In Episode #239, historian and human rights lawyer Steve Swerdlow returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the Russia and Ukraine conflict, viewed through the lens of the rising "America First" movement.

What role should the United States play on the global stage when it comes to foreign aid and intervention? Is America truly stronger when it focuses inward? Are Americans actually upset about helping other countries, or does the anger come from feeling ignored while others receive support? Steve and Osi do their best to honestly grapple with these questions.

Steve Swerdlow, esq. is a human rights lawyer and Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. An expert on the former Soviet region, Swerdlow teaches international human rights law, human rights research and advocacy, and human rights across Eurasia. Swerdlow has been a visiting professor at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Webster University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Kyiv School of Economics, and the University of San Diego. Swerdlow was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch from 2010-2019, heading the organization’s work on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, also founding its Kyrgyzstan field office, and conducting field missions to Azerbaijan, Moldova, Russia, and Kazakhstan.