S5 Ep. 9: ‘Likes Do Not Count’: Anton Troianovski and Marci Shore on Why Russia’s ‘Post-Truth’ Aggression Toward Ukraine Matters to All of Us

fiction/non/fiction

New York Times Moscow bureau chief Anton Troianovski and Yale historian Marci Shore join hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Troianovski discusses his reporting on the recent talks between the U.S. and Russia, contextualizes Russia’s unusual demands, and considers the odds of a diplomatic solution. Shore lays out the Ukrainian political history that helped set the stage for current tensions, explains how Trump learned from Putin’s efforts to subvert Ukrainian elections, and recommends favorite Ukrainian writers. The episode also features Reginald Dwayne Betts reading Serhiy Zhadan’s poem “Headphones,” which he selected for inclusion in The New York Times Magazine.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video excerpts from our interviews at our Fiction/Non/Fiction Podcast Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected readings:

Anton Troianovski

• U.S. and Russia Take More Measured Stance in Ukraine Talks - The New York Times
• Articles by Anton Troianovski in The New York Times

Marci Shore

• Ukrainian Corruption Is Trump's Native Language | Foreign Policy
• The Bard of Eastern Ukraine, Where Things Are Falling Apart | The New Yorker
• The Poet Laureate of Hybrid War | Foreign Policy

Others:

• Poem: Headphones - The New York Times
• Seven dillweeds | Eurozine
• Mondegreen — Volodymyr Rafeyenko | Harvard University Press
• Words for War
• Greetings from Novorossiya - University of Pittsburgh Press
• ​​​​Love Ukraine as You Would the Sun: 10 Ukrainian Books Worth Reading in English ‹ Literary Hub
• “We're All Russian, Now,” featuring Sana Krasikov and Charles Baxter (Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1, Episode 4)
• Frank Foer
• Immanuel Kant
• The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan
• Reginald Dwayne Betts

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