Jan 11
Clare Griffin, "Mixing Medicines: The Global Drug Trade and Early Modern Russia" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022)
Clare Griffin's book Mixing Medicines: The Global Drug Trade and Early Modern Russia (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022) introduces the reader to the dynamic and complex world of early modern Russian medical drugs, from the enthusiasm for newly imported American botanicals to the disgust a ... Show More
49m 31s
Jan 10
Bruce Berglund, "The Moscow Playbook: How Russia Used, Abused, and Transformed Sports in the Hunt for Power" (Triumph Books, 2026)
An eye-opening account of how Russia's leaders have used sports as a political tool to solidify their global power "Victories in sport do more to cement the nation than a hundred political slogans." This was the pep talk Russian athletes heard in 2000 from their new president, Vl ... Show More
1h 3m
Apr 2022
Atrocities in Bucha, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Western Response
Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia wrap up the week, analyzing the events and rhetoric of the past days. They discuss to what degree the atrocities in Bucha were ordered by the Russian military, and to what degree they reflect a poorly organized military withdrawal. Our hosts compare Ru ... Show More
42m 21s
Mar 2025
Grzegorz Rossolinski-Liebe, "Stepan Bandera: The Life and Afterlife of a Ukrainian Nationalist: Fascism, Genocide, and Cult" (Ibidem Press, 2014)
Stepan Bandera: The Life and Afterlife of a Ukrainian Nationalist (Ibidem Verlag, 2014) is the first comprehensive and scholarly biography of the Ukrainian far-right leader Stepan Bandera and the first in-depth study of his political cult. In this fascinating book, Grzegorz Rosso ... Show More
56m 45s
Sep 2025
Shaving Russia
Sept 5, 1698. Tsar Peter the Great of Russia returns home from a year-long European tour. When noblemen, religious figures, and friends gather to welcome him home, Peter pulls out a straight razor, holds it to their throats, and…forcibly shaves their beards. This event will go do ... Show More
28m 31s
Mar 2022
Putin's psychology, explained by a Polish expert (with Marek Mankiszak)
Poland has emerged as a leader in its support for Ukraine and in its study of Russia's and Putin's psychology. Marek Mankiszak, head of the Russian Department at the Centre for Eastern Studies, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to assess Putin's motives for invading Ukraine.Marek ... Show More
39 m
Jun 2023
15. Tanks Riding Towards Moscow
Vladimir Putin survived the short lived revolt that saw thousands of mercenaries march towards Moscow, but at what cost?Jonny Dymond is joined by:Polina Ivanova: foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, covering Russia and Ukraine. Owen Matthews: journalist, historian and a ... Show More
28m 54s
Nov 13
Biggest corruption scandal of Zelensky’s presidency rattles country & Polish civilians arm themselves in case of Russian invasion
Day 1,359.Today, as Ukraine launches more projectiles at Russia than it receives in return, we examine the worsening situation on the ground in the Zaporizhzhia region and the growing domestic turmoil facing President Zelensky, as the corruption scandal rattles his government. We ... Show More
56m 48s
Most people on the contemporary left see Stalin as an unfortunate stain on the history of the global left, a part of the historical process that we’d be better avoiding in our attempts to build towards socialism. He does still have some scattered defenders though, putting out books and articles trying to turn his legacy into something commendable that we oug ... Show More
