Meltdown
“On April 26, 1986, a power surge destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant causing the largest nuclear disaster in history. On this episode of KennanX our host, Jill Dougherty, explores...
View ArticleNuclear Insecurity: Should New START Die?
There are approximately 1,500 Russian nuclear warheads aimed at the U.S. The U.S. has about the same number aimed at Russia. In February, 2021, the last remaining arms control agreement between...
View ArticleBrain Drain
Talented individuals are fleeing Russia for greener pastures. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty discusses the causes of Russian talent flight and the pain of leaving one’s country with Sergei...
View ArticleRusskiy Stol: Russian Cuisine with Darra Goldstein
n this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty has a delicious conversation with Darra Goldstein, author of a new cookbook on Russian cuisine entitled “Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore.”...
View ArticleRussia’s COVID Crisis
COVID-19 is spreading in Russia. In this episode, Jill Dougherty is joined by Judy Twigg, Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Oksana Antonenko, Director at Control Risks, for a...
View ArticleMixed Signals in the Cyber Realm
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty examines the uncertainties - and risks - associated with interpreting signals from adversaries in the cyber domain. Three experts explain the danger: George...
View ArticleYelena Khanga: On family, growing up in the USSR, and Black Lives Matter
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Yelena Khanga about the story of her family, what it was like growing up Black in the Soviet Union, and the Black Lives Matter movement here in...
View ArticleGeorge Soros: The Anatomy of a Global Conspiracy Theory
How did George Soros become an international bogeyman? In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Emily Tamkin about the proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding the...
View ArticleDisinformation’s Threat to Democracy
America is losing the information war. But why? On this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Nina Jankowicz about the scourge of foreign and domestic disinformation in America and how we can...
View Article"You Can't Say That!" - Political Correctness, Russian-style
In Russia, one of the hottest subjects for debate right now, on TV and in print, is political correctness. What do Russians mean by "political correctness?" In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty...
View ArticleThe Ladies in White
Since Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an election rife with fraud, Belarus has been rocked by protests. Empowered by Tikhanovskaya and other female leaders, women...
View ArticleThe Putin Generation
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty explores the characteristics and dynamics associated with the generation of young Russians that have grown up with Vladimir Putin as their leader for two...
View ArticleProtests on the Silk Road: Analyzing Central Asia with the Oxus Society
In October 2020, Kyrgyzstan’s capital was rocked by protests following an allegedly rigged parliamentary election, ultimately resulting in the resignation of Kyrgyz President Jeenbekov. In this episode...
View ArticleTriggered: The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 22, 1962, American families gathered around their televisions for an address by President Kennedy. What they heard shocked them. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty revisits the Cuban...
View ArticleDo Russia and the United States speak the same language on Cyber?
In their June summit, Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin pledged to restart a strategic dialogue on cyber issues. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty explores how the United States and...
View ArticleA Demonstration for Dignity: A Conversation with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
It’s been nearly one year since Alexander Lukashenko declared victory over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an election rife with fraud. In this episode of KennanX, our host Jill Dougherty is joined by Ms....
View ArticleComplicated Legacies: The U.S. and Russia in Afghanistan
With echoes of the Soviet retreat, the last American plane left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021 following two decades of war. How do the legacies of the Soviet and American occupations compare, and what...
View ArticleDangerous Whispers: Politics and Conspiracies in the post-Soviet Space
Political discourse in Russia and the post-Soviet space is rife with conspiracy theories, as well as politicians who utilize them to gain an upper hand. On this episode of KennanX, Scott Radnitz,...
View ArticlePutin’s Red Lines on Ukraine
The standoff at the Russia-Ukraine border has reached a boiling point following the Biden and Putin video conference. Moscow is demanding major revisions to European security. In this episode of...
View ArticleSpecial Announcement + Rebroadcast: Who is Vladimir Putin?
Host Jill Dougherty has a special announcement about the future of the KennanX podcast. Plus, we’re sharing a recent conversation between Wilson Center President Mark Green and Baroness Catherine...
View ArticleRussia's New Expats
Since Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February, hundreds of journalists have left their country because they felt threatened by the Kremlin's crackdown on free speech. In the latest KennanX,...
View ArticleRussia's New Expats pt. 2
Host Jill Dougherty shares the second part of her conversations with Russian journalists — both those now in exile and those who remain in the country — about how their lives have changed after the...
View ArticleFighting Strategic Corruption with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Jill Dougherty is joined by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to discuss how corruption serves not only to enrich the elites of Russia, but also as tool to ensure continuity of power and that all...
View ArticleThe Storm Over TV Rain
Russian independent news channel TV Rain (Dozhd TV) has been operating in Latvia since June 2022, after Kremlin authorities blocked the channel as a result of its coverage of Russia’s full-scale...
View ArticleIs Russia Serious About Diplomacy? With Amb. John Sullivan
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan joins Jill Dougherty following an ambassadorship during one of the most tumultuous periods of U.S.-Russia relations to provide his perspective on the...
View ArticleRussian Cuisine and Conflict with Darra Goldstein
Food scholar and author Darra Goldstein joins Jill Dougherty to discuss her new book, The Kingdom of Rye: A Brief History of Russian Food. They cover the origins and histories of many classic Russian...
View ArticleEstonia on the Edge: A Conversation with Ambassador Jonatan Vseviov
Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Estonian Ambassador to the US, joins Jill Dougherty to discuss what it means to conduct foreign policy for a country...
View ArticleChanging Russia’s Future with Zhanna Nemtsova
Jill Dougherty sits down with Zhanna Nemtsova to discuss her work with the Boris Nemtsov Foundation, which Zhanna founded in 2015 in Germany after her father’s assassination, and the generational gaps...
View ArticleSurviving a Political Poisoning with Natalia Arno
A shocking number of Kremlin opponents have been left dead or permanently injured from poisonings. During a trip to Prague in May 2023, Free Russia Foundation President and Founder Natalia Arno became...
View ArticleGeorgia's Democratic Vision with Tinatin Khidasheli
Ukraine isn’t the only country that’s fighting Russian influence for its democratic future. Tinatin Khidasheli, Georgia’s first female minister of defense and current Chairperson at Civic IDEA...
View ArticleTracing the Red Thread to Russia with Ambassador John Beyrle
Jill Dougherty sits down with former US Ambassador to Russia and Bulgaria John R. Beyrle to discuss their shared foundational experiences in Soviet Russia, including as US exchange students in...
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