About Things Podcast

While Armenia is falling victim to the geopolitical games of Russia and Turkey, Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, ordered a blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh creating a large open-air prison for Armenians living in this region. Despite international criticism, the blockade has yet to be lifted. What are Aliyev's goals in Nagorno-Karabakh? Why is Russia not fulfilling its obligations to protect the Karabakh Armenians? And what is there to be done for 120,000 Armenians, who are slowly running out of food and medication?

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Who are the Russian oligarchs, what is their role, and why is everyone talking about them? In this episode of the About Things Podcast, we spoke with Elisabeth Schimpfössl, a senior lecturer in sociology and policy at Aston University and the author of Rich Russians: From Oligarchs to Bourgeoisie. 

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In this episode of the About Things Podcast, we spoke with Ilya Yablokov, a lecturer in journalism and digital media at the University of Sheffield, who has authored several great books on Russian media, propaganda, and conspiracy theories including Fortress Russia: Conspiracy Theories in the Post-Soviet World. We discussed Russian conspiracy theories and propaganda, as well as the reason behind Putin's miscalculation of his invasion of Ukraine. What is the image of the war in Ukraine presented by the Russian propaganda to its population and why is it so effective? And has Putin fallen for his own conspiracy theories? 

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Russia’s president Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a Russian, I thought I should say something.

In this episode of the About Things Podcast we spoke with Graham Barrow, an anti-money laundering expert with a background in financial services and a founder of The Dark Money Files, an educational platform and a podcast with a same name. We discussed money laundering challenges to the British financial system posed by criminals and kleptocrats from all over the world. We also spoke about the FinCEN Files and investigative reporting, as well as the role of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in financial crime.

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This is the first episode of Moscow Tears, our new series about politics, society, and culture of the former Soviet Union region - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, South Caucasus, and Central Asian countries. In this episode, I explain why I love Russia and hate its perception in the West.

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On 14 April, Slavia Prague's defender, Ondrej Kudela, received a 10-game ban from UEFA for 'racist behaviour' towards Glen Kamara, a Glasgow Rangers midfielder. Why did Kudela receive the lowest possible punishment for racism in football? And what is his line of defence for his appeal against this decision?

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In this episode of the About Things Podcast we spoke with Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, focusing on Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, who has authored several great books on the post-Soviet region including one of the major works on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Black Garden. We discussed a number of post-Soviet conflicts including Chechnya, Abkhazia, Transnistria, eastern Ukraine, and Nagorno-Karabakh. In relation to the latter, we spoke about myth-making and dehumanisation in Armenian and Azerbaijani societies, as well as whether these two nations can ever learn to live together again.

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During a heated Europa league football match between Slavia Prague and Glasgow Rangers, Slavia's goalkeeper suffered a head injury after Kemar Roofe's ruthless tackle, and Rangers' Glen Kamara was allegedly racially abused by Slavia's Ondrej Kudela.

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In this episode of the About Things Podcast we spoke with Lilit Gevorgyan, an expert on the post-Soviet space, with whom we discussed the reasons behind Armenian defeat in the second war in Nagorno-Karabakh / Artsakh against Azerbaijan as well as the nature of Russian and Turkish political and military involvement in this conflict. Have the Armenians miscalculated their military capabilities? Or have they been betrayed?

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