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In this week\\u2019s episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Politics at Princeton University and of Russian Studies and History at NYU. Dr. Cohen has received several scholarly honors over his lengthy career, including two Guggenheim fellowships and a National Book Award nomination, and was, for many years, a consultant and on-air commentator on Russian affairs for CBS News. Former CBS evening news anchor Dan Rather has referred to Stephen Cohen as \\u201cone of, if not the premier expert on the old Soviet Union, Russia, and Russian history in al of what we call Western civilization.\\u201d

We live in dangerous times, not only in international relations but also in domestic affairs. Russian fear-mongering and gratuitous insults leveled at Russian President, Vladimir Putin serve as powerful political litmus tests in contemporary America. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a presidential candidate for the Democratic party, was recently accused by former Secretary of State and two-time presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of being a \\u201cRussian Asset.\\u201d Meanwhile, Donald Trump is consistently chided for what his critics assert is \\u201cthe conspicuous absence of any criticism of Vladimir Putin.\\u201d\\xa0

In the years since Russia\\u2019s occupation and annexation of Crimea, Stephen Cohen has become, in the words of one writer, \\u201cthe most controversial Russia expert in America.\\u201d He\\u2019s been openly critical of NATO expansion since the idea was first proposed in the early-to-mid 90\\u2019s, and though this criticism puts him in good company, his views on Ukraine and what he sees as America\\u2019s role in inciting Russian aggression have left him marginalized and often times disparaged as a \\u201cRussian apologist.\\u201d\\xa0

Nonetheless, it is Stephen Cohen\\u2019s contention that American is now dangerously close to \\u201cWar with Russia,\\u201d the title that he has chosen for his most recent book, which consists of a series of commentaries on current affairs originally published at The Nation Magazine. He views American foreign policy towards the post-Soviet Union as not only needlessly antagonistic but recklessly endangering of American national security, putting us at the greatest risk of nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

You can access this week\\u2019s overtime segment (an early release of Demetri\\u2019s conversation with physicist Sean Carroll), transcript, and rundown through the Hidden Forces Patreon Page. All subscribers also gain access to our overtime RSS feed, which can be easily be added to your favorite podcast application.\\xa0

Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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