Podcasts

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  November 30, 2025: Putin Plays for Time on the Trump Peace Plan

  November 30, 2025: Putin Plays for Time on the Trump Peace Plan Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to project total confidence, signaling that only he will decide the fate of the “Trump peace plan.” Meanwhile, Russian media remains intent on showcasing Ukraine’s corruption scandals, from Andriy Yermak’s downfall to Timur Mindich’s midnight escape to Israel.

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  November 23, 2025: Russia Reacts to Trump’s Peace Plan

  November 23, 2025: Russia Reacts to Trump’s Peace Plan Vesti Nedeli, Russia’s Channel 2 news program, opens the week by declaring “Kupyansk is ours” and discussing what it pointedly calls the “Trump peace plan” for Ukraine. Why is Moscow suddenly emphasizing flexibility while keeping its distance from a proposal that could force Russia to part

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  Introducing Russia Decoded

  Russia Decoded explains how the Kremlin shapes its narrative of current domestic and international events through tightly curated state news broadcasts. Co-hosts Andy Kuchins, a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, and Chris Monday, a professor of economics at Dongseo University in Busan,

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  Iraqi Elections (w/ Tamer al-Badawi)

  Iraqi Elections (w/ Tamer al-Badawi) Iraq will go to the polls on November 11 in an election likely to be dominated by the Iran-backed parties of the Shi‘a Coordination Framework. Although Moqtada al-Sadr is boycotting the election, he is likely weighing his options in both the short- and medium-term. That may mean quietly supporting independent

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  The Yemeni Conflict in a Global Context (w/ Khaldoon Bakahail)

  The Yemeni Conflict in a Global Context (w/ Khaldoon Bakahail) The decade-long conflict in Yemen has settled into a fragile stalemate, with neither the internationally recognized government nor the Houthi movement able to secure a decisive victory. What role have Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran played in sustaining or shaping the war—and how are

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