What Is Putin Thinking? (Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, and Matt Taibbi)
Matt’s brief career as a professional basketball player in Mongolia ... What drove Putin to invade Ukraine? ... Are there limits to Putin’s power in Russia? ... Putting ourselves in Russia’s geopolitical shoes ... The appeal of Russian nationalism ... Did we learn anything from Iraq and Afghanistan? ... Did Russiagate obscure Americans’ ability to see Russia’s actions clearly? ... The value of public apologies ... Matt: Journalists are now in the narrative business ... The foreign policy language barrier ... Matt’s recommends some modern Russian writers ... Matt answers the most pressing question of our time: Celtics or Nets? ...