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Business Ins & Outs: Oak Room, Bernadette’s, citizenM, East Fork; Kafe Leopold
New life — and a worthy successor — has returned to the building at 1218 Wisconsin Ave. NW that once housed the legendary Third Edition and El Centro.
Jewish voters express growing isolation amid rising antisemitism in both major political parties
Faced with anti-Israel and even anti-Jewish sentiment by party activists, and by an increasing number of political candidates, many Jewish voters are facing uncomfortable choices as they cast their ballots this year.
Wisconsin’s Medicaid work requirements: Here’s what to know
An estimated 63,000 Wisconsinites could lose BadgerCare Plus as the state prepares to implement new federal Medicaid expansion work requirements next year.
A full-circle moment for Bay Port grad Alec Jeffers
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) — For new Green Bay YMCA Swim Team head coach Alec Jeffers, the journey to leading the program feels like the natural next step in a lifetime spent around the pool. Jeffers, a Bay Port High School graduate and former standout swimmer at UW-Stevens Point, was introduced to the sport at […]
Has Kyler Murray Already Won The Job As The Vikings Starting QB?
It's hard to argue otherwise.
Sandra Bullock shares photo of late dad holding her kids in emotional Father's Day tribute
Sandra Bullock has shared a moving tribute to her dad, John Wilson Bullock, who died at 93 in 2018, in which she wished the WWII vet a 'Happy Heavenly Father's Day.'
Bob on Business: Rosedale retail? Texas Wesleyan names real estate firm to market spaces
Also, private equity gets wasted; acquisitions; Texas twister real estate deals; real estate group uses the force; and deals in Alliance.
Luka Dončić's wishlist gives Lakers a clear free agency blueprint
The Lakers have a lot of business to take care of this summer surrounding Dončić with the right pieces that suit his skillset. Here are some pieces they can find.
The twisted science and traps in framing Notre Dame’s best QBs of the past 50 years
Comparing Notre Dame QBs across eras isn't easy. Stats, titles and context all complicate the debate as CJ Carr begins building his legacy.
Vance meets top Iranian officials as US looks to get negotiations back on track
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and top Iranian officials are trying to build out the interim deal to end the war in Iran reached by the two sides last week. They are meeting at a Swiss mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne.
A New Era for D.C. Politics? Insiders Discuss
On the Hill's Tom Fitzgerald is joined by former DC Councilmember At-Large Bill Lightfoot and DC Democratic Party Chair Charles Wilson for a breakdown of what Janeese Lewis George's win means for DC politics.
Fantasy Baseball 2026: Winners and Losers From Week 12
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost a game in Colorado because of a cleat. The cleat of pinch-runner Billy Cook grazed third baseman Kyle Karros’s glove on a slow ground ball that would have otherwise tied the game. The call gave Paul Skenes a loss instead of a no-decision and surely fantasy baseball results were harmed by the call, which was the actual correct call.
Americans are paying thousands to flee states over politics — but experts say using specialized agencies is not worth it
Looking for help moving to another state for political reasons? There’s a real estate agency for that.
I stopped hitting cloud storage limits for good by changing this Google Photos option
I wish I had knew it sooner
Diamondbacks vs. Twins discussion
Today’s Lineups TWINS DIAMONDBACKS Trevor Larnach – LF Ketel Marte – 2B Byron Buxton – CF Geraldo Perdomo – SS Kody Clemens – RF Corbin Carroll – RF Josh Bell – DH Lourdes Gurriel – DH Royce Lewis – 1B Pavin Smith – 1B Brooks Lee – 3B Nolan Arenado – 3B Victor Caratini – […]
Billionaire Warren Buffett Disciple Warns: Don’t Quit Your Job To Start A New Business, Do This Instead
Billionaire investor Mohnish Pabrai has built a reputation for borrowing the best ideas from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, then applying them with ruthless simplicity. On a recent appearance on Big Deal with Codie Sanchez, he turned that same lens on a piece of conventional wisdom that gets repeated in nearly every startup pitch deck ... Billionaire Warren Buffett Disciple Warns: Don’t Quit Your Job To Start A New Business, Do This Instead
Jason Bateman reveals Katharine Hepburn told him to 'stop acting,' offering 'really great' but 'painful' advice
Jason Bateman said that Katharine Hepburn gave him 'painful' advice that confused him at first but ultimately proved to be 'really great' wisdom as he struggled through a scene: 'Stop acting.'
From New York to Seattle to DC, more cities are picking democratic socialist leaders
On the night of the Democratic primary to be the next mayor of Washington, DC, Janeese Lewis George pushed back on those who doubted the movement that had formed behind her.
This simple twist could bring quantum computers closer to reality
Researchers found that twisting layered sheets of hexagonal boron nitride can dramatically change the light produced by quantum emitters embedded within the material. The technique offers an unexpected new level of control over components that could power future quantum computers, communications systems, and sensors.
This Week in Science: A Voice-Restoring Brain Implant, Nuclear Clocks, And More!
Our weekly science news roundup.
Democrats seeking Wisconsin congressional seats discuss key issues in Platteville
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — More than 50 people gathered Thursday evening in Platteville to hear from the Democratic candidates for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, Emily Berge and Rebecca Cooke.
Chloë and Timbaland’s ‘Resurrection’ Mixtape Is Full of Life
Chloë and Timbaland's joint mixtape, "Resurrection," recalls the hypnotic sounds of '90s and 2000s R&B with a fresh twist.
Sumter Men’s Health Fair aims to connect men with physical, mental, and social wellness resources
A free community health fair in Sumter is taking a holistic approach to men’s wellness by bringing physical health, mental health, and social well-being resources together in one place.
Discover Oshkosh showcases arts, entertainment and Lake Winnebago activities
(WFRV)- From music festivals to the world’s greatest aviation celebration, there are so many reasons to visit this area of Wisconsin. In this segment, Amy Albright and Anna Murphy-Pociask fro…
Ben Wikler: My state was a ‘democracy desert.’ This is how we turned it around.
We can do the same for the entire United States. We can start working now to channel political anxiety into rebuilding the foundations of our democracy so that it offers free and fair elections for all candidates of every party.
Packers feud with Wisconsin congressman over Sports Broadcasting Act changes
The NFL world is currently trying to figure out how to maneuver through a complicated web of political traps when it comes to negotiating their next rights deals. And no franchise has more at stake than the Green Bay Packers. At the center of the drama is a looming battle between the NFL and the…
Congressman attacks Evers for his push to apply for federal funding
Wisconsin applied for federal funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which was included in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill.
A new era for D.C. politics
With D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George capturing the nomination for mayor, and a host of other progressive candidates winning races down the ballot, the city's government is set for some of the biggest changes in the last two decades.
Guest opinion: Rural Wisconsin workers lose health insurance twice as fast as before the pandemic
Wisconsin should expand Medicaid, invest in renewal pathways that don’t assume broadband internet access and revamp the renewal system so eligible people do not lose coverage, Jiyue Wang writes.
Mauricio Pochettino offers 'full support' to Lionel Messi's family following father's health issue
Mauricio Pochettino has sent his best wishes to Lionel Messi and his family following confirmation that the Argentina captain's father has a health problem.
Mauricio Pochettino offers 'full support' to Lionel Messi's family following father's health issue
Mauricio Pochettino has sent his best wishes to Lionel Messi and his family following confirmation that the Argentina captain's father has a health problem.
Why democratic socialists like Lewis George in D.C. keep winning in cities
Janeese Lewis George's sweeping victory in the Democratic primary follows a trend of urban voters turning to candidates to the left of mainstream Democrats.
Democratic socialists surge in mayoral races across the country as anti-Trump fervor rises
Janeese Lewis George is making waves in Washington, D.C., with her progressive agenda as she aims for the mayor's office.
Democratic Socialists Surge in Mayoral Races Across the Country as Anti-Trump Fervor Rises
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Janeese Lewis George paves a path to the mayor's office in Washington, D.C., she's told voters they could have it all. Her unapologetically expansive, left-wing agenda includes subsidized or even free childcare, increased down payment assistance for homebuyers and community ...
Palmetto Sports Daily: Riverdogs clinch 1st half championship, Fan Fest continues in Atlanta
The crew discusses the Charleston Riverdogs clinching the Single-A 1st half championship, and Fan Fest continues in Atlanta.
“Underestimated” premieres July 16 on Palmetto Sports & Entertainment
WIS 10 announced today to be the exclusive broadcast partner for Underestimated: A Lower Richland Football Story, a six-part, one-hour cinematic docuseries
Janeese Lewis George wins the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C.
In an overwhelmingly Democratic city, Lewis George is likely to take the top spot in November's general election, replacing moderate Muriel Bowser, who decided not to run again after three terms.
Steil pushes bill to ban lawmakers from political prediction markets - Live Updates
The Wisconsin Republican's legislation follows a string of high-profile episodes of alleged insider trading on the new markets.
'There's No Ambiguity in Sony's Strategy': Trusted Journalist on PS5's Exclusivity Approach After Wishy-Washy CEO Statement
"There's no case by case here"
“Underestimated” premieres July 16 on Palmetto Sports & Entertainment
WIS 10 announced today to be the exclusive broadcast partner for Underestimated: A Lower Richland Football Story, a six-part, one-hour cinematic docuseries produced by Kendall Projects Media and Design Company.
“Underestimated” premieres July 16 on Palmetto Sports & Entertainment
WIS 10 announced today to be the exclusive broadcast partner for Underestimated: A Lower Richland Football Story, a six-part, one-hour cinematic docuseries produced by Kendall Projects Media and Design Company.
Challenger concedes to democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George in Washington, D.C., mayoral primary
NBC News has not yet projected a primary winner. But Kenyan McDuffie’s concession sets up Lewis George to lead the city for the last two years of the Trump administration.
Plot Twist Books Launches Bookmobile To Boost Business On NW Side
Plot Twist Used Book's bookmobile is stocked with about 300 books. The colorful bus will make appearances at farmers markets and street fests throughout the summer.
French Twist: Trump Upends GOP Plans | WSJ Politics Newsletter for June 18
Plus, Kevin Warsh makes his debut as Fed chairman and Trump offers encouragement to Anthropic over access to its powerful AI models
Palmetto Sports Daily: Latest moves in college baseball portal, SC basketball snags another foreign player
The crew discusses the latest on the transfer portal for college baseball, and the Gamecocks men’s basketball team snags Hugo Lopez from Spain.
Wish Upon a Jirachi in <em>Pokémon Pokopia</em>
Befriend Jirachi and help make Pokémon dreams come true during the Wish Upon a Jirachi event.
Small Business Owner and Former Cultural Affairs Commissioner Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin Launches Bid for Culver City Council
Small Business Owner, Former Cultural Affairs Commissioner, and longtime community volunteer Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin today declared her candidacy for the Culver City Council. Wisnosky Stehlin is running to be a voice for residents and community members who want strong, collaborative leadership at City Hall. "People come to Culver City because the...
Democratic socialists are on the rise in Trump-era mayoral races
The rise is fueled by a backlash to Trump policies, economic strain and fatigue with the Democratic establishment. A possible win in Washington, D.C., might be next.
Discovery Supercomputer’s First Applications Selected for Day-One Science
Scientific computing experts at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have selected the first nine research projects that will run on Discovery, the nation’s next flagship supercomputer, slated for deployment in 2028.The projects will be developed through the Discovery Center for Accelerated Application Readiness (CAAR) program at ORNL’s Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF).
Beyond politics, a well still needs water
Joint projects between Jews and Muslims may ultimately do more to advance understanding than a hundred conferences about understanding.
Department of Energy Selects 36th Class of Computational Science Graduate Fellows
Twenty-nine students working toward achieving doctorates in fields that emphasize the use of computing and mathematics have been selected for the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) program.
MOMENT OF SCIENCE: NASA set to launch new project
NASA missions have been exploring beyond our planet for nearly 7 decades! Now, NASA’s latest mission is almost ready for launch… 8 months ahead of schedule.
Caring for all of Wisconsin: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program supports rural health care students
Marquette's Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program creates opportunities for rural nurses to learn.
Delaware Public Health District warns of rabies case
The health department said it is important for residents to take precautions
Where do things stand in the DC primary races?
Janeese Lewis George is holding a large early lead in the Democratic mayoral primary in Washington, DC, based on initial election results, but CNN has not projected a winner yet.
Preview: UFC Vegas 119 prelims
Mixed martial arts hangover is a real thing, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Here’s your Alka-Seltzer.
June 17 Playbook: Data Centers Scrambling PA Politics
🌞 It’s Wednesday! The halfway mark Headlines. Fight Over US Datacenters Is Scrambling Pennsylvania Politics. Energy Future A Defining Issue in Gubernatorial Race. PA Supreme Court Blasts Philly DA’s Office. “Charm Pricing” 🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. We’re Not Gonna Take It. Twisted Sister PA Weather☀️ Meadville | Mostly…
Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George opens up lead in Washington, D.C., mayoral primary
Lewis George, a member of the city council, has a significant edge over her nearest rival, Kenyan McDuffie, with about two-thirds of the vote counted and the race too early to call.
Packers take aim at Wisconsin congressman leading charge to modify Sports Broadcasting Act
A Wisconsin congressman is leading the charge to revamp the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, but the Green Bay Packers insist doing so would "threaten the team.
Aspirus Health Welcomes Certified Nurse Midwife Tylynn Morrison-Vidar to Rhinelander Clinic
RHINELANDER, Wis. – Aspirus Health is pleased to welcome Tylynn (Ty) Morrison-Vidar, CNM, a Certified Nurse Midwife, to the care team at Aspirus Rhinelander Clinic – N. Shore Drive, located at 2251 N Shore Drive. Morrison-Vidar brings a strong background in women’s health, beginning her career as a Labor and Delivery nurse from 2018 to 2025. She further expanded her clinical expertise while serving as a student midwife from August 2024 through January 2025. In addition to her clinical work, she has cont...
CBS will pay for Stephen Colbert's 'Peanuts' music licensing gag from 'Late Show' finale
CBS will pay the licensing fee for the use of Vince Guaraldi's 'Linus and Lucy' after Stephen Colbert's house band played the tune on 'The Late Show' finale — but there's a twist.
She Was Trusted to File a Business Owner’s Taxes. The Case Ended With $47,484 in Restitution
A Wisconsin business owner thought a friend was handling personal and business taxes. The case ended in Manitowoc County court with theft and forgery convictions, ... Read More
Palmetto Sports Daily: Kevin Schnall talks competing in SEC, wrestling returns to USS Yorktown
Kevin Schnall talks about competing in the SEC, and the crew discusses The Citadel hosting the 3rd wrestling event on the USS Yorktown.
Former Trump aides plead not guilty to Wisconsin fake elector felony charges
Jim Troupis, a former judge who was Trump’s Wisconsin campaign attorney, Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020, and Ken Chesebro, a former Trump legal adviser, all entered the pleas in Dane County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
Knights wise to move on from Torts
John Tortorella was fine for the interim but it's time to give Ryan Craig his shot to be an NHL head coach .
How Wisconsin Is Reducing Administrative Burden on Local Health Departments
Learn how Wisconsin is streamlining processes to improve the administrative experience for local health departments.
Sunrise adds YouTube Premium and HBO Max to entertainment offering
Swiss telecommunications operator Sunrise has expanded its entertainment portfolio with the addition of YouTube Premium and HBO Max, strengthening its position as a one-stop destination for televis…
Wisconsin is offering $40 million for rural health care, part of Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill'
The funding will go to hospitals, clinics and other providers to hire community health workers, create partnerships and buy dental care technology.
How to tell if you have a changeable personality according to science
We like to imagine ourselves as unfinished masterpieces. But is that wishful thinking?
Kara Swisher calls out rage bait after UFC fighter insults Michelle Obama at White House event
Palmetto Sports Daily: Hurricanes win Stanley Cup, USC-Coastal baseball rivalry brewing?
More on the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup win and a new rivalry possibly brewing in college baseball.
Cenzoo, beloved gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo, passes away after recent health issues
A beloved gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo has died after recent health complications.
6 Ways to Make Economy Feel Like Business Class
Economy seats are usually the best bang for your buck, but not always the most comfortable. Here's how to upgrade the otherwise bare bones experience.
Pedestrians Prefer to Veer Left—and Scientists Have No Idea Why
The bias certainly appears to exist, but scientists still have no idea why it exists.
Jewish business owners reveal Cornell student's antisemitic job interview rejection
Gabe and Aiden Einhorn, co-founders of VryfID, discuss a Cornell student's antisemitic rejection of an internship. The brothers share their shock and motivation to expose rising antisemitism.
Fitzgerald tells ‘UpFront’ Packers will be fine as he explores issues with NFL, Sports Broadcasting Act
Fresh off his hearing on Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald said the NFL may be violating the Sports Broadcasting Act and quickly dismissed concerns from the Green Bay Packers about any changes to the league's shared revenue model.
Political, entertainment heavyweights attend UFC fight night at the White House
David Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg and Ari Emanuel were among those who attended the event
The next mayor of DC will have to navigate its most famous resident: President Donald Trump
Janeese Lewis George, a Washington, DC, councilmember and leading candidate for mayor, was knocking on doors when her team got word that President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t “put up with it” if the democratic socialist wins her Tuesday primary.
The Long Arc of Leadership: Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science
Discover how the long arc of leadership challenges short-term thinking, as 123 executives reveal a growing gap between values and rewards.
Capitol Notes: AI and Wisconsin politics
Wisconsin voters are concerned about AI. The state's politicians are jockeying to be the go-to leaders to assuage those fears.
Aspirus Health Welcomes Jennifer Loesch, North Division Chief Nursing Officer
RHINELANDER, Wis. – Aspirus Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Loesch, DNP, MBA, BSN, NE-BC, as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for the North Division. In this role, Loesch will oversee nursing strategy and operations across Aspirus Eagle River Hospital, Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital, Aspirus Tomahawk Hospital, and Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff, promoting excellence in patient care, safety, and nursing leadership. Loesch brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience span...
Barron Trump-linked beverage brand launches first product with Florida-inspired twist
SOLLOS Yerba Mate, a beverage brand linked to Barron Trump, has launched its first product — a Pineapple + Coconut Florida-inspired yerba mate drink.
In a surprise twist, Brian Kemp endorses Burt Jones for governor
Kemp's endorsement gives Jones a significant boost in the closing days of his bitter runoff against billionaire Rick Jackson
Swiss right-wing plan to cap population rejected by narrow margins
Lewis Hamilton Claims Emotional First Ferrari Victory
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix Race Report: Hamilton Wins in Red Lewis Hamilton won the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix to claim his first victory for Scuderia Ferrari, producing…
Tiffany Gets Donation From Business He’s Helping Buy National Forest Land
Concrete supplier would get 14 acres of forest land in Wisconsin's North Woods.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton wins the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, sparking the title fight
Commission to examine how precision approaches improve healthcare effectiveness, cost-efficiency, equity, and scalability worldwide.
Prof. Michèle Ramsay at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience is one of four co-chairs of the Lancet Commission on Precision Health.
Oregon couple uses social media sketches to advocate for transparency in healthcare
Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken — otherwise known as Will and Kristin Flanary — are using humor for healthcare advocacy and education.
Swiss voters reject population cap proposal
A proposal to introduce a population cap of 10 million in the country has failed. It was put forward by a hard-right party.
Swiss voters projected to reject population cap proposal
Swiss voters have rejected a proposal put forward by a hard-right party to introduce a population cap of 10 million in the country, early projections suggest.
Swiss voters poised to reject 10 million population cap in referendum, projection shows
Swiss voters were set to reject a proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million in a referendum held on Sunday, according to preliminary projections by national broadcaster SRF.
Chris Borland stunned the NFL by leaving. But he never quit caring.
The Wisconsin Badgers linebacker, now a UW Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, talks about life since walking away from the San Francisco 49ers and football.
Barcelona-Catalunya GP Qualifying: George Russell pips Lewis Hamilton to pole position as Charles Lederc crashes out
The Only Good Thing About ‘Destiny 2’ Ending
Destiny 2 is over, but that has produced at least one silver lining on what is an otherwise very sad situation for players.
This Week in Science: World's Biggest Scorpion, a Whale Graveyard, And More!
Our weekly science news roundup.
In Retrospect: Poland, Russia, Europe
In April I spent a few days with Zryw, a Polish non-profit organization that recruits young people to enter politics and public life. Their aim is to build a new generation of civic leaders in Poland. I’ve followed their evolution from the beginning; my son is one of the founders. (“Zryw” means “impulse” or “burst of speed” in Polish). Julie Chmielewska, one of Zryw’s leaders, interviewed me at the event. Here is the conversation, lightly edited for grammar and context: Julia Chmielewska: Assuming that culture shapes institutions, could we conclude that some cultures are more prone to authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum: I don’t think so. Every culture, every nation, and every country has the potential for change. When we look at history, we can see that nations do change. Poland has changed, for example, from the 1980s to today. There’s a completely different mentality here than the one I encountered when I first visited, in 1988. The current generation sees the world through a different frame. So no, I don’t believe that certain nations are doomed to authoritarianism, or to anything. Of course, there are political and cultural traditions, but they can always be challenged. JC: So do you think there’s something intrinsic in human nature that pushes people to democracy, freedom? AA: I think there is something in human nature, a deep instinct, that pushes people towards freedom, yes. People who live in authoritarian countries – and I’ve heard this from them over and over again – sooner or later find themselves angered by a feeling of helplessness. They can see the unfairness of crooked courts, irrational political decisions. They naturally dislike the fact that somebody has all the power while they have none. In those circumstances, people who have no political background at all sometimes are politicized just by that frustration. I’m thinking of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, for example, who was a Belarusian housewife, until the circumstances of her husband’s arrest forced her to become a politician. I met a woman who is a Uyghur from China, and who had come to live in Turkey. After several of her family members were arrested, she too was propelled into a political role. These kinds of experiences make people interested in democracy or political reform, even if they thought they didn’t care. I also think that the opposite is true: some people instinctively prefer homogeneity, order, hierarchy. They don’t like the confrontation of opinions or the noise of debate, and they lean towards a single leader or a unified regime. I think that most of modern history is shaped by the clash between those two different sides of human nature. JC: Which force do you find more powerful today? AA: I think they both have a lot of power and there’s no way of predicting who wins. Even in countries that seem very shut off or stuck in an authoritarian system can change. We’ve seen that happen. And vice versa, I think democracies can also begin to fail and slide into authoritarianism. So it’s very important not to be complacent in either direction. JC: I want to go into your history and your experiences. You’ve lived in Russia during a time of incredible change in the late 80s, and then you came back to do research in post-Soviet Russia. AA: I was a student in Russia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I then traveled and worked there extensively in the 1990s, and I met people who really were full of hope. They hoped that Russia could become a democracy, or at least a place that guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press. These weren’t ideas that came from Washington. Although now the narrative in the Kremlin is different, I met many people who were working towards exactly that kind of transformation. A friend of mine ran a series of seminars – once a year, and then later several times a year, in cities all over Russia – designed to get people to discuss politics in new ways. She invited young politicians and journalists, as well as foreigners. I went to many of them, in Moscow as well as Volgograd and Novosibirsk. Over two decades, hundreds of people came to these seminars, and all of them wanted Russia to be different. I remain convinced that many Russians still want Russia to be different. It’s just that the old system, in the form of Putin, a representative of that system, returned. The KGB reimposed their power. And this wasn’t because of something to do with culture, this was to do with money and politics, and who was in charge. JC: You’ve partially answered my question... I wanted to ask whether that excitement of the 1990s was an exception from the Russian historical norm which has been rather authoritarian? AA: Of course, if you look at the history of Russia since the 18th century, there have always been liberal groups, reformers and revolutionaries. There were the Decembrists, in the early 19th century, and the rural populists later on, who tried to organize the peasantry. A significant group of liberal Russians appeared at the turn of the 20th century, people like the father of the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who was a Russian politician before the revolution. These groups were small in number, but sometimes had a broader significance. The Russian dissident movement in the 1950s and 1960s actually invented the modern human rights movement. It was their idea to hold the leaders of the Soviet Union accountable for the language they used, to remind them of the treaties they had signed and the promised they had made. They created the Helsinki group, for example, that held Soviet leadership to the language of the Helsinki Treaty, which formally ended the Second World War and which contained guarantees of human rights, at least on paper. That idea spread to Eastern Europe, and similar tactics were used here in Poland. (Benjamin Nathans recently wrote a great book about the Soviet dissidents, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause) JC: But seemingly, even if they do ever get power, they could never hold on to it. AA: We don’t know, because they have never really had power. But in any case, we also don’t know what will happen in the future. There is no reason to assume that Russia will forever be condemned to totalitarianism. Even during the first fifteen years of Putin’s regime there was some form of democratic politics. Only when the full-scale war began did he bring everything to an end: he shut down all remaining independent organizations and killed his most important opponent, Alexi Navalny. But does that mean he is popular, that he enjoys legitimacy? Even now, we don’t really know what Russians think about him, or about the war. There is no way of doing real polling in Russia because nobody will answer an independent pollster over the phone. JC: Do you think that the flock of young people, especially young men, who fled Russia after the start of the war represent a continuation of liberal movements that refuse to partake in the authoritarian state, or do you think they are moving for the sake of self-preservation – “I don’t want to go to the army, so I leave”? AA: I’m sure it’s both. I actually know many people who left Russia for political reasons either in the very last years before the war, or else just after the war began. JC: And do you see a change in the young generation versus the old one that have fled? AA: It’s hard for me to say because the people who I know were mostly already politicized. I do know some younger people who left, but most of them were already either active in the opposition, or working as journalists. Many of them very self-consciously think of themselves as maintaining Russian culture abroad, just as in the 20th century the Soviet dissidents or the anti-communist White Russians once thought of themselves as people who maintained the true Russian culture, outside of Bolshevik Russia. JC: Let’s move on to Poland. One of your first experiences with Poland was reporting on Margaret Thatcher’s first state visit, in the autumn of 1988. You followed her around the farmers’ market. AA: She was making a symbolic gesture. She wanted to welcome free markets, but the only one she could really visit was the farmers’ market at Hala Mirowska. JC: And I want to talk about this area because today you can look out of any window in that district, Mirów, and see rows and rows of skyscrapers. How does it feel to see a country built from the ground in such a short time, both politically and economically? AA: You know, when you’re living in a period of dramatic change, it’s always hard to know whether the change is positive or negative. The transformation in Poland created winners and losers, as well as new classes of people, new political movements of different kinds. At the time, it sometimes just felt like turbulence. Now, we can look back at the 1990s and early 2000s in Poland and see in retrospect that the country was headed in towards prosperity and European integration. In around 2009 or 2010, I remember speaking to a woman who worked cleaning government offices, and who asked me if her daughter should study in Amsterdam or in London. This seemed to me to be a real transformation, and it happened very fast: within a few years, Poles stopped feeling like second-class Europeans, and a generation of younger Poles appeared who had no qualms about crossing borders. JC: We again live in turbulent times. Do you think we’re heading towards positive outcomes? AA: I can’t make predictions, because everything that happens tomorrow depends on what people do today. Also, history doesn’t have a trajectory. It doesn’t move in a particular direction. You only think it does afterwards. As I said, you can look afterwards at Poland in the 1990s and you could say this was a period of great progress. But not everybody at the time saw that. Sometimes people are very wrong about a given country’s trajectory. I remember people writing about Ukraine in the 1990s, about how dangerous it was that Ukraine was independent, that this was going to be an anti-semitic state, that Ukrainian nationalism was going to come back... and although you can say many bad things about Ukraine, the country made many bad choices, actually it became a pretty tolerant state which now has a Jewish president and until recently a Muslim defense minister. JC: In the 1990s Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP were roughly similar. Ukraine was even a bit richer. So the starting point was similar for both of these countries, but they’ve turned out very, very differently. Even if we stop in 2014. Why do you think Ukraine “chose East”? Was it external influence? AA: No, I think Ukraine was in a different position. First of all, central and eastern Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s, and had therefore experienced a longer period of occupation, repression, Sovietization and even Russification. Ukraine did not have, as Poland did, an alternative elite: a large cadre of economists and politicians, who already had some experience in opposition politics and in independent thinking. In Poland, the transformative finance minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, had already thought about how an economy might be decentralized before he took office. We can argue about how successful he was, but at least he was prepared to try something new. In Ukraine, people weren’t prepared. For one, there hadn’t been much space even for an illegal opposition in the previous couple of decades. Ukraine was also in many ways still emerging from colonial occupation. For the previous couple of centuries, many of the most capable Ukrainians had moved to Russia, and the first generation of leaders in independent Ukraine tended to be former Soviet apparatchiks. They didn’t immediately seek to become closer to western Europe. Instead, they looked for some kind of economic and political “third way” and an accomodation with Russia. Ukraine became stuck in this position, half-in, half-out and became pretty profoundly corrupt. JC: The Polish alternative elite had a vision of where they wanted the country to go. I think the general perception now is that this vision ends with the next election, right? Is this a natural process of gaining power? AA: Their vision, and it was shared by the time by politicians who now call themselves both left and right, was that Poland should join the EU and NATO, as fast as possible. My husband (Radek Sikorski) was in the very first government that said it wanted to join NATO. At the time this was taken very badly in Washington: the demand for NATO membership absolutely came from Poland, not from the US. But even then, in the early 1990s, many Poles already understood that the Russian sphere of influence would grow once again, that it was important to become part of the transatlantic alliance and an integrated Europe as fast as possible: NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe, all of the trading and security alliances. That consensus lasted through several different governments and over many years, even governments containing former communists. For twenty years, right, left and center disagreed about many things, but they all agreed on the direction that the country should go. In retrospect, that consensus created the basis for prosperity in Poland. JC: And regarding the Polish-Ukrainian relations. We know that antagonisms, e.g. the myth of Wołyń [a massacre of Poles that took place in what is now Western Ukraine, in 1943] are increasingly used in Polish political discourse today. In Ukraine, nationalist historians make heroes out of UPA, the Ukrainian revolutionary army, which is held responsible for this tragedy. Where do you see a start for burying the hatchet? Is the reconciliation of our nations possible? AA: So here’s a strange thing: For more than a decade after they both gained independence, Poland and Ukraine participated in a number of projects that were designed to solve exactly these kinds of Polish-Ukrainian differences. Books were published that were jointly written by Polish and Ukrainian historians, monuments were built. These projects were successful: If you’d asked me this question in 2010, I would have said that there are no real historical issues between Poland and Ukraine, that the two countries had mostly reconciled. For a number of reasons, this began to shift. In Poland, children and grandchildren of victims of the Wołyń massacre felt their tragedy hadn’t been fully recognized. In Ukraine, nationalist groups wanted the UPA partisans who had fought against the Soviet Union recognized for their heroism, despite the fact that some in this broad and not well-defined group were also linked to Wołyń. In both eastern Poland and western Ukraine, the memory of the ethnic cleansing that took place there in the late 1940s - Poles were moved West, Ukrainians East - to accomodate new borders has left feelings of displacement and bitterness. The wave of Ukrainian immigration, which started before the war, may have provoked some of this. But don’t underestimate the role played by Russia, which has always wanted to create discord between Poland and Ukraine, and pumps out propaganda to that effect in both countries. Vandalism on both sides of the border, damage done to cemeteries and monuments, is sometimes carried out by provacateurs working for Russia, just to create bad feelings. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict also hides a different reality: although there are real grievances and bad memories, the truth is that the biggest tragedies both nations experienced in the twentieth century were inflicted by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. That should unite these two countries, not divide them. JC: This week (19.04.2026 – Ed.) in Hungary we saw that using historical narratives to create grievance has no longer worked. Are you optimistic about the direction after Orban’s loss? AA: The Hungarian election was really important because it shows that people can actually resist powerful, dominant propaganda. The ruling party Fidesz controlled all of the TV, 90% of the newspapers, the constitutional court, the bureaucracy... and yet people had the nerve to vote against it and resist it. It’s also an important election because Hungary created a huge network of well-funded think tanks and foundations that were funding other far right groups and projects. So that loss is going to have a knock-on effect in other places too, maybe even in Poland. JC: What you’ve said about resisting propaganda reminds me of one of the interviews you did about talking to Russians in the post-Soviet era who claimed that people knew that the system was lying. Why do people choose to believe in these regimes anyway? AA: Because it’s useful. Stephen Kotkin, an American historian, once described how people would learn how to “speak Bolshevik”: It was just a language that you needed to use in order to get by in society. If you didn’t talk the way the regime wanted you to talk, then you might have problems, or lose your job, or your kids would not get into university. It was a way of getting along. Communist Poland was similar, at least in the early years. When I was writing a book about the Sovietization of Eastern Europe after World War II, I met a lot of people who wanted to talk a lot about the war, when many of them had done really heroic things. But almost nobody wanted to talk about the decade afterwards, between 1945 and 1956. This was when you had the short period of terror, violence and Polish Stalinism. To stay safe, people felt the need to just go along with what others were saying, or stay out of politics, or use communist jargon without necessarily believing it. I don’t judge them for it, and I wouldn’t describe all of those people as collaborators. It’s easy to feel moral certainty in retrospect, because we know that communism ended. But if you were living in 1949, it might not have been clear to you that communism was going to end. In very repressive societies, maybe about 10% of people who are really evil – collaborators, torturers. Maybe 10% of people are really brave and who find ways to resist. And then around 80% of people have kids, they have parents, they have to have jobs and they’ve had to get through it somehow. Strange though it may sound, I’ve found that the work I did on that book is now very useful in explaining some of what’s going on in the United States today. There are plenty of members of the Republican Party in Congress who know perfectly well that Donald Trump says many things that aren’t true. But they avoid criticizing him because it’s inconvenient, because they would get in trouble, because someone would attack them on the internet. So actually you don’t even need mass terror to get people to conform. JC: Is Gen Z reinventing agency? AA: We’ll see. In any generation you can find groups of people who want agency. If you live in a society that’s unfair, for example where a tiny number of people have captured most of the wealth, then at a certain point people rebel. This is always easier for younger people, who have you have less to lose. The question now is how the internet will affect the relationships between citizens and the state, and how it will change organizations. The “Twitter revolutions” people spoke about as early as 2008-9, mass protests organized online, have often proved to be very superficial. Although you can easily join something just by clicking, the work of creating a real movement requires physical participation. Successful mass movements of the past, for example the Civil Rights movement in the United States, were built by people who had spent many years together. They had participated in non-violent workshops together. They practiced and prepared. Just using the you can get everybody to show up at a certain moment, but then when the protest is broken up, nothing happens. It’s also true that the repressive regimes have more recently learned how to use the internet to undermine leaders and movements. Most of all, they now understand how to make people cynical. The form of propaganda that most modern authoritarians use - and I think the Russians really pioneered this - deploys sneering cynicism. Instead of praising the rulers, the regime propagandists mock the opposition movement leadership for being supposedly corrupt or sexually degenerate, with the goal of undermining any kind of idealism. JC: MAGA grew on the internet? AA: MAGA is a real grassroots movement. They had symbols, red hats, they showed up at rallies. But you’re right that the cynicism, the sarcasm and the distrust that the movement embodies came originally from the internet, and this is different. Fifty years ago, most European political parties had a social base in real organizations, in trade unions for Social Democrats, in church groups for Christian Democrats. As people stopped going to church and as the trade unions became smaller, the social base of these parties disappeared. Now people who wouldn’t have known one another in the past meet on the internet and create new movements, many of which don’t last. JC: Is history ending? Going in stale circles? AA: History never ends. In truth, human beings want contradictory things at the same time: order and freedom, stability and change. These things are never resolved, and when a society swings too far in one direction, people always push it the other way. But each time that happens, the result is different. Certainly it is true that we are now in a period when old philosophers and ideas from the 1930s are undergoing a revival. Carl Schmitt, who was a philosopher who was very influential on the Nazis, is back as an influence on both the far left and the far right, once again inspiring people to think that all politics has to be existential, that all politics is about defining and defeating enemies. In the US, some are also bringing back dominionism, the idea that we need a Christian and not a secular state. It’s also true that we are living through a more fundamental shift. The old left-right divide, which was mostly about the size of the state, is much less important now. Instead, we are arguing about more fundamental things: what are our rights, what protects our freedom. Or how much power do we want to give small elites, versus how much power to give ordinary people. In America a small group of very wealthy people now control information, because they control the social media platforms and AI, which means they determine what people will read and learn. Finding a way to preserve preserve zones of autonomy and independent thinking, this is going to be the main task for the next generation. JC: What is the one book that a person interested in Central Europe should read? AA: You could read my book “Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe” which tells the story of how the Soviet Union imposed its culture on the region. Or read Tim Snyder’s history of the region, “The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999.” And everyone should read “The Captive Mind” by Czesław Miłosz, which describes exactly the phenomenon we were talking about: why do people collaborate? I joined Scott Galloway and the brilliant Fiona Hill in a discussion about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the future of global power, and what these conflicts reveal about America's role in the world. Scott told us that this was the 400th edition of his podcast, which is quite a number: My friend Francesco Chiamulera runs a brilliant series of literary events, Una Colline di Libri, A Hill of Books, in the Prosecco Hills, a region of vineyards and elegant hill towns in the Veneto, north of Venice. We did an event in Vittorio Veneto and also drove and biked around the countryside. Buy Autocracy Inc Buy Iron Curtain Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
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Sinai Temple Gala, Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance, 'Jewish Tomorrow' Podcast
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