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'Disclosure Day' anchor Courtney Grace breaks down that unforgettable ending
Her name is Courtney Grace and she carries Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller to its emotional climax. She discussed her experience working on the film.
Do influencers need to disclose if they’re paid by a candidate? New California bill seeks to ensure they do
Bill aims to identify content “that looks organic and authentic … (but is) really the equivalent of an ad,” lawmaker says.
'The system is critically stressed': San Andreas and San Jacinto faults scarily close to major earthquake, study finds
The San Andreas fault and a neighboring fault in Southern California have reached their highest levels of tectonic stress in 1,000 years, and a rupture at one fault could propagate to the other, researchers found.
How the fight over US datacenters is scrambling this state’s politics: ‘We don’t want it’
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s governor, squares off with state lawmakers over the facilities powering an AI boom
KERRIGAN IN THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Virginia Should Not Tax Away its Data Center Advantage - Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
“However it is framed, the practical effect would reach far beyond one industry. A tax on digital infrastructure is a tax on everyone, including working families, local governments and small businesses in every corner of Virginia.” In a June 15 Washington Times Op-ed, SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan documents the state of Virginia’s tech […]
Sony to Handle International for ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’
Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle international distribution for the theatrical release of Greta Gerwig’s "Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew."
Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ to Be Distributed Internationally by Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle international distribution for the theatrical release of Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” Netflix said Tuesday. The epic adventure will be releas...
Apple’s smart home camera service is starting to impress me
Security cameras are getting smarter.
Roundup of third-quarter financial results for Philly-area nonprofit health systems
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was the most profitable nonprofit health system in Southeastern Pennsylvania during the nine months that ended March 31.
CaroMont Health wants to add hospital in Cleveland County
CaroMont Health wants to add an 18-bed hospital in Kings Mountain, about 10 miles east of Atrium Health’s 241-bed hospital in Shelby and less than four miles from Atrium Health’s 67-bed hospital in Kings Mountain. The hospital would be about 17 miles west of CaroMont’s 476-bed hospital in Gastonia. CaroMont’s hospital in Cleveland County would […]
Three are elected to the NFL wing of the L.A. Times Sports Hall of Fame
Three people have been elected into the Rams/Chargers/Raiders wing of our Los Angeles Times Sports Report Hall of Fame.
At a UFC watch party, cheers for the fight and dismay over the war in Iran
The frustration of a young crowd at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Pennsylvania shows why President Donald Trump was under pressure to end the conflict.
Radiology Partners affiliate inks in-network deal with Anthem Blue Cross
The deal is with Golden State Imaging Associates, which serves Southern California, providing 24/7 diagnostic and interventional services to hospitals and other referrers.
Football upstages politics as Iranians rally behind their team at World Cup
In opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles, Iran's Team Melli gets cheers from thousands of anti-regime supporters.
Opinion | This New Party Wants to Write a New Future for Israel
A new Israeli-Palestinian political party, A Place For Us All, was born out of joint activism and organizing focused on the daily realities on the ground, not grandiose policies.
World Cup 2026: Iran v Iran in the stands as politics and football intertwine
The Iranian team may want to unite people but what the game with New Zealand revealed is just how divided many Iranians remain, writes BBC North America correspondent Shaimaa Khalil.
Ukraine's new drones give it strike capabilities that HIMARS couldn't
The Ukrainian mid-range strike drone is "heralding a new phase of the war" for Ukraine, George Barros of the ISW told Business Insider.
Ebola outbreak strains health system in eastern Congo
In eastern Congo’s Ituri province, a new Ebola outbreak is testing an already fragile health system. In the city of Bunia, hospitals are overwhelmed or shut down after suspected infections, while health workers race to contain the virus.
A vague Iran deal leaves more questions than answers
Trump hailed the document as a breakthrough after months of negotiations. Yet its broad contours remained unclear over a day after the deal was announced.
Southside Virginia health officials urge precautions as measles outbreaks spread nearby
Health officials in Southside Virginia are urging residents to take precautions as measles outbreaks are reported elsewhere in the state and nearby areas.
CalChamber Recognizes Outstanding Local Chambers, Small Businesses
For Immediate Release press@calchamber.com (June 15, 2026) Sacramento, CA — The California Chamber of Commerce has acknowledged outstanding advocacy of
Lavish Roman villa discovered outside Rome's walls may have been frequented by Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius
The villa, which came to light because it was illegally excavated, was found in an area frequented two millennia ago by the emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.
Trump claims victory over Iran, but deal is silent on nuclear weapons
The president promised oil would resume flowing through Hormuz, though U.S. and Iranian officials differed over the initial agreement’s terms.
Veteran Sire Social Inclusion Returns To Pennsylvania In 2027
Social Inclusion, a classic-placed runner and veteran sire, will return to Pennsylvania for the 2027 breeding season, standing at Bonner Hill Farms in Littlestown, Pa. The announcement was made Monday via the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's social media accounts. The 15-year-old son of ...
Health sleuths are watching for disease threats during the World Cup
Health officials will be on high alert for germs as millions of soccer fans gather for World Cup matches
Epstein survivors push Comer to investigate potential leads from DOJ’s files in private meeting
In a private meeting last week, a group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and family members of the late Virginia Giuffre pointed House Oversight Chair James Comer to allegations from the Justice Department’s Epstein files to further investigate, arguing that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s suggestion there were no more leads to pursue in the case is not true.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Trump's Justice Department is investigating him and his wife
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and longtime political rival of Republican President Donald Trump, said Monday the president ordered the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife.
Newsom says DOJ conducting baseless investigation of him and his wife at Trump's direction
Newsom said that in recent days, "federal agents have knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees," and have been "demanding records" in a quest to find any kind of wrongdoing by him or his wife.
New York healthcare executive chosen to lead University Medical Center
Tammy Snyder, an experienced leader who oversees a nine-hospital organization in upstate New York, will join UVA in August.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Trump's Justice Department is investigating him and his wife
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife, accusing the Trump administration of targeting him for political purposes as he weighs a presidential bid
Voters to head to polls in Georgia, Alabama, California and DC on Tuesday
One of the most watched races is the Republican Senate primary in Georgia, the winner of which will face Sen. Jon Ossoff
Gavin Newsom says Trump Justice Department is investigating him
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the Department of Justice is investigating him, claiming that President Donald Trump is targeting a “political enemy” despite no evidence the Democratic potential 2028 presidential contender has committed a crime.
Scientists Built a Tiny “Universe” And Watched Time Emerge From Chaos
Scientists created a miniature universe using 24,000 ultracold atoms where time emerges from entropy flow, potentially solving physics' biggest mystery.
Can Bankova Muster Political Will to Make Institutional Reforms During War?
Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members.
Inside California Politics: Governor’s primary race results, state budget process
(INSIDE CALIFORNIA POLITICS) — This week Inside California Politics’ Eytan Wallace is joined by a number of guests to discuss everything from the governor’s race to the state budget to …
Building Public Health Fellowships and Pathways to Employment in California
Learn how California is empowering new public health professionals and building its public health workforce.
Supreme Court will decide if 'criminal aliens' can be held indefinitely while they fight deportation
The case could give the administration more power to arrest and hold immigrants, including green card holders, who have criminal records.
Health advisory issued in Buckingham amid measles outbreak
Virginia health officials have marked more than 100 cases of measles in 2026, with most of those tied to an outbreak in Buckingham County, where residents are now being warned to avoid gatherings t…
From The Sports Desk: One day after peace agreement, Iran takes field for World Cup
Iran will play New Zealand tonight in Southern California. Earlier in the day, Lamine Yamal and Spain play Cape Verde, and Mo Salah and Egypt take on Belgium.
Iranian team has become political pawn at this World Cup
If you want the World Cup to promote peace and harmony, you have to actually let it do that, not toy with Iran football team and move them to Mexico.
Berkeley Wellness Center to close as California shifts mental health funding
The arts-focused community space for people with mental health challenges is one of seven wellness centers in Alameda County that will close.
WVU health care AI researcher wins prestigious NSF CAREER award
West Virginia University researcher Avishek Choudhury, who studies health care providers’ trust in artificial intelligence, has been named a Faculty Early Career Development award winner by the National Science Foundation.
Mental Health First Aid training offered July 10
The WVU community is invited to attend a Mental Health First Aid training hosted by WELLWVU and the West Virginia Collegiate Initiative to Advance Healthy Campus Communities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 10 on Zoom.
Pasadena Hosts National Astronomy Conference as Scientists Prepare for NASA’s Next Flagship Space Telescope
Daily Newsmagazine and City Guide to Pasadena, California featuring local news, breaking news, events, weather, sports news, schools news, shopping, restaurants and more from Pasadena Now
Tottenham join race for Moroccan wonderkid after World Cup debut
Saturday afternoon saw the 2026 FIFA World Cup usher in one of the names for the future into the global game, Morocco's Ayyoub Buaddi, with the wonderkid playing a large part of his national team's draw against perennial powerhouse Brazil. It was just more than just a debut, as it showed that Bouaddi can perform on the global stage against some of the best players in the world, emboldening the interest that teams had in him following his stellar campaign with Lille in Ligue 1, winning out on 49 tackles and recording 33 interceptions last season for the French outfit. All in all, the Moroccan wonderkid has been looked at and is being closely followed by the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, and Paris-Saint Germain, amongst others, but according to a recent report, yet another English club is pursuing the 18-year-old.
Visitors' viral World Cup videos show what really makes America great
International soccer fans discovering the wonders of America, from spacious skies to chicken fried steak, is giving the U.S. a much-needed morale (and PR) boost.
What COVID is teaching doctors about the relationship between viruses and cancer
The pandemic has left some evidence that viral infection may play a role in reawakening dormant cancer cells already present in a patient’s body before infection.
How one millennial hit financial independence in three years
"The biggest factor by far, bar none, is the gap between your income and your expenses," says Cody Berman, who hit financial independence at age 25.
‘Difficult decision’: 21 closings in Pa. include restaurants, warehouses, and more
The closings are in 11 Pennsylvania counties.
One California politician’s unexpected crusade against ultra-processed food
Jesse Gabriel "has passed more food policy in three years than most legislators enact in their entire careers," says one supporter.
North Carolina gains inside track to College World Series finals with 5-2 win over West Virginia
Niland Cafe marks centennial with car show, entertainment in Colo
COLO, Iowa — Niland Cafe in Colo celebrated 100 years of service on Sunday with a car show and entertainment. The Lincoln Highway and the Jefferson Highway were the first paved roads running …
Study finds West Virginia gains on economy and air quality, but health and education lag
West Virginia Falls Short Against North Carolina
The Mountaineers battled but come up short againt the Tarheels
Seth Rogen said he has no plans to work with James Franco
After James Franco was accused of sexual exploitation by several women in 2018, a once-close friend and fellow actor, Seth Rogen, said he had no plans to work with him again.
U.S. and Iran reach agreement to end war, Trump says
The deal commits Tehran to forgo the development or acquisition of nuclear weapons in exchange for helping reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Millennial moved to Bangkok, pays $2,500 in rent, and works US hours
After years of dreaming about Southeast Asia, Andrew Corona traded San Diego for Bangkok. He says the move changed how he defines success.
The #1 pop song from the year you graduated high school
Stacker pulled data from Billboard's year-end charts to compile a list of the #1 pop song for each year from 1946 to 2024.
Rod Stewart called 'tone-deaf' for attending World Cup game a day canceling concert due to health issues
Rod Stewart slammed as "tone-deaf" by fans after canceling California concert due to illness then jetting to Boston for Scotland's FIFA World Cup match.
UNC vs. West Virginia live blog, updates, highlights and more
The Tar Heels face West Virginia in the College World Series winners' bracket. Follow along on our live blog.
The 50 most-watched TV series finales of all time
Stacker ranked the top 50 most-watched TV series finales, according to Nielsen Ratings. See how "Game of Thrones" compares to "Seinfeld" and "M*A*S*H."
Justin Trudeau skipped Canada World Cup opener because girlfriend Katy Perry performed at US game
Former Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay rather than his own nation’s game vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto. Trudeau said he made the
We visited Niagara Falls: Favorite things we did in US, Canada
We saw Niagara Falls in New York and Canada through Maid of the Mist, helicopter tours, day trips, and other attractions. Here's what was worth it.
Rep. James Gallagher on Iran, President Trump and his priorities in Congress
California’s newest Congressman, James Gallagher, described his first few days in Washington as "overwhelming” and filled with emotions as he steps into his new role representing California's U.S. House District 1.
U.S. DOJ continues elections investigation, fight to audit California’s voter rolls
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said there is evidence of voter fraud as his office continues its investigation into the state’s election.
Leader of California Assembly elections committee defends state's process
The leader of the California Assembly’s Elections Committee defended the state’s elections system despite criticism this week from some voters, the President and various national media outlets including the New York Times.
California Politics 360 full episode | US Justice Dept. continues elections investigation
On California Politics 360, Ashley Zavala sat down with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who is leading the investigation.
Cal Fire expands aerial fleet amid jetfuel concerns
Cal Fire is enhancing its firefighting capabilities with new aircraft and increased staffing as it prepares for another challenging fire season in California, even as the state faces budget issues and uncertainty around fuel this summer.
Mysterious Amazonian ‘ghost dog’ caught on camera
This wild short-eared canine is not your average pup.
Inside California Politics: Governor’s primary race results, state budget process
(INSIDE CALIFORNIA POLITICS) — This week Inside California Politics’ Eytan Wallace is joined by a number of guests to discuss everything from the governor’s race to the state budget to …
Inside California Politics: Governor’s primary race results, state budget process
(INSIDE CALIFORNIA POLITICS) — This week Inside California Politics’ Eytan Wallace is joined by a number of guests to discuss everything from the governor’s race to the state budget to …
50 fascinating facts about the music industry
Stacker fills you in on 50 things you probably didn't know about the music industry using music publications, bank and industry reports, and news articles as sources.
Can you answer these 35 'Jeopardy!' clues about rock music?
Stacker compiled a list of clues about rock music using J! Archive.
This Subaru Kei Van Parks Like A Motorcycle But Swallows Half Your Garage
The kei-sized Sambar for sale in Virginia is adorable, practical, and probably slightly terrifying on a freeway surrounded by semis and F-150s
Iranian football legend Azizi puts peace above politics amid World Cup tensions
Iranian football legend Khodadad Azizi, who played in the first World Cup meeting between Iran and the United States in 1998, has told AFP that football should promote "peace" and remain separate from politics.Azizi, 54, was speaking as Iran prepare to play their first match at the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, the country they have been at war with since February.Nicknamed Team Melli, Iran will open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday, hoping to reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history.
6 said killed in Gaza strikes as Hamas health ministry says war toll surpasses 73,000
Terror group says it responded to 15-point Board of Peace blueprint aiming to push ceasefire to next stage, although sources say disagreements remain over disarmament issue
Science & Medicine: Relaxing excited neurons may lead to more effective treatments for schizophrenia
A new medication to treat schizophrenia has been developed by scientists who discovered that a neuron that inhibits the activity of other cells may be in short supply in those with the disorder.
Scientists find a whale graveyard in the Indian Ocean that’s millions of years old
Scientists have documented a whale graveyard in the Indian Ocean with some carcasses dating back 5.3 million years, and it's supporting a thriving community of marine life.
Under Trump, hopes for a mining boom in the Nevada desert
Tonopah has boomed and mostly busted since it's heyday more than a century ago. Trump has raised expectations for renewed prosperity and one local businessman is sprucing up his motel in anticipation of better times.
Romania's president nominates Adrian Vestea as prime minister after his previous pick withdraws
Romanian President Nicusor Dan has nominated Adrian Vestea as prime minister to resolve a political crisis.
Romania president taps new PM to form government
Adrian Vestea, 52, is a leader of the Liberal party
Healthcare organizations celebrate milestones at annual reception
The Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation recently held their annual reception to review the progress and impact of the NEPA Health Care Foundation Scholars Program. The program…
UFC Freedom 250 Final Face-Offs
During Saturday's UFC Freedom 250 Ceremonial Weigh-In at the Lincoln Memorial, the fighters competing on Sunday's historic event at The White House faced off with their opponents a final time. The event takes place on the South Lawn of the White House and is headlined by a lightweight title ...
A dying star could create a new universe instead of a black hole
What if some black holes aren’t black holes at all? A new theoretical study suggests that when a massive star collapses, it might not form a singularity hidden behind an event horizon. Instead, the collapse could trigger the birth of a tiny new universe inside the dying star. Driven by dark energy, this miniature cosmos would expand and push back against gravity, preventing complete collapse and creating an exotic object known as a gravastar.
Health advisory issued in Buckingham amid measles outbreak
Virginia health officials have marked more than 100 cases of measles in 2026, with most of those tied to an outbreak in Buckingham County, where residents are now being warned to avoid gatherings t…
From rockets to brain implants, here's a look at Elon Musk's vast empire
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and now first-ever trillionaire, controls a lot of different businesses.
Here’s what you missed: A week of big announcements in politics and law enforcement
It was a busy week across the Upstate, beginning with Primary Election Day and ending with some notable arrests and convictions. Here are some of the major stories you may have missed from this week.
Millennials Like Me Were Sold a Fantasy About Weed. Now Researchers Have a Warning.
This wasn’t at all what I imagined when I first lit up.
Old Town Alexandria businesses celebrate Croatia’s World Cup stay with themed sales event
With the Croatian national men’s soccer team setting up its World Cup home base in Alexandria, Virginia, a group of business owners is setting up a special sales event to mark the occasion.
UC Berkeley computer science students fail in large numbers, professors cite AI dependence
A dramatic spike in failing grades among computer science students at the University of California, Berkeley has alarmed faculty, who are pointing to an overreliance on artificial intelligence tools and a stark decline in foundational math skills as the primary culprits.
Letters: Bill Plaschke takes heat for Caitlin Clark complaints
Readers of the Los Angeles Times Sports section share their thoughts on Caitlin Clark, the Dodgers' gay pride effort, gambling and the NBA Finals.
Top Ukrainian interceptor drone maker learned faster not always better
Wild Hornets, which is behind the popular Sting interceptor drone, scaled back the speed in favor of loitering time.
I'm a California judge, here's how to fix our mental health crisis
OPINION: For many, the courtroom has become just one more stop on a revolving door that cycles them between homelessness, hospitalization and incarceration, Michael Wendler writes.
L.A. Grand Prix brings track meet back for Olympic preview
This weekend's two-day meet serves as an important check point for track and field’s hope to break out of the four-year popularity cycle.
Trump prosecutor in L.A. is searching for voter fraud before final count
First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli is waging an unusual campaign to find election fraud in California despite DOJ guidelines saying not to during vote counting.
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
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