Winter is Here

This morning, in a move that resulted from Russia’s failures in Ukraine, Wagner forces under mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin seized the city of Rostov-on-Don without firing a shot and began advancing towards Moscow.

This represents a serious escalation of the long-simmering tensions between the Russian mercenary group and the official military authorities, but more importantly it finally puts to bed the lie that Putin is some kind of strategic mastermind. Prigozhin, with a few thousand men, was essentially able to defy the entire Russian government and move forward almost unopposed. 

A few hours later, it appears that Act I of this drama concluded with Prigozhin announcing that his forces were “turning around our columns and returning to field camps according to plan.” This isn’t the end of this intra-Russian conflict, but merely an intermission. Reverberations from Prigozhin’s rebellion will continue to be felt for weeks in both Russia and on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Ultimately, the single greatest impact of this surprise turn of events is demonstrating to both Russian citizens and the world at large that the Emperor has no clothes. For all of Putin’s posturing, he presides over a Potemkin village whose power—both military and otherwise—has clearly been overstated.

Join RDI Chairman Garry Kasparov and RDI Executive Director Uriel Epshtein for a special episode to analyze what’s been going on and stay tuned as events continue to unfold.

Abdelrahman Elgendy’s mother was against him going to the protest but he insisted he just wanted to watch. His father decided to go with him to keep him out of trouble. Then the unthinkable happened - both were arrested. Inside Prison Gendy, his dad and hundreds of other prisoners were subjected to inhumane treatment and living conditions and that is what sparks Gendy’s passion for writing what he sees and experiences daily. “What happens to the untold stories, the ones that no one ever sees or hears?” He asks. Heart rending and awe inspiring, this humble young man’s resilience will move you to want to do more. Spoiler alert - his eventual release is as unbelievable as his arrest - buckle up.

As a young talented musician, Tsewang Norbu had everything going for him. He’d performed on the world’s largest stages and his fans loved him. Like many Tibetans, he’d been forced to bottle up the pain and frustration of Chinese brutality towards Tibetans. In this shocking and inspiring interview, Pema Doma of the Students For A Free Tibet movement explains Tsewang Norbu’s story and tells of the horrors experienced by her people and of the inspiring new generation of Tibetans who are uniting globally and rejuvenating the fight for freedom.

China is attempting to erase the Uyghur people. They're not just taking over their their home land, they're systematically removing them from existence. In this shocking conversation, Zubyra Shamseden - a Uyghur and an escapee, walks us through what is being done to the Uyghur people to rub out their culture, their religion, their heritage and their genes. This human rights catastrophe must be known and fought by everyone.

For participating in anti-government protests, the Syrian government arrested teenage children and tortured them by pulling out their fingernails. They packed oil barrels with shrapnel and explosives and dropped them from planes into streets crowded with innocent civilians. Using his old Nokia phone Aziz captured some of the most verifiable evidence of the mass murders by the Syrian government and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). They launched what has become known globally as Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS). Though Aziz escaped after many arrests and interrogations, many of the young people that told the world of the horrors in Syria did not make it out. Some are dead, others still in prison 10 years on and some live undercover in exile. This is the story of hope for freedom Syria.

Growing up in the middle of a bloody civil war was Nicholas Opiyo’s childhood. He remembers skipping over dead bodies on his way to school and his father being hunted by angry political mobs. Opiyo’s inspirational story of becoming a firebrand human rights and democracy lawyer is marked with shocking moments of courage and despair in equal measures. Through it all however, he learns to turn pain into purpose as he takes on injustice and the brute force of a dictatorship that has had enough of him.

With her husband arrested for his work in civil society and as opposition leader, Berta Valle the news anchor had to suddenly take on a massive challenge - to free not only her husband but all political prisoners. Berta’s fight for her husband and that of many other political prisoners renewed my sense of hope for the lone fighters of freedom who many times seem destined for defeat. Berta tells a very special story as the episode comes to an end, you want to experience it - truly special.

In our final podcast of 2022, we’re going to take a bit of a different look at the global fight between tyranny and democracy by focusing on our internal struggle. The health of American democracy is critical to the global fight for freedom. As America, so the world. With this in mind, I wanted to dive into the conversation around the January 6th report and get a sense of how we got here and the impact the committee will have as Republicans get ready to take the House. Former Senator Heidi Heitkamp and former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara join me for this special episode of Winter is Here. We discuss the findings of the committee's final report, the distinctions between free speech, political speech, and criminal culpability, Trump's path to an indictment, and what it all means for the future of American democracy.

Heitkamp served as North Dakota's Attorney General from 1992 to 2000, and as a US Senator from 2013 to 2019. She currently serves on the boards of the McCain Institute, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the German Marshall Fund. Recently, Heitkamp was named director of the University of Chicago's Institute of World Politics. She is also a frequent contributor to politics and public affairs for ABC News and CNBC.  

Preet was the former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. As US Attorney, he oversaw the investigation and litigation of all criminal and civil cases brought on behalf of the United States in the Southern District of New York. Currently, he is a partner at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Escaping North Korea is a mission that many thousands of North Koreans have not accomplished. Some were killed on capture and others die in hard labour prisons. Joseph is orphaned at a young age when his father dies of hunger before his eyes. His mother and sister take off to look for work and Joseph never sees of hears from them again. The 12-year old begins a perilous journey that leads him through deep pain and suffering yet he still found his real mission - Silently fighting for those oppressed by tyranny.

This is our last episode as we go into the Christmas break. Thank you for listening to the Frontlines of Freedom podcast in 2022. We hope that the coming year will be one of finding true meaningfulness in the things you do for yourself and for others. We will be back with the first episode 0f 2023 on Monday January 9th.