the mood in the soviet union turned. voices critical of go but shelf and the ruling elite group allowed people called for him to resign they wanted real change. glasnost and perestroika failed. and the economic crisis hit the country hard shops were empty the people no longer believed in go but self all the future of communism. but his policies had opened pandora's box there was no stopping the course of history. 9 months after the soviet withdrawal from afghanistan the burning wolf. even in moscow statues were toppled they started with that of felix jasmine ski the founder of the cheka the forerunner of the k.g.b. . the growing discontent became more more focused on those in power in the kremlin. one after another the soviet socialist republics declared independence. the days of communism and the soviet union were numbered. most it gathered good story i get that these are the afghanistan war was the catalyst for the fall of the u.s.s.r. it played an important role for one thing it exposed the military weakness of the re

the conflict brought great relief to the multi-ethnic populations of both afghanistan and the soviet union it was to be the last armed conflict of the cold war. but it had taken a heavy toll around 2000000 dead on the afghan side 15000 soviet soldiers killed and millions when days. there were countless victims of landmines and there was mass population displacement. with around 6000000 people fleeing to pakistan and iran. it was a war that would change the face of the world a devastated afghanistan fell into a bloody civil war in which the islamist taliban would emerge responses of a new source of international terrorism it's no coincidence that the country is known as the graveyard of empires that's certainly true when it comes to the soviet union and a half years after withdrawing its troops in december 1991 it ceased to exist. because india. how can a country's economy grow harmony with its people being violent when there are doers look at the bigger picture india a country that faces many challenges and whose people are striving to create a sustainable future clever projects from europ

the conflict brought great relief to the multi-ethnic populations of both afghanistan and the soviet union it was to be the last armed conflict of the cold war. but it had taken a heavy toll around 2000000 dead on the afghan side 15000 soviet soldiers killed and millions when days. there were countless victims of landmines and there was mass population displacement. with around 6000000 people fleeing to pakistan and iran. it was a war that would change the face of the world a devastated afghanistan fell into a bloody civil war in which the islamist taleban would emerge as sponsors of a new source of international terrorism it's no coincidence that the country is known as the graveyard of empires that's certainly true when it comes to the soviet union 2 and a half years after withdrawing its troops in december 1991 it ceased to exist. inside him things. spin. everything revolves around christmas. cheer in a german village famous for its handcrafted toilets candle arches. incense smokers morning. we find out what magic in seoul about. the moments. 30 minutes. why are people forced to hide in

the mood in the soviet union turned. voices critical of go but shelf in the ruling elite grew louder people called for him to resign they wanted real change. glasnost and perestroika failed. and the economic crisis hit the country hard shops were empty the people no longer believed in go but self all the future of communism. but his policies had opened pandora's box there was no stopping the course of history. 9 months after the soviet withdrawal from afghanistan the burning wolf. even in moscow statues were toppled they started with that of felix jazz in ski the founder of the cheka the forerunner of the k.g.b. . the growing discontent became more more focused on those in power in the kremlin. one after another selfie at socialist republics declared independence. the days of communism and the soviet union were numbered. most it gathered good story i get that these are the afghanistan war was the catalyst for the fall of the u.s.s.r. it played an important role. for one thing it exposed the military weakness of the red a

the conflict brought great relief to the multi-ethnic populations of both afghanistan and the soviet union it was to be the last armed conflict of the cold war. but it had taken a heavy toll around 2000000 dead on the afghan side 15000 soviet soldiers killed and millions windows. there were countless victims of landmines and there was mass population displacement. with around 6000000 people fleeing to pakistan and iran. it was a war that would change the face of the world a devastated afghanistan fell into a bloody civil war in which the islamist taleban would emerge as sponsors of a new source of international terrorism it's no coincidence that the country is known as the graveyard of empires that's certainly true when it comes to the soviet union and a half years after withdrawing its troops in december 1991 it ceased to exist. the 250 year old global music star. in his anniversary year he remains a powerful name on everyone's lips. either by the inspires really projects to this day or 20. 39 d. w. . i very. much. was it was the same ship for an intricate monarch. this. treasure was. sec

in terms of image afghanistan was absolutely catastrophic for the soviet union. even and then died from this with you know i remember the absolutely soporific spectacle of these old fossils carrying the coffins of leaders of the politburo who were all over 70 years old. of the funeral with images of the regime on its death bed and. the soviet union was in its death throes yet the old guard chose another sick old man to succeed. yuri andropov. yuri andropov was a man of the k.g.b. because he headed the k.g.b. with the secret service and secret police from 1967th 1982. embodied the golden age of the k.g.b. with its vast operations abroad in latin america and africa. want to be on their feet and they claim that he also represents a time when dissidents were arrested and put in psychiatric hospitals with a period of repression you have. a little her on the above. andropov who wanted dialogue with the united states. but when he came to power soviet american relations were very bad so. or rather east west relations. put by could he do it was a phase that couldn't be ca

she had never been to the soviet union at that point and had not seen what the soviet union was or could even imagine what it might evolve into but the many ideas of the young people across the world in germany and don't forget your many was considered "the next revolution", many people believe "the next revolution" is going to take place in germany, that was quite the widespread relief and she saw the soviet union and all the ideology that went with it, she saw that as a feature and she comes to that for most of her life. >> she starts out -- i'm trying to think of the word, a bookish character, the publishing of air of berlin, bookstores on more than one occasion, it sounds to me that it was an idea or yearning for something, how does she get into the action, in shanghai i don't want to get too many beautiful details away to our readers but how does she make that transition, many of the idea that they have thoughts in the phrase that we use, we outgrow that, not in ursula, she grows into an action oriented, tell us about that. >> in a conflict in a way and her life, she started out as

i spent the so the next five days in the soviet union, as it was still the soviet union. i was introduced to the new leaders, boris yeltsin. there's list of the soviet union but yeltsin was the president of russia. everybody was talking russia, not the soviet union. russia this and russia that. things were changing dramatically. one of the most interesting sessions was i sat there with all the leaders of the soviet republic. with gorbachev presiding. they were debating the breakup of the soviet union. i concluded during that five-day visit this empire was coming apart and it was the only time in history when it empire was coming apart without any kind of war at all. there was no military victory as such but the economic system and collapsed. the wouldn't work anymore. so they were coming apart, but the thing that was so dangerous was that they were possessing 30,000 nuclear weapons. they had 40,000 tons of chemical weapons, they had a weaponization of germs, biological program. they even weaponized small pox. all of that was happening, i concluded that we, the united stat

i did not think we should've extend nato immediately after the collapse of the soviet union. i felt we should help extend the economic side, reaching out to eastern europe through the european union, but not as a soviet military was collapsing move american presence into areas that were right next to near their border, america presence or nato. so we made some mistakes after the cold war. so in between the lessons of world war i, which give us very poor marks and lessons of world war ii, which i think were unique in the history of the world in terms of a pluses and post-cold war, somewhere in between. we got a lot of work to do so that our children and grandchildren can live in a world that does not have the perils of those things hanging over us. i'd close with a thought that we really are in a race between cooperation and catastrophe on what i call the issues of survival. it's going to take wise leadership both in america as well as in countries that are adversaries such as russia from time to time, also including china. and i think that another lesson we learned is that act

he had accepted the award, but then he was expelled from the soviet writers' union and soviet authoritiesorced him to turn down the prize. he was living in sort of internal exile. bernstein wanted to meet him. he invited pastrnak to the september 11th concert. pastrnak accepted. pastrnak then invited mr. and mrs. bernstein to come to his place and they spoke about art and politics and music and all sorts of things. on the night of september 11th, that same evening, at the thrilling conclusion of the 5th symphony, the composer embraced leonard bernstein. pastrnak went back stage and said to the conductor, you have taken us up to heaven. now we must return to earth. the philharmonic's visit to the soviet union was a dramatic moment in the history of cold war musical diplomacy. leonard bernstein had articulated with great passion his belief in classical music's power to reshape international relations. when the orchestra returned to the united states, they came down here to perform in washington for an audience of government officials and diplomats. bernstein gave a speech at the national pr

. >> so course it would've been a typical thing to say at the time the soviet union is the future we live in the era when that is. >> exactly of course you never been to the soviet union and had not seen what it was what could even imagine that many people across the world but germany one is considered the next revolution and then to take place in germany and that was quite a widespread belief and all that ideology that went with it. >> but she was a bookish character. and bookstores more than one occasion so it sounds to me yearning for something. >> i want to give it away but with the action oriented. >> and she is to start off as a gentle bookish she goes were very early two short stories and she lives in a house in berlin. and you can get more bookish than that. and that is the way that she was. >> and as you say she ended up espousing a violent revolution and she got it done. she was raised from a very young age and then from the far right and for the first half and in the war the soviet union and britain and america to defeat nazi germany but then to be around her in some way b

at these press conferences, when he becomes ambassador to the soviet union in 1943 she goes with him and learns russian for both of them, becomes his assistant ambassador, more access to and experience with his inner circle than any other american in history. >> host: let's move on to sarah churchill, ferry interesting figure in your book. tell us about her. >> host: people may know about the end of her life, have some personal - >> host: let's not get ahead of ourselves. >> guest: something i am thrilled to share with people. the middle child, clemens teen and special bond very young. you can move in silent step. and in quiet harmony to gather a car very much like her father to make her own way in the world and to make a young woman of her class and generation, she decided to become an actress and ends up running away with the star of her show who is an austrian citizen. when the war broke out she realized that as well and became the officer in the women's branch of the raf where she's involved in the aerial reconnaissance analysis and she did the detail of allied operations, sh

they were hoping the soviet union would go first so that the soviet union would accidentally establishresident for owing into outer space. not long after that the satellite they were working on got launched and we could tell exactly i should say quite persuasively with the soviet military buildup look like including a number of rockets they had. nevertheless the sputnik open the way for opposition to the eisenhower did administration in preparation for the 1960 presidential campaign. the scandal known as the missile gap the democrats were accusing the eisenhower administration of failing to keep up with the huge lead the soviet union allegedly had in rockets and nuclear weapons and that kind of thing. turned out to be fiction. we were way ahead of the soviet union and the only way we could eventually tell that her by the two programs eisenhower initiated in the satellite program for reconnaissance purposes. >> your version of the story may be think he must have had some pretty good lawyers on this team advising him. leading the service gophers will set the precedent for what we want wh

same down, the cutoff was the chief radiologist in the soviet union's ministry of health. he was sent to the polygon as a government representative. he remembers meeting with soviet officials on one particular day in 1957. last by michel, it worked as a political question through brittania that many of the young we traded by. got their richard quickly delude you gotta stop me with people early start. i spy way more in with the yeah. you might appear the nurse was in the machine. they got the aftermath of the mullah evolved. but this one got the act of congress. that is but then you look at public should split a slaughter fish. can annie guest a pretty many good. they're going to look at gaining the law as the valar. the move was not i get that when you word a deer for you in your ears, james. that city year dr. brown chernoff was finally signed to head a medical team investigating the effects of radiation on the public eye. serious health problems from anemia to high incidence of cancer. schizophrenia which sometimes resulted in suicide cover. the report was duly sent to mo

the train carrying the first american ambassador to the soviet union crossed the polish-soviet border in a late december afternoon. the deserted forest of the border zone crowded the single tracks on either side, silent, snow covered and forbidden. next to the barbed wire stood a lone, century tower in the clearing and on top of it was the dim figure of a polish soldier with a gun and fixed bayonet and his great coat turned up against the intense cold back in the days before global warming. the train slowed down at a little cottage besides the tracks and the soviet border guards with the long, snug overcoats and the blue caps of the secret police came onboard. a few minutes later there were lights and voices outside the windows and the train pulled up to the station. people crowded around. the individual who turned out to be the foreign officer's agent in minsk delivered a ceremonious little speech of welcome and it goes on. i set up the whole first night looking at the train window, and to me, this first contact with the soviet union has an exceptional and in the greater command of t

she breaks off the affair and comes back to the soviet union. leaving kathleen to do it for him, their relationship between kathleen and abel is interesting, they're all colleagues or business partners in a way. so the affair is over for now but kathleen is writing to pamela as a friend april usually writes to her but other people are also running to pamela from the conference including the head of the raf who is deeply enamored of pamela shows up at the conference and she's also having a relationship with red anderson who is the american representative so everybody follows pamela and brings these incredibly rich letters to my story and of course sarah is in a relationship with the american fastener to the uk which has been left out of the conference in part because of his political views which are different at this time when is very beginning strenuously for the polls and so he is also left at home after the polls and then fdr is having to dispute his relationship with lucy mercer which is ongoing and not in the traditional sense of an affair a

it's a long story but he was not allowed to reenter the soviet union.the only american ambassador ever expelled in the whole u.s./russia history. so dulles saw him as a screw up. the new administration came in in january '53, and kennan still expected he would be appointed to some high position in the administration, not ambassador but some high position, and dulles basically had left kennan twisting in the wind, didn't appoint him to any position, and didn't let him know that he was not going to be appointed so kennan was literally waiting for the phone to ring. all his friends were appointed to positions, and he was not hearing anything. he was in absolute agony, so dulles is really turning the knife, and finally he called him in to the state department and said he was sorry, there was no niche. the most famous strategist of american foreign policy and there's no niche for him. there's another aspect for that, and that is the republicans, when the republicans are reasoning for president in 1952, similar to elections now, each was trying to -- the demo

the soviet union launched its first artificial satellite into space.at this painting and think those brushstrokes must have provided some relief during those times of great controversy and crisis. >> host: we will go back to that. people talk about october surprise, 1956 your grandfather got two huge ones. we will go ahead, for the audience if you have any questions send them through the chat room, we got yours and we will get to the korean conflict later. next picture is? that is the you. >> guest: i look terribly thoughtful and he looks very kind. i like that picture because i want people to know he had some very tough decisions and very dark times during our history. when you think about what he saw and what he had to order during the war but i think as a family member and an analyst it is remarkable. it says a lot about his character. >> host: one of the hardest things to do, to make those decisions, to know at best so many people will die and at the worst you don't even succeed at when you're trying to accomplish and even more people die. people w

britain is weaker by the soviet union is significantly stronger. when sarah arise with the father of the money. malta where they see fdr for the first time she sent to something has changed about him. he's not as close in warm as he once had been and she writes to her mother wondering whether it's his health. she doesn't know but she is, in fact, spot on but she also suppress he is moved away a little from us which he is that and it's very difficult for churchill to accept. he wants tougher private meeting with the fdr before they meet with stalin. fdr to stop what to do so he allows anna to run interference saying we are going to make stalin think we are giving up on it but in reality he does want to meet with churchill in part because he's exhausted it also because he wants to build this bond with stalin like yes with churchill earlier and he thinks he can do this through touchy-feely politics as he calls it and make more personal appeal on a personal connection to stalin in hopes of securing the participation in the postwar international order.

the soviet union and the united states.was an exneither a program that we had in the united states for our future lal weapons across the board. so i aagreed to carry out the commitment to meet with him. i was fully prepared because of this to sit down at the negotiating table with him to argument for how two nations could mutually reduce the threshold. it was a major challenge that i think turned out to be successful. >> he took american policy to the doorsteps of communist china. >> it was the final blow to communism, markism. to get the other communist leaders to agree that human rights was a right for people on a worldwide basis, was a major establishment. there was no question that the ford administration had a major impact on the collapse of the soviet union and the allies. >> he would also invite many leaders to the white house. they became elegant moments for millions of people that will never meet and are focused on the relationships of a few individuals. grand rapids became the host and hostest of an entire nation.

same down the cutoff was the chief radiologist in the soviet union's ministry of health he was sent to the polygon as a government representative he remembers meeting with soviet officials on one particular day in 1957 last by michelle it worked as a political question for. brittania but what should one. of the young we've got there. richard. delude you could put a stop me with people early but i spy a way but more in with that yeah you might appear the nurse who was in the machine they got the aftermath of the mullah evolved but this we've got act of congress that is but then you look at public should. split a slaughter fish can any. guest a pretty many. good they're going to look at gaining. the law as the vote as a bold move was not. when you worry dear. for you in your years james that city year. dr brown chernoff was finally signed to head a medical team investigating the effects of radiation on the public eye. serious health problems from anemia to high incidence of cancer schizophrenia which sometimes resulted in suicide and cover. the report was duly sent to moscow and then dis

with soviet union both democrats and republicans understood that the soviet union was an enemy. that the soviet union had intentions that were contrary to america intentions. and we had this cold war people realized we were in a cold war. the chinese have done it quite differently. they've basically bought into our culture. they've bought off a lot of colleges and universities that is the academic and lek chul many bought off chunk of the democrat party that's including the biden family. but into the culture, they're into hollywood, they're into professional sports like nba nike, we have corporatist in america whether it is bloomberg or other who is defend china because they have all of these business interest or they want business interests. they see a consumer bill of 1.had billion people we're at a cross roads here aren't we? j i think we're at incredible cross roads in many ways we have missed it and allowed chinaing to into the wto. you know we decidedded to that because we thought we would try engagement and i believe that engagement can work but that i think you also have

for the first time, the people of the soviet union could read the views of an american leader in fullres of official duty, the president was able to enjoy the pleasures of family life. his two small children became favorites of the cameramen. caroline at her fourth birthday in late november and baby brother john had his first a few days earlier. here's caroline as she tried to snatch a few extra moments with her busy father. kennedy planned urgent new moves in international trade late in the year to gain the support of -- late in the year. to gain the support of the business community, he addressed the national association of manufacturers. pres. kennedy: for the world of trade is no longer the same. some 90% of the free world, industrial production may soon be concentrated in two great markets -- the united states of america and an expanded european common market. >> he also went before the united states labor to tell the country's need for new trade proposals. here he talks at the afl-cio meeting in florida. pres. kennedy: the european market is a tremendous market. it has more peop

lying was the stock in trade of the soviet union. and i think that's really the major overarching leadership failure that complicated this . >> you very much adam. the next question have to do more with about journalism and the writing process and gaining access to some very difficult information. over the course of your presentation you identified people you interviewed in two locations. just for those who are interested in the process of writing and the craft of writing a story, can you just explain or highlight how you gain access to some of your sources, the complexity and the challenges associated with that and how you wove together interviews, materials, secondary sources of primary sources. >> that's a question. so the short answer is that first of all, you have to understand it took years to break up the soviet union so the restrictions on talking to those people were there officially. at the state level they cease to exist. secondly, i had a lot of help and i worked hard to find these people. so i worked with a fixer in kiev

another ussr against the call for peace, for a nuclear test ban, soviet union broke a three-year moratoriumxploded 50 nuclear devices, one of more than 50 megatons. kennedy, nevertheless wanted to attain a workable ban treaty. >> despite the evidence that shows very clearly that the soviet union was preparing its own test, while pretending to negotiate their cessation at geneva, the united states maintains its determination to achieve a world free from the fear of nuclear tests and nuclear war. we'll continue to be ready to sign the nuclear test treaty, which provides for adequate inspection and control. the facts necessary for such a treaty are all evident. the argument on both sides have all been made. a draft is on the table, and our negotiators are ready to meet. >> congo, a problem for the president. the conflict involved internal leaders east and west and the united nations. mr. kennedy firmly supported u.n. efforts to keep the congo a united nations, and sent u.s. planes to aid in transportation when fighting pro out. in september u.n. secretary general went to the congo to try to ar

breaking off the affair when he becomes ambassador to the soviet union. their relationship, they are more like colleagues or business partners. other people from the comfort including raf, deeply enamored, a 40 page letter to her in the conference. everybody, and credibly rich letters. sarah, the american ambassador to the uk left out of the conference in part because of his political views and for the polls, not invited to the conference so he is left at home and fdr, it is ongoing and not in the traditional sense, certainly an emotional affair. it is one he asked his daughter to keep from eleanor because she knows how awful it was for eleanor when she learned of this but sees her father is dying and is desperate to do anything to get some measure of peace, relaxation, in the last days of his life and agrees to keep his secret, horrible position for any child to be in. >> was there an affair who with anna roosevelt's -- >> a very brief fling with fdr junior's younger brother. the letter between kathleen and fdr junior on the trans atlantic trip from wash

they break off the affair when he becomes the investment to the soviet union. the relationship between kathleen and abel a very interesting for the almost like colleagues and business partners in a way. so the affair is over for now. but kathleen is still writing to pamela as her friend. and he occasionally writes to her. but other people are often running putting the head of the raf, peter portal who's deeply enamored with pamela writes a 30 page letter to her to show off everything at the conference which is also having a relationship with. anderson one of the american representative. so everyone is following pamela and we have incredibly rich letters to write as historians. of course there is in a relationship with the american bass or to the uk which has been left out of the conference in part to his political views which has diverted just to roosevelt at the time when it is advocating for the poles have not been invited to the conference. and so he is also left at home. and then fdr is having his relationship with lucy mercer which began when anna was lagr

between soviet union and the united states.n i was in congress i was one of the experts on military funding, including a program that we had in the united states for our nuclear weapons across the board. so when i agreed to carry out the commitment to meet with mr. brezhnev, i was fully prepared because of this background to sit down at the negotiating team with him, to argue how the two nations could mutually reduce the nuclear threshold. get the other communist leaders to agree that human rights watch was a right for there is no question that thes ard administration had major impact on the collapse of the soviet union and its warsaw pact allies. >> he would also invite many leaders to the white house. these became the elegant moments when the links between millions of people are focused on the relationships of a few individuals. of grand rapids became the host and hostess of an entire nation. as president, he had the pain of ordering the evacuation of saigon, and the pleasure of presiding over our greatest national celebratio

the soviet union was an enemy and that the soviet union had attentions that were contrary to america'sntention and we had this cold war and people realized we were in the cold war and the chinese have done it differently. they basically bought into our culture and fought off colleges and universities with academics and intellectuals and they don't defend them on tv and they bought off chunks of the democratic party and that is for sure, including, in my view, the biden family but into the culture they are into hollywood and professional sports like the nba and nike. we have corporate's in america whether bloomberg or america who defend china because they had these business interests or want business interests and they see a potential consumer pool of 1.4 billion people and we are at a crossroads here, aren't we? >> i think we are at an incredible crossroads and in many ways we missed it and we've allowed china to go into the wto. we decided to do that because we thought we would try to engagement and i believe engagement can work but i thank you also have to? it. very quickly maybe two

obviouslyhoice was the soviet union. supportsun yat-sen, we for the workers and peasants movements and collaboration with the chinese communist party. its first that had convention in shanghai is big and robust enough to play a major role in what will be the new chinese government. that is the government of the kmt. notice who gets sent to the soviet union to study. been senthis son had before and now he is sent. thatll also have a son goes in studies and becomes a military officer in germany. , with themes back help of russian advisors, they will establish the long pole military academy. it's another place you can go and visit. if you go to gong show -- if you uongjo, it is a tourist site. it's also a chinese navy base. so you get to see if you go there. what we now have being formed in the southern part of the country, where the government , andis in beijing opposition. that opposition has both communists and nationalists, working together in the first united front. sun yat-sen dies. the most powerful man in southern c

the soviet union and the united states. when i was in congress, i was one of the experts on military funding, military programs, including the program we had in the united states for our nuclear weapons across the board. so i agreed to carry out the commitment and meet with russia, i was fully prepared because of his background to sit down at the negotiating table with them to argue how the two nations could mutually reduce the nuclear threshold. it was a major challenge i turned out to be a very successful negotiation. >> and other bold strokes ford took american policy to the doorsteps of communist china and eastern blocks of communist countries. >> the helsinki accord was the final blow to communism and marxism behind the iron curtain. to get them to agree that human rights was a right for a people on a worldwide basis was a major accomplishment. there is no question that the ford administration had a major impact on the collapse in the soviet union and the warsaw pact allies. >> he would also invite many leaders to the

soviet union and the united states.ongress, i was one of the experts on military funding, military programs, including a program that we had in the united states for our nuclear weapons across the board. so when i agreed to carry out the commitment to meet with mr. brezhnev, i was fully prepared, because of this background, to sit down at the negotiating team with him to argue how the two nations could mutually reduce the nuclear threshold. threshol. it was a major challenge that i think turned down to -- turned out to be a successful negotiation. strokes,er broad -- helsinkid: the accord was the final blow took him in his marxism behind the iron curtain. to get mr. brezhnev and the other comeliness leaders to agree that human rights was a right for our people on a worldwide basis was a major accompaniment. was no question that the ford administration had a major thect on the collapse of soviet union and his warsaw pact allies. >> he would also invite many leaders to the white house. these became the elegant moments whe

needed something, which was an easing of the cold war so that he could reform socialism in the soviet union. so gorbachev and reagan made the proverbial odd couple, but what's interesting is they read each other in a moment of history where soviet weaknesses were really the key thing that both sides understood. the soviet economy was falling apart, soviets had intervened in afghanistan in 1979. that was a fiasco. you got the chernobyl incident early in the gorbachev years. the soviet union is swirling the drain, and both sides are able to see that they have a vested interest in doing something together to reduce at least nuclear weapons. here reagan's idealism comes back. maybe we could get rid of them all, and gorbachev and reagan are sitting at the table and and the advisers are thinking, good god, no, that's a terrible idea. besides that, reagan won't give up the one thing that is his great idea, which is the famous strategic defense initiative, or star wars, as it was mocking. this was a technological idea, the theory he could shoot down missiles and create a bubble around the united st

it really re-created that period of life in the soviet union with fantastic veracity . and it looked amazing. but you know, as someone who engaged on this project in great part to try and address a lot of the minutes and exaggerations that had grown up around the share noble story in the years since it happened , i was pretty disappointed by the way it misrepresented and sensationalized events that really in my opinion did not need exaggerating or sensationalizing as the truth is really quite astonishing enough. so i guess that's what i say. >> thank you very much. the next question is culpability and the question we were asked, when useful to people on the ground, people are reflecting back years later. did you find there was a sense of them blaming the ussr and since share noble now is part of a different country, did you feel that currently is being looked at as human error or predominately as a former regime so culpability from your perspective? >> i think that to generalize i would say that people view it as people in the ukraine i should say view it as part of a l

that's how they see themselves as superior to the soviet union. it plays a huge role, on the flip side it also creates a kind of dilemma, a kind of problem, you might even say it's not opportunity. but for african americans, for example, on the one hand this dominant culture pretty much does not represent them. they are not television shows that show african american characters. there are radio programs, there are some television programs that you have african american characters but they are in dead it to the old traditions of blackface, to racist character tours. they don't have a representation in the broader mask culture in a massive positive way. at the same time, the cold war provides them for an opportunity to organize. if america is going to stand for freedom, whatever that means, the freedom to buy all the appliances you on or listen to whatever music you want or choose your own political representatives, african americans have a place to put pressure. they have a global stage if you will, if the cold war gives them this. they can use tha

finally he proclaimed himself's marxist-leninist he would pattern his government after that of the soviet unionone of kennedy's bold new programs was the peace corps. here he tells the purpose in his own words after signing the bill. >> i today signed an executive order providing for the establishment of a peace corps on a temporary pilot basis. the core will be a pool of trained men and women sent overseas by the united states government or to private institutions and organizations to help foreign countries meet urgent needs for skilled manpower. we are sending americans abroad who are qualified to do a job, going to put particular emphasis on those men and women who have skills in teaching, agriculture. i am hopeful it will be a source of satisfaction to americans in a contribution to world peace. >> reporter: he implemented his plan to help foreign countries by naming george mcgovern to administer a food for peace program. under mcgovern's direction the agriculture department sent tons upon tons of food to new nations who need strength to remain independent and free. year-long he emphasizes

some of the agents he exposed we re that some of the agents he exposed were later executed by the soviet union rs union. he has claimed in previous years that he was not forced to become a soviet spy. he did it for moral reasons. he said he became a committed communist during the korean war. he was in captivity in northern korea for three years. that was where he became a communist, where he beat started working for the kgb, and just under a decade he was passing a lot of information to moscow, information about western intelligence operations, like the secret tunnel that was built under the soviet sector in berlin to listen into soviet military communications. he told the soviets all about that and exposed agents. in the ayes of britain, he was a traitor. but in the ayes of russia he was a hero. and only last month, president putin sent him a birthday ca rd president putin sent him a birthday card celebrating him on his 98th birthday, and mr putin sent his condolences today. it is really interesting because, if you go through what the kremlin leader has said about treachery in the past, he sa

the soviet union is swirling the drain. both sides are able to see that they have a vested interest to do something in order to reduce nuclear weapons. here reagan's idealism come back. maybe we can get rid of them all. gorbachev and reagan are sitting at the table and reagan says get rid of them all. the advisers are thinking that is a terrible idea. besides that, reagan won't give up the one thing that is his great idea which is the , strategic defense initiative or star wars as it was mockingly called. but this was a technological idea. it could in theory shoot down missiles and create a bubble around the united states. gorbachev says you have to get rid of that or we can't negotiate. so the negotiation comes to not. in 1987, you have the first great big breakthrough. the inf agreement. i want to remind people that this was a huge deal. the idea that you can have a human personal connection with , the soviet general secretary in mikhail gorbachev. he came to the u.s. and seemed like a young, intelligent european, that yo

having watched the soviet union, totalitarian authority and states struggle when they reach criticalchina then there is in the us, it shows that those inequality issues are even more pronounced and keeping the show on the road is not easy and i assume that one of the reasons for the crackdown of authoritarianism is the realisation inside china that thejuggernaut as is the realisation inside china that the juggernaut as it becomes more powerful, people's expectations rise. so far, the beneficiaries of the last 30 yea rs a re beneficiaries of the last 30 years are all grateful to the way the system has worked. we have to end in a moment, sadly. on this thought, we began with a discussion of a pandemic and we talked about the rise and fall of empires and i wonder, as you consider your historical work, where you end up feeling that we humans as a species are heading ina that we humans as a species are heading in a positive direction, are you optimistic about where we're going, given what we have seen of our past or argue deeply pessimistic? we're talking any child born in the world has a

this new woke politics doesn't need secret police to enforce the orthodoxy like soviet union.rn media and big tech companies to insure any infringement is punished through public shaming or cancellation. as we look ahead to the challenges and opportunities of 2021 reducing creeping totalitarianism may be most important task of all. will be back here on "wsj at large." thank you for joining us. have a happy and blessed new year. >> "barron's roundtable" sponsored by invesco qq. ♪ jack: welcome to a special year-end edition of "barron's roundtable" where we will look past the headlines and focus on the year ahead. i'm jack otter. coming up we begin the new year with a new president and long-awaited covid vaccine. where do markets go next. ian bremer will be here. later we look at some of the investment ideas in "20/20". which panned out and which flamed out. we're looking at the best worst performers of the next year and

could call it -- he didn't use the language, soviet challenge but the challenge presented by the soviet union, effort sized if we want to understand the soviet challenge we have to understand the sources of soviet conduct and they're bound up with two sets of ideas, marxism lennonism and 19th century russian nationalism. so it was not only ken was insisting on the connection between ideas and exercise of power but pointing out not one but two streams of thought. that two points from the conclusion of the long telegram struck me. one was cannon's insis answer the that in order to prevail in the challenge of the age, to defend freedom, it would be necessary for the united states to continue to adhere to the principles that had made it strong in a great nation. again he doesn't quite use this language but these are the principles of the american founding in our constitutional tradition. finally another point that leapt out at me was he said we don't understand the soviet union well enough. we need to train a new generation of public servants, scholars policy intellectuals who are immersed in the

for roosevelt the most important issue is how to bring the soviet union into the war in the pacific. the sovieted and japanese have had a packed of neutrality and they don't know if the atomic bomb would be a success so may be a chance to need a ground base in the japanese islands so he wants to bring the receive yets in in exchange for territorial concessions to save american lives. and finally the matter of the found united nations. he does believe it's possible to' achieve peace in europe for a 50 years and sees the way to bring the soavity union into the international community after the end of the war when a common enemy is defeated and these are four of the issues weighing on them and you can see that in their faces and also another photograph of-the-same scene which is take from a slightly different perspective, it's -- and you can see the two women off to the side, of course three women in this picture, sarah churchill and cath recent harriman, sarah was 30, kathleen was 27 and anna was 38 and it's remarkable to think these women were there and so struck by the presence and wh

as it happens, having watched the soviet union, totalitarian and authoritarian states struggle as theysingle billionaire in china and now more billionaires in china than there are in the us shows that those inequality issues are even more pronounced in a country of 1.4, 1.5 billion people, and keeping the show on the road is not easy. and i assume that one of the reasons for that crackdown of authoritarianism is the realisation inside china that thejuggernaut, as it becomes more powerful, people's expectations rise. but, so far, the beneficiaries of the last 30 years are all grateful to the way that the systems worked. we have to end in a moment, sadly. i just want to end with this thought. we began with a discussion of a pandemic. we've talked about the rise and fall of empires. ijust wonder, as you consider your historical work, whether you end up feeling that we humans, as a species, are heading in a positive direction, ie are you optimistic about where we're going, given what you've seen of our past? or are you actually a pessimist? you know, while we're talking, any child that's b

ford and jimmy carter had fallen into dangerous disarray and a dangerous cold war against the soviet union. reagan knew, reagan had a choice -- he could balance the budget and create more opportunities for the soviets to take other countries around the world, or have a budget upset and improve our military posture during the cold war and freed millions of people from around the world. i was thought it was a small trade-off for the millions, billions spent, in exchange for millions of people to be -- to gain their freedom around the world. texas, democrats line, you are on. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: good morning. from a real humble background. worked as a nurse until she was 80, and my daddy worked for a truck driver until he passed away. what i want to say is that the division that has took presence with trump, everything trump has done has not been wrong, but the slavery,because of what is it going to take for us to go forward and to be stronger ? of course the new administration is coming in, but what is it going to take? are ina lot of people civil war because white

and one of the soviet union secret cities we discovered a lab that had developed pathogens that could do irreparable harm to the nations food supply. lk about an evil empire. i caution my colleagues that threat still exists. even as we endear to continue the worldwide fight against covid-19. it has takenve over 20 years to respond to this threat with a biological containment and research lab and we are still a not done. i've put a lifetime of work into the nationa national bio and age defense facility home of kansas state university. it will soon serve as the first ne of defense to protect american agriculture and the world's food supply. i've also been privileged to serve on the health committee with regards to rural healthcare and finally i think they want somebody there to say wait a minute 15 years ago we tried that and it didn't work. maybe we ought to start over. as i move out of my office, formerly a museum of picture muf awards and stuff that we all collect all thatma remains are e walls full of memories and stories all of which are classified. however i have my bumper s