Podcasts about russian ukrainian

Ankara is aiming to dodge President Donald Trump's threat of sanctions against countries that trade with Russia. While Turkey is the third largest importer of Russian goods, it has largely escaped international sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. However, with Trump vowing to get tough with Moscow if it fails to make peace with Kyiv, that could change. “I am going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today," Trump declared at a press conference on 28 July during his visit to Scotland. "There is no reason to wait 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we don't see any progress being made.”  The American president admitted his efforts to end the Ukraine war had failed and that his patience with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was at an end. Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump   Trump later confirmed 8 August as the date for the new measures. With US-Russian trade down 90 percent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Trump warned that other countries importing Russian goods would also be hit by secondary sanctions. “If you take his [Trump] promises at face value, then he should look at all countries that import any Russian commodities that is of primary importance to the Russian budget - this includes, of course, crude oil, and here you have China and India mostly,” explained George Voloshin of Acams, a global organisation dedicated to anti-financial crime, training and education. Voloshin also claims that Turkey could be a target as well. “In terms of petroleum products, Turkey is one of the big importers. It also refines Russian petroleum in its own refineries," Voloshin added. "Turkey imports lots of Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline. Turkey is very much dependent on Russian gas and Russian petroleum products." Turkey's rivalry with Iran shifts as US threats create unlikely common ground   Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ankara insists it is only bound by United Nations sanctions. Last year, Turkey was Russia's third-largest export market, with Russian natural gas accounting for more than  40 percent of its energy needs. Putin has used Turkey's lack of meaningful domestic energy reserves and dependence on Russian gas to develop a close relationship with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “Putin knows that no matter what Trump wants, Turkey is not going to act in any military or sanctions capacity against Russia and Iran. You know, these are Turkey's red lines. We can't do it,” said analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners. “Trump is 10,000 miles away. These people are our neighbours,” added Yeşilada. “So Putin doesn't think of Turkey as a threat, but as an economic opportunity, and perhaps as a way to do things with the West that he doesn't want to do directly.” Ankara is performing a delicate balancing act. While maintaining trading ties with Russia, Erdoğan remains a strong supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Turkey is a major arms seller to Ukraine, while at the same time, Erdoğan continues to try and broker peace between the warring parties. Last month, Istanbul was the venue for Russian–Ukrainian talks for the second time in as many months. Such efforts drew the praise of Trump. Trump and Erdogan grow closer as cooperation on Syria deepens Trump's pressure mounts on energy and trade The American president has made no secret of his liking for Erdoğan, even calling him a friend. Such close ties, along with Turkey's regional importance to Washington, analysts say, is a factor in Ankara's Western allies turning a blind eye to its ongoing trade with Russia. “I think Turkey has got a pass on several levels from Russian sanctions,” observed regional expert Sinan Ciddi of the Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. However, Ciddi cautions that Trump remains unpredictable and that previous actions are no guarantee for the future. “Past experience is not an indicator of future happenings. We just don't know what Trump will demand. This is not a fully predictive administration in Washington,” Ciddi said. “We do know right now that he [Trump] is very unhappy with Putin. He blames Putin for prolonging the Ukraine war,” added Ciddi. Change of stance "And if he feels sufficiently upset, there is a possibility that no waivers will be granted to any country. Turkey will be up against a very, very unappetising and unenviable set of choices to make.” Trump has successfully lobbied the European Union to increase its purchases of American liquefied natural gas (LNG), replacing Russian imports. Similar demands could put Ankara in a difficult position. “If Trump pressures Turkey not to buy Russian natural gas, that would definitely be a huge shock,” warned Yeşilada. “Trump might say, for instance: 'Buy energy from me or whatever.' But I don't think we're there yet. There is no way Turkey can replace Russian gas.” However, Trump could point to Turkey's recent expansion of its LNG facilities, which now include five terminals and have excess capacity to cover Russian imports, although storage facilities remain a challenge. Turkey's energy infrastructure is also built around receiving Russian energy, and any shift to American energy would likely be hugely disruptive and expensive, at a time when the Turkish economy is in crisis. Putin retains another energy card over Erdoğan. A Russian company is building a huge nuclear power plant in Turkey, which could account for 20 percent of the country's energy needs. Ciddi argues Erdoğan is now paying the price of over-relying on Russia. Turkey's Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity “There is no need to have resorted to making Ankara this dependent on natural gas, nuclear energy, or for that matter bilateral trade. This was a choice by Erdoğan,” said Ciddi. “The fact it is so dependent on so many levels in an almost unique way is something that Turkey will have to rethink.” But for now, Erdoğan will likely be relying on his expertise in diplomatic balancing acts, along with his close ties to Trump and Turkey's importance to Washington's regional goals, to once again escape the worst of any sanctions over Russian trade – although Trump may yet extract a price for such a concession.

On today's show, Ian Hoch has on Matthew in Ukraine to give a boots-on-the-ground update of the Russian/Ukrainian conflict, Susham Modi, a Houston-based immigration attorney & founder of the Modi Law Firm, to discuss how the Trump administration's draconian immigration policies have piled pressure on industries across the US economy, including the food, hospitality, construction, transportation, and care sectors, and Katherine Loflin, an internationally award-winning city consultant and founder of The City Doctor Productions, to discuss the dangers of civic ignorance.

Azerbaijan is increasingly engaging in tit-for-tat actions towards powerful neighbour Russia amid escalating tensions in the South Caucasus region. This comes as Baku deepens its military cooperation with long-standing ally Turkey. In a highly publicised move, Azerbaijani security forces in Baku recently paraded seven arrested Russian journalists – working for the Russian state-funded Sputnik news agency – in front of the media. Their detentions followed the deaths last month of two Azerbaijani nationals in Russian custody, which sparked public outrage in Baku. "That was quite shocking for Baku, for Azerbaijani society – the cruelty of the behaviour and the large-scale violence," Zaur Gasimov of the German Academic Exchange Service, a professor and expert on Azerbaijani-Russian relations told RFI. "And the Russian-wide persecution of the leaders of Azerbaijani diasporic organisations took place (this month)," he added. Tit-for-tat tactics Tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan have been simmering since December, when Russian air defences accidentally downed an Azerbaijani passenger aircraft. Baku strongly condemned Moscow's lack of an official apology. The deaths in custody, which Moscow insisted were from natural causes, and the broader crackdown on Azerbaijan's diaspora are being interpreted in Baku as deliberate signals. "This kind of news had to frighten Azerbaijani society, which is aware of the fact that around two million ethnic Azeris with Azerbaijani and Russian passports are living in the Russian Federation," explained Gasimov. "So the signal is that we can oust them, and they would come to Azerbaijan. That should be an economic threat." Gasimov noted that while Baku may have previously backed down in the face of Russian pressure, this time appears different. "The reaction of Azerbaijan was just to react, with tit-for-tat tactics," he said. Shifting power in Caucasus Baku's self-confidence is partly attributed to its military success in 2020, when it regained control over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and adjacent territories from Armenian forces after a six-week war. "The South Caucasus is changing," noted Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Baku-based Centre for Analysis of International Relations. Shafiyev argues that the era of Moscow treating the region as its backyard is over. "Russia cannot just grasp and accept this change because of its imperial arrogance; it demands subordination, and that has changed for a number of reasons. First of all, due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, and second, due to the trajectory of events following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The third very important factor is Turkey," added Shafiyev. Turkey, a long-standing ally of Azerbaijan, has significantly increased military cooperation and arms sales in recent years. Turkish-made drones played a key role in Azerbaijan's 2020 military campaign. In 2021, the Shusha Declaration was signed, committing both nations to mutual military support in the event of aggression. Turkey also plans to establish one of its largest overseas military bases in Azerbaijan. "A very strong relationship with Ankara, marked by strong cooperation in the economic and military fields for decades, as also outlined in the Shusha Declaration several years ago, is an asset and one of the elements of Azerbaijan's growing self-confidence," said Gasimov. Azerbaijan and Turkey build bridges amid declining influence of Iran Strategic rivalries  Turkey's expanding influence in the South Caucasus – at Russia's expense – is the latest in a series of regional rivalries between the two powers. Turkish-backed forces countered a Russian-aligned warlord in Libya, and Turkey-supported factions have contested Russian influence in Syria. These confrontations have strained the once-close ties between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "No doubt that the Putin-Erdogan relationship is not as good as it used to be because we've either instigated or become participants in events in the South Caucasus and Syria," said analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners. Growing military buildup in Azerbaijan and Armenia a concern for peace talks Nevertheless, Yesilada believes pragmatism will prevail – for now – given Turkey's dependence on Russian energy and trade. "The economic interests are so huge, there is a huge chasm between not being too friendly and being antagonistic. I don't think we've got to that point. If we did, there would be serious provocations in Turkey," he warned. Until now, Turkish and Russian leaders have largely managed to compartmentalise their differences. However, that approach may soon face its toughest test yet, as Azerbaijan remains a strategic priority for Turkey, while Russia has long considered the Caucasus to be within its traditional sphere of influence. "We don't know what will be Russia's next target. We cannot exclude that Russia might be quite assertive in the South Caucasus in the future," warned Shafiyev. "I think the easiest way is to build friendly relationships and economic partnerships with the countries of the South Caucasus. Unfortunately, Moscow looks like it's not ready for a partnership. But if it's ready, we would welcome it," he added.

Tonight on the Brian Crombie Hour, Brian interviews Elena Davlikanova and Sargent Yevheniy Malik about the war in Ukraine. Yevheniy, a veteran of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Elena Davlikanova, Senior Fellow with Sahaidachnyi Security Centre in Ukraine and Centre for European Policy Analysis in DC, discuss Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.Yevheniy shares his experiences fighting in Russian regions and being held as a prisoner of war, describing it as the worst period of his life. He shared his experiences during the battle of Mariupol, where his unit, alongside the Azov Regiment, held off Russian forces despite being surrounded. He explains that the city was eventually destroyed by Russian airstrikes, and the remaining defenders were captured. Yevheniy notes that the Ukrainian military's resilience and strategic actions, including creating a new front line, have hindered Russian advances, leading to a stalemate.Elena explains that Russia's intensified drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians aim to break Ukrainian spirit and force a government compromise on Russian peace terms, which would threaten Ukraine's existence. She emphasizes that despite the attacks, Ukrainian forces are holding firm on the front lines, and the country is developing anti-drone defenses like the Clear Sky project in Kiev. Together Elena and Yevheniy discuss the historical context of Russian-Ukrainian relations, highlighting how Russian propaganda has fueled anti-Ukrainian sentiment, and Elena stressed that Ukrainians are determined to resist Russian occupation and maintain their way of life.

Propaganda has long been a powerful tool for shaping public opinion, influencing international discourse, and justifying military actions. In Russia's war against Ukraine, propaganda has been a central instrument for creating narratives that legitimize aggression, undermine democracy, and manipulate perceptions both domestically and internationally. This episode is a recording of a public event held by Central European University in Vienna. The speakers of the event were: - Teresa Marques, a philosopher of language, Associate Professor at the Philosophy Department of the University of Barcelona - Juliane Fürst, a historian, professor at the Department of Historical Studies at Central European University. - Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, president of PEN Ukraine and chief editor of UkraineWorld. The event was moderated by Fabio Lampert, Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Vienna. It was organized by the Knowledge in Crisis, a Cluster of Excellence supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). *** UkraineWorld is run by Internews Ukraine, one of the country's leading media NGOs. You can support our work at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Your support is crucial, as we increasingly rely on crowdfunding. Even a small monthly contribution can make a meaningful difference. You can also help fund our regular volunteer missions to Ukraine's front-line areas, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians—primarily by providing vehicles for the military and books for local communities. To support these efforts, donations can be made via PayPal at ukraine.resisting@gmail.com. *** Contents: 00:00 Intro 01:59 The story from Bucha 07:02 How can philosophers define propaganda? 13:31 How crucial was propaganda for the Soviet Union? 18:58 How does Russia frame information? 24:01 How does virtuality become reality? 33:34 Weaponization of the language 40:09 Putin's rhetoric in the Russian-Ukrainian war 49:54 What role does the information play in the Russian-Ukrainian war? 01:00 How do we counter propaganda? 01:14 Q&A 01:18 How does Russian propaganda name this war: the tactic of blaming the victim 01:22 Skeptical view: Is propaganda ineffective? 01:36 How does propaganda shape the war perceptions of Russia's National Republics? 01:44 Isolationism as a new narrative 01:56 Outro

Have you ever wondered how to turn a lifelong passion for food into a celebrated career? In this episode, I sit down with the wonderfully creative food photographer, stylist, and cookbook author, Murielle Banackissa. Murielle shares the story of her creative journey, from her childhood memories in the Republic of Congo to her family's move to Montreal.   Join us as we explore how Murielle masterfully blends her Congolese and Russian-Ukrainian heritage into mouth-watering vegan recipes that might just have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about vegan food. We'll dig into how she organically merged her love for cooking and photography, turning a social media trend into a thriving business and eventually, a beautiful cookbook. This conversation is a heartfelt exploration of identity, the courage to follow your own path, and the magic that happens when you slow down and savor the process.   Chapters   00:00 - From Pointe Noire to Montreal: A Creative Childhood 02:49 - Early Food Memories and Creative Pursuits 06:02 - Merging Passion for Food and Photography 09:38 - The Comfort Foods of Home: A Taste of Heritage 11:30 - The Art and Science of Recipe Development 13:59 - A Cookbook Dream Come True 16:34 - Conceptualizing "Savoring": Memories on a Plate 19:19 - The Four-Year Journey to "Savoring" 21:15 - Finding Joy in Slowing Down the Cooking Process 25:06 - Cultivating an Authentic and Unfussy Style 27:24 - Trusting the Process: Advice to Her Younger Self Connect With Murielle: Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muriellebanackissa/?hl=en Murielle's Website: https://muriellebanackissa.com/ Buy Murielle's Cookbook: https://muriellebanackissa.com/savoring/   Support the Show Website: www.martineseverin.com Follow on Instagram: @martine.severin | @thisishowwecreate_ Subscribe to the Newsletter: www.martineseverin.substack.com This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Santiago Cardona and Daniel Espinosa.   Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts Leave a review Follow us on social media Share with fellow creatives  

Mitzi Perdue: A Woman of Action! Mitzi Perdue is the daughter of the man who started the Sheraton Hotel Chain and she married Frank Perdue of Perdue Chicken. While you might think that this woman wouldn't ever need to work, she is a powerhouse of action. In this episode, she talks about amazing lessons she learned from her dad that can help you in your business. She also talks about how, in her 80's, she is traveling back and forth to the Ukraine, assisting with fighting human trafficking and helping to develop AI to give mental health advice in an area where there are not enough mental health professionals to meet the overwhelming demand. Learn how they are using technology to help people in a way that is low on judgment and delivers amazing words of wisdom to help victims of crimes, including those who watched family members be killed or that suffered from rape. This may be the future of worldwide help for people's mental health! You can read her articles about the human side of the Russian-Ukrainian war at MitziPerdue.com and can help donate to the mental health efforts in Ukraine by going to MentalHelp.Global. Learn how she is making the world a better place and you can too! www.MitziPerdue.com www.MentalHelp.Global Sponsors: American Gold Exchange Our dealer for precious metals & the exclusive dealer of Real Power Family silver rounds (which we finally got in!!!). Get your first, or next bullion order from American Gold Exchange like we do. Tell them the Real Power Family sent you! Click on this link to get a FREE Starters Guide. Advanta IRA Our family has our IRA's & HSA at Advanta IRA. Set up a truly Self-Directed Roth or Traditional IRA, HSA, 401k or other accounts with Advanta IRA & you can invest in hard assets like we do. We own Real Estate, Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, Notes & even private placements in our retirement accounts. With Advanta IRA you can too! They will waive the application fee on new accounts when you mention the Real Power Family.

Newt talks with Anatol Lieven, Director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the escalating conflict between Ukraine and Russia, highlighting recent drone attacks by Ukraine on Russian aircraft and Russia's subsequent retaliatory strikes. Lieven provides insights into the historical and current dynamics of Russian Ukrainian relations. They discuss the stability of Putin's regime, the impact of military technology on warfare, and the strategic implications for the United States and Europe. They also touch on the potential consequences for neighboring countries and the geopolitical complexities involving China.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations are in Istanbul for a second round of peace talks. This is the second round of direct talks in recent weeks under the mediation of Turkiye.

The civil defence agency in Gaza says the Israeli military has killed almost one-hundred people in the past twelve hours in another intense wave of strikes in the north. The Israeli military said it had hit scores of "terror targets" and was trying to dismantle their infrastructure. We will hear why the medical charity MSF rejects a new plan to deliver some aid to Gaza by the US-backed organisation the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.Also in the programme: the first direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in more than three years have led to an agreement to swap 1,000 prisoners of war, and the American composer, Charles Strouse, who wrote the hit Broadway musical Annie has died aged 96.(Picture: Displaced Palestinians flee their homes in the town of Beit Lahia, north of Gaza City. Credit: HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

AP Washington correspondent reports on direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks ending quickly in Turkey.

Today on Upstream, we're sharing Erik Torenberg conversation with Samo Burja where they discuss the Bronze Age collapse, technological advancements in ancient civilizations, and the nuanced history of the Roman Empire, along with a detailed analysis of contemporary geopolitical dynamics, particularly focusing on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and its implications for global power structures. —

Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Russian-Ukrainian conflicts, US-Canadian tariff discussions, ASEAN financial initiatives, and Singapore's election turnout. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times. Written by: Howie Lim / Claressa Monteiro (claremb@sph.com.sg) Produced and edited by: Claressa Monteiro Produced by: BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media --- Follow Lens On Daily and rate us on: Channel: bt.sg/btlenson Amazon: bt.sg/lensam Apple Podcasts: bt.sg/lensap Spotify: bt.sg/lenssp YouTube Music: bt.sg/lensyt Website: bt.sg/lenson Feedback to: btpodcasts@sph.com.sg Do note: This podcast is meant to provide general information only. SPH Media accepts no liability for loss arising from any reliance on the podcast or use of third party’s products and services. Please consult professional advisors for independent advice. Discover more BT podcast series: BT Mark To Market at: bt.sg/btmark2mkt WealthBT at: bt.sg/btpropertybt PropertyBT at: bt.sg/btmktfocus BT Money Hacks at: bt.sg/btmoneyhacks BT Market Focus at: bt.sg/btmktfocus BT Podcasts at: bt.sg/podcasts BT Branded Podcasts at: bt.sg/brpod BT Lens On: bt.sg/btlensonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, is a native of Kyiv. In this conversation, we discuss two books. Our Enemies Will Vanish (Penguin Press, 2024), is a nonfiction narrative chronicling Putin's invasion of Ukraine through the reporter Trofimov's eyes. No Country for Love (Abacus Books, 2024), is his novel tracing the path of a young woman, the character based on his grandmother, on an arduous journey starting in 1930s Soviet Ukraine. Both books, as different as they are, cast a revealing light on the oppressions visited on the diverse peoples of Ukraine. In our talk, Trofimov offers insights into the books and also a guide as to how the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war might be concluded. 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

Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, is a native of Kyiv. In this conversation, we discuss two books. Our Enemies Will Vanish (Penguin Press, 2024), is a nonfiction narrative chronicling Putin's invasion of Ukraine through the reporter Trofimov's eyes. No Country for Love (Abacus Books, 2024), is his novel tracing the path of a young woman, the character based on his grandmother, on an arduous journey starting in 1930s Soviet Ukraine. Both books, as different as they are, cast a revealing light on the oppressions visited on the diverse peoples of Ukraine. In our talk, Trofimov offers insights into the books and also a guide as to how the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war might be concluded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, is a native of Kyiv. In this conversation, we discuss two books. Our Enemies Will Vanish (Penguin Press, 2024), is a nonfiction narrative chronicling Putin's invasion of Ukraine through the reporter Trofimov's eyes. No Country for Love (Abacus Books, 2024), is his novel tracing the path of a young woman, the character based on his grandmother, on an arduous journey starting in 1930s Soviet Ukraine. Both books, as different as they are, cast a revealing light on the oppressions visited on the diverse peoples of Ukraine. In our talk, Trofimov offers insights into the books and also a guide as to how the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war might be concluded. 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

Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, is a native of Kyiv. In this conversation, we discuss two books. Our Enemies Will Vanish (Penguin Press, 2024), is a nonfiction narrative chronicling Putin's invasion of Ukraine through the reporter Trofimov's eyes. No Country for Love (Abacus Books, 2024), is his novel tracing the path of a young woman, the character based on his grandmother, on an arduous journey starting in 1930s Soviet Ukraine. Both books, as different as they are, cast a revealing light on the oppressions visited on the diverse peoples of Ukraine. In our talk, Trofimov offers insights into the books and also a guide as to how the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war might be concluded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. 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

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. 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

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of these questions. In Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine (Oxford UP, 2015), Serhiy Kudelia offers an authoritative study of the conflict at its initial stage--2013-14--based on a meticulous comparison of mobilization dynamics in over dozen towns of Donbas as well as in two major cities outside of it: Kharkiv and Odesa. Through his extensive travels and numerous interviews with conflict witnesses and participants, Kudelia explains how a small group of Russian agents and local militants succeeded in eliminating state control over the largest and most densely urbanized region of Ukraine but failed to do it elsewhere. Kudelia challenges the conventional accounts of the armed conflict in Donbas, which portray it either as an interstate conflict entirely manufactured by Moscow or as a civil war that broke out without any external influence. Instead, he argues that local actors prepared ideological and organizational basis for the uprising, but the successful spread of separatist control resulted from the covert intervention of Russian agents and widespread collaboration with them of town administrators and community activists. His findings also show that when enough members of local communities organized to resist militant takeovers, the separatist challenges there quickly dissipated. A fine-grained and highly original on-the-ground analysis of the origins of the wider Russian-Ukrainian war that broke out in 2022, this book offers broader insights into the conditions under which external intervention may trigger the rise of an armed insurgency in a society torn apart by political and ideological disagreements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Today on America in the Morning   Trump & Bukele Talk Crime Saying that President Trump has 350 million Americans to “liberate” by ending crime, the president of El Salvador became the latest head of state to visit the White House. Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports the president continues to float the idea that American citizens could also find their way into El Salvador's notorious prison, the same facility housing a Maryland man recently deported.    California Earthquake The Earth moved under the feet of millions in Southern California which was rocked by a strong earthquake centered near San Diego on Monday. Correspondent Julie Walker reports.    Harvard Funding Cut After Harvard University challenged President Trump by saying they would reject the administration's demands for changes to admissions and DEI policy, within hours the Department of Education froze more than $2 billion in school funding. America in the Morning's Jeff McKay has details.    Changes At The Border The Trump Administration is considering using a stretch of land along the U-S - Mexico border to detain illegal immigrants. Correspondent Clayton Neville reports.     Pepsi & Sharpton A major company has agreed to meet with the Reverend Al Sharpton, and it has to do with DEI rules and a potential boycott. Lisa Dwyer reports.    It's Tax Day It's Tax Day, and most taxpayers are staring down a deadline today for filing their taxes, unless they ask for an extension or reside in one of 13 states where the IRS has extended the filing cutoff date due to natural disasters in those areas.          Arrest Details Of Arson At Pennsylvania Governor's Home We're learning more about the scope of the damage, and the suspect, in the weekend arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Correspondent Clayton Neville reports.    Latest On Russia-Ukraine There's international condemnation of a Russian military strike in Ukraine just east of the Russian-Ukrainian border that killed or wounded over 140 people. Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports the attack comes as Volodymyr Zelensky invited President Trump to visit Kyiv before any deal is struck with Vladimir Putin.    Latest On NYC Helicopter Crash Federal investigators appear to be closer to finding the cause of last week's deadly helicopter crash in the Hudson River in New York City. Bob Brown has details from New York.    Arrest In Tulsi Gabbard Threat Police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly sending threatening messages to director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her husband.    Latest US Attack On Houthis In Yemen, members of the Iranian-backed Houthis say a suspected U.S. airstrike has killed at least 6 people. Correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports.   Judge Blocks Trump Immigration Order A federal judge on Monday night blocked the Trump administration from revoking the legal status and work permits of the more than 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who flew into the United States during former President Joe Biden's time in office.     Tech News In a bold move, NVIDIA has decided to move its chip and A-I supercomputer manufacturing to the United States. Here's Chuck Palm with today's tech news. Finally   A historic private launch by Blue Origin sent an all-female celebrity crew on their first space journey.  Correspondent Julie Walker has the recap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Los Angeles has only issue 4 permits to rebuild homes after the devastating wildfires, what is taking so long? Putin refuses to engage in peace talks in the Russian Ukrainian war.

Grain futures varied with soybeans up slightly, wheat and corn down amid uncertain Russian-Ukrainian ceasefire impacts. Ethanol data affected corn markets; soybeans rose due to soybean oil gains.

Ilya Ponomarev is a Russian-Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016. After the 2022 Russian invasion, Ponomarev joined Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces, and categorically denounced the invasion. While a member of the Russian State Duma, he was the only deputy not to vote in favour of the Russian gay propaganda law and to vote against Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. He is now in exile in Ukraine and is a spokesman with insurgent Russian forces (National Republican Army) fighting on the side of Ukraine. ----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------LINKS:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Ponomarev https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002113qhttps://www.fpri.org/contributor/ilya-ponomarev/BOOKS:Does Putin Have to Die? The Story of How Russia Becomes a Democracy after Losing to Ukraine (Hardcover – 19 Jan. 2023)ARTICLES: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/19/ilya-ponomaryov-we-have-to-capture-the-kremlin-there-is-no-other-way-a83772 ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: 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.

“The Nose” may be Nikolai Gogol’s most famous short story. It’s a surrealist — and self-consciously, self-awarely surrealist — story about a man whose nose disappears from his face and reappears in another man’s biscuits. And other places. There’s a moment toward the end of Susanne Fusso’s translation when the narrator says, “The strangest and most incomprehensible thing of all — is that writers can choose such plots.” Well, yes. Nikolai Gogol was a 19th-century Russian/Ukrainian novelist and playwright. One of his best-known plays, The Inspector, opens this week at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven. And that short story, “The Nose,” might well be intertwined with the mythology of our little public radio show. This hour, a look at the writer Nikolai Gogol. GUESTS: Susanne Fusso: Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies at Wesleyan University and the author of a number of books, including Designing Dead Souls: An Anatomy of Disorder in Gogol and a recent translation, The Nose and Other Stories by Nikolai Gogol Yura Kordonsky: The adaptor and director of the Yale Repertory Theatre’s production of The Inspector Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we're talking about the latest in the Russian/Ukrainian war, the official cause of death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, updates from the Trump Administration, and other top news for Monday, March 10th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! Parenting with Ginger Hubbard: https://links.thepourover.org/ParentingwithGingerHubbard The Bulletin: MoreCT.com/BulletinPodcast Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside Cru: give.cru.org/pour LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT_Podcast HelloFresh: hellofresh.com/hellofreshpodcast One Year Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/OneYearBible_Pod World Relief: https://links.thepourover.org/WorldRelief_Pod The Chronological Life Application Study Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/LASB_0215 Student Life Application Study Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/SLASB_Pod

When President Donald Trump was elected, he promised to clean up the foreign affairs mess left by his predecessor - specifically the Russian-Ukrainian war. Professor at Regent University, Dr. A.J. Nolte, joins Joseph Backholm to explore America’s stance on Ukraine, the Biden administration’s role, and whether the U.S. should engage with Putin. Why is Trump the only president who seems willing to talk to Russia? What mistakes has Zelensky made, and is Ukraine’s corruption a barrier to peace? They break down the challenges of a deal, military risks, and the future of power in the region.

When President Donald Trump was elected, he promised to clean up the foreign affairs mess left by his predecessor - specifically the Russian-Ukrainian war. Professor at Regent University, Dr. A.J. Nolte, joins Joseph Backholm to explore America's stance on Ukraine, the Biden administration's role, and whether the U.S. should engage with Putin. Why is Trump the only president who seems willing to talk to Russia? What mistakes has Zelensky made, and is Ukraine's corruption a barrier to peace? They break down the challenges of a deal, military risks, and the future of power in the region.

When President Donald Trump was elected, he promised to clean up the foreign affairs mess left by his predecessor - specifically the Russian-Ukrainian war. Professor at Regent University, Dr. A.J. Nolte, joins Joseph Backholm to explore America’s stance on Ukraine, the Biden administration’s role, and whether the U.S. should engage with Putin. Why is Trump the only president who seems willing to talk to Russia? What mistakes has Zelensky made, and is Ukraine’s corruption a barrier to peace? They break down the challenges of a deal, military risks, and the future of power in the region.

Today on AirTalk, LA County, the city of Pasadena and Sierra Madre have announced lawsuits against SoCal Edison over the responsibility for the devastating Eaton Fire. Former National Security Council European Affairs director, Alexander Vindman, on his new book about the U.S. role in Russian-Ukrainian relations. A psychologist is here to talk about validation and why we crave it. What roles do animals play for humans in difficult times? We're talking about the Big Bear eaglets and what it is about stories like theirs that draw us in. Call in and share which shows you just couldn't bring yourself to watch. For TV Talk we're covering Deli Boys, Will Trent, and the future of ceremonies on live TV. Today on AirTalk: LA County sues SoCal Edison over Eaton Fire (0:15) New book on the U.S. role in Russian-Ukrainian relations (16:14) Why do we crave validation? (34:10) What draws humans to animals in hard times? (51:49) TV Shows you couldn't finish (1:08:03) TV Talk: Deli Boys and more! (1:29:19)

Given the shameful American sacrifice of Ukraine, there will be few timelier movies than Anna Kryvenko's upcoming “This House is Undamaged”,. It will be an Orwellian documentary examining the Russian destruction of Mariupol, the Ukrainian city devastated by Putin's invasion in 2022. Krivenko, a Fellow at the Artist in Residence program, Institute for Advanced Studies at CEU, explains how Russian authorities are rapidly rebuilding and selling properties there while erasing Ukrainian history and creating the big lie of Mariupol as a historically Russian city. Kryvenko, originally from Kyiv, also discusses the parallels between Putin's and Trump's lies about Ukraine, summarizing their fundamental misrepresentation of the truth as a "carnival of hypocrisy."Here are the five KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with Kryvenko:* The Russians are engaged in a systematic erasure of Mariupol's Ukrainian identity, not just through physical reconstruction but through an aggressive propaganda campaign that claims the city was "always Russian." This reconstruction effort began shortly after the city's destruction in 2022.* Pre-war Mariupol was not characterized by deep Russian-Ukrainian divisions as Russian propaganda claims. According to Kryvenko, language differences weren't a source of conflict before political forces deliberately weaponized them.* The rebuilding of Mariupol has a dark commercial aspect - Russians are selling apartments in reconstructed buildings, sometimes in properties where the original Ukrainian owners were killed, and marketing them as vacation properties while ignoring the city's tragic recent history.* There's a humanitarian crisis unfolding as some Ukrainians are being forced to return to occupied Mariupol because they have nowhere else to live, with Kryvenko citing statistics that around 150,000 people returned to occupied territories by the end of 2024.* The filmmaker is using a unique methodology of gathering evidence through social media content, vlogs, and propaganda materials to document both the physical transformation of the city and the narrative being constructed around it, rather than traditional documentary filming techniques.Transcript of Anna Kryvenko InterviewAndrew Keen: Hello, everybody. As the situation in Ukraine becomes more absurd, it seems as if the lies of Donald Trump and the lies of Vladimir Putin are becoming increasingly similar. Trump has been talking about Zelensky and Ukraine, what is described as a barrage of lies. As CNN reports, Trump falsely called Zelensky a dictator. It's becoming more and more absurd. It's almost as if the whole script was written by some Central European or East Central European absurdist. Meanwhile, the Russians continue to lie as well. There was an interesting piece recently in the Wall Street Journal about Russia wanting to erase Ukraine's future and its past. My guest today, Anna Kryvenko, is a filmmaker. She's the director of an important new movie in the process of being made called "This House Is Undamaged." She's a visual fellow at the Central European University, and she's joining us from Budapest today. Congratulations on "This House is Undamaged." Before we talk specifically about the film, do you agree with my observations that there seems to be an increasingly eerie synergy between the lies coming out of Washington, D.C. and Moscow, between Trump and Putin?Anna Kryvenko: I think the situation is becoming more crazy and absurd. That's a better word to use in this situation. For me, all of this looks like some carnival of hypocrisy. It's unbelievable that someone can use the word "dictator" in comparison with Vladimir Putin or speaking about this 4% of the people who support Zelensky when he says it's only four persons. It looks completely absurd. And this information comes from Moscow, not from actual Ukrainian statistics.Andrew Keen: The phrase you use "carnival of hypocrisy" I think is a good description. I might even use that in the title of this conversation. It's almost as if Trump in particular is parodying himself, but he seems so separated from reality that it seems as if he's actually being serious, at least from my position in California. How does it look from your perspective in Budapest? You're originally from Ukraine, so obviously you have a particular interest in this situation.Anna Kryvenko: I don't even know what to think because it's changing so fast into absurd situations. Every day when I open the news, I'm speaking with people and it looks like some kind of farce. You're expecting that the next day someone will tell you that this is a joke or something, but it's not. It's really hard to believe that this is reality now, but unfortunately it is.Andrew Keen: Kundera wrote his famous novel "The Joke" as a parody of the previous authoritarian regime in Central Europe. Your new movie, "This House is Undamaged" - I know you are an artist in residence at the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University - is very much in that vein. Tell us about the project.Anna Kryvenko: We're in work in progress. I was doing research in the archives and internet archives. This documentary film will explore the transformation of Mariupol, a Ukrainian city that was destroyed by the Russian invasion in 2022. I will use only archives and found footage materials from people who are in Mariupol now, or who were in Mariupol at the time of invasion, who were actually trying to film what's going on. Sometimes I'll also use propaganda images from Russia, from Russian authorities. In May 2022, Mariupol, after intense fighting, was almost completely destroyed.Andrew Keen: Tell us the story of Mariupol, this town on the old border of Russia and Ukraine. It's in the southeast of Ukraine.Anna Kryvenko: It's on the shore of the Azov Sea. It's part of Donetsk region. It was always an industrial city, most known for the Azovstal factory. In 2022, after incredible brutality of Russian war against Ukraine, this strategically important city was almost completely destroyed in May 2022 and was occupied by Russian government. About 90% of buildings were destroyed or demolished in some way.Andrew Keen: The Russians have essentially leveled the town, perhaps in the same way as the Israelis have essentially destroyed Gaza.Anna Kryvenko: Exactly. For a lot of people, we have this image of destroyed Mariupol until today. But after these terrible events, the Russians started this big campaign to rebuild the city. Of course, we know it was done just to erase all the scars of war, to erase it from the city's history. They started the reconstruction. Some people who stayed in Mariupol thought they would have new housing since they had no place to live. But business is business - Russian authorities started to sell these apartments to Russian citizens.Andrew Keen: I'm surprised Trump hasn't got involved. Given his real estate background and his cozy relationship with Putin, maybe Trump real estate will start selling real estate in Mariupol.Anna Kryvenko: I was thinking the same thing this last week. It was looking like such an absurd situation with Mariupol. But now we are in this business mode again with Ukraine and all the minerals. It's only the economical part of war they look at.Andrew Keen: He probably would come up with some argument why he really owns Mariupol.Anna Kryvenko: Yes.Andrew Keen: Coming back to the Wall Street Journal piece about Russia wanting to erase Ukraine's future and its past - you're originally from Kyiv. Is it the old East Central European business of destroying history and creating a new narrative that somehow conforms to how you want history to have been made?Anna Kryvenko: I was really shocked at how fast this idea of Russian Mariupol is repeating after two years in Russian media, official and semi-professional blogs, YouTube, and so forth. As a person working with this type of material, watching videos every day to find what I need, I'm listening to these people doing propaganda from Mariupol, saying "we are citizens of the city and it's always been Russian." They're repeating this all the time. Even when I'm hearing this - of course it was always a Ukrainian city, it's completely absurd, it's 100% disinformation. But when you're hearing this repeated in different contexts all the time, you start to think about it.Andrew Keen: It's the same tactics as Trump. If you keep saying something, however absurd it sounds or is, if you keep saying it enough times, some people at least start believing it. You're not a historian or political scientist, but Mariupol is in the part of Ukraine which had a significant population of Russian-speaking people. Some of the people that you're filming and featuring in your movie - are they Russians who have moved into Mariupol from some other part of Russia, or are they people originally from Mariupol who are somehow embracing their new Russian overlords?Anna Kryvenko: The people I'm watching on social media, most of them say they're from Mariupol. But you can find journalistic articles showing they're actually paid by the Russian government. It's paid propaganda and they're repeating the same narrative. It's important that they're always repeating "we were born in Mariupol" and "we want the city to be Russian." But of course, you can see it's from the same propaganda book as 2014 with Crimea. They're repeating the same narrative from Soviet times - they just changed "Soviet Union" to "Russia" and "the West" to "European Union."Andrew Keen: You grew up in Kyiv, so you're familiar with all these current and historical controversies. What's your take on Mariupol before 2020, before it was flattened by the Russians? Was it a town where Russian-speaking and Ukrainian people were neighbors and friends? Were there always deep divisions between the Russian and Ukrainian speaking populations there?Anna Kryvenko: It's hard to explain because you need to dig deeper to explain the Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking parts of Ukraine. But it was never a problem before Yanukovych became prime minister and then president. It was his strategy to create this polarization of Ukraine - that the western part wants to be part of the European Union and the eastern part wants to be part of Russia because of language, and they cannot live together. But it's not true. For me as a person from Kyiv, from the center of the country, with friends from different parts of Ukraine, it was never a problem. I'm from a Russian-speaking family and have many friends from Ukrainian-speaking families. It was never a question. We were in a kind of symbiotic connection. All schools were in Ukrainian, universities in Ukrainian. We were bilingual. It was not a problem to communicate.Some of this division came from Yanukovych's connections to Putin and his propaganda. It was important for them to say "we are Russian-speaking people, and because we are Russian-speaking, we want to be part of Russia." But I have friends from Mariupol, and after 2014, when war in eastern Ukraine started and Mariupol was bombed a few times, it became a really good city to live in. There were many cultural activities. I know friends who were originally from Mariupol, studied in Kyiv in theater or visual art, and went back to Mariupol because it was a good place for their art practice. Ukraine is still a bit centralized, with most activity in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and the big cities, but Mariupol wasn't a city with internal conflict. It's weird that so fast after 2022, people started saying it was always problematic in wanting to be part of Russia. It was never like that.Andrew Keen: It's as if I lived for a year in Bosnia before the civil war, and it was almost as if ethnicity was invented by the nationalist Serbian regime. It seems as if the Putin regime is doing or has done the same thing in the eastern part of Ukraine.Anna Kryvenko: Yes.Andrew Keen: You talk to lots of friends still and you're from Kyiv originally, and obviously your professional life remains focused on the situation. In late February 2025, what's your sense of how Ukrainians are feeling given what Trump is now saying?Anna Kryvenko: I think a lot of people in Ukraine or Ukrainians abroad are feeling lonely, that they don't have support. Again we are in this situation where you have big deals about Ukraine without Ukraine. You feel like nothing, just an empty space on a map with minerals or sea access. We're just sitting there waiting while they're agreeing on deals. That's the negative layer. But it's important for all Ukrainians to be together and speak about the situation. After Trump's words about the 4% support for Zelensky, there were statistics from last year showing 57-55% support for Zelensky. Today, after these few days, new statistics show 65% support.Andrew Keen: Zelensky started his political career as a satirical comedian, and it's as if he's participating in his own comedy - as if he's almost paid Trump to promote him. What about the broader take on the US? Obviously Trump isn't all America, but he was just elected a couple of months ago. Are your Ukrainian friends and associates, as well as many people at the Central European University in Budapest, taking this as a message from America itself, or are people able to separate Trump and America?Anna Kryvenko: This is a hard question because we always know that you have a president or representative figure, but that's not the whole state. I spoke with someone from our university who was in Pennsylvania before the election, and he said all the people were pro-Trump. The logic was really simple - "he's good" and "he will stop this war" - though people sometimes don't even know which war or which country. They're just repeating the same talking points.Andrew Keen: It's sort of Orwellian in the sense that it's just war and it doesn't really matter who's involved - he's just going to stop it.Anna Kryvenko: It reminded me of how everyone was repeating about Lukashenko from Belarus that "he's a good manager" and can manage things, and that's why he's still president - not that he's a dictator killing his opponents. They use this to explain why he's good and people choose him. Now with Trump, they say "he's a good businessman," but we can see how this business works. Today, someone from Trump's administration said Zelensky needs to stop being arrogant because Trump is in a bad mood. In what world are we living where this is used as an argument?Andrew Keen: Coming back to real estate, he probably sees Mariupol as a nice strip on the Black Sea, like Gaza, which he sees as a valuable strip on the Mediterranean for real estate development. I found an interesting piece online about the Russian invasion, "When Buildings Can Talk: The Real Face of Civilian Infrastructure Ruined by Russian Invaders." In a way, your project "This House is Undamaged" is your way of making buildings talk. Is that fair?Anna Kryvenko: I think it's the best description you can use.Andrew Keen: Perhaps you might explain how and why.Anna Kryvenko: This name "This House is Undamaged" might or might not be the final name. For me, it's important because after the first months when it started to be a Russian city, some people were trying to sell apartments just to have some money. The reconstruction started a bit later. They were using video websites like Craigslist. It immediately became Russian, part of Russian territory. People from different Russian regions who saw this opportunity were trying to buy something because prices were so cheap. People needed money to buy a ticket and go to other cities or to relatives. In every advertisement, there was this phrase "this house has no damages" or "this house is undamaged." You had to put it there even if it wasn't true - you could see pictures where one building had a hole, but they were still saying "this house is undamaged."Andrew Keen: It's just again coming back to the carnival of hypocrisy or the carnival of absurd hypocrisy - you see these completely destroyed homes, and then you have the signs from the Russians saying this house is undamaged.Anna Kryvenko: It was also interesting why some people from Russia want to buy apartments in Mariupol, in these reconstructed buildings with weird pro-Russian murals - it's like Stalinism. They don't even know where Mariupol is - they think it's somewhere near Crimea, but it's not the Black Sea, it's the Azov Sea, an industrial region. It's not the best place to live. But they think it will be some kind of resort. They're living somewhere in Russia and think they can buy a cheap apartment and use it as a resort for a few months. This is absurd because the city was completely destroyed. You still have mass graves. Sometimes they're selling apartments where they can't even find the owner because the whole family is dead.On Google Maps, someone made an alternative version where you can see all the buildings that were destroyed, because officially you can't find this information anywhere. People were putting crosses where they knew someone died in a building - entire families. And after this, people are buying their apartments. For me, this is unbearable. You can do research about what you're doing, but people are lazy and don't want to do this work.Andrew Keen: It comes back to the Journal piece about Russia literally erasing not just Ukraine's past but also its future, creating a culture of amnesia. It's chilling on so many levels. But it's the old game - it's happened before in that part of the world and no doubt will happen again. As a filmmaker, what particular kind of political or aesthetic responsibility do you have? People have been writing - I mentioned Kundera, Russian writers, Gogol - satires of this kind of absurd political power for centuries. But as a filmmaker, what kind of responsibility do you have? How does your form help you make this argument of essentially restoring the past, of telling the truth?Anna Kryvenko: A lot of filmmakers in Ukraine, with the start of invasion, just brought cameras and started making films. The first goal wasn't to make a film but to document the crimes. My case is different - not only because my family's in Ukraine and I have many friends there and lived there until my twenties. For the last ten years, since the Maidan events in 2013-2014, I started working with archive and found footage material. This is my methodology. For me, it's not important to go somewhere and document. It's more interesting to use media deconstruction from propaganda sources, maybe from Ukrainian sources also because it's a question of ideology.One of my favorite materials now is people doing vlogs - just with their camera or mobile phone going from Russia to Crimea or back. You only have two ways to go there because airports aren't working, so you go through the Kerch-Crimea bridge. Now because of Mariupol's strategic location, you can go through there, so you have two different roads. People from different Russian cities sometimes film their road and say "what is this, is it destroyed?" This is the average Russian person, and you can hear the propaganda they're repeating or what they're really thinking. For me, it's important to show these different points of view from people who were there or are there now. I don't have the opportunity as a Ukrainian citizen to go there. Through this method, in the near future when I finish this film, we can have testimonies from the inside. We don't need to wait for the war to end because we don't know how or when it ends. It's important to show it to people who maybe don't know anything about what's going on in Mariupol.Andrew Keen: Given the abundance of video on the internet, on platforms like YouTube, how do you distinguish between propaganda and truth yourself in terms of taking some of these segments to make your film? It could be conceivable that some of the more absurd videos are put out by Ukrainians to promote their own positions and undermine the Russians. Have you found that? Is there a propaganda war on YouTube and other platforms between Ukrainian and Russian nationalists? And as a filmmaker who's trying to archive the struggle in an honest way, how do you deal with that?Anna Kryvenko: Of course, there are many people, and Mariupol is the best example because the Russian government is paying people to repeat pro-Russian ideology. Sometimes you can see just an average person from Mariupol going with a camera and shooting something without speaking - this is just documentation. Sometimes you have Russian people there for some days just saying something. And of course, you get different segments of real propaganda from some ministry in Russia with drone material and big music. I'm always trying to question myself: What am I looking at? Who is speaking? On technical aspects, why is this like this? It helps me to be holistic.Of course, I'm from Ukraine, and sometimes this is the most uncomfortable - you can hear actual people from Mariupol saying something you don't want to hear because it's not your point of view on the war. But these are people really from the city giving some kind of realistic point of view on the situation. It's sad, but there were statistics at the end of 2024 that about 150,000 people were returning to occupied territories, not only to Mariupol but all occupied territories. Maybe 40% were coming back to register their property and then returning to Ukrainian territory, but many people are returning to Mariupol because they don't have anywhere to live in Ukraine. It's not hundreds but thousands of people. As Ukrainians, we're not comfortable with this because we're all in different situations. But if something's not comfortable for my point of view, it doesn't mean it's bad or good.Andrew Keen: It's an important project. I know your artist residency at the Central European University is finishing at the end of February. You're going to focus on finishing the movie. When do you think it will be ready and what are your ambitions for the finished movie? Will you put it online, in theaters? What's your ideal?Anna Kryvenko: If everything goes well, we can finish it in a year and a half because it will be a long process of editing and working with rights. We only started working on it six months ago, and it's starting to go faster. Documentary making is a long process because of funding and everything. Even though I don't need to go somewhere physically, it's still a long process with a lot of waiting. First, we're thinking about festivals, maybe a theater release, maybe we'll have some broadcasters because it's an important topic to show to a wider audience. After a year, we'll see.Andrew Keen: If "Buildings Can Talk" is the subtitle of this upcoming movie "This House is Undamaged," it's a really important project about Mariupol. Thank you for being on the show. I'm going to have to get you back when the movie is done because I can't wait to see it.Anna Kryvenko: Thank you so much. Thank you.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Anna Kryvenko (1986, Ukraine) is a video and fine art photography artist based in Prague and Kyiv. She is a Fellow at the Artist in Residence program, Institute for Advanced Studies at Central European University. She graduated from the Centre for Audio-Visual Studies at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU, Prague). Her films and performances were screened at Dok Leipzig, ZagrebDox, Visions du Reel Nyon, Fluidum Festival, Jihlava Documentary Film Festival, etc. With her found-footage film Silently Like a Comet, she won the prize for the Best Experimental Act at FAMUFEST, Prague (CZ), and a few others. Her film Listen to the Horizon won the prize for the Best Czech Experimental Documentary, Jihlava IDFF (CZ). Her first feature documentary film My Unknown Soldier won the Last Stop Trieste 2018 Postproduction Award, Special Mention at Zagreb Dox, the Special Prize of the Jury at IDFF CRONOGRAF, and the Andrej Stankovič Prize. Her newest short film Easier Than You Think won the Jury Award of the Other Vision Competition 2022 (PAF, Czech Republic).Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

During his trip to Europe last week, Vice President JD Vance said to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, “The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values—values shared with the United States of America.” In the face of mounting inflation and rampant illegal immigration, Europe's leaders must listen to their people and not take a “hard left,” plunging the country into a Joe Biden-level, continentwide nightmare, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” “[Vance's] criticism was multifaceted: Close your borders. Legal-only immigration. Up your defense budget. Allow for free speech. We've gone through the Biden nightmare at home. We know what it was like to go hard left. Don't go that way. Deregulate. ... “Germany and Europe better be very careful. Germany's fertility rate is 1.45. Europe's, in aggregate, is only about 1.5. We're at least 1.6. We said years ago in 2014, NATO, pay 2% of GDP and hold your own and pull your own weight. And now it's 10 years, 11 years later and we still have nine NATO countries that will not do it, especially Germany. ...  “They have 16% of the population was not born in Germany. France is almost as bad. And they do not assimilate, intermarry, and integrate like we do. They are looking at this huge Russian-Ukrainian war on their borders where maybe 1.5 million people have been killed or wounded or missing. And they're critical of the United States that pays the greatest proportion of the NATO budget and who puts Europe under its nuclear shield. And they are damning us.” For Victor's latest thoughts, go to: https://victorhanson.com/   Don't miss out on Victor's latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You'll be notified every time a new video drops: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHqkXbgqrDrDVInBMSoGQgQ The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories like this one without the support of our viewers: https://secured.dailysignal.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts: Erin Rider and Taylor Morgan  Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy is pushing back on President Trump today, after Trump claimed that Ukraine started the war with Russia. Zelenskyy responded, saying President Trump is living in a Russian "disinformation space." The Inside Sources hosts discuss why the U.S. is quickly changing its stance on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.   

Hosts: Erin Rider and Taylor Morgan  On the Hill 2025: Fights brewing over open records management and access in Utah If you thought this legislative session has been a little slower or more quiet than normal – think again. Things are getting interesting regarding public government records here in Utah, as several bills that would affect open records access and management work their way through the legislature. One of those bills, SB277, is being sponsored by State Senator Mike McKell; he joins to share his motivations and thoughts on the legislation. Representing the other side of the conversation is journalist and KSL Investigator Daniella Rivera. The hosts get both sides of the discussion and share their own thoughts.  President Trump working to expand access to IVF Saying he's fulfilling a campaign promise, President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order to expand access to and reduce the costs associated with in vitro fertilization, or IVF. It comes as Republicans appear divided on the ethicality of IVF, with many having voted against protecting IVF rights in the past few years.  Ukraine responds to claims from Pres. Trump that they started the war with Russia Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy is pushing back on President Trump today, after Trump claimed that Ukraine started the war with Russia. Zelenskyy responded, saying President Trump is living in a Russian "disinformation space." The Inside Sources hosts discuss why the U.S. is quickly changing its stance on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.  Pres. Trump directs DOJ to fire U.S. Attorneys from the “Biden Era” President Donald Trump has instructed the Department of Justice to fire all U.S. Attorneys put in place by former President Biden. And although the action itself is pretty typical of a new administration, the way Trump is doing it is sparking additional concerns. Inside Sources co-host and lawyer Erin Rider shares the concerns she’s feeling.  On the Hill 2025: Overview of bills affecting the state’s judicial system More proposed changes to Utah's judiciary, following the introduction of a few new bills. We talked about several of the proposals last week, and today we follow that conversation with a discussion on what’s new this week with judicial bills. The Inside Sources hosts discuss a proposal to limit injunctions and another that would create a committee of lawmakers who get to recommend judicial retention.  Los Angeles mayor says she’ll investigate why she left the country as fires broke out The mayor of Los Angeles has received a lot of criticism for leaving the country just before fires in the region broke out. Now, she says she will launch an investigation to determine why she was allowed to leave the country. You didn’t misread that... she will investigate herself. The Inside Sources host talk about this fascinating PR move. 

Volodymyr Yermolenko is President of PEN Ukraine, the writers Union, and Chief Editor of Ukraine World. He is one of Ukraine's leading cultural and intellectual figures, a philosopher, essayist, translator, Doctor of Political Studies, candidate of philosophical sciences, and senior lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It is a great privilege to be in conversation, especially here in Kyiv. In this discussion, Yermolenko unpacks the complexities of Ukrainian identity, the historical context of Russian-Ukrainian relations, and the ongoing war. He explores themes of assimilation, imperialism, and the role of language in shaping national identity, while also analyzing how media narratives influence public perception. ---------- This event was co-hosted jointly by the Fog of War & Silicon Curtain podcasts. Hosts: Yaroslava Bukhta and Jonathan Fink

Democracy has often been presented as an ideal, where citizens can participate and benefit from a fair society. But as we face growing inequality, political turmoil, and loss of faith in modern life, the price of preserving democracy might be proving too steep.    Masha Gessen is an opinion columnist for The New York Times and a Distinguished Professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. They have written extensively on The Russian-Ukrainian war, Israel/Palestine, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump.  Paul Ham is an author and former Sunday Times correspondent, with a Master's degree from the London School of Economics. Paul lives in Paris and devotes his time to writing history and (when possible) to teaching Narrative History at Sciences Po, France's preeminent tertiary school for the humanities. David Runciman is Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge and was Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies from 2014-2018. Chaired by journalist, Geraldine Doogue.

Antiwar.com editor Scott Horton joins to discuss his new book on the Russian-Ukrainian war.Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean's four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!The Saif House - High quality cloth hardcover bitcoin books by Saifedean & more delivered worldwide, with 10% off for paying in bitcoin - TheSaifHouse.com

Strap in for a “Best Of” episode, where David and Brad serve up some of the more outrageous stories from the past few months. Hear Trump go all-in on claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Ohio, marvel at Harris's policy gymnastics, and don't miss the tale of a Florida politician who thought hiring a Russian-Ukrainian hit squad was a solid campaign strategy. Plus, the saga of a woman who sold everything to live on a cruise ship forever... until she got kicked off for complaining on WhatsApp.

It's Tuesday, November 26th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson Cuban Communists levying fines against churches A group of 63 Cuban Christian leaders, called the Alliance of Christians of Cuba is speaking out against the nation's persecution of churches.   The Communist government has levied at least $43,000 in fines against Christian churches in 69 separate cases thus far this year. That's equivalent to $1.4 million in the American economy, given the differences in median income for Cuba. The nation is facing its worst economic crisis in decades.   The Alliance of Christians of Cuba is calling the Cuban government “to protect fundamental human rights including the right to freedom of religion or belief.” Ukrainian official: “World War III has already begun” The authorization by the United Kingdom and the United States of the use of long-range missiles by the Ukrainian side in the Russian-Ukrainian war has led to heightened international tensions. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK who formerly served as the Commander-in-Chief of the armies, publicly stated that "World War III has already begun,” reports Breitbart.  He was referencing recently increased assistance on the Russian side with Iran, China, and North Korea technology and forces. Special Counsel Jack Smith drops all charges against Trump On Monday, Special counsel Jack Smith filed motions to drop all federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump regarding both his mishandling of classified documents and his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the January 6th riot at the U.S Capitol, reports NBC News. Hours later, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan  granted Smith's motion to dismiss the January 6-related indictment, formally bringing to an end the case that alleged Trump unlawfully conspired to overturn his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called Smith's motions to dismiss a "major victory for the rule of law."  He added, "The American people and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country." Trump picks homosexual for Treasury Secretary President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Scott Bessent, a homosexual and long-time supporter and business associate of leftist billionaire George Soros to the key position of Treasury Secretary, reports The Epoch Times. The appointment would mark the most powerful position ever held by a homosexual in the history of American governance. Pro-lifers object to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr to HHS In addition, pro-lifers and Christians are registering their concerns with the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to the key position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Elon Musk: Cut $300 million from Planned Parenthood In a Wall Street Journal column, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy announced their plans to cut federal expenditures dramatically. They specifically mentioned cutting $300 million from Planned Parenthood and $535 million from Public Broadcasting Service.  Live Action, the pro-life group founded by Lila Rose, is spearheading a petition drive, urging key Trump cabinet members, like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to defund Planned Parenthood. The mushrooming national debt The U.S. federal debt is growing faster than the Gross Domestic Product which is the measure of a country's economic activity that reflects the monetary value of its goods and services. Still, the Debt to GDP ratio stands at 121%. That's up from 55% in 2001.   President Biden drove up the debt by $7 trillion over three years, an average of $2.3 trillion per year.  President Trump's budgets drove up the debt $8.5 trillion over four years, or $2.1 trillion per year. And the Obama administration jacked up the debt at a rate of $817 billion per year. Interest payments on the debt have topped 36% of total tax receipts. Pro-abortion groups spent 8x money as pro-life groups on referendums Pro-abortion forces spent eight times the money spent by pro-life efforts on the 2024 election referendums. Live Action News reports a total of $244 million spent by pro-abortion organizations on the ballot measures while the pro-lifers put in only $29 million.   Psalm 37:35-36 testifies, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed, I sought him, but he could not be found.” Bitcoin skyrocketed since Trump landslide Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency, almost breached the $100,000-per-share threshold over the weekend, reports CBS News. The Trump landslide stimulated a rush on cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has increased by 33% in value since November 5th.  By contrast, gold slipped about 1% in value over the same time period, hovering around $2,700 an ounce.  International adoptions down, 100,000 U.S. kids available for adoption And finally, international adoptions to families in the United States have dropped off sharply — now only 1,300 per year, reports Zero Hedge. That's down from 12,700 in 2009. The United Nations Children's Fund reports 153,000,000 orphans in the world.   Most recent numbers indicate 368,000 U.S. children in foster care and over 100,000 available for adoption, while American families adopt around 100,000 children each year.  Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, November 26th, in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by Amazon Music or 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.

EPISODE SUMMARY: David Junk is a music executive who lived in Russia for 15 years working to fight piracy and grow the legitimate music industry there. He is joined by author Fred Bronson who cowrote Rockin' the Kremlin with David.On this episode of Chachi Loves Everybody, Chachi talks to David Junk and Fred Bronson about:Growing up in Ohio during the Cold War and listening to rock radio to distract from fears of nuclear war.Traveling to Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall to see Pink Floyd and being inspired by the onset of capitalism to move to Russia.Moving to Moscow and gaining the trust of his Russian coworkers while working at a diamond company.Facing investigation by Russian prosecutors for years for a crime he didn't commit.Getting his start in the Russian music industry where he witnessed rampant piracy and a lack of copyright protection. Going from accountant to CEO of Universal Music in Russia.Discovering and signing Russian acts like t.A.T.u and Alsou and helping them gain global recognition.Helping Alsou place second at Eurovision and tour Russia and America.Introducing Eminem to Russia and his influence on the hip-hop scene there.The current political situation in Russia, including the invasion of Crimea and the war in UkraineAnd More!ABOUT THIS EPISODE'S GUEST: After the fall of the Soviet Union, David Junk was one of the first idealistic young Americans to move to Russia to live, work and build a cultural bridge between former superpower enemies. He eventually became the first CEO of Universal Music, based in Moscow. For a decade, he promoted international artists in Russia, including such huge names as Elton John, U2, Sting, and Bon Jovi. He introduced hip-hop music to Russian youth. David also discovered and signed multiple Russian artists to Universal, including t.A.T.u, who would become the biggest-selling Russian act in music industry history. David also did some things that no other music executive in the United States has ever done. Music piracy in Russia was rampant, and the market for cheap, counterfeit compact discs was so pervasive that it threatened the legitimate Russian music industry's ability to gain a foothold. So on behalf of Universal's stable of artists and the Russian music industry, he participated in law enforcement raids of pirate factories and testified in court against the criminal gangs who operated them. David has been extensively interviewed about this subject on television, radio, and print and wrote an editorial about it that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. He also wrote about it for the American Chamber of Commerce and submitted written testimony to the US Congress on the topic of piracy and intellectual property rights in Russia.David is an authority on this topic because of his deep understanding of Russia. He lived and worked there for fifteen years, and raised a family in Moscow. In addition to starting the record label in Moscow, David opened the first showroom in Russia for the iconic American brand Gibson Guitars. David has extensive knowledge of Russian-Ukrainian relations, having opened the first Universal Music office in Kyiv and having developed music reality shows for Ukrainian TV.ABOUT THE PODCAST: Chachi Loves Everybody is brought to you by Benztown and hosted by the President of Benztown, Dave “Chachi” Denes. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the myths and legends of the radio industry.PEOPLE MENTIONED:Boris YeltsinRoger WatersMikhail GorbachevElton JohnBon JoviMalcolm McLarenJulian LenaJimmy IovineTrevor HornEllen DeGeneresAlsouSteve LevineSimon Napier BellBritney SpearsEnrique IglesiasJulio IglesiasRihannaLear CohenJay-ZDonald TrumpEdgar BronfmanEminemSnoop DoggDr. DreABOUT BENZTOWN: Benztown is a leading international audio imaging, production library, voiceover, programming, podcasting, and jingle production company with over 3,000 affiliations on six different continents. Benztown provides audio brands and radio stations of all formats with end-to-end imaging and production, making high-quality sound and world- class audio branding a reality for radio stations of all market sizes and budgets. Benztown was named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 by Inc. magazine for five consecutive years as one of America's Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies. With studios in Los Angeles and Stuttgart, Benztown offers the highest quality audio imaging work parts for 23 libraries across 14 music and spoken word formats including AC, Hot AC, CHR, Country, Hip Hop and R&B, Rhythmic, Classic Hits, Rock, News/Talk, Sports, and JACK. Benztown's Audio Architecture is one of the only commercial libraries that is built exclusively for radio spots to provide the right music for radio commercials. Benztown provides custom VO and imaging across all formats, including commercial VO and copywriting in partnership with Yamanair Creative. Benztown Radio Networks produces, markets, and distributes high-quality programming and services to radio stations around the world, including: The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown, The Todd-N-Tyler Radio Empire, Hot Mix, Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!, Flashback, Top 10 Now & Then, Hey, Morton, StudioTexter, The Rooster Show Prep, and AmeriCountry. Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks produces and markets premium podcasts including: IEX: Boxes and Lines and Molecular Moments.Web: benztown.comFacebook: facebook.com/benztownradioTwitter: @benztownradioLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/benztownInstagram: instagram.com/benztownradio Enjoyed this episode of Chachi Loves Everybody? Let us know by leaving a review!

In the final episode of an unconventional series on Mobster Crazy Joe Gallo, the Steve and Mustache Chris draw striking parallels between Joe Gallo and Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group. Spanning decades and continents, the episode explores their tumultuous lives, with major conflicts like the Russian-Ukrainian war serving as a backdrop. From Gallo's battles within the American Mafia to Yevgeny  Prigozhin's deadly involvement in recent global affairs, the discussion delves into their complex legacies and why they both had scores of enemies. The episode also reflects on the idea of being a disruptor in different systems, comparing both men's motivations and ultimate downfalls.00:00 Introduction to the Unconventional Series Finale01:01 Comparing Crazy Joe Gallo and Yevgeny Prigozhin 04:21 Yevgeny Prigozhin's Early Life and Criminal Beginnings06:33 Prigozhin's Rise in Business and Organized Crime 20:22 The Wagner Revolt and Parallels to Joe Gallo32:28 The Center of the Universe: Joe Gallo and Prigozhin 's Impulsiveness39:25 Theories and Speculations: Who Killed Joe Gallo and Prigozhin? 41:23 The Rebellion and Its Aftermath43:36 The Futility of Prigozhin 's March 51:11 System Disruptors: Joe Gallo and Prigozhin's Motivations Transcript URL: https://share.descript.com/view/SPxcxYuYU17You can learn more about Beyond the Big Screen and subscribe at all these great places: https://atozhistorypage.start.pagewww.beyondthebigscreen.comClick to Subscribe: https://www.spreaker.com/show/4926576/episodes/feedemail: steve@atozhistorypage.com www.beyondthebigscreen.comParthenon Podcast Network Home: parthenonpodcast.comOn Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@atozhistoryhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/atozhistorypagehttps://facebook.com/atozhistorypagehttps://twitter.com/atozhistorypagehttps://www.instagram.com/atozhistorypage/Music Provided by:"Crossing the Chasm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This Day in Legal History:  Articles of Confederation AdoptedOn November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Articles of Confederation, establishing the first constitutional framework for the United States. Crafted during the Revolutionary War, the Articles aimed to unify the thirteen colonies under a single government while preserving their independence and sovereignty. This early governing document reflected deep fears of centralized authority, granting Congress limited powers such as conducting foreign diplomacy, declaring war, and managing relations with Native American tribes. However, it lacked crucial mechanisms for enforcement, taxation, and regulating interstate commerce. Under the Articles, each state retained significant autonomy, with Congress functioning as a weak central body unable to compel states to contribute financially or militarily. Unanimous consent from all states was required to amend the Articles, which proved a significant obstacle to addressing its shortcomings. These limitations became increasingly evident in the post-war period, as the fledgling nation struggled with economic disarray, unpaid war debts, and internal unrest such as Shays' Rebellion.The Articles served as a critical stepping stone in American constitutional development, highlighting the need for a more robust federal system. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened to replace the Articles, ultimately resulting in the U.S. Constitution, which created a stronger, more balanced federal government. Despite its shortcomings, the Articles of Confederation represented a bold experiment in democratic governance and the principle of federalism that continues to shape the nation's identity.Continuing the procession of unqualified and ill-equipped appointees, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated members of his criminal defense team for key positions in the Justice Department, including Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general. Blanche, a former Cadwalader attorney, is currently defending Trump in federal cases related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the mishandling of classified documents. Prior to representing Trump, Blanche was best known for defending Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, who was convicted of tax and bank fraud in connection with consulting work for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians. Blanche's nomination marks a significant appointment, as the deputy attorney general oversees the Justice Department's daily operations and investigative agencies like the FBI. Trump also nominated John Sauer, who argued successfully for broad presidential immunity in a 2020 election-related case, as solicitor general. Former Representative Matt Gaetz has been nominated for attorney general, signaling Trump's intent to place loyal defenders in top positions. Emil Bove, another member of Trump's legal team, has been tapped to serve as Blanche's acting deputy during the confirmation process. These appointments underscore Trump's aim to reshape the Justice Department amid ongoing scrutiny of investigations into him and his associates. All nominations require Senate confirmation but if you have retained faith in our institutions to keep bozos out of office, I have a bridge I'd love to sell you.Trump Picks Trio of His Lawyers for Top Justice Positions (3)Trump picks his defense lawyers for top Justice Department posts | ReutersThe Palm Springs city council has unanimously approved a $5.9 million reparations package for former residents of Section 14, a predominantly Black neighborhood demolished in the 1960s for commercial development. In addition to this settlement, the city plans to allocate $21 million toward housing and small business initiatives aimed at supporting the affected residents and their descendants. The Section 14 neighborhood also housed Latino families and other immigrants, many of whom have long sought recognition and compensation for their forced displacement. The settlement will provide payments to over 1,200 former residents and descendants, amounting to approximately $4,000 per person after legal fees. As part of the agreement, recipients must sign waivers releasing further claims against the city.Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein acknowledged the limits of financial restitution, describing the reparations as a symbolic step toward addressing past injustices. Advocacy groups like Section 14 Survivors and civil rights attorneys representing the displaced view the settlement as an important acknowledgment of the city's role in the destruction of the community. This initiative joins a small but growing number of reparations efforts in the U.S., such as Los Angeles County's 2022 return of prime beachfront property to the descendants of an African-American couple unjustly stripped of their land.California resort town of Palm Springs approves race reparations package | ReutersA federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a Texas student, B.W., who alleged he was bullied for being white and a supporter of Donald Trump. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals split 9-9, which let a lower court's decision stand. B.W. argued that from grades 8 through 10, he faced harassment, including being called "Whitey" by a teacher, having a meme made of him as a Ku Klux Klansman, and being ostracized for his political and religious beliefs. He claimed the school district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in federally funded education programs.A prior panel had ruled that B.W.'s allegations were primarily tied to his ideological beliefs, which Title VI does not cover, and the evenly split rehearing reaffirmed this. Conservative judges, including Trump appointee James Ho, dissented, asserting that B.W. plausibly faced severe racial harassment because of his whiteness. However, the majority of judges noted that ideological bullying does not qualify as racial discrimination under Title VI. B.W.'s lawyer has indicated plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing the importance of protecting students from discrimination regardless of race, religion, or political beliefs. The case highlights ongoing debates over the scope of federal anti-discrimination laws.Bullied Trump-supporting white student can't sue for race discrimination | ReutersIn a piece I wrote for Forbes today, I make the argument that eliminating the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit would be a disaster for American manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers. President-elect Donald Trump's plan to eliminate the $7,500 EV tax credit threatens significant setbacks for the U.S. automotive industry, innovation, and environmental goals. The credit has played a vital role in making EVs affordable and driving their adoption, helping U.S. automakers remain competitive in a global market heavily supported by subsidies in countries like China and the EU. Without it, American automakers could struggle to compete against lower-cost foreign EVs while managing the high expenses of research and development.The policy could exacerbate issues already created by recent changes to R&D tax rules, which have limited immediate expensing for innovation costs. Combined, these moves could raise EV prices, reduce demand, and stifle the momentum of U.S. automakers like Ford and GM as they work to electrify their fleets. The decision may inadvertently benefit Tesla, whose cost advantages and market dominance could allow it to weather the loss, but other manufacturers, including smaller startups like Rivian and Lucid, may falter.Beyond economic consequences, removing the credit could slow the transition to clean transportation, impeding progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from one of the largest polluting sectors. The EV tax credit has been instrumental in fostering innovation, supporting high-quality jobs, and positioning the U.S. as a global leader in EV technology. Eliminating it risks conceding that leadership and undermining a vital segment of the future economy.Eliminating The Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Would Be A Huge MistakeThis week's closing theme is by Ludwig van BeethovenThis week's closing theme comes from one of the most towering figures in classical music. Renowned for his symphonies, sonatas, and concertos, Beethoven's influence extends beyond music into the cultural consciousness of resilience and innovation. Born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770, Beethoven overcame immense personal challenges, including progressive hearing loss, to create works of unparalleled emotional depth and complexity. His compositions bridged the Classical and Romantic eras, making him a symbol of human creativity and perseverance.One of Beethoven's lesser-known yet fascinating works is The Ruins of Athens, composed in 1811 as incidental music for a play by August von Kotzebue. Written to celebrate the opening of a new theater in Pest, Hungary (modern-day Budapest), the piece reflects Beethoven's enthusiasm for themes of cultural revival and enlightenment. The play itself portrays Athena, the goddess of wisdom, returning to find her city in ruins, only to witness its eventual rebirth—a story that resonated with Beethoven's own ideals of progress and renewal.The music is both dramatic and celebratory, featuring memorable melodies and rhythms that evoke the grandeur of ancient Greece. One of its most famous sections, the Turkish March, showcases Beethoven's playful side, incorporating exotic, percussion-driven elements inspired by Ottoman military music. The Ruins of Athens is an example of Beethoven's ability to compose across genres, crafting music that serves a narrative while remaining compelling as a standalone work.As we reflect on the themes of destruction and rebuilding in The Ruins of Athens, Beethoven reminds us of the enduring power of art to inspire hope and renewal, even in the face of adversity.Without further ado, Ludwig van Beethoven's The Ruins of Athens — enjoy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

There was a time when hiring a Russian-Ukrainian hit squad to whack a political opponent would raise some eyebrows. And it used to be the case that a politician borrowing a family to pose for his political campaign ads would be seen as disingenuous. Alas, we live in the year 2024, and these stories are a dime a dozen. Tune in to listen to in-depth analysis of all the news you need to know…and more…right here, on IP…Frequently.

Hour 1 Segment 1 Tony starts the show playing the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower. Zelenskyy says that Trump can help end the Russian/Ukrainian war and can stop Vladimir Putin. Tony also talks about the characteristics between Trump and Kamala Harris. Then Tony talks about the latest comments Harris has made about the second amendment.   Hour 1 Segment 2 Tony provides the latest update on Hurricane Helene that hit Florida yesterday.   Hour 1 Segment 3 Tony talks about the latest comments on Mark Cuban talking about mainstream and conservative media. Tony also talks about Letitia James going after Trump.  Hour 1 Segment 4 Tony wraps up the first hour of the show talking about the latest in the stock market, Israel striking Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, and the latest polling numbers from Harris. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    A terror scare in France, as a Russian-Ukrainian national who recently served in the Russian army was arrested after triggering a bomb in a Paris hotel room. World leaders convened in France today for the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day amid the backdrop of the Putin regime's threats of escalation regarding the war in Ukraine. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: PDB@TheFirstTV.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices