Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Earlier this week on Honestly, Batya Ungar-Sargon, Brianna Wu, and Christopher Caldwell shared their views on President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s showdown with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, and on the Russia-Ukraine war more generally.

Simply put, Batya and Chris made the case that Russia is not an American adversary in the way China is and that Trump’s seeming sympathy toward Russian president Vladimir Putin is actually a strategic play to pull Russia away from China and into our orbit.

The conversation is provocative. It provoked many of us here at The Free Press. Not all of our listeners agreed with what they heard either. For some, it was frustrating or even angering to hear this perspective. Yes, contrary to popular belief, we do read the comments.

And there’s been a tremendous amount of debate inside our newsroom about America’s new posture regarding Russia and Ukraine, just as there is on all of the most important topics of the day.

We think that’s our strength. We believe in listening to arguments, in good faith, from people we respect. And if our panel show earlier in the week was dominated by a perspective sympathetic to Trump, today we want to offer a very different perspective from Eli Lake, Free Press reporter and the host of our new podcast, Breaking History.

In this episode, Eli explores how a different Republican president—Ronald Reagan—spoke out against Russian aggression. And how his words inspired dissidents from across the Soviet bloc, like the Czech playwright Václav Havel, to lead their own countries to freedom.

This is a show that looks to the past to illuminate the present, and we think this episode is especially important right now. So today, Eli Lake on Breaking History.

If you liked what you heard from Honestly, the best way to support us is to go to TheFP.com and become a Free Press subscriber today.

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What is the centerpiece of your home?

Maybe a couch, but it's more likely a table. That's where we gather for our meals and recap our days. And that table is likely made of wood – oak, mahogany, maple, or perhaps pine. If it's built to last, wood provides the sturdy material for our most crucial furniture and it can last generations.

But a masterfully-built piece of furniture requires a master builder. That's where our guest comes in.

Callum Robinson is a woodworker, furniture maker, and the author of the new book "Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman." He sits down with us to to talk decor, woodworking, and more.

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Paris Marx is joined by James Meadway to discuss how the UK Labour Party is embracing AI regardless of the cost and the consequences of allowing US companies to dominate the digital economy in so many other countries.

James Meadway is an economist and the host of Macrodose.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• James wrote about the UK Labour Party’s obsession with growth.
• Last year, Google warned the UK government it would get left behind on AI if it didn’t weaken copyright rules and build more data centers.

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Nnedi Okorafor is back on 1A.

And this time, the award-winning speculative fiction author is turning her eyes and her pen from the stars to a story a little closer to reality. But not by much.

"Death of the Author" is her latest novel. It's a book within a book that follows the story of a Nigerian author who publishes a work of science fiction that ends up affecting things far beyond her lifetime. Okorafor's book grapples with the relationship between art and artificial intelligence and the question of who controls a story.

We sit down with the author to talk about these themes and more.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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Charles Kupchan, former European affairs specialist in Obama’s White House joins us to discuss whether a viable security agreement could be brokered that meets Ukraine’s needs without granting them everything they want. Kupchan isn’t entirely pessimistic—but he’s also not holding his breath.

Plus, Trump’s address to Congress was filled with signature moments: a ripped-up protest sign, a joke about annexing Greenland, and a reading of what he deemed an appropriately deferential letter from Zelensky. But in The Spiel, we break down a different highlight—the section where Trump rattled off supposed cost-saving measures, taking aim at everything from Burmese scholarships to circumcision programs in Mozambique.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Join Washington Examiner Senior Writer David Harsanyi and Federalist Editor-In-Chief Mollie Hemingway as they analyze President Donald Trump's joint address and Democrats' attempts to disrupt it, as well as discuss Volodymyr Zelensky's big Oval Office mistake. Mollie and David also review the late Gene Hackman's best roles and share their thoughts on the Oscars winners. 

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