Podcasts about Soviet Union

Communist state in Europe and Asia that lasted from 1922 to 1991

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    Hillsdale College Podcast Network Superfeed
    The Great American Story: A Time of Turbulence

    Hillsdale College Podcast Network Superfeed

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2026 47:12


    On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah discusses the challenges that Eisenhower and Kennedy faced in a changing United States before introducing Wilfred McClay. Americans have overcome many challenges throughout our history, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the Cold War. Studying the great stories from our past inspires us to preserve the blessings of liberty in our day. Now you can study these stories with Hillsdale College. Hillsdale’s free online course, “The Great American Story: A Land of Hope,” explores the history of America as a land of hope founded on high principles. In presenting the great triumphs and achievements of our nation’s past, as well as the shortcomings and failures, it offers a broad and unbiased study of the kind essential to the cultivation of intelligent patriotism. Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower pursued a post-war foreign policy of containing the growing threat of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast
    The Great American Story: A Time of Turbulence

    The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2026 47:12


    On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah discusses the challenges that Eisenhower and Kennedy faced in a changing United States before introducing Wilfred McClay. Americans have overcome many challenges throughout our history, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the Cold War. Studying the great stories from our past inspires us to preserve the blessings of liberty in our day. Now you can study these stories with Hillsdale College. Hillsdale’s free online course, “The Great American Story: A Land of Hope,” explores the history of America as a land of hope founded on high principles. In presenting the great triumphs and achievements of our nation’s past, as well as the shortcomings and failures, it offers a broad and unbiased study of the kind essential to the cultivation of intelligent patriotism. Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower pursued a post-war foreign policy of containing the growing threat of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Intelligence Squared
    Life and Death in the KGB, with The Rest is Classified's Gordon Corera (Part Two)

    Intelligence Squared

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 33:42


    As the main intelligence and security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991, the KGB instilled fear across Russia and sought to sow discord abroad. This network of government spies was notorious for the often brutal methods it used to keep enemies, loyalists and common people under the thumb of the state. And far from fading as the USSR old guard fell from power, the operatives, methods and networks of the KGB remain at the heart of the Russian state today. Putin himself was a KGB officer for 16 years, including six years as a foreign intelligence officer stationed in Dresden, East Germany. In May 2026, veteran security correspondent and Rest is Classified co-host Gordon Corera joined us to unveil the inner workings of the KGB and the hidden power struggles that shaped modern Russia. Corera explored the real-life stories of those on the inside; from the spies who lived and died enforcing its rule, to those who were brave enough to resist it. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. ⁠https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    New Books Network
    Cristina Florea, "Bukovina: The Life and Death of an East European Borderland" (Princeton UP, 2025)

    New Books Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 91:37


    Bukovina, when it has existed on official maps, has always fit uneasily among its neighbors. The region is now divided between Romania and Ukraine but has long been a testing ground for successive regimes, including the Habsburg Empire, independent and later Nazi-allied Romania, and the Soviet Union, as each sought to reshape the region in its own image. In this beautifully written and wide-ranging book Bukovina: The Life and Death of an East European Borderland (Princeton UP, 2025), Cristina Florea traces the history of Bukovina, showing how this borderland, the onetime buffer between Christendom and Islam, found itself at the forefront of modern state-building and governance projects that eventually extended throughout the rest of Europe. Encounters that play out in borderlands have proved crucial to the development of modern state ambitions and governance practices.Drawing on a wide range of archives and published sources in Russian, Ukrainian, German, Romanian, French, and Yiddish, Florea integrates stories of ethnic and linguistic groups—rural Ukrainians, Romanians, and Germans, and urban German-speaking Jews and Poles—who lived side by side in Bukovina, all of them navigating constant reconfiguration and reinvention. Challenging traditional chronologies in European history, she shows that different transformations in the region occurred at different tempos, creating a historical palimpsest and a sense among locals that they had lived many lives.A two-hundred-year history of a region shaped by the conflicting pulls of imperial legacies and national ambitions, Bukovina reveals the paradoxes of modern history found in a microcosm of Eastern Europe. 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 Bunker
    Empire of Spies – An ex-CIA officer exposes Putin's intelligence state

    The Bunker

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 31:53


    The West's naivete towards Putin in the 2000s cost us dearly. Now Russia's tyrant – a creature of the KGB/FSB who has returned his country to its roots as a repressive intelligence state – is attacking us with unprecedented ferocity and deviousness. Sean Wiswesser, ex-CIA station chief in the former Soviet Union, says the “reckless” activity of FSB and GRU agents has reached new heights. But can they be stopped – and can we win the intelligence war? He tells Andrew Harrison how intelligence and dirty tricks are inextricable from Putin's power; how the old skills of “tradecraft” persist alongside new digital tactics; and what really makes Russian intelligence tick.  • Buy Sean's book Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War from our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Baltic Ways
    Unlikely Alliance, Uncertain Future

    Baltic Ways

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 28:21


    The Baltic states are stalwart NATO members today, but their membership was not assured from the moment they restored their independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. They fought to overcome the reticence of other allies, then proved themselves as devoted partners on battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, this alliance is once again in question. What does it mean to the Baltic states, and what does the future hold? Ben Gardner-Gill chats with Dr. Andris Banka about his research and cautiously optimistic view about what comes next.Baltic Ways is a podcast from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

    Millennium Fulcrum
    S1 E8 Tango & Cash (1989)

    Millennium Fulcrum

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2026 93:36


    Jonny is joined by Jonesy and Maka for today's movie - Tango & Cash! Should you rewatch it?fulcrumfilmclub@gmail.comFulcrum Film Club Main Intro Music: 'Young Americans' performed by Dwayne GretzkyMusic & video clips (in addition to short clips from the movie):'Bus Chase/Cocain' by Harold FaltermeyerTango & Cash Original Trailer'East West College Bowl' Key & Peele'The Office clip'State Anthem of the Soviet Union' by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, Sergey Mikhalkov & El-Registan'Pussy Riot band members jailed' clip from Channel 4 News'Infinity' by Guru JoshThe Countdown Clock from Countdown (Channel 4)'Rock Me Amadeus' by FalcoProduced by Jonny Hennigan & The Fulcrum Crew. Recorded at the Fulcrum Studios, the Shire. England.Mixed and edited by Jonny Hennigan at the Fulcrum Studios, the Shire. England. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, Supernatural, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved
    CONSPIRACY IN DALLAS | The Case That Lee Harvey Oswald Was Set Up to Take the Fall

    Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, Supernatural, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 41:25 Transcription Available


    The official story has Lee Harvey Oswald firing three shots from a sixth-floor window, yet the witnesses on the stairs never saw him flee, the paraffin test on his cheek came back clean, and J. Edgar Hoover himself admitted the voice on the Oswald tape from Mexico City belonged to another man.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/ConspiracyInDallasREAD or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8hjttrFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Was there a conspiracy to murder President John F. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza in 1963? (Conspiracy In Dallas) *** A Weirdo family member tells of his own personal experience with what might've been a hell hound. (The Dog That Wasn't There) *** One island, one couple, one murder. We'll look at the strange life and death of Rolf Neslund. (The Rolf Neslund Murder) *** She was murdered in November of 1901. Her lover spent more than a dozen years in prison, proclaiming his innocence, before being pardoned by the governor. So why did he commit suicide soon after getting out of prison? We'll look at the strange murder of – and eventual haunting by - Nell Cropsey. (The Lingering Ghost of Nell Cropsey)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:01:09.039 = Show Open00:02:46.404 = Conspiracy In Dallas00:20:59.391 = The Dog That Wasn't There ***00:22:36.375 = The Rolf Neslund Murder 00:31:41.043 = Lingering Ghost of Nell Cropsey ***00:40:08.752 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:
“Conspiracy In Dallas” posted at The Unredacted: http://bit.ly/weirddarkness2YVxMdq“The Dog That Wasn't There” by Weirdo family member Daniel Mulberry“The Rolf Neslund Murder” by Elizabeth Tilsa: http://bit.ly/weirddarkness2KywOAX“The Lingering Ghost of Nell Cropsey” by Troy Taylor: http://bit.ly/weirddarkness2UnJ2Rb(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: November 28, 2021Weird Darkness host Darren Marlar moves from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas to a phantom black dog in the English county of Dorset, the murder and dismemberment of a retired sea captain on a quiet island in Washington's San Juan archipelago, and the 1901 killing of a young woman in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, whose spirit is said to still walk her family home.It opens in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, where President John F. Kennedy was shot and the Warren Commission, headed by Judge Earl Warren, concluded in 1964 that ex-Marine Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots alone from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Eyewitnesses undercut that account from the start: Arnold Rowland saw two men at the window minutes earlier, one holding a rifle and neither matching Oswald, while secretaries Victoria Adams and Sandra Styles and caretaker Jack Dougherty never saw Oswald flee down the only staircase he could have used. The episode dismantles Arlen Specter's single-bullet theory — the claim that Commission Exhibit 399 passed through Kennedy's neck and inflicted five separate wounds on Governor John Connally before turning up nearly pristine on a Parkland Hospital stretcher — a conclusion Connally and his wife Nellie both rejected and Abraham Zapruder's home film contradicts on timing. Oswald's negative paraffin test, his suspicious 1959 defection to the Soviet Union and fluent Russian, his leafleting against the Fair Play for Cuba Committee alongside FBI-linked investigator Guy Banister, and a Mexico City impersonation so plain that J. Edgar Hoover told President Lyndon Johnson the recorded voice and surveillance photograph did not match the man in custody all steer the evidence away from a lone gunman. The thread ends with Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, whose out-of-state mob contacts spiked twenty-fivefold before he shot Oswald on live television and whose 1965 hint that the truth would never surface still shadows the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that remains the strongest piece against the accused.From there the tone turns to folklore and a listener's firsthand sighting of Black Shuck, the spectral black dog reported for centuries across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and East Anglia and long treated as an omen of coming disaster. Camping alone beside a medieval moat near Raoul Castle in East Dorset, he watched the dark shape of a large dog settle on the far embankment and stare back at him, then rise and dissolve into nothing as every nearby sound of wildlife cut out, leaving him zipped inside his tent until morning.Next comes the disappearance of Rolf Neslund, an 83-year-old retired sea captain who in 1978 drove a 550-foot freighter into the West Seattle Bridge before retreating into a drink-soaked marriage on Lopez Island in Washington's San Juan Islands. When Rolf vanished in August 1980, his wife Ruth insisted he had flown home to Norway, yet his prescriptions went unfilled, his American and Norwegian bank accounts went untouched, and no Christmas card reached his relatives that December. In 1982 Ruth's brother told police she had confessed that on August 8, 1980, a second brother held Rolf down while she shot him twice in the head, after which the body was dismembered in the bathtub, burned in a backyard barrel, and scattered on the manure pile. A search turned up replaced carpet over bloodstains, spatter on the ceiling, and a bloodstained .38-caliber Smith & Wesson hidden in Ruth's dresser, tying her to a killing that began as a fight over the roughly $80,000 she had quietly moved into an account bearing only her name; convicted in 1985 and sentenced to twenty years, she maintained her innocence until her death at seventy-three.The episode closes with nineteen-year-old Nell Cropsey, who walked onto the front porch of her family's Elizabeth City, North Carolina home with her suitor Jim Wilcox on the night of November 20, 1901, and was never seen alive again. Her body surfaced in the Pasquotank River on December 27, her death caused by a violent blow to the left temple, and Wilcox — the son of the local sheriff, known for a fierce temper — was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to thirty years before Governor Thomas Walter Bickett pardoned him in 1918. Once freed, Wilcox sought out newspaper editor W.O. Saunders to reveal something so startling that Saunders began planning a book, but Wilcox killed himself with a shotgun before he could tell it, Saunders died soon afterward in a car wreck, and whatever he knew went with them. More than a century on, the former Cropsey home still answers with lights that switch on and off, doors that open by themselves, faucets that run with no hand on the tap, and a pale young woman glimpsed crossing empty rooms and gazing from an upstairs window — recognized by more than one resident as Nell, her killing never truly solved.

    The John Batchelor Show
    S8 Ep1006: Michael McFaul reflects on the collapse of the Soviet Union, recalling his time in Moscow in 1991 when he witnessed the transition from Gorbachev's reforms to Yeltsin's revolutionary phase. He argues that while the United States rightly suppo

    The John Batchelor Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 13:30


    Michael McFaul reflects on the collapse of the Soviet Union, recalling his time in Moscow in 1991 when he witnessed the transition from Gorbachev's reforms to Yeltsin's revolutionary phase. He argues that while the United States rightly supported Yeltsin, policymakers were too complacent, assuming democracy would consolidate organically without significant external investment. This "end of history" mentality led to a lack of political and economic support during Russia's vulnerable early years of independence. McFaul notes that failing to provide robust assistance to liberal reformers allowed for the eventual rise of Vladimir Putin. (3)1906

    Intelligence Squared
    Life and Death in the KGB, with The Rest is Classified's Gordon Corera (Part One)

    Intelligence Squared

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 35:53


    As the main intelligence and security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991, the KGB instilled fear across Russia and sought to sow discord abroad. This network of government spies was notorious for the often brutal methods it used to keep enemies, loyalists and common people under the thumb of the state. And far from fading as the USSR old guard fell from power, the operatives, methods and networks of the KGB remain at the heart of the Russian state today. Putin himself was a KGB officer for 16 years, including six years as a foreign intelligence officer stationed in Dresden, East Germany. In May 2026, veteran security correspondent and Rest is Classified co-host Gordon Corera joined us to unveil the inner workings of the KGB and the hidden power struggles that shaped modern Russia. Corera explored the real-life stories of those on the inside; from the spies who lived and died enforcing its rule, to those who were brave enough to resist it. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    New Books Network
    Ida Kinalska-Pietruska and Isabella Skrypczak, "A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile" (Disruption Books, 2026)

    New Books Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 65:50


    A memoir of a child's forced relocation to Siberia under Stalin's Gulag system reveals the potential for true human kindness in the face of extraordinary hardship.  In April of 1940, six-year-old Ida woke to the sound of pounding on her door. Soviet soldiers forcibly packed her and her mother onto a train with thousands of their neighbors and deported them to remote Siberia, leaving them stranded to survive the brutal winter in subhuman conditions. Looking back, Ida shares their struggles: foraging for food, trying to reunite with her imprisoned father, spending weeks in a desolate hospital with typhoid fever, and adapting to shifts in the political climate to make the long journey home to Poland. Ida published this acclaimed memoir in her native Polish in 2011. Here, Ida's granddaughter, Isabella Skrypczak, translates her babcia's words and provides additional context—including describing the remarkable life Ida has gone on to live as a pioneering doctor. In the vein of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile (Disruption Books, 2026) chronicles Ida's experiences on a lesser-known front of the Second World War. Together, Ida and Isabella reflect on how every small act of kindness contributed to Ida's liberation from exile and ability to build a life and a family. Her story celebrates the capacity of the human spirit to not only survive trauma but thrive beyond it.Ida Kinalska-Pietruska survived childhood exile to Siberia during the Soviet Union's World War II assault on Poland. When she returned to Poland as a teen, she began studying medicine. A pioneering endocrinologist, she founded the School of Endocrinology and Diabetology in Białystok and led the region's first endocrinology clinic for twenty years. Ida has authored more than four hundred publications, mentored countless other doctors, and collaborated across the international medical community, including using her research to make widely known the Chernobyl disaster's effects on people's endocrinological health. She has been honored with the Order Odrodzenia Polski, Poland's second-highest civilian state award, and two Doctor Honoris Causa titles, reflecting her resilience, brilliance, and global impact on science and humanity.Isabella Skrypczak is an author, intuitive healer, and former HR professional in Big Tech whose work bridges the seen and unseen. Born to Polish immigrants and raised in Houston, Texas, she spent every summer with her grandmother in Poland. When her grandmother's memoir gained national attention in Polish media, Iza felt called to translate it into English—an act of love, remembrance, and advocacy. As war returned to Eastern Europe, she recognized the urgency in sharing this history with the Western world. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her daughter, Kamila.Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar with research areas spanning Civilizational Sciences, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, Military History, War Studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, and Russian and East European history. He is currently the Book Review Editor for Comparative Civilizations Review. 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

    New Books in Russian and Eurasian Studies
    Ida Kinalska-Pietruska and Isabella Skrypczak, "A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile" (Disruption Books, 2026)

    New Books in Russian and Eurasian Studies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 65:50


    A memoir of a child's forced relocation to Siberia under Stalin's Gulag system reveals the potential for true human kindness in the face of extraordinary hardship.  In April of 1940, six-year-old Ida woke to the sound of pounding on her door. Soviet soldiers forcibly packed her and her mother onto a train with thousands of their neighbors and deported them to remote Siberia, leaving them stranded to survive the brutal winter in subhuman conditions. Looking back, Ida shares their struggles: foraging for food, trying to reunite with her imprisoned father, spending weeks in a desolate hospital with typhoid fever, and adapting to shifts in the political climate to make the long journey home to Poland. Ida published this acclaimed memoir in her native Polish in 2011. Here, Ida's granddaughter, Isabella Skrypczak, translates her babcia's words and provides additional context—including describing the remarkable life Ida has gone on to live as a pioneering doctor. In the vein of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile (Disruption Books, 2026) chronicles Ida's experiences on a lesser-known front of the Second World War. Together, Ida and Isabella reflect on how every small act of kindness contributed to Ida's liberation from exile and ability to build a life and a family. Her story celebrates the capacity of the human spirit to not only survive trauma but thrive beyond it.Ida Kinalska-Pietruska survived childhood exile to Siberia during the Soviet Union's World War II assault on Poland. When she returned to Poland as a teen, she began studying medicine. A pioneering endocrinologist, she founded the School of Endocrinology and Diabetology in Białystok and led the region's first endocrinology clinic for twenty years. Ida has authored more than four hundred publications, mentored countless other doctors, and collaborated across the international medical community, including using her research to make widely known the Chernobyl disaster's effects on people's endocrinological health. She has been honored with the Order Odrodzenia Polski, Poland's second-highest civilian state award, and two Doctor Honoris Causa titles, reflecting her resilience, brilliance, and global impact on science and humanity.Isabella Skrypczak is an author, intuitive healer, and former HR professional in Big Tech whose work bridges the seen and unseen. Born to Polish immigrants and raised in Houston, Texas, she spent every summer with her grandmother in Poland. When her grandmother's memoir gained national attention in Polish media, Iza felt called to translate it into English—an act of love, remembrance, and advocacy. As war returned to Eastern Europe, she recognized the urgency in sharing this history with the Western world. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her daughter, Kamila.Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar with research areas spanning Civilizational Sciences, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, Military History, War Studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, and Russian and East European history. He is currently the Book Review Editor for Comparative Civilizations Review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

    New Books in Polish Studies
    Ida Kinalska-Pietruska and Isabella Skrypczak, "A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile" (Disruption Books, 2026)

    New Books in Polish Studies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 65:50


    A memoir of a child's forced relocation to Siberia under Stalin's Gulag system reveals the potential for true human kindness in the face of extraordinary hardship.  In April of 1940, six-year-old Ida woke to the sound of pounding on her door. Soviet soldiers forcibly packed her and her mother onto a train with thousands of their neighbors and deported them to remote Siberia, leaving them stranded to survive the brutal winter in subhuman conditions. Looking back, Ida shares their struggles: foraging for food, trying to reunite with her imprisoned father, spending weeks in a desolate hospital with typhoid fever, and adapting to shifts in the political climate to make the long journey home to Poland. Ida published this acclaimed memoir in her native Polish in 2011. Here, Ida's granddaughter, Isabella Skrypczak, translates her babcia's words and provides additional context—including describing the remarkable life Ida has gone on to live as a pioneering doctor. In the vein of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile (Disruption Books, 2026) chronicles Ida's experiences on a lesser-known front of the Second World War. Together, Ida and Isabella reflect on how every small act of kindness contributed to Ida's liberation from exile and ability to build a life and a family. Her story celebrates the capacity of the human spirit to not only survive trauma but thrive beyond it.Ida Kinalska-Pietruska survived childhood exile to Siberia during the Soviet Union's World War II assault on Poland. When she returned to Poland as a teen, she began studying medicine. A pioneering endocrinologist, she founded the School of Endocrinology and Diabetology in Białystok and led the region's first endocrinology clinic for twenty years. Ida has authored more than four hundred publications, mentored countless other doctors, and collaborated across the international medical community, including using her research to make widely known the Chernobyl disaster's effects on people's endocrinological health. She has been honored with the Order Odrodzenia Polski, Poland's second-highest civilian state award, and two Doctor Honoris Causa titles, reflecting her resilience, brilliance, and global impact on science and humanity.Isabella Skrypczak is an author, intuitive healer, and former HR professional in Big Tech whose work bridges the seen and unseen. Born to Polish immigrants and raised in Houston, Texas, she spent every summer with her grandmother in Poland. When her grandmother's memoir gained national attention in Polish media, Iza felt called to translate it into English—an act of love, remembrance, and advocacy. As war returned to Eastern Europe, she recognized the urgency in sharing this history with the Western world. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her daughter, Kamila.Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar with research areas spanning Civilizational Sciences, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, Military History, War Studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, and Russian and East European history. He is currently the Book Review Editor for Comparative Civilizations Review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    New Books in Human Rights
    Ida Kinalska-Pietruska and Isabella Skrypczak, "A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile" (Disruption Books, 2026)

    New Books in Human Rights

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 65:50


    A memoir of a child's forced relocation to Siberia under Stalin's Gulag system reveals the potential for true human kindness in the face of extraordinary hardship.  In April of 1940, six-year-old Ida woke to the sound of pounding on her door. Soviet soldiers forcibly packed her and her mother onto a train with thousands of their neighbors and deported them to remote Siberia, leaving them stranded to survive the brutal winter in subhuman conditions. Looking back, Ida shares their struggles: foraging for food, trying to reunite with her imprisoned father, spending weeks in a desolate hospital with typhoid fever, and adapting to shifts in the political climate to make the long journey home to Poland. Ida published this acclaimed memoir in her native Polish in 2011. Here, Ida's granddaughter, Isabella Skrypczak, translates her babcia's words and provides additional context—including describing the remarkable life Ida has gone on to live as a pioneering doctor. In the vein of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, A Polish Girl in Siberia: Surviving and Transcending Exile (Disruption Books, 2026) chronicles Ida's experiences on a lesser-known front of the Second World War. Together, Ida and Isabella reflect on how every small act of kindness contributed to Ida's liberation from exile and ability to build a life and a family. Her story celebrates the capacity of the human spirit to not only survive trauma but thrive beyond it.Ida Kinalska-Pietruska survived childhood exile to Siberia during the Soviet Union's World War II assault on Poland. When she returned to Poland as a teen, she began studying medicine. A pioneering endocrinologist, she founded the School of Endocrinology and Diabetology in Białystok and led the region's first endocrinology clinic for twenty years. Ida has authored more than four hundred publications, mentored countless other doctors, and collaborated across the international medical community, including using her research to make widely known the Chernobyl disaster's effects on people's endocrinological health. She has been honored with the Order Odrodzenia Polski, Poland's second-highest civilian state award, and two Doctor Honoris Causa titles, reflecting her resilience, brilliance, and global impact on science and humanity.Isabella Skrypczak is an author, intuitive healer, and former HR professional in Big Tech whose work bridges the seen and unseen. Born to Polish immigrants and raised in Houston, Texas, she spent every summer with her grandmother in Poland. When her grandmother's memoir gained national attention in Polish media, Iza felt called to translate it into English—an act of love, remembrance, and advocacy. As war returned to Eastern Europe, she recognized the urgency in sharing this history with the Western world. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her daughter, Kamila.Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar with research areas spanning Civilizational Sciences, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, Military History, War Studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, and Russian and East European history. He is currently the Book Review Editor for Comparative Civilizations Review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    New Books Network
    The Legacy of Chaim Grade

    New Books Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2026


    Chaim Grade was born in 1910 in Vilna, Poland. In his youth, Grade was a student of the Novaredok Musar Yeshiva and of Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz. He was also a founding member of the Yung-Vilne literary group, known for its leftist politics, secular Jewish thinking, and literary influence. After losing both his mother and wife during the Holocaust, he emerged as one of the most prolific and defining Yiddish voices in post-war literature. Besides publishing several volumes of poetry, he is best known for his two acclaimed novels, The Agunah and The Yeshiva. In early 2023, YIVO and the National Library of Israel (NLI) completed the digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade and Inna Hecker Grade. The collection helps to illustrate Grade's literary development and impact on Yiddish literature, from his earliest poetic works written in Vilna and the Soviet Union to his prolific and accomplished prose work composed mainly in the United States. Join YIVO and NLI for a panel discussion of Grade's legacy with Ruth Wisse, Ofer Dynes, and Curt Leviant, led by scholar and translator Justin Cammy. This panel discussion originally took place on November 15, 2023. 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

    New Books in Literary Studies
    The Legacy of Chaim Grade

    New Books in Literary Studies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2026


    Chaim Grade was born in 1910 in Vilna, Poland. In his youth, Grade was a student of the Novaredok Musar Yeshiva and of Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz. He was also a founding member of the Yung-Vilne literary group, known for its leftist politics, secular Jewish thinking, and literary influence. After losing both his mother and wife during the Holocaust, he emerged as one of the most prolific and defining Yiddish voices in post-war literature. Besides publishing several volumes of poetry, he is best known for his two acclaimed novels, The Agunah and The Yeshiva. In early 2023, YIVO and the National Library of Israel (NLI) completed the digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade and Inna Hecker Grade. The collection helps to illustrate Grade's literary development and impact on Yiddish literature, from his earliest poetic works written in Vilna and the Soviet Union to his prolific and accomplished prose work composed mainly in the United States. Join YIVO and NLI for a panel discussion of Grade's legacy with Ruth Wisse, Ofer Dynes, and Curt Leviant, led by scholar and translator Justin Cammy. This panel discussion originally took place on November 15, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

    New Books in Jewish Studies
    The Legacy of Chaim Grade

    New Books in Jewish Studies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2026


    Chaim Grade was born in 1910 in Vilna, Poland. In his youth, Grade was a student of the Novaredok Musar Yeshiva and of Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz. He was also a founding member of the Yung-Vilne literary group, known for its leftist politics, secular Jewish thinking, and literary influence. After losing both his mother and wife during the Holocaust, he emerged as one of the most prolific and defining Yiddish voices in post-war literature. Besides publishing several volumes of poetry, he is best known for his two acclaimed novels, The Agunah and The Yeshiva. In early 2023, YIVO and the National Library of Israel (NLI) completed the digitization of the Papers of Chaim Grade and Inna Hecker Grade. The collection helps to illustrate Grade's literary development and impact on Yiddish literature, from his earliest poetic works written in Vilna and the Soviet Union to his prolific and accomplished prose work composed mainly in the United States. Join YIVO and NLI for a panel discussion of Grade's legacy with Ruth Wisse, Ofer Dynes, and Curt Leviant, led by scholar and translator Justin Cammy. This panel discussion originally took place on November 15, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

    Disorganized Crime: Smuggler's Daughter
    The White Death [from Very Special Episodes]

    Disorganized Crime: Smuggler's Daughter

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 45:34 Transcription Available


    In the winter of 1939, Finland faced overwhelming odds. The Soviet Union was invading with hundreds of thousands of troops. Standing in their way was an unlikely defender: a shy farmer and expert marksman who would later become known as “The White Death.” But behind the myth was simply a reserved man fighting for his homeland. Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason EnglishWritten by Lucas ReillyStory Editor is Virginia PrescottSenior Producers are Josh Fisher and Emilia BrockAdditional Production by Edeliz PerezStory Editor is Virginia PrescottEditing and Sound Design by Jesse NighswongerMixing and Mastering by Jesse NighswongerResearch and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas ReillyOriginal Music by Elise McCoy and Jesse NighswongerShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English Give it up for our excellent cast who brought this one to life! Featuring Miska Kajanus as Simo Häyhä Additional voices provided by Tuomas Ahva,Jukka Hurme, Tuomas Brock, and Tuukka Rantanen Special thanks to Sirpa Ristimäki-BrockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Operation Midnight Climax
    The White Death [from Very Special Episodes]

    Operation Midnight Climax

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 45:34 Transcription Available


    In the winter of 1939, Finland faced overwhelming odds. The Soviet Union was invading with hundreds of thousands of troops. Standing in their way was an unlikely defender: a shy farmer and expert marksman who would later become known as “The White Death.” But behind the myth was simply a reserved man fighting for his homeland. Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason EnglishWritten by Lucas ReillyStory Editor is Virginia PrescottSenior Producers are Josh Fisher and Emilia BrockAdditional Production by Edeliz PerezStory Editor is Virginia PrescottEditing and Sound Design by Jesse NighswongerMixing and Mastering by Jesse NighswongerResearch and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas ReillyOriginal Music by Elise McCoy and Jesse NighswongerShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English Give it up for our excellent cast who brought this one to life! Featuring Miska Kajanus as Simo Häyhä Additional voices provided by Tuomas Ahva,Jukka Hurme, Tuomas Brock, and Tuukka Rantanen Special thanks to Sirpa Ristimäki-BrockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Stealing Superman
    The White Death [from Very Special Episodes]

    Stealing Superman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 45:34 Transcription Available


    In the winter of 1939, Finland faced overwhelming odds. The Soviet Union was invading with hundreds of thousands of troops. Standing in their way was an unlikely defender: a shy farmer and expert marksman who would later become known as “The White Death.” But behind the myth was simply a reserved man fighting for his homeland. Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason EnglishWritten by Lucas ReillyStory Editor is Virginia PrescottSenior Producers are Josh Fisher and Emilia BrockAdditional Production by Edeliz PerezStory Editor is Virginia PrescottEditing and Sound Design by Jesse NighswongerMixing and Mastering by Jesse NighswongerResearch and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas ReillyOriginal Music by Elise McCoy and Jesse NighswongerShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English Give it up for our excellent cast who brought this one to life! Featuring Miska Kajanus as Simo Häyhä Additional voices provided by Tuomas Ahva,Jukka Hurme, Tuomas Brock, and Tuukka Rantanen Special thanks to Sirpa Ristimäki-BrockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Red Elvis
    The White Death [from Very Special Episodes]

    Red Elvis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 45:34 Transcription Available


    Hi, Red Elvis fans! Today we're sharing a story from the Very Special Episodes podcast. In the winter of 1939, Finland faced overwhelming odds. The Soviet Union was invading with hundreds of thousands of troops. Standing in their way was an unlikely defender: a shy farmer and expert marksman who would later become known as “The White Death.” But behind the myth was simply a reserved man fighting for his homeland. Very Special Episodes is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans. Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason EnglishWritten by Lucas ReillyStory Editor is Virginia PrescottSenior Producers are Josh Fisher and Emilia BrockAdditional Production by Edeliz PerezStory Editor is Virginia PrescottEditing and Sound Design by Jesse NighswongerMixing and Mastering by Jesse NighswongerResearch and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas ReillyOriginal Music by Elise McCoy and Jesse NighswongerShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English Give it up for our excellent cast who brought this one to life! Featuring Miska Kajanus as Simo Häyhä Additional voices provided by Tuomas Ahva,Jukka Hurme, Tuomas Brock, and Tuukka Rantanen Special thanks to Sirpa Ristimäki-BrockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Castle Report
    The Israelization of the U.S. Military

    The Castle Report

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 12:30


    Darrell Castle talks about a bill currently working its way through the U.S. Congress which would, if passed, literally integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries and would put funding for the Israeli military on auto pilot. Will it pass and be signed by the President? Many people seem to think it will so he takes a look at it today. THE ISRAELIZATION OF THE U.S. MILITARY Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is Friday the 12th of June in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be talking about a bill currently working its way through the United States Congress which would, if passed, literally integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries and would put funding for the Israeli military on auto pilot. Will it pass and be signed by the President. Many people seem to think it will so we take a look at it today. Yes, unfortunately it seems that certain members of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States are now ready to complete the process of uniting the two countries militaries. The first bill introduced in the House would have literally combined the two. Many of the Israel first politicians are already dual citizens so why not complete the process and stop all the hypocrisy. Just go ahead and make the U.S. military the official enforcement arm of Israeli foreign policy. The most egregious provision of the original bill is that the benefits due to American veterans like me, such as medical and educational benefits would have also been available to all Israeli veterans. That would have been a supreme insult to every American veteran who has ever served. The last time I checked there were about 15 million living American veterans so why not just insult them all while they are still alive. Just tell them all that “your service to this nation meant nothing” but certainly no more to America than an Israeli veteran meant to America. Fortunately, that portion of the bill was pulled before it advanced but there are rumors that it is still out there in Congress or at least in some of their minds and it will be added back in. The bill being considered is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would fund the U.S. military for another year. According to members of the House whose opinions I have read, there is near certainty that Section 224 of that bill will pass through the House and become law with the President's signature. Congressman Ro Khanna, Democrat, and Thomas Massie, Republican tried to pass an amendment to delete Section 224 but the amendment failed. That section will set up a “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” that integrates US-Israeli military research and development co-production of weapons systems, licensing agreements, AI, directed energy. Data integration, and missile defense. It creates the framework for bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and virtually every manner of U.S.-Israeli military cooperation. The Director of this “Initiative” who will be responsible for coordination of the work will reportedly be an Israeli. The funding will come 100% from the U.S, treasury through part of the $1.5 trillion defense budget requested by President Trump. The purpose as stated is to fully connect the functionality of the U.S. military with that of the Israeli military in what is being described as an equal partnership that will include the government of Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces as full partners. There will be intelligence sharing and in fact the bill includes a requirement that intelligence must be shared. Israeli forces will be included in the planning process of how U.S. weapons are developed and procured.  This serves to explain at least in part why Netanyahu has been indicating recently that Israel might be willing to forego some of the mandatory $3.8 billion the U.S. gives it every year. He obviously knows there is an even bigger slice of American Pie coming his way via Section 224. The intelligence sharing portion of the bill was introduced by Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas which he calls “US-Israel Intelligence Sharing Enhancement.” Interestingly, at the same time the New York Times recently carried an article entitled “Pentagon Sees Growing Espionage Threat from Israel.” The article is sourced to the Defense Intelligence Agency which says that the espionage threat from Israel is at the highest possible level and even says that Israel eavesdropped on negotiations between the United States and Iran conducted in Pakistan. The senators pushing this bill often refer to Israel as our best friend and most trusted ally but at the same time the DIA has that country listed as the highest possible espionage threat. Just to keep following this espionage threat let me tell you or remind you of a couple of things this best friend has done during its roughly 78 years as a political nation. In 1984 when a man named Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister and Ronald Reagan was the US president; Israel dispatched an American of dual citizenship named Jonathan Pollard to do some spying against the US. Pollard worked in the US defense establishment and had access to some of the most highly classified military secrets. He stole and delivered the entire 10 volume DIA manual of in person or human intelligence operatives all over the world. The manual contained the names and locations of US intelligence operatives working in the Soviet Union and Communist China both countries in a desperate cold war with the US. Pollard delivered the manual along with many other vital intelligence documents to his handlers in Israel. Can you guess what our best friend and most trusted ally did with the manual and other information. Yes, that's right, they gave it to the Soviet Union and Communist China in exchange for “favors”. Thousands of US personnel along with foreign operatives working with US Intelligence were arrested and many were killed so I guess as the saying goes with friends like that who needs enemies. Pollard did his work in 1984 and in 1987 he was sentenced to life in prison and he served exactly 30 years plus five years of probation. He was then allowed to move to Israel where he has hero status. The American Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, had him over to the US Embassy for a little get together recently. That Pollard incident illustrates the one-sided relationship the US has with Israel quite clearly but as bad as it was it was not the worst. No, the worst happened in 1967 when a man named Levi Eshkol was Prime Minister of Israel and Lyndon Johnson was US President. In fact, last Monday the 8th of June was the 59th anniversary of the Israeli attack on an American ship named USS Liberty. The Liberty was an intelligence gathering ship operating in International Waters in the Eastern Mediterranean when it was attacked by air forces of Israel. This attack was not an accident or improper identification or anything except a deliberate act of murder. The Liberty, an unarmed vessel, was relentless bombed and strafed by Israeli jets while clearly flying the American flag. The attack severed the radio mast and cut off the crew's ability to send a distress call but one crewman managed to climb on deck despite strafing fire, raise an antenna and get off a distress call. Out in the Med a US carrier heard the message and immediately launched jets for a rescue effort. I can tell you from a lot of personal experience that there is nothing that motivates US soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines like coming to the rescue of brothers in trouble. Unfortunately, the US Commander in Chief, Lyndon Johnson personally ordered the Carrier captain to withdraw his jets. They left Liberty to die on its own but the little ship and its crew refused to die. 34 men were killed and 171 wounded but the ship would not sink and made it back to port. The pilots of our most trusted friend and ally even machine-gunned wounded sailors in the water something honorable men do not do even when their nations are at war. No real investigation by government investigators with subpoena power has ever been conducted to my knowledge. Oh, there was a cursory inquiry as there always is but according to reporter Donald Jeffries who did a yeoman's job of private investigation and who has written extensively about the matter President Johnson ordered the board of inquiry to rule it an accident. Why did the Israelis attack the USS Liberty. Without going into a lot of what amounts to guesswork, it was probably because Israel was fighting what came to be known as the six-day-war against a coalition of enemy nations one of which was Egypt. The Liberty was to be sunk and the incident blamed on the Egyptians which would have given the US an excuse to enter the war against Egypt as retaliation. In both the Liberty attack and the Pollard incident not a single thing regarding US policy toward Israel changed. Not one dollar was cut from the very generous support.  Compare this to the reaction upon news this week that an Apache Attack Helicopter had been shot down in the Persian Gulf near Hormuz. The President said he would retaliate with a massive bombing attack and would “take over” Iran's petroleum industry. I don't believe the story which makes no sense but not much in this war makes sense. An Apache is an attack helicopter with a mission of finding and destroying enemy armor but it can be used for armed reconnaissance as well. Perhaps that was its mission over the Gulf. It landed in the water with no injuries to crew so no I don't believe it and it was probably done by Israel if it was done at all. I don't think it was more than an excuse to resume the war. Finally, folks, the US has reportedly given Israel more than $300 billion since its founding in 1948 but it is on the brink of an even more egregious relationship whereby it combines its military with that of Israel. Something causes Washington politicians to shower our money that we work for on Israel and to support it while it robs the US at home and commits mass murder abroad. Why is the question. If all our politicians are blackmailed prostitutes shouldn't we have some knowledge of our worth, How much do they get from the pimps who own them. At least that's the way I seen it. Until next time folks, This is Darrell Castle, Thanks for listening.

    Stew and the Nunn
    Stew and The Nunn- Episode #401 - Major General Bert Mizusawa, U.S. Army (Ret.)

    Stew and the Nunn

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 75:39 Transcription Available


    Bert Mizusawa is a retired major general in the United States Army, serving in the Army from 1979 to 2015. Mizusawa also served in the United States Senate as a professional staff member and as a Senior Executive in the Pentagon, making him one of only a handful of individuals to serve at flag rank in the military as well as in both the legislative and executive branches. Mizusawa is also an attorney and is admitted to the bars of New York, the District of Columbia, Virginia and the United States Supreme Court. Awards: Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal Combat Infantryman Master Parachutist Ranger Air Assault Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge Humanitarian Service Medal 1983 Soviet defector incident Mizusawa led the Joint Security Force in a historic firefight against North Korean forces. Mizusawa was awarded the Silver Star for “exceptional valor and gallantry in action” while serving as the Commander of the Joint Security Force (JSF) Company at Panmunjom, Korea on 22 and 23 November 1984. His citation reads “In reaction to thirty attacking North Korean soldiers in pursuit of a Soviet defector, Captain Mizusawa's outstanding leadership and aggressive actions in leading his company while under fire were instrumental in defeating the enemy. Additionally, he personally led the defector to safety while under fire and deliberately, at great risk to himself, exposed himself to the enemy in front of his own troops to ensure the success of his company's combat action. Throughout the intense firefight, Captain Mizusawa displayed a complete disregard for his own personal safety while accomplishing his mission.” Some have credited the successful firefight and rescue of the Soviet defector, which unexpectedly did not result in a Soviet demarche, for convincing President Reagan to hold firm in his negotiations with the Soviet Union, which ultimately led to the end of the Cold War. Meritorious Civilian Service Award

    Share Life Today
    Persecution in Lebanon

    Share Life Today

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 1:00


    Hi, I'm John Sorensen, President of Evangelism Explosion International, and you're listening to Share Life Today. As we conclude this week talking about the church globally and how we're called to go to the nations, I wanted to share a testimony with you from a challenging part of the world. Made up of the former Soviet Union and most of the Middle East, Central Asia is a region where persecution happens almost every day to Christ-followers. And yet, God is moving mightily in these countries. For instance, in a small village in Lebanon, a family heard the Gospel from a team of Christians who knocked on their door. The husband, the wife, and all the children gave their hearts to Christ that day. And the villagers were not pleased and began persecuting them heavily. However, God used these same Christians who led the family to Christ to share with the villagers also, and their minds were changed. So let's be encouraged today to step out ourselves and to share the Gospel. You can learn more about how you can share your faith at ShareLife.Today. That's ShareLife.Today.

    WSKY The Bob Rose Show
    Historic ‘wall' was communism's most infamous fantasy

    WSKY The Bob Rose Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 33:24


    Hour 2 of the Friday 6-11-26 Bob Rose Show, on the anniversary of Ronald Reagan's ‘tear down this wall' speech, the real-world example of east and west Berlin, and the end of 20th century Soviet Union. Is the lesson of what was ‘torn down' now forgotten? Plus, all the morning's biggest news stories

    Full Release with Samantha Bee
    Choices We Made: Moscow or ‘Merica? (with David Remnick)

    Full Release with Samantha Bee

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 56:19


    The New Yorker editor David Remnick joins Sam to talk about if The New Yorker is the “slow food movement” of news and how today's current events remind him of living in Moscow at the end of the Soviet Union. They talk about how the industry changed when Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post and why his ownership is different in the second Trump administration than in the first, and how David is currently being sued by the president. They discuss how you can't say the quiet part out loud anymore since there's no quiet part, why David has been listening to Joe Rogan in the middle of the night, why teenagers are consuming so much fitness content, and how the two best decisions he's ever made are marrying the right person and not signing up for social media when he first had the chance. Keep up with Samantha Bee @realsambee on Instagram and X. And stay up to date with us @LemonadaMedia on X, Facebook, and Instagram. For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. See ⁠omnystudio.com/listener⁠ for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Dam Internet, You Scary!
    357: AI, New Zealand Conspiracies & Space Nightmares | Dam Internet, You Scary!

    Dam Internet, You Scary!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 70:39


    Sponsors:IndaCloud: If you're 21 or older, get 30% OFF your first order @IndaCloud with code DIYS at https://inda.shop/DIYS! #indacloudpodMint MobileTo get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to https://mintmobile.com/DIYSHimsReady to reach your goals? Visit https://hims.com/DIYS to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. Dam Internet, You Scary! hosts Patrick Cloud and Tahir Moore break down the disturbing but interesting stories on the internet!AI can apparently steal your fingerprints from selfies, a New Zealand woman gets detained because officials didn't believe her country existed, and an astronaut gets stranded in space after the Soviet Union collapses.This week Tahir Moore and Patrick Cloud dive into some of the strangest stories on the internet while debating Jordan Peele vs M. Night Shyamalan, Key & Peele vs Chappelle's Show, AI scams, party stories, and much more.Topics This Week• AI stealing fingerprints from selfies• ChatGPT helping people fight rent increases• New Zealand woman detained in Kazakhstan• Soviet astronaut stranded in space• Jordan Peele movie breakdown• Key & Peele vs Chappelle's Show• Neuralink discussion• Cockroach causes apartment explosionJoin our Patreon now!! https://www.patreon.com/DamInternetYouScaryChapter Titles & Timestamps00:00 Intro Chat: The Vibe App Idea09:58 New Studio & DreamCon Updates15:17 Patreon, Streaming & Content Creation20:18 YouTube Creators Taking Over Hollywood25:20 Jordan Peele vs M. Night Shyamalan34:32 Ad Read: IndaCloud38:10 Horror Movies, Get Out, Nope & Signs54:54 Key & Peele vs Chappelle's Show Debate1:05:43 Ad Read: Mint Mobile1:08:12 Movie Production Costs & Hollywood Stories1:14:03 Staying Out Until 5 AM1:18:47 Ecstasy, Molly & Party Stories1:28:40 Ad Read: Hims1:31:03 AI Can Steal Fingerprints From Selfies1:36:07 Neuralink Discussion1:38:22 Woman Detained Because New Zealand "Didn't Exist"1:49:11 The Astronaut Trapped in Space After the Soviet Union Collapsed1:57:35 Man Blows Up Apartment Trying to Kill a Cockroach2:02:06 Outro

    Everything Everywhere Daily History Podcast
    Nuke the Moon: Project A119

    Everything Everywhere Daily History Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 14:43


    Tell me your favorite episode for the 6th anniversary show! At the height of the Cold War, the United States considered a plan so audacious that it sounds like science fiction: detonating a nuclear weapon on the Moon.  Known as Project A119, it was born from fear, prestige, and the urgent need to answer the Soviet Union's early lead in space.  The plan was real, the scientists involved were some of the most noteworthy of the 20th century, and the implications were enormous.  Learn more about Project A119 and the quest to nuke the Moon on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors ButcherBox Get your choice between chicken breast or top sirloin for a year OR ground beef for life, PLUS $20 off when you go to ButcherBox.com/everything Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Save 50% on Unlimited premium wireless plans starting at $15/month at MintMobile.com/EED TrueWerk Get 15% off your first order at truewerk.com with code everything DripDrop Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code everything for 20% off your first order! Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Ds7Rx7jvPJ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Movies vs. Capitalism
    Rain Man (w/ Daniel)

    Movies vs. Capitalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 97:12


    This week, Rivka and Frank are reunited with Daniel, host of The Sickle and the Hammer: A Socialist History of the Soviet Union, to discuss another classic: Rain Man. Remarkably, this is the second film in a row we've watched in which Tom Cruise plays a yuppie asshole with a heart of gold. Daniel shares why Rain Man holds deep meaning for him—not only personally, but politically as well. patreon.com/sovietpod rss.com/podcasts/sovietpod youtube.com/@thesickleandthehammer @sovietpod.bsky.social

    Wikipediapodden
    Oulu Löyly, Susanna Ånäs – #374

    Wikipediapodden

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 14:14 Transcription Available


    This is a special episode from Oulu Löyly with organizer Susanna Ånäs from AvoinGlam and Open Knowledge Finland. Link to the presentations mentioned in the podcast. All episodes in English (podcast feed) Credits The music and sound clips are from Surf Shimmy by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Image: Oulu Löyly background image, by Susanna Ånäs, CC BY-SA 4.0. Includes the images: Head of a Girl, Brittany, 1882 by Amélie Lundahl (26.4.1850, Oulu – 20.8.1914, Helsinki) File:Midnight sun and sea ice (51356505657).jpg Mies (Siilastuvan vartiosta?) kastautumassa avannossa, rannassa sauna. Photo Yrjö Metsälä, 1945, CC BY 4.0 (Public domain) File:Oulu City Library 20130505.jpg Gunnar & Gösta Gustafsson CC BY 2.0 (Public domain) File:The_Saami_people._Needle_boxes.jpg File:Bandy match Finland versus Soviet Union 1959 (JOKAKAL4URH jpa01-6).tif File:Gramota_(38909954421).jpg Discuss the episode on the project’s talk page. The episode is also available on Wikimedia Commons.

    American Conservative University
    Hayek's Warning We Ignored: Government Planning Doesn't Fix Economies

    American Conservative University

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 20:19


    Hayek's Warning We Ignored: Government Planning Doesn't Fix Economies Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/WxW7JRc414Y?si=KYnuRHH_Fst8VMHU John Stossel  and misesmedia 401,851 views Mar 24, 2026 Politicians say they can “fix” the economy. But economists Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises pointed out how government “fixes" lead to bigger problems. _ _ _ _ _ _ To make sure you receive weekly video from Stossel TV, sign up here: https://www.johnstossel.com/#subscrib... _ _ _ _ _ _ Hayek and Mises predicted the fall of the Soviet Union. They warned that centrally planned economies fail. But today, socialism is popular again. New York and Seattle have elected socialist mayors. Many politicians still believe that government can manage the economy—an idea popularized by economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes was revered. Politicians love his arguments. But Hayek and Mises warned that government intervention leads to inflation, instability, and boom-bust cycles. They were right. Ryan McMaken of the Mises Institute ‪@misesmedia explains why we should read Hayek and Mises today.   Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek - The Original Economics Rap Battle! Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/d0nERTFo-Sk?si=ro3Ri4lyv4l8yqir Radical Discourse 8,838,188 views Jan 23, 2010 Subscribe to our channel:    / econstories   If you enjoyed this video, you should watch this one next:    • EconPop - The Economics of RoboCop   Produced by Emergent Order. Visit us at http://www.emergentorder.com. Econstories.tv is a place to learn about the economic way of thinking through the eyes of creative director John Papola and creative economist Russ Roberts. Explore more at http://EconStories.tv In Fear the Boom and Bust, John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek, two of the great economists of the 20th century, come back to life to attend an economics conference on the economic crisis. Before the conference begins, and at the insistence of Lord Keynes, they go out for a night on the town and sing about why there's a "boom and bust" cycle in modern economies and good reason to fear it. DOWNLOAD THE SONG in the highest quality possible here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fea... Plus, to see and hear more from the stars of Fear the Boom and Bust, Billy Scafuri and Adam Lustick, visit their site: http://www.billyandadam.com Music was produced by Jack Bradley at Blackboard3 Music and Sound Design. It was composed and performed by Richard Royston Jacobs.

    Sean's Russia Blog
    Anastas Mikoyan

    Sean's Russia Blog

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 50:28


    How Stalin personally ran the Soviet Union has rightly received much attention. Less discussed is the small group of men that served as his top lieutenants. They carried out his orders, and after his death, were instrumental in establishing the post-Stalin order. This week, the Eurasian Knot features a discussion with Pietro Shakarian about his new book Anastas Mikoyan: An Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev's Kremlin. We mostly know Mikoyan as a statesman and political survivor who successfully navigated Stalin's Kremlin. But who was Anastas Mikoyan beyond that? What did he believe? What was his role as Stalin's henchman? How did he push for de-Stalinization after the leader's death in 1953, particularly on Soviet nationality policy. Shakarian tells us that in the end, Mikoyan was more than a survivor. He was a critical player in shaping the post-Stalinist Soviet Union. Guest:Pietro A. Shakarian is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union and a lecturer at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. He's the author of Anastas Mikoyan: An Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev's Kremlin published by Indiana University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Grand Tamasha
    What Do Indians Think About the World?

    Grand Tamasha

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 49:52


    In democracies, we typically assume that public opinion on issues like jobs, the economy, and inflation matter for shaping policy and politics. But opinions on foreign policy are often treated as the preserve of elites, especially in a country like India. Yet, it turns out that we know surprisingly little about what ordinary Indians think about foreign policy, how stable those views are, and whether they influence the choices that governments make. A new short book, Indian Public Opinion toward the Major Powers, tackles these questions by examining more than six decades of Indian attitudes toward the United States, China, and Russia. The book draws on a wide range of survey data to ask how Indians view the major powers, how those views have shifted over time, and what they reveal about democracy, accountability, and foreign policy in India. To discuss the book, co-authors Aidan Milliff and Paul Staniland join Milan on the podcast this week. Aidan is an assistant professor of political science at Florida State University. Many moons ago, he was a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow with the Carnegie South Asia Program. Paul is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The trio discuss the treasure trove of data on Indian public opinion the authors stumbled upon, the characteristics of India's “foreign policy public,” and the variation in Indian attitudes toward the United States, China, and Russia/the Soviet Union. Plus, the discuss why a respondent's region emerges as a strong predictor of one's foreign policy views. Episode notes: Aidan Milliff and Paul Staniland, “Replication Archive: India Public Opinion Toward the Major Powers,” May 2026. Paul Staniland, “The Indian ‘foreign policy public,'” paulstaniland.com (Blog), May 6, 2026. Christine Huang, “Americans see India in positive light, but few have confidence in Modi,” Pew Research Center, June 21, 2023.  Paul Staniland and Vipin Narang, “Democratic Accountability and Foreign Security Policy: Theory and Evidence from India,” Security Studies 27, no. 3 (2018): 410-447. Aidan Milliff and Paul Staniland, "Indian Public Opinion toward the Major Powers," in Elements in Indo-Pacific Security, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2026). (The piece is publicly available until June 15, 2026)

    Very Special Episodes
    The White Death

    Very Special Episodes

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 45:34 Transcription Available


    In the winter of 1939, Finland faced overwhelming odds. The Soviet Union was invading with hundreds of thousands of troops. Standing in their way was an unlikely defender: a shy farmer and expert marksman who would later become known as “The White Death.” But behind the myth was simply a reserved man fighting for his homeland. Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason EnglishWritten by Lucas ReillyStory Editor is Virginia PrescottSenior Producers are Josh Fisher and Emilia BrockAdditional Production by Edeliz PerezStory Editor is Virginia PrescottEditing and Sound Design by Jesse NighswongerMixing and Mastering by Jesse NighswongerResearch and Fact-Checking by Austin Thompson and Lucas ReillyOriginal Music by Elise McCoy and Jesse NighswongerShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producers are Virginia Prescott and Jason English Give it up for our excellent cast who brought this one to life! Featuring Miska Kajanus as Simo Häyhä Additional voices provided by Tuomas Ahva,Jukka Hurme, Tuomas Brock, and Tuukka Rantanen Special thanks to Sirpa Ristimäki-BrockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Explaining Ukraine
    Greece, Ukraine, Communism, War, Europe - with Christos Chomenidis

    Explaining Ukraine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 41:13


    I read this book with absolute passion. While it is a novel, it is truly an epic—the story of a family told through the greatest upheavals and disasters of the 20th century. Although it is set in Greece, we Ukrainians can deeply relate to this story: a narrative where global events shape your life far more than your own plans. It is a novel about national conflicts and population displacements, fascism and communism, World War II, violence from all sides. It explores the trap of "revolutionary struggle," the dilemmas of duty versus life, and self-sacrifice versus human happiness. The novel is called "Niki", and it was written by Christos Chomenidis, a prominent Greek writer. I was glad to meet him in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, where he traveled at the invitation of the Greek embassy and his Ukrainian publisher. We sat down at PEN Ukraine and spoke about Europe, the past, the future, freedom, war, and peace. This is Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast series by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine. *** Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Christos Chomenidis, a prominent, award-winning Greek writer. He has traveled to Ukraine despite the relentless Russian missile and drone strikes that regularly target the Ukrainian cities. *** Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en *** SUPPORT: You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding. You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com. *** CONTENTS: 0:03 Intro 2:04 What brought prominent Greek writer Christos Chomenidis to Kyiv despite the ongoing war? 3:05 How does Chomenidis' novel "Niki" weave together individual human stories with the challenging 20th-century history of Greece? 4:12 How does the experience of communism differ between Greece and Ukraine, and what forms did it take in each country? 5:56 How does the novel portray the act of destroying one's own house as a sacrifice to communist forces, and how is this understood today? 7:31 How does the novel explore the tension between duty to a greater cause and the pursuit of individual desires and happiness? 11:12 What main similarities does the author find between the Greek and Ukrainian peoples? 12:44 How did Chomenidis experience the fear of air raids in Kyiv, and what does it reveal about Ukrainian resilience? 15:28 Why was the Soviet Union, and even Stalin, romanticized in some Greek left-wing circles, and how does Chomenidis explain this perspective now? 17:41 How does modern Russian propaganda operate in Greece, and why do some Greek parties support Russia based on "zoopolitics"? 23:17 Do societies with a recent memory of authoritarianism have a stronger capacity or intuition to fight for freedom? 35:12 Why is democracy likened to a "baby"? What is freedom a "muscle" that requires constant, everyday struggle and care? 38:28 What gives Christos Chomenidis hope for the future amidst challenging times?

    The Tim Ferriss Show
    #869: Max Levchin, PayPal and Affirm — The Path from The Soviet Union to Building Multi-Billion Dollar Companies (Plus: Real-World Socialism vs. Capitalism)

    The Tim Ferriss Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 118:03


    Max Levchin (@mlevchin) is a serial entrepreneur and investor in 100+ startups. He's the founder and CEO of Affirm, the payment network powering consumer purchases and merchant growth. An original PayPal co-founder, Max served as CTO until its 2002 acquisition by eBay.This episode is brought to you by:ProLon: science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals: ProlonLife.com/TimMonarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/timTimestamps:[00:00:00] Start.[00:02:50] The Ronin line that rewired how Max makes every decision.[00:06:09] Paprika-style brain-computer interfaces.[00:09:09] PayPal's founders lived inside a Neal Stephenson novel.[00:19:21] Transformation via Neuromancer and Snow Crash.[00:23:40] The book that found Max his wife.[00:29:24] The real secret to a great marriage.[00:38:29] What's worth tracking, and what's not.[00:44:13] A scrawny kid, a clarinet, and a Kyiv velodrome.[00:46:55] What going all-out on a bike actually gives you.[00:51:02] The mantra by which Max rides.[00:53:02] A Soviet kid's fear of socialism.[01:02:48] Making a profit without destroying society.[01:04:31] What is Affirm, and why did every banker say it would fail?[01:20:18] Why the best mathematicians eschew the lending industry.[01:23:50] Does agentic commerce break Affirm, or supercharge it?[01:28:01] A PhD-level financial advisor in everyone's pocket.[01:29:58] How close are we to buying anything through one AI chat?[01:36:32] Improving your coffee: cheap, intermediate, and Bugatti options.[01:44:33] The books every first-time founder should actually read.[01:48:08] Claude Shannon, Ed Thorp, and the joy of playful genius.[01:51:00] Why physical books still beat every digital reading experience.[01:51:44] Parting thoughts.*For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsorsSign up for Tim's email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim's books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Death To Tyrants Podcast
    Ep. 417 - Growing Up Soviet, Finding Christ, and Ministering Behind Bars, with Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov

    Death To Tyrants Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 68:51


    Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov grew up in the Soviet Union during the final years of state-sponsored atheism before immigrating to the United States on his own. After some life happenings and lots of revelations, he became an Orthodox priest. A fascinating aspect of his ministry has been in the prisons. We get into what that is and how it compares and contrasts with being a priest in a parish. In this conversation, we discuss life under Soviet atheism, prison ministry, freedom and repentance, the struggle against the passions, fasting, and the challenges facing Christians in the modern world. We also explore technology, artificial intelligence, and what it means to cultivate wisdom in an age overflowing with information. Sponsor: Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow  Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com  Podsworth App: https://podsworth.com  Code: BUCK50 for HALF off your first order! Clean up your recordings, sound like a pro, and support the Counterflow Podcast! Full Ad Read BEFORE processing: https://youtu.be/F4ljjtR5QfA  Full Ad Read AFTER processing: https://youtu.be/J6trRTgmpwE Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!

    Inspiring Leadership with Jonathan Bowman-Perks MBE
    427. Defiance: How to Succeed in Business Despite Being Hounded by FBI, KGB, INS, Interpol, & Mafia

    Inspiring Leadership with Jonathan Bowman-Perks MBE

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 57:13


    Alex Konanykhin is the founder and CEO of Unicoin, an audited, public reporting, and regulations-compliant cryptocurrency company. His background is so implausible that he resorts to media reports to summarize his life story: The Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Konanykhin was a whiz-kid physics student who became a pioneering Russian capitalist in early 1990s, building a banking and investment empire valued at an estimated $300 million all by his mid-20s. He was a member of President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle.” ABC TV: “Russian Bill Gates.” The Baltimore Sun: “Business whiz kid.” CNN: “Alex Konanykhin controlled Russia's largest commercial bank in the 1990s” The Times [of London]: “By the time he was 25 he was one of the most important figures in post-Communist Russia. But in 1992, while on a business trip to Hungary, Alex Konanykhin was kidnapped.” Forbes: “Alex Konanykhin defected to the United States in 1992 and became the first person to be granted political asylum in the United States for opposing corruption in post-Soviet Russia.” Washington Post: “National Republican Congressional Committee chose Konanykhin "New York Businessman of the Year" The Sun: “Alex Konanykhin fled Russia in 1992 and won asylum in the US after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The entrepreneur had set up 100 different companies in Russia and had an estimated net worth of $300 million by the time he was 25. He is regarded as one of the first Russian millionaires after the fall of the Iron Curtain. One of the newly open country's leading lights, he even met with US President George HW Bush in 1991 on a joint visit with Russian leader Boris Yeltsin. However, he was then kidnapped in 1992 while visiting Budapest and all of his business assets were seized in Russia. … Being hunted by the Russian state, Konanykhin won asylum in the US in 1997 and set up a new life - but the shadow of the Kremlin continued to loom over him.He went on to rebuild a business empire and set up multimillion dollar firms such as TransparentBusiness in the US.” Los Angeles Daily Journal: “Representing himself through much of the process, Konanykhin managed to convince an immigration judge of an alleged INS and KGB conspiracy and cover-up. Following the court's admonishment, the INS agreed to drop all charges and also pay $100,000..The judge also ordered an investigation of the Justice Department. In separate actions, Konanykhin subsequently won multimillion dollar libel judgments against two Russian newspapers. A $100 million lawsuit against the Justice Department is pending, alleging perjury, fraud, torture and witness tampering by U.S government officers on behalf of the Russian Mafia.” Profit Magazine: “Imagine you are a teenage physics genius who quickly amasses a $300 million empire of real estate and banking ventures, has dozens of cars, six hundred employees, several mansions and two hundred bodyguards—but you are nonetheless kidnapped by those you trusted, threatened with torture and death, and have your entire empire stolen from you one dark night in Budapest. You escape with your life by racing through Eastern-block countries and flying to New York on stashed-away passports—only to have the KGB and Russian Mafia hell-bent on your hide and the U.S. government jailing you and conspiring to serve you up into their clutches. All this before your 29th birthday. Sound like a Tom Clancy thriller? No. . . just a slice in the life of Alexander Konanykhin.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The John Batchelor Show
    S8 Ep979: Serhii Plokhy describes how on October 26-27, Khrushchev sent conflicting messages: a private letter offering a non-invasion pledge and a public demand to remove U.S. Jupiters in Turkey. This caused chaos in the White House, with officials feari

    The John Batchelor Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 8:18


    Serhii Plokhy describes how on October 26-27, Khrushchev sent conflicting messages: a private letter offering a non-invasion pledge and a public demand to remove U.S. Jupiters in Turkey. This caused chaos in the White House, with officials fearing Khrushchev had been ousted by his military. Kennedy believed a missile swap was the only logical solution but could not agree publicly without undermining NATO credibility. Khrushchev's failure to consult Fidel Castro on these terms sowed deep resentment, creating a secondary crisis between the Soviet Union and its Cuban ally. (6)1956

    New Books Network
    Dating Apps, Queer Stigma, and Digital Intimacy in Kazakhstan

    New Books Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026


    How queer men in Kazakhstan navigate dating apps in a context of stigma, surveillance, and limited legal protections. It shows how platforms like Grindr, Hornet, Tinder, and VKontakte function as spaces where trust, visibility, and safety must be continuously negotiated. This episode explores how queer men in Kazakhstan navigate dating apps in contexts shaped by stigma, surveillance, and limited legal protections. Drawing on interviews and platform analysis in Shymkent and Almaty, the research challenges the idea of dating apps as neutral or purely liberating spaces, showing instead how they function as ‘ambivalent infrastructures' where connection is always intertwined with risk. Rather than simple tools for meeting partners, apps like VKontakte, Grindr, Hornet, and Tinder are used as distinct social environments that require careful interpretation and strategy. Users constantly assess authenticity, safety, and potential harm, often moving across multiple platforms, starting with apps, then shifting to messaging services like WhatsApp or Telegram, and using calls and additional checks to verify identity before meeting offline. Set against Kazakhstan's broader socio-political context, where queer visibility can lead to harassment, outing, or violence, the episode highlights how digital intimacy becomes a form of ongoing risk management. It ultimately reframes dating apps not as spaces of free connection, but as complex systems where trust, visibility, and safety must be continuously negotiated. Yerkebulan Sairambay is a scholar at risk based at the Centre for Oriental studies in the University of Tartu (Estonia). His research interests involve, but are not limited to, the following areas of expertise: political participation, new media, civil society, climate change, clan politics, democratisation, queer studies, academic freedom, transitional justice, and nation- and state- building with a particular focus on the countries of post-communist Europe and former Soviet Union. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge, and IMRCEES Erasmus Mundus Master's Double Degrees in Russian, Central and East European studies (University of Glasgow) and political science (Corvinus University of Budapest). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) based at the University of Copenhagen, along with our academic partners: the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Turku, and Asianettverket at the University of Oslo. 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

    New Books in Central Asian Studies
    Dating Apps, Queer Stigma, and Digital Intimacy in Kazakhstan

    New Books in Central Asian Studies

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026


    How queer men in Kazakhstan navigate dating apps in a context of stigma, surveillance, and limited legal protections. It shows how platforms like Grindr, Hornet, Tinder, and VKontakte function as spaces where trust, visibility, and safety must be continuously negotiated. This episode explores how queer men in Kazakhstan navigate dating apps in contexts shaped by stigma, surveillance, and limited legal protections. Drawing on interviews and platform analysis in Shymkent and Almaty, the research challenges the idea of dating apps as neutral or purely liberating spaces, showing instead how they function as ‘ambivalent infrastructures' where connection is always intertwined with risk. Rather than simple tools for meeting partners, apps like VKontakte, Grindr, Hornet, and Tinder are used as distinct social environments that require careful interpretation and strategy. Users constantly assess authenticity, safety, and potential harm, often moving across multiple platforms, starting with apps, then shifting to messaging services like WhatsApp or Telegram, and using calls and additional checks to verify identity before meeting offline. Set against Kazakhstan's broader socio-political context, where queer visibility can lead to harassment, outing, or violence, the episode highlights how digital intimacy becomes a form of ongoing risk management. It ultimately reframes dating apps not as spaces of free connection, but as complex systems where trust, visibility, and safety must be continuously negotiated. Yerkebulan Sairambay is a scholar at risk based at the Centre for Oriental studies in the University of Tartu (Estonia). His research interests involve, but are not limited to, the following areas of expertise: political participation, new media, civil society, climate change, clan politics, democratisation, queer studies, academic freedom, transitional justice, and nation- and state- building with a particular focus on the countries of post-communist Europe and former Soviet Union. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge, and IMRCEES Erasmus Mundus Master's Double Degrees in Russian, Central and East European studies (University of Glasgow) and political science (Corvinus University of Budapest). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) based at the University of Copenhagen, along with our academic partners: the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Turku, and Asianettverket at the University of Oslo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/central-asian-studies

    An Englishman in Latvia
    On lighthouses

    An Englishman in Latvia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 39:28 Transcription Available


    Latvia's maritime history told through stories about its lighthouses. From Hanseatic merchants, through Courland's golden age, to the dark years when the Soviet Union turned the coastline into a military fortress and to today. Three lighthouses highlighted and a road trip! Thanks for listening!

    New Books in Sociology
    Dating Apps, Queer Stigma, and Digital Intimacy in Kazakhstan

    New Books in Sociology

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026


    How queer men in Kazakhstan navigate dating apps in a context of stigma, surveillance, and limited legal protections. It shows how platforms like Grindr, Hornet, Tinder, and VKontakte function as spaces where trust, visibility, and safety must be continuously negotiated. This episode explores how queer men in Kazakhstan navigate dating apps in contexts shaped by stigma, surveillance, and limited legal protections. Drawing on interviews and platform analysis in Shymkent and Almaty, the research challenges the idea of dating apps as neutral or purely liberating spaces, showing instead how they function as ‘ambivalent infrastructures' where connection is always intertwined with risk. Rather than simple tools for meeting partners, apps like VKontakte, Grindr, Hornet, and Tinder are used as distinct social environments that require careful interpretation and strategy. Users constantly assess authenticity, safety, and potential harm, often moving across multiple platforms, starting with apps, then shifting to messaging services like WhatsApp or Telegram, and using calls and additional checks to verify identity before meeting offline. Set against Kazakhstan's broader socio-political context, where queer visibility can lead to harassment, outing, or violence, the episode highlights how digital intimacy becomes a form of ongoing risk management. It ultimately reframes dating apps not as spaces of free connection, but as complex systems where trust, visibility, and safety must be continuously negotiated. Yerkebulan Sairambay is a scholar at risk based at the Centre for Oriental studies in the University of Tartu (Estonia). His research interests involve, but are not limited to, the following areas of expertise: political participation, new media, civil society, climate change, clan politics, democratisation, queer studies, academic freedom, transitional justice, and nation- and state- building with a particular focus on the countries of post-communist Europe and former Soviet Union. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge, and IMRCEES Erasmus Mundus Master's Double Degrees in Russian, Central and East European studies (University of Glasgow) and political science (Corvinus University of Budapest). The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) based at the University of Copenhagen, along with our academic partners: the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Turku, and Asianettverket at the University of Oslo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

    Russian Rulers History Podcast
    Joseph Stalin Revisited

    Russian Rulers History Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2026 25:15


    Send us Fan MailToday's episode will focus on looking at Stalin psychologically to determine whether he had suffered from mental illness and what experiences led him to the behaviors that affected the citizens of the Soviet Union.Support the show

    Mission Focused Men for Christ
    Helping the Poor: Myth Vs. Reality

    Mission Focused Men for Christ

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2026 30:43


    Episode Summary. The intent of this episode is to strengthen, not weaken, our concern for the plight of the poor. But deeply rooted in our commitment to love the poor must be a commitment to helping the poor and doing so in the right, God-ordained way. This episode seeks to call us to care for the poor, to shun passivity, but to understand the biblical guidance God gives for HOW to help, and not harm, them.For Further Prayerful Thought.What rationalizations among Christians have you seen for allowing American consumerism to shape us too much to care significantly about sacrificing to help the poor?Which instances of compassion without biblical wisdom stood out to you.Why do you think that selling the dream of utopia to the masses by Lenin in the Soviet Union, Mao in China and other communist dictators worked to cause them to overthrow the government allowing them to seize dictatorial control?For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men's issues click here.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

    Diseño y Diáspora
    725. On Ideal Subjects. How To Be Abstract (URSS/United Kingdom). A talk with Olga Goriunova

    Diseño y Diáspora

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2026 55:23


    Olga Goriunova ⁠is a cultural theorist who works at the intersection of technology, media, philosophy, and aesthetics. Born in the Soviet Union, she is now based in the UK. Her research is transdisciplinary and engages questions of subjectivation, art and computing across different scales and modes of operation.In this interview, we talk about her latest book, I⁠deal Subjects: Abstract People of AI.⁠ In it, she explores how data and artificial intelligence abstract people into new genres of “subjects,” mapping the horizon of individual and societal possibility.The idea of “ideal subjects” can be useful for designers and user researchers, especially when trying to understand—and question—the way our online data is produced, relates back to us and models our future.She is helping us to question:  - What kind of "subject" is created through data? - How does data based representation attempt to match a human being? - How come that these data-based abstractions are able to engage our desire and thus direct our becoming in relation to their modelled prescriptions? This episode is part of several lists: Investigación en diseño, Reino Unido y diseño, Rusia y diseño, D&D in English, Filosofía y diseño, Arte y diseño social, and AI en UX. While many of the list titles are in Spanish, the content itself is trilingual. Some episodes are in English, others in Spanish or Portuguese. The list D&D in English brings together all the English-language episodes, and it now includes nearly 50 interviews.

    Proletarian Radio
    Stalin's Library by Geoffrey Roberts – a resumé and review, pt 7

    Proletarian Radio

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2026 16:58


    Stalin's study of history and diplomacy informed the Soviet Union's careful handling of foreign affairs and in particular its dealings with the imperialist powers. Contrary to the myths peddled by Khrushchev and Trotsky and repeated endlessly by anticommunist historians, Josef Stalin was a selfless, modest and devoted revolutionary, and a lifelong student of Marxist-Leninist science. -------------------------------------------------- Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! www.thecommunists.org www.lalkar.org www.redyouth.org Telegram: t.me/thecommunists Twitter: twitter.com/cpgbml Soundcloud: @proletarianradio Rumble: rumble.com/c/theCommunists Odysee: odysee.com/@proletariantv:2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpgbml Online Shop: https://shop.thecommunists.org/ Education Program: https://thecommunists.org/education-programme/ Each one teach one! www.londonworker.org/education-programme/ Join the struggle www.thecommunists.org/join/ Donate: www.thecommunists.org/donate/

    Sean's Russia Blog
    Soviet Holocaust Literature

    Sean's Russia Blog

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2026 53:48


    It has long been assumed that there was no Holocaust memory in the Soviet Union. Official Soviet ideology lumped the 1.5 million Soviet Jews exterminated by the Nazis into the 26 million Soviet war deaths. So, the little Holocaust memory that existed was hidden away in families and communities. Recent scholarship, however, has painted a more complicated picture. Yes, official Holocaust memory was circumscribed. And, true, many privately commemorated its memory. But, as a new collection of Soviet Holocaust fiction, translated by Sasha Senderovich and Harriet Murav, shows that there was published Holocaust literature in the Soviet Union. Especially in the Yiddish language journal, Sovetish Heymland. How did Soviet authors treat the Holocaust? How did it differ from work elsewhere? And what are some of the challenges translating these works into English? To find out more, the Eurasian Knot spoke to Sasha and Harriet about their recent collection, In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union, published by Stanford University Press.Guests:Sasha Senderovich is Associate Professor of Slavic Languages & Literatures and of International Studies at the University of Washington. He is the author of How the Soviet Jew Was Made. Harriet Murav is Center for Advanced Study Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her most recent book is As the Dust of the Earth: The Literature of Abandonment in Revolutionary Russia and Ukraine.They are the translators of In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union, published by Stanford University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Radical Candor
    Oliver Bullough - Everybody Loves Our Dollars - S8 | E17

    Radical Candor

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2026 61:40


    While the podcast team is taking a Radical Sabbatical, Kim is interviewing authors of the books that have had a big impact on her in the past two years.  In this episode, Kim speaks with Oliver Bullough, journalist and author of the highly acclaimed books: Butler to the World: How Britain Helps the World's Worst People Launder Money, Commit Crimes, and Get Away with Anything and Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How To Take It Back.  Oliver's new book is called Everybody Loves Our Dollars - How Money Laundering Won. Oliver describes a moment in his life that shaped each of these books. He was touring the palace of Yanukovych, the corrupt pro-Russian ex-President of Ukraine, horrified at the extravagant opulence, all stolen from the Ukrainian people. “How did you let him get away with this?” Oliver asked his friend. “Well, actually you're technically in London, not Ukraine, right now,” his friend responded. Who is corrupt, the people who stole the money, or the lawyers, bankers, and accountants in countries that tout their lack of corruption? Oliver describes the systems in place to help the wealthy dodge taxes and the deeply corrupt to hide their theft. Kim and Oliver talk about the corrosive effect on our political institutions and our economy; and how we got here in the post-WWII era.    Guest Background: Oliver Bullough is a journalist and author from Wales who writes about financial crime, the former Soviet Union, and offshore skulduggery. He lives near Hay-on-Wye, and has previously lived in London, Moscow, St Petersburg and Bishkek.  When not working, he likes watching rugby, cooking pizzas, swimming in the river and walking in the hills.  You can find him on Twitter at @oliverbullough. CHAPTERS (00:00) Introduction to Oliver Bullough and His Works (03:03) The Evolution of Offshore Finance (06:06) Naughty Money vs. Evil Money (09:01) Exploring Yanukovych's Palace and Corruption (12:11) Understanding Modern Corruption and Kleptocracy (15:03) The Role of Cryptocurrency in Financial Crime (18:14) The Dark World of Scams and Trafficking (21:03) The Banality of Evil in Financial Crimes (24:03) Legal Challenges in Exposing Corruption (27:04) Personal Fascination with Eastern Europe and Russia (29:42) The Allure of Russia: A Personal Journey (32:06) Putin's Rise: Observations from the Ground (34:17) The Impact of Neoliberalism on Eastern Europe (35:22) Bretton Woods: Lessons from History (40:21) The Corruption of Wealth: Offshore Finance's Role (44:22) AI and Corruption: A New Era (48:19) Reputation Laundering: The Case of Dmitry Firtash (55:19) The Future of Money Laundering: Insights from 'Everybody Loves Our Dollars' Connect with the Radical Candor team: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The President's Inbox
    America at 250: The Marshall Plan, With Benn Steil

    The President's Inbox

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2026 40:20


    This episode unpacks how the Marshall Plan transformed postwar Western Europe and why security, allied cooperation, and forward thinking were the real keys to its enduring success.   To mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence, CFR is dedicating a yearlong series of articles, videos, podcasts, events, and special projects that will reflect on two and a half centuries of U.S. foreign policy. Featuring bipartisan voices and expert contributors, the series explores the evolution of America's role in the world and the strategic challenges that lie ahead.   Host: James M. Lindsay, Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR   Guest: Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, CFR   We Discuss: How the British Empire's rapid collapse in early 1947 forced the United States to assume responsibility for Western European security. What George Marshall's six weeks of negotiations in Moscow revealed about Soviet intentions in Germany and Western Europe. How Marshall deliberately crafted the plan's offer to include the Soviet Union while ensuring Soviet leader Joseph Stalin would reject it. How Congress, controlled by Republicans, was persuaded to support a massive foreign aid program from a Democratic administration. Whether the Marshall Plan's $13 billion actually explains Western Europe's economic recovery in the late 1940s. What role NATO played in making the Marshall Plan work, and why the French and British insisted on security guarantees before cooperating. Why security has to precede economic reconstruction—and what Afghanistan and Iraq  reveal about ignoring that lesson. What Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.'s 1947 prediction about sustained alliances tells us about the stakes of U.S. foreign policy today.   Mentioned on the Episode:   The 10 Best and Worst Decisions in U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations   Benn Steil, The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War   George Kennan's Long Telegram, February 22, 1946   “Sinews of Peace (‘Iron Curtain' Speech).” at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, March 5, 1946.   Harry Truman, “The Truman Doctrine,” Address to Congress, March 12, 1947   George C. Marshall, Commencement Address at Harvard University June 5, 1947   For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President's Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/america-at-250-the-marshall-plan   Opinions expressed on The President's Inbox are solely those of the host or guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.