The Transatlantic

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • 4.4 (7)
  • Government

Human stories about freedom and security across oceans, political divides, and intellectual traditions hosted by Bakhti Nishanov, senior policy advisor at the U.S. Helsinki Commission. This podcast is produced by the U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government commission that promotes human rights, military security, and economic cooperation in 57 countries in Europe, Eurasia, and North America.

  1. 9h ago

    Sifting Through the Ashes of Children's Books: The View from a Bombed Out Book Warehouse in Kyiv

    In August, Russian forces attacked two warehouses belonging to Ukrainian publisher Ranok Publishing, burning nearly 10 million books including 620,000 textbooks for the coming school year. On this episode of the Transatlantic, guest host Kristine Berzina joins us from Kyiv, Ukraine where she sat down with Viktor Kruglov and Bohdana Bohelska of Ranok Publishing. Viktor and Bohdana discuss what these attacks have meant for their families and business, Ukraine's schoolchildren, and the country's wartime literary culture. --- This episode is hosted by Kristine Berzina and produced by Alanna Novetsky, in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    Sifting Through the Ashes of Children's Books: The View from a Bombed Out Book Warehouse in Kyiv

  2. Jun 16

    Telling Ukraine's Story and Supporting Ukrainians Four Years After Russia's Full-Scale Invasion

    In this episode, Bakhti sits down with Nate Mook, an award-winning documentarian who has led organizations providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia's launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Mook offers a firsthand account at how the organizations he has led, including World Central Kitchen and All Hands & Hearts, have adapted to provide for Ukrainians' evolving needs over the course of the war. Bakhti and Nate also discuss why Nate began working in Ukraine, how he has rallied international support for Ukraine in a challenging media environment, and what he thinks policymakers are missing about Ukrainian society. --- Nate Mook is a seasoned leader and gifted storyteller who transforms words into action and ideas into impact. From 2018 to 2022, Nate served as the first CEO of World Central Kitchen (WCK), leading its transformation from a small operation with under $1 million in revenue to a global humanitarian powerhouse raising $500 million annually. Following his time at WCK, Nate served two years as Special Advisor on Ukraine for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. In recognition of his efforts for the Ukrainian people, Nate was awarded the Order of Merit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In 2025, Nate became CEO of All Hands & Hearts, the disaster relief nonprofit co-founded by Petra Němcová. He is also a co-founder of Hachiko Foundation, supporting cats and dogs affected by war in frontline Ukrainian communities. Nate serves on the boards of March For Our Lives, a youth-led movement against gun violence, and Save Ukraine, which has rescued over 670 children abducted by Russia. He also advises Razom for Ukraine, on its advocacy efforts. Early in his career, Nate was a technology entrepreneur and later began working in film. He produced the award-winning HBO Documentary Baltimore Rising with The Wire's Sonja Sohn. Nate is an executive producer of the 2022 Emmy-nominated film We Feed People from Ron Howard about WCK's rise. In 2015, he conceived and directed the documentary Undiscovered Haiti with José Andrés, a project co-produced with National Geographic and PBS. Nate has been a longtime collaborator with TED, helping to grow the TEDx program from its start in 2009, leading the TEDxSummit in Doha, and organizing conferences in places like Mogadishu, Baghdad, Tripoli, and Mount Everest. He was named a "Change Hero" by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for his work amplifying voices in underserved communities. When not working in disaster zones or traveling across Ukraine, Nate resides in Washington, DC, with his cat, Jinx Furdinand. --- This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky, in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    Telling Ukraine's Story and Supporting Ukrainians Four Years After Russia's Full-Scale Invasion

  3. May 19

    Coming of Age in 1968: Youth Music, Politics, and Protest Behind the Iron Curtain

    The year 1968 has become synonymous with protest and upheaval around the world. On this episode of the Transatlantic, Bakhti talks with Adrian Matus, author of the book The Long 1968 in Hungary and Romania, about what this pivotal year looked like in Hungary, Romania, and elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Bakhti and Adrian discuss how the generation of eastern Europeans born amidst World War II resisted the authoritarian systems they grew up in in uncoventional ways—through universities, literature, and even making their own instruments. Adrian then shares how the legacy of the '68ers lives on in Ukrainians under Russian occupation who are keeping their culture and identity alive using many of the same methods. --- Adrian Matus is an educator and scholar annd the Editor of the Democracy and Culture section. He defended his PhD in History at the European University Institute in 2022. Subsequently, he wrote a book entitled, "The Long 1968 in Hungary and Romania." Previously he graduated from Université Sorbonne Paris IV and Babeș-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca. From 2020 to 2022, he curated the "Communist Parties from Non-Socialist Countries" collection at the Blinken Open Society Archives, then continued researching this topic as a postdoctoral fellow at the New Europe College Bucharest. Adrian has also worked on various educational initiatives, designing history, cultural studies and social sciences syllabi for high-school students, asylum-seekers, and refugees. --- This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky and Carly Breland, in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    Coming of Age in 1968: Youth Music, Politics, and Protest Behind the Iron Curtain

  4. Apr 28

    The Dissident Playbook: Soviet Lessons for Putin's Russia

    How does the Soviet Union's approach to human rights compare to contemporary Russia? Bakhti is joined by historian Benjamin Nathans to discuss the evolution of the Soviet dissident movement, what Vladimir Putin learned from his time as a KGB agent quashing dissent in the Soviet Union, and the lessons of this period for those resisting authoritarianism today. -- Benjamin Nathans teaches and writes about Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, modern European Jewish history, and the history of human rights. Currently, he is the Endowed Term Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. His most recent book, To The Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement, was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, the Pushkin House Book Prize, the Vucinich Prize in Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, and the Zelnik Prize in History. It tells the story of dissent in the USSR from Stalin's death to the collapse of communism, exploring the idea and practice of rights and the rule of law in the setting of "mature socialism." Nathans is also author of Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter With Late Imperial Russia and edited A Research Guide to Materials on the History of Russian Jewry (19th and Early 20th Centuries) in Selected Archives of the Former Soviet Union [in Russian]. He is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the co-editor and contributor to two scholarly volumes, Culture Front: Representing Jews in Eastern Europe (2014) and From Europe's East to the Middle East: Israel's Russian and Polish Lineages (2021).   This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Carly Breland, in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    The Dissident Playbook: Soviet Lessons for Putin's Russia

  5. Apr 7

    Should free speech be absolute?

    Bakhti is joined by Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar focused on global expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Sarah and Bakhti discuss the difference in free speech traditions between the United States and Europe, threats to speech on both sides of the Atlantic, and why Americans apply free speech selectively along political lines. Sarah also talks through why Americans should defend the right to free expression even, and especially, when it is painful for them. --- Sarah McLaughlin is the Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and author of Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech. She writes regularly about the state of free speech around the world and her work has been featured in outlets including Foreign Policy, The Guardian, and The Los Angeles Times. This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky and Carly Breland, inconjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    Should free speech be absolute?

  6. Mar 24

    Religious Freedom as the Tip of the Spear of Comprehensive Security

    Why does religious freedom matter in today's world? Ambassador Sam Brownback draws on decades of experience to explain why it is central to advancing human rights and strengthening global security. He also examines how Russia's actions and Ukraine's wartime challenges have brought new urgency and complexity to these issues. ---- Sam Brownback has spent decades in senior public service advancing human dignity, democratic values, and freedom of religion around the world. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit and Chairman of the National Committee for Religious Freedom, leading global efforts to protect religious liberty and counter repression. From 2018 to 2021, Brownback served as United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, where he worked across regions and faith communities to confront religious persecution and advocate for the rights of believers facing state repression. His diplomatic service built on a long legislative record focused on freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.   Previously, Brownback represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1996 to 2011. During his tenure, he was a principal architect of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, landmark legislation that institutionalized U.S. advocacy for religious liberty worldwide, and the author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the first comprehensive federal law to criminalize human trafficking and expand protections for victims. He was a commissioner with the Helsinki Commission from 1999 to 2010, serving as chairman from 2005 to 2006. While on the Commission, Brownback was outspoken about countering human rights abuses worldwide, particularly in Russia and North Korea. Earlier in his career, Brownback served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Kansas's Second Congressional District and as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, becoming the youngest person to hold that office. Honoring a term limits pledge, he left the Senate and ran for Kansas governor in 2010. He was inaugurated in 2011 as the 46th Governor of Kansas and was re-elected in 2014 before returning to national and international service. He is one of only six individuals in American history to have served in all four roles: congressman, senator, governor, and ambassador.  A native of Garnett, Kansas, Brownback was raised on his family's Linn County farm. He earned his undergraduate degree from Kansas State University, where he served as student body president, and his law degree from the University of Kansas. He and his wife, Mary, have five children and eleven grandchildren.    This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky, in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    Religious Freedom as the Tip of the Spear of Comprehensive Security

  7. Mar 10

    Keeping Hope Alive as a Journalist in Exile

    On this week's episode, Bakhti sits down with Nastassia Rouda, director of Nasha Niva, a Belarusian media outlet operating in exile in Vilnius. Rouda discusses how she and her colleagues have used new types of content and social media to remain relevant and grow their audience inside of Belarus, even as Belarusians experience economic downturn and political repression. She talks about how she and other hosts on their network rely on humor to keep hope alive for a freer future for their country and maintain interest in free media among the millions of Belarusians of all ages who tune into their online shows.  --- Nastassia Rouda is the director of Nasha Niva, Belarus's oldest newspaper. Founded in 1906 upon Belarus's independence, the paper is best known for its role in preserving Belarusian language, culture, and art. The paper closed in 1914 as it became illegal to criticize their government during World War I and was re-established in 1991. In the 2010's, Nasha Niva moved online and became one of the most popular websites in Belarus. In 2020, following Nasha Niva's coverage of the Belarusian presidential election and subsequent protests, the KGB declared the paper an extremist organization, arresting reporters and forcing many others into exile.  Nasha Niva continues to operate from Vilnius, Lithuania and remains popular, especially thanks to their video content, which receives millions of views on YouTube and TikTok from Belarusians. In order to remain popular and relevant, the paper has innovated in a variety of ways since 2020, finding ways to evade censorship, recruiting young reporters, and developing comedic content. Nasha Niva's online comedy and satirical shows poking fun at Lukashenka and other political elites in Belarus are particularly popular. This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio

    Keeping Hope Alive as a Journalist in Exile

  8. Feb 24

    What Do Americans Think About Ukraine? Views From a Bike Ride Across America

    On this episode of the Transatlantic, host Bakhti Nishanov talks to Georgiy Kent, who took an unusual detour after finishing his graduate program in May, biking over 4,000 miles across the United States to crowdsource funds for Ukraine. From the Oregon coast to Washington D.C., Kent interacted with hundreds of Americans along the way, engaging in dialogue about Russia's war on Ukraine.  ---- Georgiy Kent served as a Max Kampelman Policy Fellow at the Helsinki Commission, working on political and economic projects to hold Russia accountable for its ongoing war in Ukraine. He has worked at the Aspen Strategy Group, Harvard Kennedy School, Partnership for Public Service, and Atlantic Council. A graduate of Harvard College and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Georgiy specializes in security, economy, and state development in Europe, Asia, and post-communist societies. Today, he is an Associate for Research and Client Strategy at Political Alpha, a political risk advisory firm in D.C., but this summer he decided to hop on a bicycle and cycle across America to raise money for Ukraine. This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky, in conjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

    What Do Americans Think About Ukraine? Views From a Bike Ride Across America
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About

Human stories about freedom and security across oceans, political divides, and intellectual traditions hosted by Bakhti Nishanov, senior policy advisor at the U.S. Helsinki Commission. This podcast is produced by the U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government commission that promotes human rights, military security, and economic cooperation in 57 countries in Europe, Eurasia, and North America.

Information

  • Creator
    Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    The Transatlantic