Soviet Union

Recent visits by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv, where they met with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, produced no breakthrough on the war in Ukraine, according to analysis in Foreign Policy. The piece argues that high-level shuttle diplomacy cannot substitute for sustained, institutionalized U.S.-Russia channels, which Washington has allowed to atrophy over a decade of sanctions and isolation following 2014.

The analysis draws on historical precedents, from Cold War-era U.S.-Soviet exchanges to the Gore-Chernomyrdin commission and Obama-Medvedev working groups, to argue that durable engagement requires institutional infrastructure beyond individual negotiators. It contends that any eventual Ukraine settlement will require deep U.S. involvement, and that Washington must rebuild negotiating capacity now to prepare for multiple possible Russian futures, whether continued confrontation under Putin, a narrow post-settlement opening, or an unpredictable leadership transition.

A Foreign Policy essay compares Cold War-era East and West Berlin radio propaganda to contemporary U.S. media, arguing that American outlets present themselves as free of propaganda even as they omit context favorable to rival political systems. Drawing on Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" and Jason Stanley's work on propaganda, the piece contends that anti-communism functions as a long-standing ideological control mechanism in U.S. politics, shaping how Americans understand individual versus social rights.

The essay cites Gallup polling showing rising favorability toward socialism among Democrats relative to capitalism, and points to the mayoral campaign of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City as evidence of a leftward shift provoking establishment backlash. It contrasts U.S. gaps in healthcare, sick leave, and labor protections — including the 2022 railway workers' dispute — with European social-rights frameworks, arguing that increased awareness of propaganda's role could reshape U.S. political debate over economic alternatives.

A recent Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll shows Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton with support from 37% of California voters, trailing Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, who holds 55%. About 7% remain undecided. The two are set to meet in their first debate on September 30 in Los Angeles, televised on CNN, which could shift the current standing.

Hilton, a former strategist for ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron and a Brexit supporter, has never held elected office and only became a U.S. citizen in 2021 after relocating to California in 2012. He has received an endorsement from President Donald Trump, whose immigration policies contrast with Hilton's own background as the son of Hungarian refugees. Despite trailing significantly, Hilton is seen as outperforming typical Republican prospects in heavily Democratic California, where registered Republicans make up about 25% of voters compared to 45% who are Democrats. Polling could shift meaningfully once debate performances are factored in.

A new review in The Wall Street Journal examines "American Scoundrel," a biography chronicling Roy Cohn, the lawyer who served as Sen. Joseph McCarthy's fixer during the anti-communist hearings of the 1950s and later became a mentor to a young Donald Trump. The review focuses less on new revelations and more on how Cohn, a self-promoter throughout his life, continues to have his influence overstated by biographers and commentators decades after his death.

The piece situates Cohn within the broader history of McCarthyism, the Army-McCarthy hearings, and Cold War-era anti-communism, while noting parallels drawn by some to contemporary populist politics. The review is critical of tendencies toward hagiography in retelling Cohn's story, arguing that inflating his historical importance keeps a persistent myth alive rather than offering a clearer accounting of his actual role.