Masha Gessen, "The Future Is History"

Since the 2016 election, Gessen’s articles and commentary on Trump, Putin, hypocrisy, demagogues, and related issues have become essential reading. A long-time journalist who has worked in both Russia and the U.S., and author of the acclaimed biography of Putin The Man Without a Face, Gessen in her latest book traces Russia’s unsettling post-Soviet trajectory by looking closely at the lives of four different people. All were born into a time that promised freedom; all have been bitterly disappointed. As she examines how the state has crushed not only these people’s dreams but their sense of individual agency, Gessen tells a powerful cautionary tale deeply relevant to the West.
Gessen is in conversation with Susan B. Glasser, POLITICO's chief international affairs columnist and host of its new weekly podcast, The Global Politico.
www.politics-prose.com/book/97...
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Produced by Tom Warren

[@11NinaBrio]

Masha- the smartest mind in public discourse today! Always dead-on.

[@dorisfowler3229]

I am not surprised that Masha Gleeson is so positive about America. While we are going through tough times politically and have been for a number of year's. I have noticed that funding since the 1980s has been cut back on education. I viewed that as a backlash to the protests of the 1960s and 1970s when young people were looking at the government and pointing out the problems of the government and the corruption of the people we were electing. I remember failing most of my class gor cheating on their tests, and when they asked why I told them they were not smart enough to chest from the ones who studied the preparation information I gave out. But cheated off the people who didn't study at all I pointed out that when you cheat you don't know what you don't know only what the other person doesn't know. I also stated that if you study and don't get a passing grade, that is not a failure, because you then understand what you dont know and can go back and relearn so you then gain that knowledge. My students were angry because they felt I tricked them, and if it was ok for Nixon to cheat and lie why shouldn't they. Most of our presidents wanted to be President, they wanted to make things better. They respected the office overall, and even if we didn't always like what they did we felt that he was doing what he thaught was right with the information he had. I didn't vote for Romney because I felt he didn't care about the office so much as he wanted to be CEO of the Corp. of America. His whole history of business dealings and what he did to the companies he baugjt, spit up and sold after promising to rebuild, when he got the loans to do that. Yet he didn't and pocketed the loan and closed the companies or sold them off in pieces. Lots of people lost their jobs.

[@dorisfowler3229]

I didn't vote for Trump because I have known for years he hung out with the mafia people he and his father did business with. Didn't like what he did to his employee's and the small businesses he never paid and failed. He didn't care about them at all. Also I wss aware that through his casino's he was laundering money. He had built up several going businesses and declared bankruptcy. While other casino's were still opersting and making a profit. Then there was Trump college which I knew was a hard sell scam alot like Scientology. Promise the wealth of the world, and scam the people who beleaved. The man is was and always be a con man who beleaves in the long con. Also he lacks character ethics and honesty, in his personal life as well as his public life. Now he is cosy with Puten, and I told my son that he would be spilling all our secrets, sure enough he gave over information to the Russians that belonged to Israel without clearing it with them. The man could care less about this country and it's people, he cares about money and power and he wants to be autocrat of America. Why build a wall, not to keep people out so much as to keep people in and have complete control. He has done everything to distroy the media and control communications written and written. He has done what he can to dismrsntel our agencies and wants control of the legal system. My hope is that the system of our government eill prevent him from doing that snd people will recognize that the set up the system of our government will stop him. We have a constitution that has stood the test of time, and the people who live here will unite in a way that they never have before,in spite of the differences we have, and because we have so many more similarities.

[@arthurdont1478]

Masha, do you have anything to say about a rise of totalitarianism in China?