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.
How studying Russia became a paradox
Meduza speaks to scholar Dmitriy Gorskiy about challenges facing academics, journalists, and analysts who study Russia amid heightened global interest and shrinking reliable data.
Russia’s ban on the ‘LGBT movement’
Meduza speaks to historian Dan Healey, sociologist Alexander Kondakov, and political scientist Leandra Bias about the roots of the Kremlin’s anti-LGBTQ+ politics in the wake of the Russian Supreme Court’s decision to ban the “LGBT movement.”
Spotlight on Georgia
In an episode all about Georgia — including crackdown on protests, media freedom and Russia’s occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia — Meduza speaks to Crisis Group South Caucasus Senior Analyst Olesya Vartanyan and OC Media co-founder Mariam Nikuradze.
How Russian comedians find the humor in exile
Two Russian comedians, “Dan the Stranger” and Sasha Dolgopolov, describe emigrating to Europe to continue performing antiwar material and what it’s like to do stand-up in English.
How the USSR tried to run the world
Meduza spoke to Dr. Sergey Radchenko about his forthcoming book, To Run the World: The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power, which explores how narratives of legitimacy offer crucial insights for interpreting Moscow’s motivations and foreign policy.
Why is anti-Semitic violence spreading in Russia’s North Caucasus?
The Naked Pravda asks political and security analyst Harold Chambers and RFE/RL Caucasus Realities senior editor Zakir Magomedov what has fomented anti-Semitism in the North Caucasus.
The Russian military’s ‘torture pits’
Meduza interviews iStories journalist Sonya Savina to learn more about her report on the Russian military’s alleged use of “torture pits.” Plus news from the week about Hamas and Iran in Moscow, Mikhail Fridman’s woes, poisoned cake, and more.
Russian music at war
Meduza speaks to two music journalists and the frontman of the band The Largest Prime Number to learn about Russia’s contemporary music scene and how the invasion of Ukraine influences popular trends.
How Russia pressures Central Asian migrants into military service
Meduza speaks to freelance journalist Sher Khashimov and Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center fellow Temur Umarov about The Beet’s recent reporting on Russia’s covert effort to conscript newly naturalized citizens and migrant workers from Central Asia.
‘Economic War: Ukraine and the Global Conflict Between Russia and the West’
Meduza interviews political risk analyst Maximilian Hess about his new book tackling how the West uses its clout and privileged position with international markets to deter and penalize the Kremlin for its aggression against Ukraine.
Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh
Meduza speaks to Crisis Group South Caucasus Senior Analyst Olesya Vartanyan about Russian troops’ mandate in Nagorno-Karabakh and Moscow’s peacekeeping track record.
What’s behind Putin’s recent spate of anti-Semitic statements?
In light of Vladimir Putin’s recent string of anti-Semitic comments, Meduza talks to historian Artem Efimov about anti-Jewish sentiment in Russia and how the state-sponsored anti-Semitism Putin witnessed in his youth may have shaped his views today.
The Pegasus spyware attack on Meduza
Meduza speaks to Access Now tech-legal counsel Natalia Krapiva and Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton about the Pegasus spyware attack on Meduza co-founder and CEO Galina Timchenko.
Russian elections after an eternity under Putin
Meduza speaks to elections experts Dr. Galina Selivanova and András Tóth-Czifra about voting in Russia’s September 2023 regional races and the remaining opportunities for competition and protest.
Jade McGlynn’s ‘Russia’s War’
Meduza speaks to Dr. Jade McGlynn about her new book, “Russia’s War,” tackling questions about moral culpability for the invasion of Ukraine and what she calls “the grievances, lies, and half-truths that pervade the Russian worldview.”
The Kremlin’s new history textbook
To learn more about a state-endorsed, controversial new Russian history textbook, Meduza spoke to Professor Polly Jones and historians Artem Efimov and James Pearce.
‘Goodbye, Eastern Europe’ with Jacob Mikanowski
Writer and historian Jacob Mikanowski joins The Naked Pravda to discuss his new book, “Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land.”
Why Alexey Navalny matters
The Naked Pravda spoke to political scientist Mikhail Turchenko and Wilson Center senior adviser and Meduza Ideas editor Maxim Trudolyubov about Alexey Navalny, his movement, and about how he’s changed Russian politics even as he languishes behind bars.
Loyalty and competence in Russia's armed forces
Meduza welcomes back political scientist Kirill Shamiev to discuss the “specialized enterprises” forged in new legislation and explore what such a project says about Russia’s civil-military relations.
The new era of Russian business politics
Meduza reviews the Kremlin’s growing willingness to seize Western assets in Russia and asks Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center expert Alexandra Prokopenko to break down today’s elite business politics.
Counting Russia’s 47,000 killed combatants
The Naked Pravda speaks to one of the authors of a new joint study by journalists at Meduza and Mediazona that estimates the total number of Russian combatants killed in Ukraine to be roughly 47,000 men, so far.
The danger at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Meduza welcomes back nuclear arms expert Pavel Podvig to discuss the current danger at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant amid allegations that an attack by either Russia or Ukraine could cause a major radiological event.
An obituary for Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group
Meduza asks three experts — Kirill Shamiev, Маrgarita Zavadskaya, and Katia Glod — about Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny and what it reveals about Russia’s PMCs, elite politics, and relationship with Belarus.
Deteriorating trans rights in Russia
Meduza talks to Russian LGBTQ+ rights activists about the state of trans rights in Russia and the likely impact of Moscow’s impending ban on gender transitions.
Russia’s troubled ‘green future’
Meduza asks environmental journalist Angelina Davydova to gauge the fallout from Russia’s crackdown on Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund and to weigh the chances of environmentalism in Russia at war.
Producer, sound editing and mixing — Kevin Rothrock
Executive producer — Alexandr Sadikov
Music — Victor Davydov