KennanX

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 Russia interact in the cyber realm, and how each country defines how it uses cyber for its national security. She speaks with Meg King of the Wilson Center, Pavel Sharikov of the Center for Applied Research at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Lauren Zabierek of the Cyber Project at the Belfer Center.

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 Missile Crisis, uncovering lessons learned - and forgotten - with Serhii Plokhy, Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University and author of the new book, Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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 of KennanX, Jill Dougherty explores the political geography and changing societal dynamics in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia with Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society and Research Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University and Bradley Jardine, Schwarzman Scholar at the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute.

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 decades. She speaks with Denis Volkov, Deputy Director at the Levada Center in Moscow, and Maria Snegovaya, Non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Post-Doctoral Scholar at Virginia Tech, about the latest CEPA-Levada Center report on Russian youth and civic engagement.

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 have taken to the streets, forming the backbone of these society-altering protests. In this episode, Jill speaks with Elena Gapova of Western Michigan University and Maksimas Milta of the European Humanities University about Belarusian women in the opposition, the protests, and the future of Belarusian society.

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 speaks with Russian journalist, TV personality, socialite, and former presidential candidate, Ksenia Sobchak, about political correctness, Russian-style.

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 build a more disinformation-resilient society. Nina Jankowicz is the Disinformation Fellow at the Wilson Center and the author of How Not to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict.

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 Hungarian-American philanthropist and investor, from Eastern Europe and Russia to the United States. Emily Tamkin is author of The Influence of Soros: Politics Power and the Struggle for an Open Society.

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 America. Yelena Khanga is a Russian journalist, talk show host, and author of “Soul to Soul: A Black Russian Jewish Woman’s Search for Her Roots.”

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 Beebe of the Center for the National Interest; Chris Painter, President, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise; and JD Work, the Bren Chair for Cyber Conflict and Security at the Marine Corps University.