Podcasts about Soviet Union

THE WALKER ATTEMPT AND DELUSIONS IN NEW ORLEANS Colleague Paul Gregory. The narrative shifts to April 1963, when a shaken Oswald confessed to Marina that he had attempted to assassinate General Edwin Walker. Marina found a note with instructions but did not report him, though she threatened to leave if he tried such violence again. Soon after, Oswald moved to New Orleans to build credentials as a pro-Castro operative, hoping to secure a visa to Cuba and eventually the Soviet Union. Gregory explains that Oswald did not actually want to return to Russia but needed a Soviet visa to enter Cuba. During this period, Oswald became increasingly delusional, inventing aliases and seeking status, though there was no evidence yet of a plan to kill President Kennedy. NUMBER 4

THE WARREN COMMISSION AND THE LONE GUNMAN CONCLUSION Colleague Paul Gregory. Paul Gregory discusses the Warren Commission and the enduring conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. He visited Dealey Plaza personally to assess the sniper's nest, concluding the shot was "fairly easy" for a prepared shooter. Gregory dismisses the idea of a complex conspiracy, noting the spontaneity of Oswald's opportunity at the Book Depository. He highlights the Soviet Union's own suspicion that Oswald was a rogue element. A major focus is Marguerite Oswald's testimony; she confronted Chief Justice Earl Warren, demanding subpoena rights and claiming her son was a scapegoat. Gregory asserts that understanding Marguerite's influence and delusion is essential to understanding the psychological formation of her son, Lee. NUMBER 7

Send us a textToday, we cover the Korean War and other Cold War activities that the US and the USSR dabbled in. Support the show

Enriched by extraordinary first-hand accounts, this is a fascinating history of the dying days of the Third Reich as Stalin sought to consolidate his own empire.In January 1945, the Red Army launched a powerful offensive across the Vistula River to drive the Wehrmacht out of Poland, with the intention of securing a start line for an operation that would ultimately result in the capture of Berlin and the end of the war. But, as Prit Buttar expertly reveals, there were other issues at play. Stalin was determined to push the boundaries of the Soviet Union further west, restoring land lost by the tsars and securing vast industrial and mineral wealth. While negotiations took place between the Allied powers regarding the fate of Poland, the Red Army burst through the German lines, liberating Auschwitz even as the SS drove concentration camp inmates onto frozen roads in a series of death marches.The Wehrmacht staged a desperate fight back with their last major armoured offensive on the Eastern Front. Launched in February 1945 from the German-Polish border, it forced a halt to the Soviet forces on the banks of the Oder before the rush to Berlin. Written by an acknowledged expert on the Eastern Front and packed with first-hand accounts, this is the definitive account of the strategic goals, both military and political, of Stalin, his generals, and their armies as they raced into the Reich, and of the German forces who stood in the way.Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a GP. He is extensively involved in medical politics, both at local and national level. An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed two-volume series on the siege of Leningrad: To Besiege A City (Osprey 2023) and Hero City (Osprey 2024). He now lives in Kirkcudbright in Scotland.#speakingofwriterspodcast #authorpodcast #worldwar2 #germany #thirdreich

THE DANGEROUS NOVEL AND RED GUARD TORTURE Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian deepens the analysis of the "dangerous" novel Liu Zhidan, which Mao claimed was a counter-revolutionary plot indicative of "revisionism." This fear of losing revolutionary zeal, similar to the Soviet Union's path, drove Mao to utilize the Red Guards. The summary covers Xi Zhongxun's brutal treatment, including being kidnapped and tortured by Red Guardsin 1967 as the country descended into civil war. NUMBER 13

The city of St. Petersburg held great significance to the Russian Empire when Peter the Great first built the city in 1703. It was intended to be Russia's "window to the West" and usher in Russia's place as a modern European power. It also replaced Moscow as the capital of the growing empire that stretched across two continents. It was also the site of the Russian Revolution, when the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seized power in 1917. Subsequently the city was renamed Leningrad in honor of the founder of the Soviet Union.  During World War II (1939-1945), the city would play a critical role as an unconquerable fortress city that withstood years of siege with the explicit intention of starving its inhabitants into complete submission to Nazi Germany's war aims. The epic story of this saga is the subject of Prit Buttar's To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42 (Osprey Publishing, 2023). Relying upon extensive research into both Soviet and German sources, Prit Buttar chronicles the first few years of the siege in great detail. Prit Buttar is the author of ten critically acclaimed books. His most recent publication was Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43 (Osprey, 2022). Prit originally studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. He latterly worked as a General Practitioner for several years. He now writes exclusively from his home in rural Scotland where he can also indulge his hobbies for wildlife and astro photography. 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

Two inept government workers are sent on a secret mission to the Soviet Union. Special guest Eddie Perez-Cortes joins us to discuss the next James Bond, impressive facial comedy, and the reason to watch the Weird Science TV show. Then we find out if Spies Like Us stands the Test of Time.

Darrell Castle ushers in 2026 by talking about the world as he sees it today along with some year-end thoughts about the past, the present, and the unknown future. Transcription/Notes BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is the 2nd day of January in the year of our Lord 2026. In this Castle Report I will be talking about the world as I see it today along with some year-end thoughts about the past, the present, and the unknown future. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” Those are the words of the Prince of Peace whose birth we just celebrated, and his words have been the bed rock of Western Civilization for over 2000 years. The decorations, gifts, and celebrations are just one of our connections to a Christian culture that has held Western Civilization together throughout its history. My thanks once again for Dr, Ron Paul's recent Liberty Report where he so eloquently sets these concepts out. Somehow it all seems different now. The mayor of New York City has been sworn in on the Quran rather than the bible. The nation itself with debt having surpassed $38 trillion Continues its enforcement of the Wolfowitz Doctrine which is part of the project for a new American century. Paul Wolfowitz put his name on a policy that still seems to drive the American government even under the America first president. Simply put, that doctrine says that American hegemony will dominate the world and no competitor which threatens that policy will be allowed to rise. The U.S. military will be used to destroy any competition. In practical terms, it means that the U.S. government will continue to use its military to bankrupt the country while exporting misery and suffering to others in pursuit of a global military empire on the framework of ancient Rome. My argument for you today is that this policy places the U.S. government in direct opposition to the title of this Castle Report. This year marked the first time the Defense budget item has surpassed the $1 trillion mark. Congress was so enthusiastic about it that they voted more money than the president asked for. The $1 trillion doesn't include interest on the defense related debt, veteran's affairs such as hospitals and lifetime care for the wounded and components of other agencies and departments with items related to defense so it is much larger than the published amount. Those who are responsible for such things probably still have a chance to save the economy if they did the responsible thing but instead they repeatedly do the opposite of the right thing. President Eisenhower was the last president to recognize what was happening and to refuse its allure. He also warned President Kennedy who tried to heed the warning but he died for those efforts. I paraphrase President Eisenhower's famous speech from 1953 entitled “The Chance for Peace” each of these dollars spent on military offense and the maintenance of the US global empire rather than on defense of our own nation is taken from the mouths of the hungry and off the backs of hardworking American families.” The new National Security Strategy document recently released by the Trump administration has set off a firestorm among those who favor warfare to solve every perceived problem. The document seems to be a reversal of the foreign policy doctrine that has existed since the end of World War ll. That policy included the formation of NATO with the US as the unofficial guarantor of military security. The US would accept responsibility for the defense of Western Europe and ensure that the Soviet Union was held intact. In return the US would have reserve currency status and would through that status control the world's economy. Reserve currency status ensured that the US would have the means through the accumulation of debt to fund its military in all circumstances. This was also a recognition by Europe that it was free to devote virtually all of its resources to rebuilding and to the welfare projects that would keep its citizens comfortable and thereby avoid revolution. The new strategy document seems to refute that policy and it appears to place Europe in some responsibility for its own defense. The Europeans don't like the policy shift at all but they are at least verbally adjusting to it. They came up with a way to obtain loans of up to $100 billion for Ukraine to continue the war to the last Ukrainian. The last few years have seen them trying to provoke a new war with Russia and this new policy might have a chilling effect on that desire. The US also included $800 million in the defense bill for Ukraine. Joan and I were talking about all this over breakfast the other day and she pointed out that people are starting to see fraud despite media refusal to discuss it. Some of those things like the fraud of the Somali community in Minnesota and the election fraud in Georgia now freely admitted are obvious. We also have the American people seeing their standard of living eaten away by inflation and an economy declining because it's burdened by debt. People are becoming aware of all this more and more as they see their country committed to the defense and foreign policy of a country far away. The people have come to realize that if they express criticism of that country's foreign policy the argument requires them to defend a charge of antisemitism instead of the policy. The same is true of the billions of fraud in Minnesota because the Governor of that state said that criticism was white supremacy so the argument is a defense of that charge instead of the fraud. Joan's position is that people are not ignorant despite media's refusal to report and investigate they are aware of what is going on. My response to her was yes, you are right but that puts us in the most dangerous position possibly ever. People see rampant crime and theft by government and they see government saying America first but its foreign policy seems to put another country's interest first, and that creates a dangerous, revolutionary atmosphere. I'm afraid that people are becoming aware that one of the founding principles which helped make America great is being erased and that principle is the empowerment of the individual over the power of the collective to demand obedience and compliance. In the American culture the individual counts and I'm afraid many are losing sight of that. The individual can take a stand against injustice without fear of reprisal from government. When governors have no argument against fraud except those who uncover it and point it out are white supremacists, and when senators have no response to pointing out the foreign policy faults of another country except to accuse those who object of antisemitism it means thee government officials have lost the argument because they have nothing to say. The real problem happens when government loses the argument as it has currently, which makes fraud and waste obvious to anyone. People try to change the system through voting but they see that it does not change very much. The worst frustration is that the dangerous revolutionary civil war tension is created when people see it, understand it, but nothing is ever done. They see fraud costing billions and they know that is just the tip of the iceberg. They see their money taken by the IRS to fund the wars in favor of other nations. They see fraud at every level and yet they are struggling to get by and they cannot get by without accumulating debt, which becomes unpayable. They know the difference between their debt and government debt is that they actually have to answer for theirs. Some of the things which have changed the lifestyles of the American people since the end of the covid confinement are really startling for the American families. Since covid, gas for utilities up 48.8%, car maintenance and repair 48.8%, car insurance 56.1%, coffee 46.1%, electricity 40.4%, meat 38.1%, used cars 33.6% bread 29,4%, milk 24.1%. I could go on and on with these numbers but just ask yourself if your income since covid has increased by anything close to these numbers. So, we can see the elements of an explosion building and smoldering. Couple this to the knowledge people have that they must send their children to schools which are run by people who hate them. Their children will be indoctrinated by teachers who hate them so their children will become like those who hate them and look to people who have caused the problem for the answer thus the inauguration of the mayor of our greatest city on the Quran. I know what you must be thinking, it's not everyone of them and there are some officials who really do care. Yes, I know about those people, but the truth is that the ones who claim to care make some angry speech to that effect and then go on about their business as if nothing happened. That is the demoralizing truth that we face here in the first month of 2026. In conclusion, whether we know it or not, we are all beneficiaries of the religion created by the one who is the author of the title of this Castle Report. The moral doctrine created by that religion has curbed power and defended the weak and helpless for over 2000 years. When you lay aside those moral principle you have power unleashed, enforced through force, and not limited by anything, to paraphrase Lenin. Finally, folks, as we start 2026 I close with another quote from President Eisenhower or at least I paraphrase him,” the people of the world are so desperate for peace that sooner or later the governments will have to step aside and let them have it.” At least that's the way I see it, Until next time folks, This is Darrell Castle, Thanks for listening.

The city of St. Petersburg held great significance to the Russian Empire when Peter the Great first built the city in 1703. It was intended to be Russia's "window to the West" and usher in Russia's place as a modern European power. It also replaced Moscow as the capital of the growing empire that stretched across two continents. It was also the site of the Russian Revolution, when the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seized power in 1917. Subsequently the city was renamed Leningrad in honor of the founder of the Soviet Union.  During World War II (1939-1945), the city would play a critical role as an unconquerable fortress city that withstood years of siege with the explicit intention of starving its inhabitants into complete submission to Nazi Germany's war aims. The epic story of this saga is the subject of Prit Buttar's To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42 (Osprey Publishing, 2023). Relying upon extensive research into both Soviet and German sources, Prit Buttar chronicles the first few years of the siege in great detail. Prit Buttar is the author of ten critically acclaimed books. His most recent publication was Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43 (Osprey, 2022). Prit originally studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. He latterly worked as a General Practitioner for several years. He now writes exclusively from his home in rural Scotland where he can also indulge his hobbies for wildlife and astro photography. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

The city of St. Petersburg held great significance to the Russian Empire when Peter the Great first built the city in 1703. It was intended to be Russia's "window to the West" and usher in Russia's place as a modern European power. It also replaced Moscow as the capital of the growing empire that stretched across two continents. It was also the site of the Russian Revolution, when the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seized power in 1917. Subsequently the city was renamed Leningrad in honor of the founder of the Soviet Union.  During World War II (1939-1945), the city would play a critical role as an unconquerable fortress city that withstood years of siege with the explicit intention of starving its inhabitants into complete submission to Nazi Germany's war aims. The epic story of this saga is the subject of Prit Buttar's To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42 (Osprey Publishing, 2023). Relying upon extensive research into both Soviet and German sources, Prit Buttar chronicles the first few years of the siege in great detail. Prit Buttar is the author of ten critically acclaimed books. His most recent publication was Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43 (Osprey, 2022). Prit originally studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. He latterly worked as a General Practitioner for several years. He now writes exclusively from his home in rural Scotland where he can also indulge his hobbies for wildlife and astro photography. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

THE TENNANT MISSION AND THE SUMMER OF 1939 Colleague Charles Spicer. In the summer of 1939, Ernest Tennant undertook a secret mission to Austria to meet his former friend Ribbentrop, acting with the plausible deniability of 10 Downing Street. At a confiscated castle, Tennant learned that Hitler was mirroring Ribbentrop'saggressive stance, planning a long war and targeting Poland. This intelligence convinced London to accelerate a defense pact with Poland, though Chamberlain failed to secure a necessary alliance with the Soviet Union due to his personal antipathy toward Stalin. Despite accurate intelligence from the amateur spies regarding the imminent invasion of Polandand the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the British leadership failed to act decisively or explore regime change, missing the final opportunities to stop the dictator before the outbreak of hostilities. NUMBER 12 1946 DEFENSE ATTORNEYS AT NUREMBERG

HALIFAX, HITLER, AND THE SOVIET FEAR Colleague Charles Spicer. By late 1937, the Anglo-German Fellowship was under surveillance by both MI5 and the NKVD, as Stalin feared the organization might successfully broker an alliance between Britain and Germany against the Soviet Union. In November, Foreign Minister Lord Halifax visited the Berghof, where the cultural disconnect was so profound that he initially mistook Hitler for a footman. Although Halifax was appalled by Hitler's brutality—specifically his suggestion to shoot Gandhi to solve problems in India—he was momentarily fooled into believing Hitler did not want war. This meeting highlighted the dangerous gap between the civilized assumptions of British diplomacy and the predatory reality of the Nazi regime. NUMBER 8 1945-46 NUREMBERG

JC Cole grew up and lives in New Jersey but in 1992 he moved to Latvia to help rebuild after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today that experience provides him insight into the current situation we find ourselves.

“The story Unger weaves with those earlier accounts and his original reporting is fresh, illuminating and more alarming than the intelligence channel described in the Steele dossier.”—The Washington PostHouse of Trump, House of Putin offers the first comprehensive investigation into the decades-long relationship among Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian Mafia that ultimately helped win Trump the White House. It is a chilling story that begins in the 1970s, when Trump made his first splash in the booming, money-drenched world of New York real estate, and ends with Trump's first inauguration as president of the United States. That moment was the culmination of Vladimir Putin's long mission to undermine Western democracy, a mission that he and his hand-selected group of oligarchs and Mafia kingpins had ensnared Trump in, starting more than twenty years ago with the massive bailout of a string of sensational Trump hotel and casino failures in Atlantic City. This book confirms the most incredible American paranoias about Russian malevolence. To most, it will be a hair-raising revelation that the Cold War did not end in 1991—that it merely evolved, with Trump's apartments offering the perfect vehicle for billions of dollars to leave the collapsing Soviet Union. In House of Trump, House of Putin, Craig Unger methodically traces the deep-rooted alliance between the highest echelons of American political operatives and the biggest players in the frightening underworld of the Russian Mafia. He traces Donald Trump's sordid ascent from foundering real estate tycoon to leader of the free world. He traces Russia's phoenix like rise from the ashes of the post–Cold War Soviet Union as well as its ceaseless covert efforts to retaliate against the West and reclaim its status as a global superpower. Without Trump, Russia would have lacked a key component in its attempts to return to imperial greatness. Without Russia, Trump would not be president. This essential book is crucial to understanding the real powers at play in the shadows of today's world. The appearance of key figures in this book—Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and Felix Sater to name a few—ring with haunting significance in the wake of Robert Mueller's report and as others continue to close in on the truth.https://amzn.to/4qjR9JHBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Send us a textJerzy Gregorek and his wife Aniela survived a perilous journey living behind the Iron Curtain in Poland while it was subservient to brutal Soviet Union domination. He describes the darkness of living there in the 1970s and 80s, and how it led to him becoming an alcoholic at age 15. He had a mentor who pretty much dragged him into weightlifting at the time of the rise of Solidarity, the movement that led to the fall of the repressive Communist regime and to the free Poland that exists today despite constant threats from Putin's Russia. Escaping that destructive, alcoholic path shaped his understanding of resilience and personal responsibility. He rebuilt his life — becoming a political exile in the USA, then a four-time world champion weightlifter, and later a mentor, poet, and a student earning his PhD in Humanistic Psychology. His core philosophy — “Hard Choices, Easy Life; Easy Choices, Hard Life” — comes from lived experience and years of guiding people through transformation. Jerzy founded the weightlifting program at UCLA, and Aniela herself is a five-time world weightlifting champion with six world records.What sets Jerzy apart is his ability to integrate physical training, creative expression, and psychological insight into a holistic approach to health and resilience. He emphasizes that emotional intelligence is a crucial element in overcoming life's adversities, and that it can be practiced, cultivated, and mastered. His three books, titled “The Happy Body: Mastering Food, Exercise, and Rest Choices,” are designed to help people embrace this path of strength, wisdom, and balance. The poetry book “The Happy Body: Food For Your Soul” helps with emotional eating. “The Happy Body Virtues: Daily Practices for the Modern Stoic” helps with emotional eating and self-regulation, while “I Got This: The Art of Getting Grit” helps with integrating the stories that contribute to building the skill of living a good life. Listen closely to the wise lessons Jerzy shares here and strongly consider getting deeper into The Happy Body to learn to apply the “Hard Choices, Easy Life; Easy Choices, Hard Life” philosophy to your own life. This might be one New Year's resolution for change that I can heartily endorse.Jerzy Gregorekthehappybody.comjerzygregorek@gmail.comThe Happy Body book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N21PL3DFacebook The Happy BodyYouTube @thehappybodyLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerzy-gregorek-ab87475/Bill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @we_are_superman_podcastYouTube We Are Superman PodcastSubscribe to the We Are Superman Newsletter!https://mailchi.mp/dab62cfc01f8/newsletter-signupSubscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8

Love the show? Have any thoughts? Click here to let us know!Happy New Year, everyone! This week, Kenzie dives into the horrifying crimes of Johann Jack Unterweger, one of Austria's most infamous serial killers—who was shockingly released from prison after already committing murder. Then, Lauren lightens things up (slightly) by sharing some of the wild, reckless, and downright stupid crimes people have gotten themselves into on New Year's Eve. Join us for our final spooky special of 2025!*Towards the beginning of Kenzie's story, she discusses what life was like in Germany at the time with the Berlin Wall splitting it into West and East Berlin. In the episode, it was said that the Allies had East Berlin and the Soviet Union had West Berlin. That is incorrect and it was the other way around.*--Follow us on Social Media and find out how to support A Scary State by clicking on our Link Tree: https://instabio.cc/4050223uxWQAl--Have a scary tale or listener story of your own? Send us an email to ascarystatepodcast@gmail.com! We can't wait to read it!--Thinking of starting a podcast? Thinking about using Buzzsprout for that? Well use our link to let Buzzsprout know we sent you and get a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan!https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1722892--Works cited!https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dq_0tJvFgEFuU1ZpZQ3E_LcuLc-RrTML8fSt9ILWb6k/edit?usp=sharing --Intro and outro music thanks to Kevin MacLeod. You can visit his site here: http://incompetech.com/. Which is where we found our music!

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, Agata Fijalkowski's Law, Visual Culture, and the Show Trial (Routledge, 2023) examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity. Alex Batesmith is a Lecturer in Legal Profession in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Twitter: @batesmith. LinkedIn.  His recent publications include: “‘Poetic Justice Products': International Justice, Victim Counter-Aesthetics, and the Spectre of the Show Trial” in Christine Schwöbel-Patel and Rob Knox (eds) Aesthetics and Counter-Aesthetics of International Justice (Counterpress, forthcoming 2023, ISBN 978-1-910761-17-5) "Lawyers who want to make the world a better place – Scheingold and Sarat's Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering" in D. Newman (ed.) Leading Works on the Legal Profession (Routledge, July 2023), ISBN 978-1-032182-80-3) “International Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers" (2021) Journal of International Criminal Justice 19(4) 803-830 (ISSN 1478-1387) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

The "Madman Theory" was Richard Nixon's foreign policy strategy during the Vietnam War era, where he deliberately cultivated an image of being unpredictable and irrational—hinting he might escalate to nuclear extremes—to intimidate adversaries like North Vietnam and the Soviet Union into concessions. Nixon instructed aides like Henry Kissinger to spread rumors that he was volatile enough to "go crazy" and use drastic measures, hoping fear of his supposed madness would deter aggression and force negotiations without actual escalation. Nixon's Madman Theory was relatively ineffective in coercing North Vietnam because Hanoi correctly gambled that the U.S. would not use nuclear force against a non-nuclear state—like North Vietnam—due to the massive domestic and international backlash, the high risk of Soviet/Chinese escalation, and the global nuclear taboo. But what if Nixon had used it against an actual nuclear power? That could have happened if history had only played out a little differently. JFK won his presidential election in 1960 against Nixon by a few thousand votes in key counties, and many suspected voter fraud. What if Nixon had won? And what if he used the Madman Doctrine against the Soviets in the Cuban Missile Crisis? In today’s episode, were’ joined by Harvy Simon, who wrote a book of alternate history called “The Madman Theory” that imagines exactly that scenario. The book focuses on how President Nixon handles the Cuban Missile Crisis. True to the "Madman" strategy, Nixon maneuvers the U.S., the Soviet Union, and the world to the brink of nuclear war, believing his reputation for unpredictability will force Nikita Khrushchev to back down. We explore the dangers of deliberately appearing irrational and unstable to an adversary—especially in the nuclear age—significantly increases the risk of miscalculation, accidental escalation, or the adversary failing to understand the bluff, thereby triggering an actual catastrophic conflict. Harvey Simon --- I’m the author of The Madman Theory, which posits that Richard Nixon won the 1960 election against Kennedy. In particular, it focuses on the Cuban missile crisis, and what would have happened differently with Nixon as president.My book is being reissued with a newly added foreword examining how Nixon’s madman theory has been taken up by President Trump.If you'd be interested in a show about what would likely have happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis if Kennedy hadn't won--some scholars doubt the outcome was legitimate--I'd be happy to talk with you about my analysis, and, more generally, how counterfactuals can improve our understanding of history.I'm a former national security analyst with Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and have also worked as a journalist. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, Agata Fijalkowski's Law, Visual Culture, and the Show Trial (Routledge, 2023) examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity. Alex Batesmith is a Lecturer in Legal Profession in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Twitter: @batesmith. LinkedIn.  His recent publications include: “‘Poetic Justice Products': International Justice, Victim Counter-Aesthetics, and the Spectre of the Show Trial” in Christine Schwöbel-Patel and Rob Knox (eds) Aesthetics and Counter-Aesthetics of International Justice (Counterpress, forthcoming 2023, ISBN 978-1-910761-17-5) "Lawyers who want to make the world a better place – Scheingold and Sarat's Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering" in D. Newman (ed.) Leading Works on the Legal Profession (Routledge, July 2023), ISBN 978-1-032182-80-3) “International Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers" (2021) Journal of International Criminal Justice 19(4) 803-830 (ISSN 1478-1387) 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

The Critical Corner - Recorded on: December 27, 2025In this episode, guest host Bedros Afeyan speaks with documentary filmmaker Diana Mkrtchyan about her feature documentary *Ojakh: On the Other Side of Silence*. The conversation traces the film's nine-year development, its origins in Turkish photographer Erhan Arik's *Horovel* project, and the urgent effort to document the last living Armenian Genocide survivors in border villages. The discussion also addresses artistic responsibility, dignity in testimony, cultural memory, censorship, and the continuity between Genocide-era trauma and the recent destruction of Artsakh.TopicsDiana Mkrtchyan's personal and artistic journeyThe origins of *Ojakh* in Erhan Arik's photographic workFilming the final testimonies of Armenian Genocide survivorsEthical and technical challenges of documenting traumaThe erasure of *Ojakh* from official cultural promotion in ArmeniaCinema as historical record and moral witnessMkrtchyan's Artsakh footage during the blockadeGuestDiana MkrtchyanGuest HostsBedros AfeyanEpisode 499 | Recorded: December 27, 2025https://podcasts.groong.org/499Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Today we have an address from U.S. Secretary of State JamesByrnes from December 30, 1945. He offers an update on the Moscow Conference, a meeting between the foreign ministers of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union on occupation and other post-war issues. Visit our website at BrickPickleMedia.com/podcasts. Subscribe to the ad-free version at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/worldwar2radio/subscribe.  

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, Agata Fijalkowski's Law, Visual Culture, and the Show Trial (Routledge, 2023) examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity. Alex Batesmith is a Lecturer in Legal Profession in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Twitter: @batesmith. LinkedIn.  His recent publications include: “‘Poetic Justice Products': International Justice, Victim Counter-Aesthetics, and the Spectre of the Show Trial” in Christine Schwöbel-Patel and Rob Knox (eds) Aesthetics and Counter-Aesthetics of International Justice (Counterpress, forthcoming 2023, ISBN 978-1-910761-17-5) "Lawyers who want to make the world a better place – Scheingold and Sarat's Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering" in D. Newman (ed.) Leading Works on the Legal Profession (Routledge, July 2023), ISBN 978-1-032182-80-3) “International Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers" (2021) Journal of International Criminal Justice 19(4) 803-830 (ISSN 1478-1387) 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

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, Agata Fijalkowski's Law, Visual Culture, and the Show Trial (Routledge, 2023) examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity. Alex Batesmith is a Lecturer in Legal Profession in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Twitter: @batesmith. LinkedIn.  His recent publications include: “‘Poetic Justice Products': International Justice, Victim Counter-Aesthetics, and the Spectre of the Show Trial” in Christine Schwöbel-Patel and Rob Knox (eds) Aesthetics and Counter-Aesthetics of International Justice (Counterpress, forthcoming 2023, ISBN 978-1-910761-17-5) "Lawyers who want to make the world a better place – Scheingold and Sarat's Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering" in D. Newman (ed.) Leading Works on the Legal Profession (Routledge, July 2023), ISBN 978-1-032182-80-3) “International Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers" (2021) Journal of International Criminal Justice 19(4) 803-830 (ISSN 1478-1387) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

National bacon day. Entertainment from 1999. Soviet Union formed, 1st color tv's went on sale, One of worst building fire's in US history in Chicago. Todays birthdays - Bo Diddley, Del Shannon, Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Jeff Lynne, Suzy Bogguss, Tracey Ullman, Tyrese Gibson. Dawn Wells died.(2024)Intro - Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard       http://defleppard.com/I love bacon - The Hungry Food BandSmooth - Santana   Rob ThomasBreathe - Faith HillBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent     http://50cent.com/Bo Diddley - Bo DiddleyRunaway - Del ShannonHey hey were the Monkees - The MonkeesDay dream believer - The MonkeesDon't bring me down - ELOHey Cinderella - Suzy BoggussThey don't know - Tracey UllmanHow you gonna act like that - TyreseExit - In my dreams - Dokken      http://dokken.net/cooolmedia.com

Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, making the visual a fundamental part of the legitimacy of the law. Analysing photographs of trials, Agata Fijalkowski's Law, Visual Culture, and the Show Trial (Routledge, 2023) examines how this message was conveyed to audiences watching and participating in the spectacle of show trials. The book traces how this use of the visual was exported from the Soviet Union and imposed upon its satellite states in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It shows how the legal actors and political authorities embraced new photographic technologies to advance their legal propaganda and legal photography. Drawing on contemporary theoretical work in the area, the book then challenges straightforward accounts of the relationship between law and the visual, critically engaging entrenched legal historical narratives, in relation to three different protagonists, to offer the possibility of reclaiming and rewriting past accounts. As its analysis demonstrates, the power of images can also be subversive; and, as such, the cases it addresses contribute to the discourse on visual epistemology and open onto contemporary questions about law and its inherent performativity. Alex Batesmith is a Lecturer in Legal Profession in the School of Law at the University of Leeds, and a former barrister and UN war crimes prosecutor, with teaching and research interests in international criminal law, cause lawyering and the legal profession, and law and emotion. Twitter: @batesmith. LinkedIn.  His recent publications include: “‘Poetic Justice Products': International Justice, Victim Counter-Aesthetics, and the Spectre of the Show Trial” in Christine Schwöbel-Patel and Rob Knox (eds) Aesthetics and Counter-Aesthetics of International Justice (Counterpress, forthcoming 2023, ISBN 978-1-910761-17-5) "Lawyers who want to make the world a better place – Scheingold and Sarat's Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering" in D. Newman (ed.) Leading Works on the Legal Profession (Routledge, July 2023), ISBN 978-1-032182-80-3) “International Prosecutors as Cause Lawyers" (2021) Journal of International Criminal Justice 19(4) 803-830 (ISSN 1478-1387) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/photography

 FROM REVOLUTION TO QUANTUM TUNNELING Colleague Professor Paul Halpern. This segment introduces the parallel early lives of physicists George Gamow and Fred Hoyle. Halpern describes Gamow's youth in revolutionary Russia, noting the irony that his father once taught Leon Trotsky. Gamow studied under Alexander Friedmann, who applied general relativity to an expanding universe model likened to a balloon. Following Friedmann'suntimely death, Gamow pivoted to quantum physics, discovering quantum tunneling—a process vital for stellar fusion. The discussion covers Gamow's motorcycle adventures at the Niels Bohr Institute and his eventual escape from the Soviet Union to avoid Marxist-Leninist political intrusion into science. NUMBER 1 1942

THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION: THE CULT OF YOUTH AND ANARCHY Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. This segment covers the chaos of the mid-1960s Cultural Revolution. Mao mobilized a "cult of youth" to destroy the "old"—teachers, books, and cultural heritage—in a bid to purge rivals and reinvigorate the revolution. McMeekin describes this as the "nihilistic side" of communism carried to its logical conclusion: the destruction of civilization itself to build a blank slate. The Red Guards unleashed anarchy that the party could barely control, attacking foreign embassies and even targeting the Soviet Union, which Mao utilized as a convenient enemy alongside the United States. This period allowed Mao to "punch above his weight" geopolitically, despite the domestic ruin. The violence and indoctrination of the young set a grim precedent, specifically inspiring the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to arm children against their elders. NUMBER 6

Dr Campbell Costello's work as a vet has taken him out of his family's station in North Queensland to places as far flung as Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Patagonia.He's acted as the official vet for a sled race in Alaska, for epic horse races in Mongolia and Argentina, and he has run a cattle station in the former Soviet Union.But after a family tragedy, Dr Costello got his pilot's licence so he could service Australian communities and stations in the country's most remote corners.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the executive producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores animals, adventure, veterinarians, animal welfare, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, the Andes, Central Asia, horses, dogs, flying, getting your pilot's licence, learning to fly, outback Australia, top end, Northern territory, Queensland, travel, travel for work, death of a parent, farm accidents, grief, loss, love, family, Middle East, South America, far flung places, places less travelled, vet mental health, podcasts for kids, kids who love animals.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. In 1994, Ukraine surrendered the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, in exchange for security assurances from the US, Russia, and the UK. Ukraine's denuclearisation is often considered a huge success story in nuclear non-proliferation, but in retrospect, it may have paved the way for Putin's 2022 invasion. As talk of US-European security guarantees for Ukraine resurfaces in the context of tentative Russia-Ukraine peace talks, we speak with BBC Paris correspondent Andrew Harding about the history of the 1994 agreement, and consider whether Ukraine would ever again believe promises made to protect it. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: France's President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ludovic Marin/ Getty

In this episode of 'Wait, What Is That' Podcast, hostsBrandon and Katie discuss the Peekskill Riots of 1949 with John Scott Bennett,a filmmaker who has chronicled this significant yet under-discussed event inAmerican history. The conversation centers on the riots that erupted duringconcerts by Paul Robeson, an African American singer, actor, and civil rightsactivist, who faced violent opposition from the Peekskill community and the KuKlux Klan. Bennett, a history graduate from Manhattanville College, sharesinsights into local history, how the riots were a reaction to Robeson'spolitical stance, particularly his support for the Soviet Union, and how theseevents have been systematically erased or undermined in local historynarratives. The episode also explores Robeson's legacy, his subsequentblacklisting, and the broader implications for civil rights and historicalmemory.00:00 Introduction and Hosts Introduction00:32 Introducing John Scott Bennett01:24 The Peekskill Riots: A Historical Overview02:40 Paul Robeson and His Impact04:11 Discovering Local History08:26 The Ku Klux Klan's Influence11:19 Economic and Social Tensions13:59 Paul Robeson's Legacy and Struggles36:51 The First Peekskill Riot40:49 Catholics Fight Back Against the Klan41:25 The Jewish Summer Camp Incident42:27 Obstacles in Documenting Peekskill History43:34 The Peekskill Museum Controversy45:34 Paul Robeson's Struggle and Legacy57:52 The Decline of the Klan01:03:15 Community Response and Support01:04:25 Creating the Documentary Series01:07:32 Personal Reflections and Future Plans

SHIGENORI TOGO AND THE JAPANESE WAR COUNCIL Colleague Evan Thomas. Thomas profiles Shigenori Togo, the Japanese Foreign Minister and the only civilian on the Supreme War Council advocating for surrender. Togonavigated a dangerous political landscape defined by the "stomach game" of indirect communication and the threat of assassination by military extremists. The discussion explores the Japanese military's adherence to the "47 Ronin" code of honor through death and their preparation for a "final battle" involving 28 million civilians. While the military hoped to bleed the Americans to gain better terms, Togo attempted a desperate and ultimately failed diplomatic outreach to the Soviet Union. NUMBER 3 1945 OKINAWA

POTSDAM, STALIN, AND THE COLD WAR Colleague Evan Thomas. At the Potsdam Conference, President Truman initially excluded Henry Stimson from meetings, favoring Jimmy Byrnes, who wanted to use the bomb to intimidate the Soviet Union. Truman wrote in his diary that the bomb would hit a purely military target, a claim Thomassuggests was a form of denial regarding the inevitable civilian deaths. Stimson urged Truman to trust the Soviets and share the weapon to prevent an arms race, but the administration ultimately chose to use the bomb as diplomatic leverage, foreshadowing the onset of the Cold War. NUMBER 5 1945 OKINAWA

From Ashes to Ascent “A Story of Strength, Survival, and Unshakeable Hope”: Volume I Born to Fight and Win! by Amy Granit https://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Ascent-Strength-Survival-Unshakeable/dp/1326371096 VOLUME I “Born to Fight and Win!”A child of war. A mother's pain. A daughter's courage. Volume I of From Ashes to Ascent reveals Mara's earliest years—years shaped by the shadows of World War II and the unforgiving realities of a devastated Soviet Union. Born as bombs fell and fathers disappeared, Mara grows up in poverty-stricken barracks, surrounded by hunger, cold, and cruelty. Her mother, broken by grief and loss, becomes both caregiver and tormentor—leaving Mara to navigate a childhood marked by fear, confusion, and emotional isolation. Yet beneath her frail exterior lives a fighter. Whether standing up to her mother's violence, facing the brutal cold of Kazakhstan winters, or carving out moments of joy amid deprivation, Mara discovers her inner strength long before she understands its meaning. In this gripping and emotional first volume, Amy Granit paints a vivid portrait of a girl growing up in a world where survival is an act of defiance—and hope is a victory in itself. Themes: • Post-war trauma • Childhood resilience • Soviet history & village life • Abuse, healing, and identity • The will to rise above one's circumstances

In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with historian and bestselling author Giles Milton for a deep historical conversation about the Second World War, the alliance with Stalin, and the decisions that shaped the post-war world.We explore how Winston Churchill came to ally with Joseph Stalin after Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, despite viewing communism as a murderous and authoritarian system. Giles explains the extraordinary political reversal of 1941, the moral compromises involved, and why Churchill saw the alliance as a necessary pact with the devil.The discussion moves through the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Lend-Lease, the meetings at Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam, and the immense role American industrial power played in defeating Hitler. We examine how Stalin manipulated his allies, outmanoeuvred Roosevelt, and secured control of Eastern Europe, laying the foundations for the Cold War.We also discuss the betrayal of Poland, the division of Germany, the origins of the Iron Curtain, and Churchill's secret plans to confront the Soviet Union after the war, revealing how fragile the wartime alliance truly was.A fascinating conversation about power, war, pragmatism, and how the alliance that defeated Nazism reshaped the world that followed.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To see more exclusive content and interviews consider subscribing to my substack here: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:Substack: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/X: https://twitter.com/mrwinmarshallInsta: https://www.instagram.com/winstonmarshallLinktree: https://linktr.ee/winstonmarshall----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapters00:00 Introduction of Giles Milton and The Stalin Affair04:50 Churchill's Anti-Communist Stance and Political U-Turn10:46 The Lend-Lease Program and American Aid22:28 Stalin's Tactics and the Winter Turning Point26:54 The Tehran Conference and Churchill's Meeting with Stalin33:34 The Yalta Conference and Post-War Planning53:43 The Potsdam Conference and the Cold War59:48 Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech and the End of the Alliance1:03:45 Operation Unthinkable and Churchill's Final Strategy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guests: Captain James Fanell (USN Ret.) and Bradley Thayer. To counter China's conventional superiority, the authors recommend "war fighting proliferation," supporting nuclear capabilities for allies like Japan and South Korea. They advocate for "political warfare" rather than armed conflict, aiming to isolate the CCP economically and diplomatically. By cutting off investment and exploiting Xi Jinping's current economic weaknesses, they propose a strategy to delegitimize the regime and trigger internal change similar to the Soviet Union's collapse.

December marks both the birth and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Adam and Cameron are spending the month focusing on Soviet economists and thinkers. This week: Leon Trotsky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet Union (University of Toronto Press, 2025) offers a first-ever glimpse into the mysterious and long-ignored world and work of Soviet spies- and counterspies-turned-writers. Once out of active service, many former spies have turned to writing spy fiction. They drop the dagger and pick up the pen. Some are very successful, like James Bond's creator Ian Fleming or the novelists John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Their Soviet counterparts have rarely been afforded the same attention or examination. Drawing on materials from KGB archives and Soviet publications long out of print, KGB Literati offers the first-ever account of spy fiction written, frequently with institutional support, by Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers. Spy fiction can give insights into the operational workings of clandestine agencies and the personal dimensions of secret service work. By analysing the literary output of KGB spies and counterspies, the book shows that for the KGB, this type of intervention into Soviet popular culture was a crucial component of their overall counterintelligence strategy. These texts played an instrumental role in the Soviet state's efforts to neutralize and counter Western cultural influences on the Soviet population. Dr. Filip Kovacevic's research is of great relevance today, given that a large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of former KGB officers, including Russian president Vladimir Putin. KGB Literati illuminates the deep-seated KGB myths, values, aspirations, and fears that continue to have a profound impact on the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. 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

KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet Union (University of Toronto Press, 2025) offers a first-ever glimpse into the mysterious and long-ignored world and work of Soviet spies- and counterspies-turned-writers. Once out of active service, many former spies have turned to writing spy fiction. They drop the dagger and pick up the pen. Some are very successful, like James Bond's creator Ian Fleming or the novelists John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Their Soviet counterparts have rarely been afforded the same attention or examination. Drawing on materials from KGB archives and Soviet publications long out of print, KGB Literati offers the first-ever account of spy fiction written, frequently with institutional support, by Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers. Spy fiction can give insights into the operational workings of clandestine agencies and the personal dimensions of secret service work. By analysing the literary output of KGB spies and counterspies, the book shows that for the KGB, this type of intervention into Soviet popular culture was a crucial component of their overall counterintelligence strategy. These texts played an instrumental role in the Soviet state's efforts to neutralize and counter Western cultural influences on the Soviet population. Dr. Filip Kovacevic's research is of great relevance today, given that a large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of former KGB officers, including Russian president Vladimir Putin. KGB Literati illuminates the deep-seated KGB myths, values, aspirations, and fears that continue to have a profound impact on the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet Union (University of Toronto Press, 2025) offers a first-ever glimpse into the mysterious and long-ignored world and work of Soviet spies- and counterspies-turned-writers. Once out of active service, many former spies have turned to writing spy fiction. They drop the dagger and pick up the pen. Some are very successful, like James Bond's creator Ian Fleming or the novelists John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Their Soviet counterparts have rarely been afforded the same attention or examination. Drawing on materials from KGB archives and Soviet publications long out of print, KGB Literati offers the first-ever account of spy fiction written, frequently with institutional support, by Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers. Spy fiction can give insights into the operational workings of clandestine agencies and the personal dimensions of secret service work. By analysing the literary output of KGB spies and counterspies, the book shows that for the KGB, this type of intervention into Soviet popular culture was a crucial component of their overall counterintelligence strategy. These texts played an instrumental role in the Soviet state's efforts to neutralize and counter Western cultural influences on the Soviet population. Dr. Filip Kovacevic's research is of great relevance today, given that a large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of former KGB officers, including Russian president Vladimir Putin. KGB Literati illuminates the deep-seated KGB myths, values, aspirations, and fears that continue to have a profound impact on the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet Union (University of Toronto Press, 2025) offers a first-ever glimpse into the mysterious and long-ignored world and work of Soviet spies- and counterspies-turned-writers. Once out of active service, many former spies have turned to writing spy fiction. They drop the dagger and pick up the pen. Some are very successful, like James Bond's creator Ian Fleming or the novelists John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Their Soviet counterparts have rarely been afforded the same attention or examination. Drawing on materials from KGB archives and Soviet publications long out of print, KGB Literati offers the first-ever account of spy fiction written, frequently with institutional support, by Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers. Spy fiction can give insights into the operational workings of clandestine agencies and the personal dimensions of secret service work. By analysing the literary output of KGB spies and counterspies, the book shows that for the KGB, this type of intervention into Soviet popular culture was a crucial component of their overall counterintelligence strategy. These texts played an instrumental role in the Soviet state's efforts to neutralize and counter Western cultural influences on the Soviet population. Dr. Filip Kovacevic's research is of great relevance today, given that a large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of former KGB officers, including Russian president Vladimir Putin. KGB Literati illuminates the deep-seated KGB myths, values, aspirations, and fears that continue to have a profound impact on the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet Union (University of Toronto Press, 2025) offers a first-ever glimpse into the mysterious and long-ignored world and work of Soviet spies- and counterspies-turned-writers. Once out of active service, many former spies have turned to writing spy fiction. They drop the dagger and pick up the pen. Some are very successful, like James Bond's creator Ian Fleming or the novelists John Le Carré and Graham Greene. Their Soviet counterparts have rarely been afforded the same attention or examination. Drawing on materials from KGB archives and Soviet publications long out of print, KGB Literati offers the first-ever account of spy fiction written, frequently with institutional support, by Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence officers. Spy fiction can give insights into the operational workings of clandestine agencies and the personal dimensions of secret service work. By analysing the literary output of KGB spies and counterspies, the book shows that for the KGB, this type of intervention into Soviet popular culture was a crucial component of their overall counterintelligence strategy. These texts played an instrumental role in the Soviet state's efforts to neutralize and counter Western cultural influences on the Soviet population. Dr. Filip Kovacevic's research is of great relevance today, given that a large segment of the Russian ruling elite is still composed of former KGB officers, including Russian president Vladimir Putin. KGB Literati illuminates the deep-seated KGB myths, values, aspirations, and fears that continue to have a profound impact on the foreign and domestic policies of the Russian Federation. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

Trevor Loudon Reports – Drawing on historical communist doctrine - from Lenin's strategic zigzags to Dugin's Foundations of Geopolitics—the hosts explain how Russia amplifies domestic divisions on both left and right. Figures like Tucker Carlson are cited for deflecting criticism from Putin by highlighting real U.S. problems, mirroring the Soviet-era use of Western dissenters. Gussack stresses that ideology...

On today's episode we discuss internal border delimitation in the early Soviet Union. Our discussion covers a wide geography - from Central Asia to the South Caucasus to the Ukrainian-Russia borderlands. How did internal borders get delimited after the establishment of Soviet power in the 1920s and 30s? What role did borders play in nation building? And how do economic factors shape the border delimitation process?Our guest today is Stephan Rindlisbacher author of the book Borders in Red: Managing Diversity in the Early Soviet Unionhttps://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501780585/borders-in-red/Stephan Rindlisbacher (European University Viadrina Frankfurt, Oder) is a researcher specializing in Eurasian history. In his ongoing projects, he focuses on the early Soviet state's national policies and their regional implementation. This includes Ukraine, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett examine Soviet communism from czarist origins through Stalin's totalitarian brutality to collapse and explore how Marxist ideology created history's most psychologically destructive regime. -- SPONSOR: SHOPIFY⁠⁠⁠⁠ Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shopify.com/cognitive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- FOLLOW ON X: @whatifalthist (Rudyard) @LudwigNverMises (Austin) @TurpentineMedia -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00:00) Introduction (00:03:38) French Thinkers on Russia & America (00:15:52) Sponsor: Shopify (00:21:00) Czarist Russia - Nobility & Serfdom (00:26:37) Underground Revolutionary Networks (00:33:00) World War I - Russia's Breaking Point (00:44:00) The Russian Revolutions of 1917 (00:47:24) Lenin Seizes Power (00:51:00) Russian Civil War (01:09:00) Stalin vs Trotsky (01:11:38) Stalin's Rise to Power (01:26:09) Stalin's Economic Plans & Brutal Conditions (01:52:33) Stalin's Mass Purges & Genocides (01:54:09) Holodomor - Ukrainian Famine (02:01:36) The Gulag System (02:08:09) World War II - Eastern Front (02:14:12) Post-War Soviet Empire & Iron Curtain (02:20:27) The Cold War (02:30:00) Gorbachev & The Collapse (1989-1991) (02:38:00) Closing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode 454 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author, futurist, and U.S. foreign policy expert Jamie Metzl about the aims and objectives of the 2025 National Security Strategy and its implications for American prosperity and power in the 21st century. Jamie and Demetri spend the first hour of this conversation digging into the Trump administration's 2025 National Security Strategy and the story that the administration is trying to tell to the American people and to itself about America's place in the world, where it went astray, and what needs to be done on a strategic planning level in order to "Make America Great Again." From there, Metzl and Kofinas debate whether the strategy amounts to a "containment" of China or something closer to a 19th-century balance-of-power where the largest and most powerful countries—namely the United States, Russia, and China—will be granted the freedom to operate with impunity within their own spheres of influence, dealing a final death blow to the international rules-based liberal order that the United States sought to universalize after the fall of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. The second hour is a wide-ranging tour through what this strategy might look like in practice, from the Western Hemisphere and Venezuela to Europe and Ukraine, and what "power politics" means when so much of modern conflict is fought through influence campaigns, institutional sabotage, and cyber operations rather than through the use of conventional arms and occupations. The two also explore the dangerous vacuum created when a superpower can no longer clearly articulate what it stands for—at home or abroad—and how that confusion can lead to a cascade of unintended consequences that further destabilize the international system, resulting in a new form of total war. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Joining our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/15/2025

Day 1,397.Today, as three days of talks in Miami between the US, Ukraine and Russia fail to produce anything of substance, we report how Emmanuel Macron may pick up the diplomatic baton with a potential phone call this week with Vladimir Putin. We report the breaking news of a car bombing in Moscow that has killed another senior Russian General and of another Ukrainian strike against Russian energy facilities in the Caspian Sea. And later, you'll hear a report from our last trip to Ukraine when we visited a prosthetics factory in Odesa where, among work to support victims of this war, I met a fellow Afghanistan veteran, only this chap had been fighting for the Soviet Union.ContributorsDominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.With thanks to video producer Jack LeatherVideo version of our report on the prosthetics factory in Odesa:https://youtu.be/m-vZshCP4nYSIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST' WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers.CONTENT REFERENCED:Steve Rosenberg's actual question to Putin:https://x.com/BBCSteveR/status/2002328372253503933?s=20Russian TV's interaction with the fake Steve Rosenberg:https://x.com/BBCSteveR/status/2002804837486850215?s=20Russia is Losing – Time for Putin's 2026 Hybrid Escalationhttps://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/russia-losing-time-putins-2026-hybrid-escalationReuters: US intelligence indicates Putin's war aims in Ukraine are unchanged:https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-intelligence-indicates-putins-war-aims-ukraine-are-unchanged-2025-12-19/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textToday, we begin a multipart series on the Cold War, a battle of ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union.Support the show

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger Picture The [CB] is losing control of the economy, they wanted a crash instead Trump has turned it around and the economy is growing very quickly. The D’s are trying to convince the people that the economy is worse than what Trump is letting on, this will fail.Watch gold, silver and Bitcoin. The [DS] tried to gain control the military by having the seditious 6 tell the military not to obey, Trump gives them a dividend check to show he cares about them. The Epstein files were released, it all points to the Clinton’s and the D’s. The entire plan backfired on the [DS], boomerang. Every step of the way they are feeling the pain. The [DS] wants war and Trump is fighting against those countries who are suppose to be our allies. He will get peace in the end. Economy (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent BODIES Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren with a Devastating Reminder After She Claims Trump is Setting the Stage for the Next Economic Crash  Senator Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren (D-MA) made a poor decision trying to school Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week, and it spectacularly backfired. https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2000915011154112623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2000915011154112623%7Ctwgr%5E4c8d9bec902c32b0cd01ee05619255f6315a3493%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Ftreasury-secretary-scott-bessent-bodies-elizabeth-pocahontas-warren%2F  substantial increase in private credit which is outside of the regulated banking system — that tells me that the regulated system is too constrained.” https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/2001375798947885283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2001375798947885283%7Ctwgr%5E4c8d9bec902c32b0cd01ee05619255f6315a3493%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Ftreasury-secretary-scott-bessent-bodies-elizabeth-pocahontas-warren%2F https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent/status/2002138930410324028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2002138930410324028%7Ctwgr%5E4c8d9bec902c32b0cd01ee05619255f6315a3493%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Ftreasury-secretary-scott-bessent-bodies-elizabeth-pocahontas-warren%2F  Administration. Over-regulation is not the solution to what ails the American banking system. Rigorous, responsible supervision is. The initial report on the 2023 debacle by former Vice Chairman for Supervision, Michael Barr, was an exercise in obfuscation and sophistry. The American people deserve supervisors who are not asleep at the wheel, and the incoming Chairman of the Federal Reserve should undertake a thorough investigation of the systemic and oversight failures that led to that disaster. Source: thegaetwaypundit.com Trump announces that they've sold $1.3 BILLION worth of Gold Cards within Days Political/Rights https://twitter.com/RepJamesComer/status/2002011743254380602?s=20 More than a dozen politically exposed people and government officials’ names appear in the hundreds of thousands of pages of Jeffrey Epstein files made public Friday, sources said. And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ discovered more than 1,200 victims and their families during the exhaustive review, explaining the process behind determining which files could be released in a letter to Congress exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. https://twitter.com/Badhombre/status/2002388917618610413?s=20   home in New York to solicit money for her campaign and the DCCC. FBI was warned that Jeffrey Epstein was into child porn — but ignored it for 10 years, docs show   A former employee of late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein alerted the FBI that he was interested in “child pornography” and that he threatened to “burn her house down” decades before Epstein became an international fixation — but feds apparently did nothing. Source: nypost.com   If there was every anything about Trump, it would have been released before he reached the bottom of the escalator in 2015, the Comey FBI would have leaked it, and the Dems would have brought it up at some point while Biden was in office. But none of that happened. Why? Because Epstein leads to the Dems, and people like myself have been trying to warn the world about it for 10+ years.  https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2002408563193368834?s=20  and it worked brilliantly. Could you imagine if in Trump's first term he released all this stuff about Epstein? The public would not have believed it, and the Dems/MSM would have claimed it was all politically motivated and fabricated by Trump. The only way this Epstein disclosure was going to work, was to get the public to beg for it. So that's what Trump did. https://twitter.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/2002450017647301084?s=20 https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2002530633394934144?s=20   partner with Wolfe via the TerraMar project, which is also connected to the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation. What is Nathan Wolfe known for? Searching for bat coronaviruses in Ukraine via USAID Project PREDICT, via his biolab company, Metabiota, which was funded via Rosemont Seneca, which is partially owned by Hunter Biden. Russia accused Wolfe and his biolab company of creating genome-specific biological weapons in Ukraine. This situation has been addressed by RFK Jr. and Tulsi multiple times, and has been a major topic at the UN for over 3 years now. So Epstein had an interest in eugenics and he had financial/social connections to virologists who were making genome-specific biological weapons via USAID grants in Ukraine. Nathan Wolfe even directly thanked Epstein in his 2011 book “The Viral Storm: The Dawn of the New Pandemic Age” where Wolfe predicted the COVID pandemic 8 years before it happened… So what am I getting at? I think Epstein had plans to engage in ethnic cleansing/population control/genocide via biological weapon, and I think he had something to do with Covid. Epstein is at the epicenter of the Deep State empire. He was essentially a real life James Bond villain. The timing could not be worse. He and Hillary are in the middle of trying to fight subpoenas to testify in person to the House Oversight Committee on the Epstein matter and what they might know. They want to submit sworn statements. Republican Committee Chair James Comer (KY-1) wants to be able to question and cross-examine them in person.  DOGE Geopolitical U.S. Snatches Venezuela Oil Tanker in Dark‑Hour Strike on Narco‑Terror Funding In a stealth operation carried out before dawn on Dec. 20, the U.S. Coast Guard—working alongside the Department of War—seized an oil tanker last seen in the terrorist state of Venezuela. The United States accused the ship's operators of moving sanctioned crude to fuel narco‑terror activity. Officials issued a stark warning to traffickers: “We will find you, and we will stop you. https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/2002481990755627050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2002481990755627050%7Ctwgr%5E0acb5b51ea0ddfb03f7a0e25a375c9245159ce68%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Ft%2Fassets%2Fhtml%2Ftweet-5.html2002481990755627050 https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/2002504193924342003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2002504193924342003%7Ctwgr%5E1410e2476c70f24b31810862ee2f8e034c77bc3e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Ft%2Fassets%2Fhtml%2Ftweet-5.html2002504193924342003  conduct maritime interdiction operations — through OPERATION SOUTHERN SPEAR — to dismantle illicit criminal networks. Violence, drugs, and chaos will not control the Western Hemisphere. Source: breitbart.com U.S. imposes sanctions on family and associates of Venezuela’s Maduro and his wife The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on family members and associates of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as Washington ratchets up pressure on the Venezuelan president. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on seven people it said were tied to Maduro and his wife. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused them of “propping up Nicolás Maduro’s rogue narcostate.” “ Source: cbc.ca War/Peace Zelenskyy Announces Eastern Ukraine Citizens Will Not Be Allowed to Vote in Elections Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to hold elections if there is a ceasefire.  However, eastern Ukraine citizens, those currently living in the Donbas region, who are supportive of Russia, will not be permitted to vote. This creates a rather bizarre official hypocrisy within the Zelenskyy regime.  The official position of Zelenskyy is that Eastern Ukraine will never be accepted as a part of the Russian federation. Zelenskyy has recently noted, with EU leadership support, that his government will never recognize Eastern Ukraine as part of the Russian federation.  However, this same region, approximately 20% of Ukraine, will not be permitted to participate in his controlled election. Essentially, any Ukraine resident who does not support Zelenskyy will not be permitted to vote in any election, if any election is ever permitted.  Additionally, Zelenskyy notes that “there is the practice of voting abroad,” however, any region not controlled by Zelenskyy cannot submit votes. Source: zerohedge.com A Lie And Propaganda’: Gabbard Fact-Checks Reuters’ Russia Scaremongering In Real Time    Reuters posted an anonymously-sourced story pushing the idea that Russia is bent on reconstituting the Soviet Union. Before the metaphorical ink had dried, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard pounced, condemning the story as “a lie and propaganda” on behalf of “warmongers” seeking to derail President Trump’s drive to end the long and bloody Ukraine war.   Reuters vaguely attributed the purported US intelligence conclusions about Russia to “six sources familiar with US intelligence.”    https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/2002484806978834862?s=20  narrative to block President Trump's peace effort, and fomenting hysteria and fear among the people to get them to support the escalation of war, which is what NATO and the EU really want in order to pull the United States military directly into war with Russia. The truth is the US intelligence community has briefed policymakers, including the Democrat HPSCI member quoted by Reuters, that US Intelligence assesses that Russia seeks to avoid a larger war with NATO. It also assesses that, as the last few years have shown, Russia's battlefield performance indicates it does not currently have the capability to conquer and occupy all of Ukraine, let alone Europe. https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/2002503405156151648?s=20   invade/conquer Europe (in order to gin up support for their pro-war policies). The truth is that ‘US intelligence' assesses that Russia does not even have the capability to conquer and occupy Ukraine, what to speak of ‘invading and occupying' Europe.   Source: zerohedge.com WATCH: US CENTCOM Releases Footage from Operation Hawkeye Strikes Against 70+ ISIS Targets  US Central Command released footage from Operation Hawkeye strikes against ISIS militants and facilities on Friday night. “Tonight, U.S. and Jordanian forces struck 70+ ISIS targets in Syria with 100+ precision munitions. Peace through strength,” CENTCOM said on X. This is one of 10 operations conducted in Syria and Iraq since the December 13 ambush in Syria, which left multiple American service members injured and two soldiers and a civilian interpreter killed. Twenty-three terrorist operatives have been killed or detained, according to CENTCOM. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region,” CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said. TAMPA, Fla.- Following the attack on U.S. and partner forces last Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commenced Operation Hawkeye Strike at 4 pm ET against ISIS in Syria, Dec. 19, at the Commander in Chief's direction. Source: thegatewaypundit.com   of Syria, led by a man who is working very hard to bring Greatness back to Syria, and is fully in support. All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned — YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A. DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/2002717078722052256?s=20  reclassify serious crimes as less severe “intermediate offenses” that are not publicly reported. https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2002421989886075083?s=20 BREAKING: HUD Sec. Scott Turner CONFIRMS major investigation into Boston for anti-white public housing discrimination“They were using discriminatory housing policies in their city! We found a quote on their website that said they will integrate ‘racial equity at every level of city government.'”“They put race above reality. They put race above merit and need. Our job at HUD is to enforce and uphold the fair housing – and they were evading and encouraging landlords and property owners to evade the Fair Housing Act!”“They have been put on NOTICE. We uphold and enforce this law.” https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2002091915819253766?s=20  weaponized against Minnesota!” GOOD. IT’S CALLED ACCOUNTABILITY, TIM. “They’re threatening us with this. And this is what happens when you have a floundering presidency, and it is about those ballrooms and everything else. Now we’re back on transgender folks. And these are healthcare providers providing the best guidance to parents and children to get their care.” “It’s on every front! It’s CDLs, it’s transportation money, it’s money across the board that they have weaponized!” He should be worried. https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2002596210620969230?s=20 https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/2002531244131991931?s=20 https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/2001646253655097726?s=20 https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2002203857955549464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2002203857955549464%7Ctwgr%5E7d1378774cdcbdfe43552d1c5b5ef213bd4f721f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Ft%2Fassets%2Fhtml%2Ftweet-5.html2002203857955549464 President Trump's Plan Democrats Have Devised a Plan to Compete With Turning Point USA for Young Voters and it's Going to be a Disaster Democrats have decided that they need to have their own version of Turning Point USA in order to appeal to young voters and what they have come up with is the most Democrat thing ever. It's going to be a total disaster. It's called the ‘DNC National Youth Coordinated Table'. It's not a grassroots group, it's completely fabricated. And you can just imagine how meetings of this group are going to go, with mini-groups within the group fighting for dominance and power. Newsweek reported on this: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2002577300802711720?s=20 DOJ Appeals Controversial Ruling That Disqualified Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, Resulting in the Dismissal of Charges Against Letitia James and James Comey The Department of Justice has formally appealed a controversial ruling that disqualified Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a decision that directly led to the dismissal of federal charges against James Comey and Letitia James. According to a Notice of Appeal filed on December 19, the Trump-led DOJ is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to overturn a lower-court ruling that declared Halligan's appointment unconstitutional and voided every prosecutorial action she took while in office. Source: thegatewaypundit.com JUST IN: DOJ Wins Motion to Unseal Documents on Investigation into Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks The Department of Justice announced that it successfully moved to unseal documents related to the investigation into would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks.  “The Department of Justice received court approval to disclose to Congress documents gathered as part of the FBI's investigation of Thomas Crooks and his attempt to assassinate President Trump,” the Western District of Pennsylvania announced on X. A copy of the motion and order can be found here. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2002596363138445539?s=20 Justice Department Sues Four States Including Georgia After Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Sides With Democrats in Failure to Produce Voter Rolls https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2001775020566286614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2001775020566286614%7Ctwgr%5Ee92dad24c2453e3b35c6a465ec1523cafbc35499%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fjustice-department-sues-four-states-including-georgia-after%2F Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/2001992915850260516?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarkPaoletta/status/2002483634251461079?s=20   memorial to President John F. Kennedy and now additionally honors President Donald J. Trump, who has brought America back and saved the Trump-Kennedy Center. The Board's action is permissible under the statute and no legislation is necessary. The Board’s action does nothing to change the statutory title. Instead, the Board has–in line with longstanding Executive Branch practice–designated a new name. For example, The Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer, within the Office of Management & Budget, is designated by statute as the “Office of Electronic Government.” But it's long gone by the name “Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer” in official, public, and internal communications. Similarly, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is designated by statute as the “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.” But since the beginning, the agency has long gone by the name Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or CFPB in all official communications, correspondence with the Hill, titles and signage on its buildings. The “United States Institute of Peace” was established by statute but was renamed by the Department of State as the “Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace.” The Department of War was established as the “Department of Defense” by statute in 1947. Earlier this year, President Trump authorized the use of the name “Department of War” and the name is now etched on the Pentagon's building and in official correspondence and public communications. It is entirely fitting for the Board of Trustees to vote to add President Trump to the title so that this Center is now named The Donald J. Trump And The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. President Trump has provided superb leadership at every level to save the Kennedy Center from financial ruin and wokeness, and to bring our national treasure to new heights! Thank you, @kencen Board of Trustees for honoring President Trump. I have been going to the Kennedy Center for decades and have never seen such energy and excitement as I did at the Christmas tree lighting and Noel performance. The Golden Age is here!   AND ORDER. As your next Governor, Bruce will continue to fight hard to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes, and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, Advance Election Integrity, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment!   Bruce Blakeman is a FANTASTIC guy, will win the big November Election and, without hesitation, has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Governor of the ONCE GREAT STATE OF NEW YORK (IT CAN BE GREAT AGAIN!). BRUCE BLAKEMAN WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!  (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

As the USA and Soviet Union race for supremacy in the 1960s, Premier Khrushchev sizes up his rival, President John F Kennedy. Presenters Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the superpower leaders, explore their rise to power - one wealthy, smooth-talking and Harvard educated, the other a hardened Soviet war leader from a peasant family. As they prepare to meet for the first and only time as world leaders, the stakes could not be higher: they are fierce rivals in the race to build ever more devastating missiles. This is the personal and political history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nina Khrushcheva is the great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev and Max Kennedy is the nephew of President John F Kennedy, and the son of Robert F Kennedy. To hear more episodes, search for The Bomb, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Russian journalist in exile Mikhail Zygar traces an information system so sealed even Gorbachev couldn't get the facts in The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory Over Totalitarianism. He draws a straight psychological line from late-Soviet overload to our current tech-firehose, arguing humans don't change much; institutions do (and the Soviet Union didn't have many worthy of the name). Plus: a quote-counting tour through Chris Whipple's Vanity Fair Susie Wiles interviews: "an alcoholic's personality," "conspiracy theorist," "ketamine user," "right-wing absolute zealot." Produced by Corey Wara Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠ad-sales@libsyn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Gist: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠GIST INSTAGRAM⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow The Gist List at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pesca⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠