The quiet parts out loud

A convo with Kevin Rothrock about the dirty little secrets of Russia-watching

Memo to the execs over at NBC: no offense to Kier Simmons, but Kevin Rothrock — Tweeter extraordinaire and inimitable host of the The Russia Guy podcast — should have been the one to interview Putin.

I got the chance to sit down with Kevin a few weeks ago (virtually, of course), and he managed to get me to spill most of my secrets, including:

• Whether political scientists are allowed to have emotions;

• How to read more than is humanly possible;

• The difference between “personified” and “personalized” power;

• Why I hate it when people talk about “Russia” and “the Russians”;

• How Putin manages to get anything done when he’s repressing the opposition all day; and

• What separates British and American Russianists.

The resulting episode went live today and is ideal for passing the time before the news comes in from Geneva. Have a listen!