This episode includes an Overtime segment that’s available to paid subscribers. If you’re not a paid subscriber, we of course encourage you to become one. If you are a paid subscriber, you can access the complete conversation either via the audio and video on this post or by setting up the paid-subscriber podcast feed, which includes all exclusive audio content. To set that up, simply grab the RSS feed from this page (by first clicking the “...” icon on the audio player) and paste it into your favorite podcast app. If you have trouble completing the process, check out this super-simple how-to guide.
0:00 Teaser
0:50 Leonid’s journalistic work, past and present
1:52 Are Russia and NATO headed for war?
14:43 Decoding Putin’s recent signals
21:49 Do European leaders really want the Ukraine war to end?
23:02 Putin’s political psychology
37:31 Why the war matters more to Russia than to the West
40:10 Russia’s non-ethno nationalism
43:31 Heading to Overtime
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Leonid Ragozin (Rest of World, West of Providence, Lonely Planet). Recorded July 06, 2026.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Leonid’s newsletter:
Overtime titles:
0:00 Is the war really at a stalemate?
6:41 The battle for the “Fortress Belt” in the Donbas
17:22 Is Putin fighting for territory or something else?
25:44 Why each side sees the other as the threat
35:25 Ukraine’s de-Russification campaign
42:05 How the 90s set the stage for today’s conflict(s)
54:01 Did Putin really want Russia to join NATO?
Overtime video:
