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Hello and a happy 2021 to everyone! I’m happy to announce the latest episode of Politalk titled “An Irishman Behind the Iron Curtain,” in which I speak to Professor John Murray from Trinity College Dublin’s Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies about his time studying and working in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s a pretty broad discussion in which we talk about his perceptions of Soviet society and culture; how he was received by students and citizens of the Eastern Bloc; the development, highs, and lows of Soviet politics throughout the 1980s and 90s, from Brezhnev, to Gorbachev, and everyone in between! Professor Murray is now an Assistant Professor of Russian language, area, and cultural studies, also teaches a module on translation and the Russian press. From 1990-1991 he was the Soviet Correspondent for The Sunday Tribune, for which he won the 1991 Irish Print Journalist of the Year award for his coverage of the August 1991 coup d’état. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Thanks to Bryant Harris from Sky News Arabia for a really great conversation! If you want to know what Joe Biden would make for the US on the world's stage if he wins, give it a listen!Bryant's Twitter: https://twitter.com/brykharris See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Harry and I were delighted to be joined by Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times earlier in the summer to talk about Russia, Putin, and Covid-19's effect on both.You can check out Ivan's articles here:https://www.nytimes.com/by/ivan-nechepurenkoOr his twitter here:https://twitter.com/INechepurenko?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Really thrilled to be joined in this episode by Professor Thai Jones from Columbia University's Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.We discuss the shape and form that Reparations have taken when they've been implemented across the country. Thai Jones's Twitter: @thai_jonesPiece about Reparations for Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/01/31/slavery-reparations-seem-impossible-many-places-theyre-already-happening/Piece about police torture in Chicago for the New Yorker:https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/how-chicagos-public-schools-are-teaching-the-history-of-police-torture See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Season's Greetings & Happy New Year from the team at Politalk! 2020 marks 75 years since the end of World War Two and the founding of the United Nations, so in this seasonal special we're politalking about the strength and sructure of the UN and other organizations designed to keep the peace in the world. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Politalk #1 | Politics and Protest by Politalk See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.