A short cellcast 'mini-podcast' released in this case simultaneously to Patrons and publicly. Recording this was, frankly, triggered by exasperation that so many were leaping aboard the 'Question More' bandwagon about the Navalny poisoning and following in the twisty and toxic trail of the Russian state propagandists in desperately trying to poke holes in the story rather than accepting that sometimes the truth really is as it seems to be.

On a personal note, yes, we need always to be careful and inquiring consumers of the official line, but the eagerness with which some have sought to undermine the accounts of the German government and Navalny's team has depressed me. To question may seem like a virtuous act, to test the official narrative, but it can also be corrosive, contributing to the Kremlin's efforts to create the sense that the truth is impossible to reach and thus not worth pursuing.

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