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Ariel shared an amazing and very personal story of what it was like to live in the Soviet Union as a Jewish person and what it took to escape. How at the age of 15 he was pressured to denounce his parents as traitors, and what happened when he refused.

In today\\u2019s episode, we talk about how what is happening in Russia today is intrinsically connected to the collapse of the Soviet Union hence the title of the episode The Unfalling Empire.

For those of you who don\\u2019t follow Russian politics closely, one name that comes up in the conversation that you need to know is the name of Russia\\u2019s most prominent opposition politician, Alexey Navalny. For the last 15 years, Navalny has been an increasingly uncomfortable thorn in the side of Putin\\u2019s regime. He investigates corrupt politicians and makes youtube films that are very popular online. The most recent one, which focused on Putin\\u2019s Palace was viewed over 100M times.

Russia\\u2019s political field has been cleared out of essentially any opposition - politicians who refuse to side with Putin, end up in jail or dead. And so, Navalny is this last man standing. And in the summer of 2020, he was poisoned with a chemical weapon no less, a nerve agent Novichok. He miraculously survived and upon his return to Moscow, he was immediately arrested which sparked the most recent wave of protests all over Russia about a month ago. Around that time, there was a lot of talk about new sanctions against Russia - but that\\u2019s where it stood at the time of the recording.

This conversation with Ariel Cohen will give you a bit of a historic and global context to understand the situation.

Let us know what you think about the show. Call our Google Voice at (213) 973-3813 and leave a message or email a voice memo to wtapodconnect@gmail.com.

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FIND ARIEL COHEN:

https://www.arielcohen.com/\\xa0 and on Twitter @Dr_Ariel_Cohen

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FIND WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

\\xa0www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on TikTok

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ASK YOUR FRIENDLY RUSSIAN on TikTok

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MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick \\xa0www.benbostick.com

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ABOUT WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions that immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents\' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love NPR, This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read Forbes, LA Times, The Atlantic, and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter addict but are contemplating TikTok, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an alien and you know that they came to this country to build and contribute - this podcast is for you.

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