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Russia, Ukraine and the NATO question Feb 28, 2022

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Today, on the ground in Kyiv, where the battle for control continues. And NATO 101: how NATO came to be, how its mission has evolved since the end of the Cold War, and why two nonmembers are challenging the way the security organization is seen.

Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the military alliance of mainly Western countries united by a mutual defense treaty. But post-Cold War tension between the West and Russia over NATO is at the heart of the current crisis. On today’s episode of Post Reports, we ask where NATO fits into global conflict, and how the history of the organization informs geopolitical relations today.

Since 1999, 14 nations have joined NATO, including Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and the Baltic states. Russia has demanded that the alliance stop expanding eastward — and that it bar Ukraine from joining. Ukraine’s government has said that it would like to enter the alliance, along with other nations that were once part of or allied with the former Soviet Union.

In speeches this month, President Biden has vowed that the United States would meet its commitments under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which says that an attack on one is an attack on all. But, since Ukraine isn’t a member, what does that even mean for the country? And for the rest of the world?

“As these countries have grown in number, it’s even more questionable whether we would send our troops to defend these countries,” says Sarah Kreps, professor of government, law and public policy and director of the Tech Policy Lab at Cornell University. “We would need some real leadership to help the public understand what the issue is, and explain the consequences of inaction.”

Follow the latest from Ukraine here.

Getting to know Ketanji Brown Jackson Feb 25, 2022

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Today, a deep dive into the life of Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus,a dispatch from Ukraine, where Russian forces are pressing closer to the capital, Kyiv.

On Friday morning, President Biden announced his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court: federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Jackson is a former clerk for Justice Stephen G. Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman and the first former federal public defender on the Supreme Court. Legal affairs reporter Ann Marimow on Jackson’s past, and what she’d bring to the court.

Plus, a dispatch from Ukraine, where Russia is advancing on the capital, Kyiv. Our foreign correspondent Siobhan O’Grady reports.

Russia’s assault on Ukraine Feb 24, 2022

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On Thursday, Russia launched attacks on cities across Ukraine, from Kyiv to Kharkiv. Today on Post Reports, what it’s like on the ground there, Putin’s calculus, and why the United States and Europe feel powerless to stop Russia.

Ukrainians in cities and towns across the country woke up to the sound of explosions early Thursday morning as Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine.

On Thursday afternoon, President Biden announced further sanctions against Russia, saying, “We have no intention of fighting Russia. We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our Allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory.”

But will those sanctions make any difference?

“I don't see any sanctions that are going to, especially at this point, prevent him from trying to execute his plan,” reporter Paul Sonne said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He added: “This is a horrific turn of events in world history. Russia is an incredibly powerful military, and it's unleashing its full military might against a neighboring, much less powerful state. And we're witnessing that in real time.

“We're seeing Ukrainians suffering deeply, fearing for their lives, fleeing their cities, moving their children into bomb shelters. And because Russia is a nuclear power, people in the United States and in Europe are feeling quite powerless to do anything about it.”

We also hear from our reporters on the ground in Ukraine about what these early days of attacks feel like for the people caught in the crossfire.

Follow The Post’s coverage of the assault on Ukraine here.

Inside a police training conference Feb 23, 2022

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Much of America wants policing to change. But these self-proclaimed experts in police training tell officers they’re doing just fine. Today on Post Reports, we take you inside a police training conference.

For more than a year now, Robert Klemko has been covering calls for police reform across the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

But last fall, he started wondering — have these calls for reform changed anything about the way police are trained?

He went looking for a police training conference, and he found the Street Cop Training Conference in Atlantic City in October. The speakers included the right-wing political commentator Tomi Lahren, former law enforcement officers and military personnel. Robert wasn’t allowed to attend — but he did obtain a recording of the conference, and he shares it with us today.

If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

‘The beginning of a Russian invasion’ Feb 22, 2022

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Today on Post Reports – did Russia just invade Ukraine? Foreign correspondent Isabelle Khurshudyan says it depends on who you ask. Plus, Michael Robinson Chavez on what it’s like reporting from the eastern front.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that he is recognizing two separatist regions of Ukraine as independent. He ordered troops to “perform peacekeeping functions” in those regions – which the United States and other allies say amounts to an invasion. On Tuesday, Biden called it a “flagrant violation of international law” and announced a first round of sanctions, while saying he still hopes diplomacy is possible.

Moscow correspondent Isabelle Khurshudyan reports from eastern Ukraine on what this means for Ukrainians, and how far its allies will go to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Later in the show, we hear a harrowing story from photojournalist Michael Robinson Chavez who was reporting from the front lines in Ukraine.

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Happy Presidents’ Day! Or … not? Feb 21, 2022

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Students, teachers and historians reflect on what has changed – and what should change – about the way we teach presidential history today.

Americans are grappling with the complex legacies of former presidents.

In just the past few weeks, a Theodore Roosevelt statue came down in New York City and a high school in New Jersey named after Woodrow Wilson officially decided to drop the president’s name.

Today’s episode is hosted by Lilian Cunningham and looks to students, teachers and presidential historians to illuminate what has – and hasn’t – changed about how the presidency is taught in the classroom.

We’re joined by Professors Barbara Perry of the University of Virginia and Julian Zelizer of Princeton University; Clint Smith, author of “How the Word is Passed”; and the AP government and politics class of teacher Michael Martirone.

To learn more about the life and legacy of every single American president, check out “The Presidential” podcast: Listen here.

If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners – one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

Road-tripping through a divided state Feb 18, 2022

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With midterms ahead, both parties are tryings to connect with voters. But what if voters just want politics to stop feeling like an existential death match? Plus, a tribute to “Arthur,” the kids show ending after 25 years.

This year’s midterm elections have Democrats and Republicans facing tough questions about how to reach voters. Back in November, there was a test case that offered some insight to both parties: the Virginia governor’s race.

Businessman Glenn Youngkin was the first Republican to be elected governor of Virginia in nearly a decade. The race was viewed nationally as both a test of Joe Biden’s presidency and whether Republicans could mount a return after losing the White House.

Washington Post Magazine reporter David Montgomery wanted to know what led voters in a state that voted for Biden by big margins in 2020 to suddenly swing right in 2021. So he set out on a road trip across Virginia to talk to voters and to hear how the heated rhetoric between both political parties has influenced local communities.

After 25 years, the animated children’s show “Arthur” is ending. Producer Ariel Plotnick speaks with the author of the original books and the longtime executive producer of the show about what made “Arthur” so relatable for kids and parents alike.

The Sandy Hook settlement Feb 17, 2022

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How some of the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting reached a settlement with Remington Arms nearly a decade after the massacre. Plus, why a convoy of semi-trucks descended on downtown Ottawa three weeks ago — and never left.

When the families of nine of the victims of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School began their lawsuit against the gunmaker of the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, their goal was to spare other families the pain that had upended their own lives.

On Tuesday, the victims’ families marked a victory in that effort with the announcement of a $73 million settlement with Remington Arms, which manufactures the Bushmaster.

“This lawsuit is really being viewed as an opening, an example of what is possible,” says reporter Kim Bellware. “But also, lawyers are saying this should be a wake-up call for other people who are in business with gun manufacturers … to let them know that these gun companies can’t just operate how they want, and that being in business with companies like this can be very expensive.”

Later in the show, we take you to Ottawa, where thousands of demonstrators in semi-trucks have been parked in downtown for weeks in protest of vaccine mandates. They also blocked the Ambassador Bridge, a key crossing into the United States, wreaking economic havoc on both countries.

Now their demands have grown to include lifting all pandemic restrictions – and authorities say some have ties to extremist groups. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act for the first time in the country’s history in an attempt to restore order.

Post reporter Amanda Coletta is in Ottawa watching the protests unfold.

How private equity is changing America’s suburbs Feb 16, 2022

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Today on Post Reports, how one company made millions by scooping up homes across the United States, then renting them back to people who could no longer afford to buy them.

Last year investors bought nearly 1 in 7 homes sold in America’s top metropolitan areas, the most in at least two decades, according to data from the realty company Redfin and an analysis by The Washington Post. Those purchases come at a time when would-be buyers across the country are seeing wildly escalating prices, raising the question of what impact investors are having on prices for everyone else.

Today we visit a block in the suburbs of Nashville that used to be the perfect place for first-time homebuyers. Then, global investors bought in. As part of the Pandora Papers investigation, financial reporter Peter Whoriskey explains how a private equity-backed company called Progress Residential reaps big profits from stressed American renters amid a national affordability crisis.

A test for Kamila Valieva – and the Olympics Feb 15, 2022

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Kamila Valieva is arguably the best female figure skater in the world. She’s also a 15-year-old at the center of an Olympics doping scandal. After the skater’s emotional performance Tuesday, we talk about doping and her controversial coach.

Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old figure skating phenom from Russia, arrived in Beijing poised for a coronation, with a potential Olympic title affirming her status as the best women’s skater of her time. But now at the center of the doping controversy that has rocked these Games, Valieva finished her short program and brought her hands over her eyes, overwhelmed by a week in which her eligibility for this competition was in jeopardy – and is still being called into question.

Health reporter Yasmeen Abutaleb explains the doping scandal andthe questions being raised about Kamila Valieva’s coach, Eteri Tutberidze. The Russian coach has helped revolutionize women's figure skating, but the doping controversy surrounding her latest star has put Tutberidze’s methods under an unwelcome spotlight.

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