Inside the Hive

Russia expert Nina Khrushcheva and Trump impeachment hero Alexander Vindman explain what is driving Putin's assault on Ukraine — and how Republicans also have blood on their hands.Cohosts Emily Jane Fox and Joe Hagan interview two leading experts about Russia's invasion of Ukraine — how it happened and how it could reshape the world as we know it. First, Nina Krushcheva, a Russia expert and professor at the New School in New York, takes us inside the mind of Vladimir Putin, how he was underestimated and whether the cold, calculated ex-KGB man has finally succumbed to a world-historic megalomania. Next, Hagan talks to Alexander Vindman, the former Army Lt. Colonel and outspoken participant in Trump's first impeachment trial that revolved around the then president's attempts to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine. Vindman reserves his harshest criticism for Putin sympathizers in the GOP: “These folks have blood on their hands. They're going to own this.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, cohost Joe Hagan talks to renowned writer, culture critic, and scholar Lucy Sante, whose essay in the February issue of Vanity Fair describes her transition at age 67. Sante expands on her many stages of personal revelation—how the “egg” was cracked—and the relief and liberation she experienced in embracing her long-denied gender as well as the challenges she still faces, personally, socially, and romantically. While she works on a new book about her self discovery, the author of nonfiction classics like Low Life and Factory of Facts is navigating the misunderstood nexus of gender and sexuality with her signature erudition, wit and curiosity. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, Inside the Hive cohosts Emily Jane Fox and Joe Hagan examine potential cracks in the American ice. On one side of the aisle, Republicans Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell appear to have distanced themselves from the Jan. 6 insurrection. On the other, Democrats have begun backing away from COVID restrictions. Are these maneuvers for political advantage in advance of the 2022 midterms, or signs of something more? Plus: Fox and Hagan weigh in on this year's Oscar nominations. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, cohost Joe Hagan talks to Hive media correspondent Joe Pompeo, who helps unwind the Succession-worthy melodrama around the departure of CNN president Jeff Zucker in the wake of the ouster of anchor Chris Cuomo, which itself came in the wake of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation following accusations of sexual harassment. How does one ouster connect to the other? And was the reason Zucker gave for his exit — failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a top CNN executive — the true reason he left or is there something more at work? Pompeo explores the possibilities and reveals new details. All this and the drama surrounding Joe Rogan too on the latest episode of Inside the Hive. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The week’s episode of Inside the Hive gets to the heart of this puzzling economic moment—with inflation on the rise and the supply chain a mess but the rest of the fundamentals stronger than they have been in years. Economist Beth Ann Bovino breaks it down and looks ahead to what comes next. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s Inside the Hive, cohost Joe Hagan and Paul Begala, CNN analyst and former counselor to Bill Clinton, discuss the woeful state of the Biden White House and the fate of the Democrats, including the latest defeat over the Voting Rights Act and the filibuster. With Biden trying to be both a “normal” President and an FDR change agent for the ages, he’s managed to do neither and please no one as his polls sink. Begala offers his analysis and advice for rebuilding Democratic prospects in the midterms and countering a Republican Party hellbent on destroying democracy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The CDC's messaging around Omicron has been a disaster, and with cases surging and despair on the rise, Dr. Katelyn Jetelina stops by this episode of Inside the Hive to give a clear picture of what we should know about the virus right now. The epidemiologist, professor and author of the popular "Your Local Epidemiologist" newsletter answers all of our questions about when the variant might peak, what comes next, what we should know about schools, and where to find some silver linings. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week's episode of Inside the Hive, co-hosts Joe Hagan and Emily Jane Fox are joined by their colleague Abigail Tracy to talk about what's next for the January 6 commission, what is at stake in an election year, and whether it will practically mean anything to half of the country. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, Inside the Hive cohosts Emily Jane Fox and Joe Hagan discuss strategies for surviving holiday isolation and anxiety during the COVID resurgence. In that spirit, Hagan talks to Don Was, famed record producer and president of Blue Note Records, about the transporting power of music, taking listeners through his own personal playlist of favorite recordings and the stories behind them, from Norah Jones and Iggy Pop to the Wayne Shorter and Charles Lloyd. A holiday special for the news weary. (Find an exclusive playlist on Spotify under "Inside the Hive Holiday Special.")https://open.spotify.com/playlist/26EFfPAJpggIMELvWuy30u?si=c59e5615593c46e9 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, Katie Couric, legendary onetime cohost of NBC’s Today show, talks to Inside the Hive's Joe Hagan about her frank and searing new memoir, Going There, which pulls back the curtain on her starry and sometimes starcrossed life and career. Couric recounts the sexist culture of network TV but also examines her own place in a culture that allowed alleged abusers like Matt Lauer, Jeff Fager and Les Moonves (Couric allies all) to thrive. There’s plenty of blame to go around - including Couric's charge, in her book, that Hagan’s 2007 cover story on Couric in New York magazine was a “hit job.” Hagan and Couric visit the spirits of media Past, Present and Yet to Come. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices