SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " venice " 112 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Mr GameShow turns Venice game nights into Suncoast business
Founder Andy Geremia joined Suncoast View to talk about the company's game show events
Flying With Gamma-Ray Counters: Another Test Or Two Of The Radiacode Zero
Yesterday I traveled all day, moving my family back to Lulea from Padova. The trip is long because there is no direct connection from Venice to Stockholm (Norwegian has one, but I prefer to avoid them
AMD Takes the Lid off of Next-Gen EPYC 9006 Venice As Zen 6 Comes to Servers
The launch of AMD’s next-gen EPYC 9006 processors is quickly approaching. Today we are looking at AMD’s complete 6th gen EPYC lineup, and what to expect from the company between now and late 2027
The Polish Pavilion Dissolves You in the Politics of Sound
At the Venice Biennale, whale songs become a means for communication, opening up a dialogue on accessibility.
Sarasota Memorial cancer center approved for Venice campus
Hospital board approves outpatient facility on Curry Lane.
An Israeli documentary on the war in Gaza sets off a firestorm at home after Venice award
An Israeli documentary about the civilian death toll from the war in Gaza has sparked a fierce backlash in Israel after being awarded the special jury prize at the Venice International Film Festival.
Female athletes accuse Sydney Sweeney ad of sexualizing women in sports
An ad campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney has sparked backlash from female athletes who say it sexualizes women in sports | Newsradio 1140 WRVA
When politics invades art, an Israeli artist seeks common ground at the Venice Biennale
Belu-Simion Fainaru, our representative at the Venice Biennale, struts his creative stuff and rolls with the anti-Israel punches.
Venice Film Festival ends with Golden Lion at stake after ‘NAZA’ draws record ovation
The 83rd Venice Film Festival wraps up Saturday with the jury awards, including the Golden Lion.
Venice Film Festival ends with Golden Lion at stake after 'NAZA' draws record ovation
The 83rd Venice Film Festival wraps up Saturday with the jury awards, including the Golden Lion | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM
Venice Film Festival ends with Golden Lion at stake after 'NAZA' draws record ovation
The 83rd Venice Film Festival wraps up Saturday with the jury awards, including the Golden Lion | Talk 1370
Baby Gaga is here! Lady Gaga and fiancé Michael Polansky welcome first child
Lady Gaga is a mom! The pop star and fiancé Michael Polansky welcomed their first baby together.
First trip to Italy: surprises in Venice, Milan, Rome
I traveled by train from Venice to Rome and Milan during my first trip to Italy. Each destination surprised me with unique experiences.
'Whatever we do is political' says Iranian director Asgari at Venice
Even the smallest choice in Iran today becomes a "political act," with cinema a powerful tool of resistance, Iranian director Ali Asgari said at the Venice Film Festival Friday. The director of "Divine Comedy", part of last year's secondary competition, is back at Venice this season competing for the Golden Lion with "A Bit of Light," about a doctor in Tehran scarred by the violence inflicted on anti-regime protesters who decides to give up and end his own life.
Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers’ documentary on Gaza war premieres at Venice Film Festival
Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are premiering their documentary “NAZA” at the Venice Film Festival Thursday.
Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers' documentary on Gaza war premieres at Venice Film Festival
Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are premiering their documentary “NAZA” at the Venice Film Festival Thursday | KCBS All News 106.9FM and 740AM
Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers' documentary on Gaza war premieres at Venice Film Festival
Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are premiering their documentary “NAZA” at the Venice Film Festival Thursday | KMBZ
Andy Serkis’ ‘Nevatars’ Brings a New Kind of Storytelling to Venice Immersive
Andy Serkis' Nevatars brings interactive XR storytelling, alongside ambitious projects featuring Margot Robbie, Omar Sy and Mark Ruffalo.
Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz Tackle Politics at 'Bunker' Presser
Bardem's wife, Penelope Cruz, admitted she worries about the role of women today as the couple joined director Florian Zeller and co-stars Stephen Graham, Paul Dano and Paul Schwarzenegger ahead of the Venice premiere of 'Bunker.'
Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem on Speaking Out on Politics at Venice
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem discussed their willingness to speak out about politics at a Venice Film Festival press conference for 'Bunker.'
Ashley St. Clair and Alex Gibney on AI and the dangers of Elon Musk
A new documentary about Elon Musk uses an AI avatar to simulate an interview with him, using real quotes.
Ashley St. Clair and Alex Gibney on AI and the dangers of Elon Musk
A new documentary about Elon Musk uses an AI avatar to simulate an interview with him, using real quotes | KNSS Radio
An Elon Musk documentary and a Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem thriller premiere at Venice
The Venice Film Festival is showcasing several high-profile films Tuesday, including Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary, a thriller with Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, and a drama from Casey Affleck.
An Elon Musk documentary and a Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem thriller premiere at Venice
The Venice Film Festival is showcasing several high-profile films Tuesday, including Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary, a thriller with Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, and a drama from Casey Affleck | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM
An Elon Musk documentary and a Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem thriller premiere at Venice
The Venice Film Festival is showcasing several high-profile films Tuesday, including Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary, a thriller with Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, and a drama from Casey Affleck | WWL
Sydney Sweeney and Robert Pattinson lead the standout looks on Venice Film Festival red carpet
From John Malkovich's ruff to Nina Dobrev's vintage Armani gown, there's a lot to unpack.
Amal Clooney Stuns in a Plunging Red-Hot Strapless Gown and a Colorful Beaded Necklace
Amal Clooney turned up the heat in a plunging red-hot gown and a colorful statement necklace while attending the Cartier Cinema Club launch at the Venice Film Festival on September 4.
At Venice, Ellen Burstyn reflects on playing Marilyn Monroe and a lifetime in movies
Ellen Burstyn, at 93, stars as a 100-year-old Marilyn Monroe in the short film “Flesh Impact,” premiering at the Venice Film Festival.
At Venice, Ellen Burstyn reflects on playing Marilyn Monroe and a lifetime in movies
Ellen Burstyn, at 93, stars as a 100-year-old Marilyn Monroe in the short film “Flesh Impact,” premiering at the Venice Film Festival.
Sarandon says she lost work over politics
Speaking at a Venice Film Festival press conference, Susan Sarandon said she's still losing work because of her public support of Palestine.
Venice 2026 Film 'Ground Floor' Is a Political Parable on Apathy: Clip
Hungary's Gábor Reisz, winner of the 2023 best film award in Venice's Horizons section for 'Explanation for Everything,' returns to the Lido in the Venice Spotlight program with a quixotic tale and dark humor.
Documentarian Alex Gibney on the power and influence of Elon Musk
Alex Gibney's new documentary “Musk” premieres this week at the Venice Film Festival. The nearly four-hour film explores the power and influence of Elon Musk. Gibney says that Musk's power
Documentarian Alex Gibney on the power and influence of Elon Musk
Alex Gibney's new documentary “Musk” premieres this week at the Venice Film Festival. The nearly four-hour film explores the power and influence of Elon Musk. Gibney says that Musk's power
German director Wenders clarifies views on film and politics
German director Wim Wenders clarified his views about the relationship between filmmakers and politics on Sunday after he caused an outcry at the Berlin film festival earlier this year. Speaking in Venice, where he is presenting a new film about Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the "Paris, Texas" director said he had been misunderstood.
Oasis reunion tour documentary rocks Venice Film Festival
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Gallagher brothers brought some rock star energy to a sleepy, and sweaty, Venice Film Festival Saturday, where the documentary about their reunion tour made its
Oasis reunion tour documentary rocks Venice Film Festival
The Gallagher brothers bring rock star energy to the Venice Film Festival with their documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.”.
Oasis reunion tour documentary rocks Venice Film Festival
The Gallagher brothers bring rock star energy to the Venice Film Festival with their documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.” The film, premiering Saturday, explores their reunion tour and
Oasis reunion tour documentary rocks Venice Film Festival
The Gallagher brothers bring rock star energy to the Venice Film Festival with their documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.” The film, premiering Saturday, explores their reunion tour and
Oasis reunion tour documentary rocks Venice Film Festival
The Gallagher brothers bring rock star energy to the Venice Film Festival with their documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.” | Talk 1370
Oasis reunion tour documentary rocks Venice Film Festival
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Gallagher brothers brought some rock star energy to a sleepy, and sweaty, Venice Film Festival Saturday, where the documentary about their reunion tour is making
In 'Primetime,' Robert Pattinson takes on the 'irresistible' role of Chris Hansen
Robert Pattinson didn't plan to play Chris Hansen in “Primetime,” which debuts Saturday at the Venice Film Festival, but it became irresistible. He started as a producer on the film
Robert Pattinson Responds to Chris Hansen’s Criticism Over His Portrayal in ‘Primetime’: ‘I Hope He Likes the Movie’
Robert Pattinson responded to Chris Hansen’s concerns over ‘Primetime’ during a press conference for the movie at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday.
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday. Pattinson's film “Primetime” explores the reality series “To Catch
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday | KNSS Radio
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday | KMBZ
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday | KNX News 1070 AM
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday | KCBS All News 106.9FM and 740AM
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The worlds of rock and movie stardom are colliding at the Venice Film Festival, as both Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday | 1080 WTIC NEWSTALK
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday. Pattinson's film “Primetime” explores the reality series “To Catch
Robert Pattinson and Oasis bring star power to Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is buzzing as Robert Pattinson and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher arrive for premieres on Saturday.
Venice Immersive celebrates 10 years of XR
Venice Immersive celebrates 10 years of XR as sector evolves and grows.
Venice Immersive Celebrates 10 Years of XR Evolution and the Growth of Location-Based Entertainment
Ten editions in, Venice Immersive has plenty to celebrate — just don’t expect the new-media showcase to spend much time looking back. “We’re not planning any retrospectives,” Venice Immersive counselo...
The Most Political Moments at the Venice Film Festival 2026
George Clooney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Martin McDonagh, and other stars are spicing up the press conferences with comments on everything from humanitarian crises to AI to studio mergers.
Georgina Rodriguez Means Business in Dramatic Gucci Pumps in Venice
Georgina Rodriguez went formal at a photo-op outside the Hotel Excelsior during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Friday in Venice, Italy.
Martin McDonagh’s \'Wild Horse Nine\' hits Venice Film Festival with a dark CIA tale
Martin McDonagh has crafted a new film, “Wild Horse Nine,” which debuts Thursday at the Venice Film Festival. The film, starring Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich, focuses on the CIA
Venice Film Festival heats up with McDonagh’s ‘Wild Horse Nine’ and Herzog’s ‘Bucking Fastard’
The Venice Film Festival is showcasing the world premieres of “Wild Horse Nine” and Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard” Thursday.
George Clooney on the current state of US politics
George Clooney says "we'll get through it," while speaking about the political climate in America at a press conference in Venice.
George Clooney Tackles Career, Politics Questions at Venice Film Fest
The Oscar winner touched down on the Lido Wednesday for an afternoon press conference ahead of receiving a Golden Lion career achievement honor during the Venice Film Festival's opening ceremony.
George Clooney Talks U.S. Politics, Fatherhood
George Clooney Slams Pete Hegseth Over Canadian Cadet Post; Voices Support For Mark Ruffalo & Muses On Paramount-Warner Bros Merger – Venice
Maggie Gyllenhaal Says Films Are Political at Venice Film Festival
Venice jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal was asked whether cinema should be political.
Venice Film Festival turns to politics as Hollywood retreats
Hollywood is struggling with an industry crisis and has largely withdrawn from this year's Venice Film Festival, making way for a programme steeped in global politics and social upheaval, the event's director said on Tuesday.
Venice Film Festival to Kick Off With Steady Stream of Stars, Politics
The Venice Film Festival is set to kick off on Wednesday with a steady stream of stars on the red carpet and politics looming in the backdrop.
At Venice Film Festival, politics take center stage
With works about Gaza, Ukraine and Elon Musk, political cinema is in the spotlight at the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
Politics take center stage at Venice Film Festival
With works about Gaza, Ukraine and Elon Musk, political cinema is in the spotlight at the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 Venice Film Festival
Some of Hollywood's biggest stars are heading to Italy for the 83rd Venice Film Festival, starting Wednesday. The festival runs until Sept. 12, with Danny Boyle’s “Ink” opening the event.
Everything you need to know about the 2026 Venice Film Festival
Some of Hollywood's biggest stars are heading to Italy for the 83rd Venice Film Festival, starting Wednesday. The festival runs until Sept. 12, with Danny Boyle’s “Ink” opening the event.
Movie stars, timely documentaries and awards hopefuls convene at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is set to kick off the fall film festival season with its 83rd edition.
Movie stars, timely documentaries and awards hopefuls convene at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival is set to kick off the fall film festival season with its 83rd edition.
Politics at Film Festivals: Venice Faces Russia, Israel Discourse
With politics having rattled the Berlin and Cannes film festivals, how will it play out in Venice?
Venice Film Festival adds Gaza doc ‘NAZA' to competition lineup
The Venice Film Festival has added a new documentary about the civilian toll of the Israel-Hamas war to its lineup. Festival organizers say “NAZA,” directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel
Intel Diamond Rapids “Xeon 7” CPUs Feature 256 P-Cores, The Same Number of Cores As Top EPYC Venice, Also Pack 1.28 GB of Cache And 12,800 MT/s Memory Support
Intel's Diamond Rapids CPUs boast up to 256 P-Cores, 16-channel DDR5 support, and PCIe 6.0 for advanced AI applications.
Venice residents, businesses turning to private company to clear homeless encampments
Frustrated by encampments, Venice residents and businesses are hiring "Ghost Town"—a private, unarmed group led by former gang members and former addicts—to mediate and clear property lines.
In Venice, it’s not politics as usual as film-makers aim to recapture our attention
As social media shrinks and distorts the EU’s crises, the Venice film festival is delivering politically forthright epics from directors such as Sergei Loznitsa and Alex Gibney
Crash closes southbound U.S. 41 Business in Venice
The incident happened about 6:45 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 41 and San Marco Drive.
‘Hadestown: The Musical’, ‘Motor City’, Films By Nicolas Winding Refn, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, More In Indie Rush
The busiest weekend for indie film openings in weeks has a mix of wide and limited releases, narrative features and docs, genre, special engagements and festival fare from Berlin, Cannes and Venice (2...
AMD EPYC Zen 7 "Florence" Confirmed With ACE, Next-Gen Memory
After announcing the AMD EPYC 9006 'Venice' processors today at AMD Advancing AI 2026, Lisa Su ended her keynote by confirming EPYC Zen 7 'Florence' details as well as EPYC Zen 8 'Ravenna' being in development.
AMD EPYC 9006 Venice Announced & Looks Poised To Be A Grand Slam
While AMD EPYC 9005 'Turin' launched just under two years ago, it has aged remarkably well.
Venice Lesbian Drama 'Big Little Things' Boards Moebius for Sales
Moebius Entertainment boards worldwide sales for Michelle Zhou's Venice Horizons title 'Big Little Things.'
Michelle Zhou’s Venice Horizons Title ‘Big Little Things’ Boarded By Moebius Entertainment For Sales
The Hong Kong-US collaboration follows a woman who returns to her hometown of Harbin after years living in the US.
AMD’s Zen 6 EPYC Venice Pictured as a 256-Core Monster, Massive Twin I/O Dies & First 2nm HPC Chip To Enter Volume Ramp
AMD has showcased its next-generation EPYC Venice CPU at the Advancing AI event, featuring a phenomenal core count of 256 based on Zen 6.
Patrick Dempsey says he's not running for Senate in Maine as Democrats weigh a replacement
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star quashed speculation that he was among those being considered to replace embattled Democratic nominee Graham Platner.
Tampa medical building tied to philanthropist, investor Patel sold
In the week's top commercial real estate news, a grocery store property sold in Venice, a former beach hotel sold in Clearwater, and a prominent CRE broker makes a move in Fort Myers.
Travel mistakes I made in Italy as a first-time tourist
I spent six days exploring three cities in Italy — Venice, Rome, and Milan. It was my first time visiting the country, and I left with regrets.
UNESCO Director-General reinforces strategic cooperation with Italy
UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany carried out his official visit to Italy on 8 and 9 June 2026, travelling to Venice, Trieste and Rome to strengthen cooperation with national authorities, UNESCO
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
News | World Cup scouting report: Los Angeles adds soccer to its entertainment culture
Fan zones from Venice Beach to Burbank aim to widen the win
Prediction: Venice (Fla.) falls in Open Division playoff
The 2026 high school football season will be getting underway in less than two months with official practices, which means it’s officially preview season. Rivals is breaking down the nation’s top teams from coast-to-coast, and today we make our way back down south to the Sunshine State to check on the 4-time state champion Venice Indians […]
Prep softball roundup: Venice wins City Section Division I title
The Gondoliers defeated Eagle Rock 7-2 in City Section Division I softball final on Saturday.
Two orphan manatees begin rehab at Bradenton's Bishop Museum of Science
IN BRIEF: Special blessing for new Epiphany Cathedral church bells; SPD supports Special Olympics; new Venice Middle School principal; Pinewood Derby.
Faig Ahmed Weaves Mysticism, Science, Technology, and Craft into 'The Attention'
Curated by Gwendolyn Collaço, Ahmed's Venice Biennale presentation expands upon the dialectic between digital processes and hand-crafted techniques.
Art and politics collide as protests reframe the Venice Biennale
From Pussy Riot’s chants to Latvia’s “Death in Venice” campaign, art has taken a backseat at this year’s Vernissage as...
Art Can’t Compete With Politics in Venice or New York
Plus: Astrocartography, Michael Jackson, and a “hotspan” hack
Business leaders say closing USF Sarasota-Manatee would hurt local economy
Four chambers of commerce, from Venice to Lakewood Ranch, warn of the fallout of losing a USF campus in the area.
Art and Politics
The Venice Biennale is always overwhelming for art. Our culture writer says the politics were overwhelming this year, too.
What Iran’s absence from the Venice Biennale reveals about art and politics
Rather than existing outside politics, the Venice Biennale has become a site where geopolitical tensions are actively staged and contested.
The political controversy overshadowing the Venice Biennale
Protests, resignations and boycotts dominate opening of the ‘Art Olympics’
From Eurovision to the Venice Biennale, culture contests are being overshadowed by politics
The Venice Biennale, Eurovision and Cannes are framed as artists representing their nations. But in a fractured world national identity seems increasingly futile
Anish Kapoor says US’s ‘politics of hate’ should exclude it from Venice Biennale
Artist commends jury for resigning over inclusion of Russia and Israel but says reasoning should also have included US