In today's episode, I thought I'd shed some light on "the other side" of the conflict.

I felt the need to also reach out to my Russian friends in order to create an episode sharing their voices and experience regarding the war in Ukraine. Specifically, I wanted to ask them three questions.

What are you hearing in the news in Russia?

What are your thoughts on the conflict and the thoughts of those around you?

And, how has the conflict impacted your life?

The goal of this episode isn't to shame, blame, or vilify Russian people, but to instead share their personal views and experiences in order to hopefully give us a deeper insight into how Russians and those with mixed Russian-Ukrainian heritage view the war and how it's being sold to them by Putin.

So, this war is incredibly complex in how it came about. But before we go any further, I do want to firmly put on the record that I believe the war is absolutely disgusting and a needlessly aggressive move on behalf of Putin and the Kremlin.

Check out these links for more info:

Julia Ioffe interview on PBS Amanpour & Company - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8Q8ufsEPM

Johnny Haris - The Real Reason Putin is Invading Ukraine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJNtfyq3TDE

PBS Frontline links to interviews from Putin's Road to War and The Putin Files:

Masha Gessen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk9igTqTx9s

Julia Ioffe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1HWNcLDK88

Vladimir Kara-Murza - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIibXQU_dgo