The Naked Pravda
Meduza’s English-language podcast, The Naked Pravda highlights how our top reporting intersects with the wider research and expertise that exists about Russia. The broader context of Meduza’s in-depth, original journalism isn’t always clear, which is where this show comes in. Here you’ll hear from the world’s community of Russia experts, activists, and reporters about issues that are at the heart of Meduza’s stories and crucial to major events in and around Russia.
The banking scandal that broke Russia’s anti-Kremlin opposition
With help from financial transparency expert Ilya Shumanov, Meduza breaks down the squabbling and criminal stakes at the heart of the scandal involving Probusinessbank, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, and activist Maxim Katz.
Moldova’s knife-edge election and E.U. referendum
The Naked Pravda talks to journalist and writer Paula Erizanu and Ecaterina Locoman, a senior lecturer in international studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute, about Moldova’s 2024 presidential election and constitutional referendum.
How Russian propaganda and ordinary Americans build ‘bespoke realities’
Meduza spoke to disinformation expert Renée DiResta about Russian propaganda, how it’s evolved over the years, and how American social networks are responding (and not responding) ahead of the November 2024 vote.
North Korea's role in the Ukraine War
For a crash course in Russian-North Korean relations and a hard look at recent claims from the Ukrainian and South Korean governments of thousands of North Korean soldiers flooding the battlefield in Ukraine, Meduza spoke to Dr. Fyodor Tertitsky.
Breaking down Russia's 2025 war budget
The Naked Pravda talks to Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center fellow Alexandra Prokopenko about Russia’s 2025 draft budget, focusing on planned allocations to the military.
The North Caucasian clan warfare behind a deadly dispute at Wildberries, ‘Russia’s Amazon’
The Naked Pravda speaks to Ilya Shumanov, the general director of Transparency International-Russia in exile, about the clan conflict at the heart of a merger between the online marketplace Wildberries and the outdoor advertising company Russ Group.
America's expanding crackdown on RT and Moscow's covert influence operations
To discuss the recent explosion of American police and diplomatic activity targeting RT and Russian covert influence operations in the U.S., The Naked Pravda spoke to RFE/RL journalist Mike Eckel.
Iranian ballistic missiles have entered the Ukraine War chat
To find out where the Russian-Iranian partnership is headed and what, if anything, changes in the Ukraine War with Tehran sending ballistic missiles to Moscow, The Naked Pravda spoke to non-proliferation expert Dr. Nicole Grajewski.
The science of Russian Internet censorship and surveillance
To unpack the tools that restrict and monitor the modern-day RuNet, Meduza speaks to experts Sarkis Darbinyan and Philipp Dietrich. This week’s episode focuses on Russia’s recent YouTube throttling and Telegram access disruptions.
Russian conscripts and Ukraine's Kursk offensive
The Naked Pravda welcomes RFE/RL journalists Mark Krutov and Sergey Dobrynin discuss the course of Ukraine’s Kursk incursion and to understand why sending conscripts into Russia’s new conflict zone is so tricky.
The long-term economic effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine
Financial Times Russia correspondent Anastasiia Stognei explains how the Russian economy manages surprisingly resilience in the face of Western sanctions, despite a more bleak long-term outlook.
How can Ukraine hold the line against Russia?
International Crisis Group senior Ukraine analyst Simon Schlegel joins Meduza to talk about the lessons Kyiv and its allies must learn from the war so far if they hope to hold the line against Russia.
Kazakhstan's landmark murder trial
Meduza asks political scientist Colleen Wood, human rights activist Dinara Smailova, and journalist Aleksandra Akanaeva about the repercussions in Kazakhstan of the murder conviction of former Economic Minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev.
‘The American faith’: Why Russia targets evangelicals in Ukraine
To learn about Russia’s targeting of evangelical Christians in occupied Ukraine, Meduza speaks to Steven Moore and Anna Shvetsova from the Ukraine Freedom Project and Catherine Wanner, a professor of history and religious studies at Penn State University.
Corruption and co-optation in Russia’s autocracy
Scholar David Szakonyi speaks to Meduza about his new article, “Corruption and Co-Optation in Autocracy: Evidence from Russia,” exploring what it could reveal about the future of politics in Moscow.
How Russian disinformation really threatens the USA
Meduza speaks to cyber, tech, and propaganda expert Gavin Wilde about his recent writings on the dangers of “overhyping” the threat of Russian disinformation in the United States.
Returning to the talks that could have ended the war in Ukraine
Meduza interviews scholars Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko about their Foreign Affairs article, “The Talks That Could Have Ended the War in Ukraine: A Hidden History of Diplomacy That Came Up Short — but Holds Lessons for Future Negotiations.”
How Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov dies
Meduza speaks to Novaya Gazeta Europe editor-in-chief Kirill Martynov to dig into his outlet’s recent investigation into Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and learn more about the predicament of Russia’s second-worst autocrat.
Migration and discrimination in Putin’s Russia
To learn about Russia’s migration policy under Putin and the xenophobic backlash to the Crocus City Hall attack, Meduza speaks to journalist Leyla Latypova, policy expert Temur Umarov, and political scientist Caress Schenk.
The evolution of the Russian FSB
Foreign intelligence services expert Dr. Kevin Riehle joins The Naked Pravda to talk about the past, present, and future of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.
Daniel Roher and Julia Ioffe remember the Navalnys
Meduza speaks to Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Roher and journalist Julia Ioffe, one of America’s foremost voices on Russia-U.S. relations, for a look back at Alexey Navalny’s career in politics and ahead to the political future of his widow, Yulia.
How terrorism’s geopolitics brought tragedy to Moscow
To discuss the fluid geopolitics that drives terrorism like the Crocus City Hall attack and the road ahead for Russia as the Kremlin tries to utilize the tragedy for its own aims, Meduza spoke to scholars Jean-François Ratelle and Domitilla Sagramoso.
Is Europe preparing for a wider Russian invasion?
To learn how Europe is preparing for the prospect of Russia invading NATO territory, Meduza turns to Baltic defense expert Lukas Milevski, political scientist Henrik Larsen, and retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe.
Politico’s Alex Ward on Biden’s Russia and Ukraine policy
For the inside scoop on team Biden’s Russia and Ukraine policy, Meduza turns to Politico national security reporter Alex Ward, the author of The Internationalists: The Fight To Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump.
The Russian space nukes scare
To make sense of U.S. reports about new Russian space-based weapons and to respond to the panic that this situation provokes, The Naked Pravda welcomes back nuclear arms expert Pavel Podvig.