How To Demoralize America

Molly McKew (writer and lecturer on Russian influence and information warfare) and Chris Zappone (Digital Foreign Editor at The Age and the writer and narrator of the Dark Shining Moment podcast) join host Ron Steslow to discuss the evolution of Russian tactics since 2016 and the vulnerability of American democracy Segments to look forward to: (02:16) The state of the war  in Ukraine  (10:00) The evolution of Russian influence campaigns   (14:37) What Putin wants  (25:14) The democratic mind and future vision   (29:00) America’s role in the world  (46:00) The erosion of trust and manipulation of narratives  (59:10) The importance of national psychological defense  (1:10:00) The impact of social media on trust in media institutions  (1:13:00) Balancing healthy skepticism and toxic cynicism in meaning making institutions  (1:14:45) The challenge of finding reliable sources  (1:18:00) Russia’s goal: America eating itself alive Listen to Dark Shining Moment: https://apple.co/3Jhasz2 Follow Ron, Molly, and Chris on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/RonSteslow https://twitter.com/MollyMcKew https://twitter.com/chrizap Email your questions to podcast@politicology.com or leave us a voicemail at ‪(202) 455-4558‬  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Politics in America is transforming. We’re embarking on a new series to deepen our understanding of who we are, how we got here, and how we rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past. Ron Steslow hosts academics, behavioral economists, social psychologists, politicos, philosophers, anthropologists, journalists, poets, and storytellers—and more—to discuss America’s political present and future and dive into the deeper problems we face as a nation. Email us questions or comments: podcast@politicology.com.