need to resign”.  The Democrats have a problem b/c Kamala simply can't be President. Wag The Dog film -  This anti-West sentiment, the Africans have turned away from this and we have pushed them into the hands of the Russians. Putin forgave millions in debt that Africa owed and then said in addition I will give you 50 tons of grain free of charge. HEADLINE: Texas woman attacked by hawk after snake falls out of sky, lands on her by Rebecca Salinas  HEADLINE: World War Weird Part One - A Strategy of Tension by Frank Wright What  has happened to the West? Since the fall of the Soviet Union it has undergone a kind of metamorphosis. Peerless and without restraint, it enjoyed a moment in history of unchallengeable power. This unexpected win resulted not in a golden age, but in a cycle of loss from which there seems to be no escape. This is supposed to be the peace divided - well we never got it! In 2011 Qaddafi warns France: If I go down, you will be flooded w/ “millions of blacks” The argument from justice is used to defend the influx of millions of young men with few skills and little love to offer their new hosts. Their numbers swell an underclass whose low expectations serve to terrorise the native working population with a vertiginous threat. It traumatizes entire populations! To go bomb peoples nations and destroy them simply b/c you can is horrible and it is pure evil. HEADLINE: Androids and Electric Sheep: The Strange Case of Erica Marsh by Frank Wright There is a motive behind the movement of people by mass media, and it is clearly one which serves the interests of power and profit. BlackRock is in the business of chaos, and it is with a weary absence of surprise that it is once more with them that another sordid story ends. The making of belief is another technique, constantly refined, to produce a standard result. It is a model which seeks to profit from the manufacture of enormous loss - of God, of sanity, of society and its order. It is financed and advanced by the world's richest, whose aim is the permanent exclusion of the popular voice from political power. Chaos - there is actually a chaos that does what you describe here w/ Erica Marsh. The solution isn't more laws it's more prayers and holiness. 

Those who ascribe to the Great Powers view of history, may interpret the Russia Ukraine war as a clash of political cultures, part of a wider geo-political game; they may go so far as to suggest that such a civilisational conflict was inevitable. But this interpretation ignores the agency of individuals, groups, and nations in making decisions and in some way absolves them of guilt for the crimes that are being committed on an unimaginable scale against individuals. This macro political interpretation also skirts over the illegality and corruption at the heart of Putin's system of governance; the vertical power structure, rampant nepotism, the lack of checks and balances, rule of law and an independent judiciary is just as important in explaining how we got to this dangerous tipping point in history. Maria Popova is Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University in Montreal. She holds a BA in Spanish Literature and Government from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Government from Harvard University. She has lived and conducted research across Eastern Europe and Eurasia and its various regime incarnations—from growing up in Bulgaria before 1989, through interviewing judges and lawyers in Russia and Ukraine for dissertation research in the 2000s, to her current attempt to disentangle real from fake anti-corruption efforts in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. The ideal background to explore the road to war that Putin has taken.