Tom
Co-Host of The Slavic Connexion
Tom is wrapping up a dual Master’s in Russian Studies and Global Policy at UT Austin. He is concentrating on the strategic interaction between global powers, with a focus on the future relationship between the United States and Russia. Tom’s attraction to cybersecurity buds from the growing use of non-military levers to conduct geo-political warfare, a strategy assumed to proliferate in the coming years. Tom graduated from Bowdoin College in 2016 with a degree in history. He spends way too much of his time on The Slavic Connexion but as one of the co-creators, how can he not?
Tom has hosted 47 Episodes.
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Steppe by Steppe: From America's Great Plains to Russia's Grasslands (and Back Again!) with David Moon
May 31st, 2021 | Season 3 | 34 mins 13 secs
agriculture, caucasus, environmental history, geography, russia, west texas
On this episode, Professor David Moon joins Tom and Lera from the UK to talk about the fascinating personal journey which led to the release of his latest book, The American Steppes: Unexpected Russian Roots of Great Plains Agriculture. He clearly delineates how the kernels of his transnational research all began during his tenure some years ago at The University of Texas at Austin. We hope you enjoy!
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The Pivoting Anthropologist: From Chernobyl to Social Activism to Kurt Vonnegut to... with Sarah Phillips
April 21st, 2021 | Season 3 | 37 mins 25 secs
anthropology, health, literature, social activism, soviet studies, ukraine
Our wonderful guest is Dr. Sarah Phillips, director of the Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University Bloomington. Dr. Phillips walks us through her remarkable anthropological career in the Slavic world from her beginnings in the 90s with studying the effects of Chernobyl to her many social activism projects in Ukraine, taking us to her present fascination with the culture that developed in the USSR around Kurt Vonnegut's writings and translated works. We hope you enjoy, and as always thanks for listening!
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"How to Lose the Information War" with Nina Jankowicz (Wilson Center)
December 9th, 2020 | Season 3 | 39 mins 33 secs
information wars, misinformation, propaganda, russia, us elections
In this episode, Matt and Tom talked to Nina Jankowicz of the Wilson Center about her new book, How to Lose the Information War, and how it serves as a useful primer for understanding the disinformation challenges facing the US today, particularly in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
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On Russia's War in Syria with Colonel (ret.) Robert Hamilton
November 9th, 2020 | Season 3 | 44 mins 38 secs
assad, erdogan, protests, putin, russia, syria, turkey
From the Foreign Policy Research Institute comes a fantastic, dispassionate resource on Russia's intervention into Syria. Here to speak with us about the book (available for free download) and the process of compiling this insightful tome written by both American and Russian experts is Associate professor of Eurasian Studies at the US Army War College Robert E. Hamilton. Enjoy!
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The Eurasia Downbeat with Alex Kokcharov
November 4th, 2020 | Season 3 | 35 mins 18 secs
belarus, cis, eurasia, former soviet states, lukashenko, navalny, opposition, protests, russia, ukraine, zelensky
On this whirlwind episode, Tom visits with London-based journalist and risk research analyst Alex Kokcharov on an impressive array of events and current conflicts across the CIS region. This is hardly a boring episode and we don't sit on one topic for too long, so if you're looking for a quick, but in-depth Eurasia fix (while we in the US patiently, calmly wait on those election results), look no further!
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"Lukashenko Has No Future" with David Marples
October 11th, 2020 | Season 3 | 47 mins 37 secs
belarus, dictators, history, protests, revolution, russia
We're back to Belarus with this episode, but this time we take an in-depth look at the still-thrumming situation from the dictator's perspective with one of the foremost experts on the region, Dr. David Marples. Dr. Marples talks about the potential end of the dictator while rounding out the context for the current revolution, allowing us to see just how and why Alexander Lukashenko came into power. We hope you enjoy!
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The Greater (Dysfunctional) Western Family with Leonid Ragozin
September 29th, 2020 | Season 3 | 36 mins
democracy, investigations, putin, russia, ukraine
Prominent independent journalist Leonid Ragozin graciously joins us from Latvia to discuss the perception of Russia in the West, the origins of Western xenophobia towards Russia, his view of Vladimir Putin in 2000, and his experience working as a freelance journalist on the investigations of high profile figures murdered in Ukraine. We hope you enjoy!
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The Second Libyan Civil War and the Russia Connexion with Mohamed Abufalgha
September 11th, 2020 | Season 3 | 37 mins 23 secs
civil war, libya, mercenaries, russia
Tom and Matt have the great opportunity to speak with Libyan national Mohamed Abufalgha and expert on the conflict that has been going on for several years now in this oil-rich, war-torn country. Mohamed helps us unpack the Russian-Libyan connection and exactly how many countries have their fingers--and fighters--in Libya. We hope you enjoy!
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"The Strategist": The Legacy of Brent Scowcroft with Dr. Bartholomew Sparrow
August 29th, 2020 | Season 3 | 52 mins 38 secs
cold war, gorbachev, intelligence, iraq war, national security, scowcroft, soviet union
On this episode, Tom speaks with UT's own Professor Sparrow about his 2015 book on legendary multi-administration US National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft who sadly passed away recently on August 6th, 2020. This is a great conversation, remembering the unassuming but brilliant strategist who was so integral during the late Cold War period. Hope you enjoy!
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"Disunited Nations" with Peter Zeihan
May 11th, 2020 | Season 2 | 59 mins 5 secs
future of international relations, geopolitics, world order
Renowned geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan graciously joins us via Zoom for an intensive breakdown of the current world order and his predictions concerning the economic and political directions of America, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and other nations. A must-listen for any student of global policy and IR theory!
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World War "C": Covid, Cognitive Dissonance, and Communism (with Markos Kounalakis)
April 29th, 2020 | Season 2 | 51 mins 15 secs
civic engagement, cold war, history, protest, revolution
Columnist, radio host, and Hoover Institution fellow Dr. Markos Kounalakis joins us via Zoom to talk about California's early response to Covid-19, the cognitive dissonance of beautiful Hungary, his experience in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 80s/early 90s as a journalist, and much more. Hope you enjoy!
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"It Is What It Is": Western Media, the End of the USSR, and Russia Today (with Jeff Trimble)
April 25th, 2020 | Season 2 | 49 mins 19 secs
history, press, us-russia relations, us-soviet relations
Jeff Trimble, Moscow Bureau Chief for US News & World Report during the late Soviet period, talks to us about his wild experiences reporting from behind the Iron Curtain and witnessing the dissolution of the USSR. A radio professional as well (and earnest space aficionado and Star Trek fan) he certainly brings some amazing skills to this Zoom session. Hope you enjoy!
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"To Russia and Beyond!" (featuring RBTH Editor-in-Chief Vsevolod Pulya)
April 16th, 2020 | Season 2 | 52 mins 45 secs
journalism, media, rbth, russia
If you're at all a Russophile and you've never visited Russia Beyond (rbth.com), find out what you've been missing as we connect with the editor-in-chief of this amazing, culturally-focused international publication that now boasts 5 million readers worldwide. (Also, the alternate title for this episode is "Pants Challenge", courtesy of Tom.)
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Between Diplomacy and Propaganda: Global Engagement in the Digital Age (with Nicholas Cull)
April 13th, 2020 | Season 2 | 47 mins 28 secs
bbc, culture, digital age, diplomacy, global engagement, world war ii
Joining us via Zoom is the authority on public diplomacy from University of Southern California, Nicholas Cull. Having written the primary resource on the subject as used by the US State Department, Dr. Cull defines public diplomacy for us and expounds on how it has changed and will continue to change in this digital age. (Note: this is one of Tom's favorite interviews.)
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Rock the USSR Part 2 (with Artemy Troitsky and Tom Garza)
April 8th, 2020 | Season 2 | 55 mins 21 secs
elections, pandemic, putin, russian rock, soviet history, subculture
Back for more via Zoom, Tom Garza joins Matt and Tom once again to discuss Russian rock during the late USSR period to modern-day Russia, the power of nostalgia, and the role of music in COVID-19. And this time legendary music critic Artemy Troitsky also joins from Estonia. Hope you enjoy!! The previous episode can be found here: https://www.slavxradio.com/sovietskyrock
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"Everything is Going Extremely Well..."
April 5th, 2020 | Season 2 | 49 mins 26 secs
covid-19, global economy, oil, opec, pandemic, politics, russia, saudi arabia
On this episode, Tom, Matt, and Graham reunite to discuss more about Covid-19, the continuing oil drama between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the ways in which the pandemic will permanently affect our world. As Dave from 2001 A Space Odyssey said, "Everything is going extremely well."