The Naked Pravda
Meduza’s English-language podcast, The Naked Pravda highlights how our top reporting intersects with the wider research and expertise that exists about Russia. The broader context of Meduza’s in-depth, original journalism isn’t always clear, which is where this show comes in. Here you’ll hear from the world’s community of Russia experts, activists, and reporters about issues that are at the heart of Meduza’s stories and crucial to major events in and around Russia.
Returning to the talks that could have ended the war in Ukraine
Meduza interviews scholars Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko about their Foreign Affairs article, “The Talks That Could Have Ended the War in Ukraine: A Hidden History of Diplomacy That Came Up Short — but Holds Lessons for Future Negotiations.”
How Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov dies
Meduza speaks to Novaya Gazeta Europe editor-in-chief Kirill Martynov to dig into his outlet’s recent investigation into Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and learn more about the predicament of Russia’s second-worst autocrat.
Migration and discrimination in Putin’s Russia
To learn about Russia’s migration policy under Putin and the xenophobic backlash to the Crocus City Hall attack, Meduza speaks to journalist Leyla Latypova, policy expert Temur Umarov, and political scientist Caress Schenk.
The evolution of the Russian FSB
Foreign intelligence services expert Dr. Kevin Riehle joins The Naked Pravda to talk about the past, present, and future of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.
Daniel Roher and Julia Ioffe remember the Navalnys
Meduza speaks to Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Roher and journalist Julia Ioffe, one of America’s foremost voices on Russia-U.S. relations, for a look back at Alexey Navalny’s career in politics and ahead to the political future of his widow, Yulia.
How terrorism’s geopolitics brought tragedy to Moscow
To discuss the fluid geopolitics that drives terrorism like the Crocus City Hall attack and the road ahead for Russia as the Kremlin tries to utilize the tragedy for its own aims, Meduza spoke to scholars Jean-François Ratelle and Domitilla Sagramoso.
Is Europe preparing for a wider Russian invasion?
To learn how Europe is preparing for the prospect of Russia invading NATO territory, Meduza turns to Baltic defense expert Lukas Milevski, political scientist Henrik Larsen, and retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe.
Politico’s Alex Ward on Biden’s Russia and Ukraine policy
For the inside scoop on team Biden’s Russia and Ukraine policy, Meduza turns to Politico national security reporter Alex Ward, the author of The Internationalists: The Fight To Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump.
The Russian space nukes scare
To make sense of U.S. reports about new Russian space-based weapons and to respond to the panic that this situation provokes, The Naked Pravda welcomes back nuclear arms expert Pavel Podvig.
Christopher Miller on how war came to Ukraine
To mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s brutal ongoing campaign to seize more territory, Meduza sits down with journalist Christopher Miller to talk about his book, “The War Came To Us: Life and Death in Ukraine.”
The death of Alexey Navalny
Meduza reports on opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death in prison and speaks to experts about his legacy and the political science behind autocrats eliminating dissident threats.
Yandex’s restructuring and the future of Kremlin tech control
The Naked Pravda speaks to Meduza journalist Svetlana Reiter about the ins and outs of Yandex’s historic restructuring and what the deal means for the future of Kremlin control over the Russian Internet.
How Russia targets its critics abroad in wartime
Meduza speaks to activist Dan Storyev and researcher Yana Gorokhovskaia about how Russia’s approach to transnational repression, or the persecution of its citizens in exile, has evolved since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
How doomed presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin rallied antiwar Russians
Meduza speaks to scholar Маrgarita Zavadskaya about Boris Nadezhdin’s political career and sudden popularity among antiwar Russians, and about opposition politics throughout Russia’s Putin era.
Why hasn’t the West seized Russia’s frozen sovereign assets?
To understand what’s keeping the West from grabbing frozen Russian sovereign assets and what it will take for the confiscation to go ahead, Meduza spoke to journalist Alexander Kolyandr and welcomed back political risk advisor Maximilian Hess.
The evolution of Russia’s combat recruitment
Meduza interviews Project “Get Lost” creator and director Grigory Sverdlin and International Security Professor Stefan Wolff about the challenges and consequences of military recruitment and mobilization in Russia and Ukraine.
Memories of Russia
Two of Meduza’s American editors exchange memories from the time they spent living in Russia between 2014 and 2020.
Growing up German in Soviet Kazakhstan, with Lena Wolf
Meduza talks to graphic novelist Lena Wolf about her childhood as a “Kazakh German” and the process of documenting her family’s story of survival in the Soviet Union.
How studying Russia became a paradox
Meduza speaks to researcher Dmitriy Gorskiy about challenges facing academics, journalists, and analysts who study Russia amid heightened global interest and shrinking reliable data.
Russia’s ban on the ‘LGBT movement’
Meduza speaks to historian Dan Healey, sociologist Alexander Kondakov, and political scientist Leandra Bias about the roots of the Kremlin’s anti-LGBTQ+ politics in the wake of the Russian Supreme Court’s decision to ban the “LGBT movement.”
Spotlight on Georgia
In an episode all about Georgia — including crackdown on protests, media freedom and Russia’s occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia — Meduza speaks to Crisis Group South Caucasus Senior Analyst Olesya Vartanyan and OC Media co-founder Mariam Nikuradze.
How Russian comedians find the humor in exile
Two Russian comedians, “Dan the Stranger” and Sasha Dolgopolov, describe emigrating to Europe to continue performing antiwar material and what it’s like to do stand-up in English.
How the USSR tried to run the world
Meduza spoke to Dr. Sergey Radchenko about his forthcoming book, To Run the World: The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power, which explores how narratives of legitimacy offer crucial insights for interpreting Moscow’s motivations and foreign policy.
Why is anti-Semitic violence spreading in Russia’s North Caucasus?
The Naked Pravda asks political and security analyst Harold Chambers and RFE/RL Caucasus Realities senior editor Zakir Magomedov what has fomented anti-Semitism in the North Caucasus.
The Russian military’s ‘torture pits’
Meduza interviews iStories journalist Sonya Savina to learn more about her report on the Russian military’s alleged use of “torture pits.” Plus news from the week about Hamas and Iran in Moscow, Mikhail Fridman’s woes, poisoned cake, and more.