Reviews

I am a graduate student of Russian & Eastern European studies, and I think I learn more from this podcast than from my classes. It offers loads of balanced, well-research information about Russia and Eurasia, on a huge variety of topics. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone who's interested in that part of the world.

I've never been to Russia, but have had an amateur interest since high school. This blog does a great job of discussing real current issues thoughtfully with qualified people. A lot of US coverage takes a sort of automatic Cold War view of the country, and that's that. SRB covers a big complex country with nuance, which is amazingly rare.

Sean's Russia Blog Podcast is far and away the best podcast you will find on all matters Russia and Eastern Europe. As a scholar (historian w/ phd) who has lived in and worked on Russia/EE for the past 15 years, there is no better podcast I can recommend to learn about the fascinating, complex, and often times difficult history and politics of the region. What makes this podcast great is both breadth of the subject matter and the range and knowledge of its host. You will find an array of topics on the podcast from left-wing politics and the Maidan revolution to youth politics in Russia to the history of the Gulag. Sean brings in historians, policy makers, journalists, and many other leaders in their fields to present on numerous important issues relevant to Russia and the region. While the topics and guests alone would make this podcast a must listen, Sean's balanced, thoughtful, and probing questions and analysis always bring out the best in his guests, making the podcast even better. Given the breadth of the topics covered on the show, it requires a host with a great skill-set to tap into all of these fields. Whether its economics or the Russian revolution, Sean always has something relevant to add to the discussion. It takes someone with great erudition to pull this off. Sean's interviewing technique is equal parts scholar, journalist, and just interested educated interlocutor. The show never feels too wonky or too much like you're stuck in a never-end grad seminar. I recommend people getting interested in the region for the first time, as well as scholars, students, and policy makers. You won't find anything else better out there on Russia and Eastern Europe.

I listen to Sean's Russia Blog to keep up with the situation in Russia. The blog goes deep into the rivalry and inter political conflicts in Russia.

One of the best things about SRB Podcast is the variety of experts that Sean gets on his show. You don't just get one perspective here, you get a wide variety of experts on various aspects of history and social science as they relate to Russia and the region. I highly recommend it.

I love this longformish podcast on Russia. Only complaint is that I wish it was updated more often with a more regular schedule. Sean is a great interviewer with a fantastic disarming style. He is able to interview people who he disagrees with but without being disagreeable at all and allows for a great exchange of ideas and opinions. I really enjoy this podcast and recommend it to those who are interested in Russian history.

Sean is an incisive and unpretentious interviewer, and the topics are a great mix of history and current events. Highly recommend.

This podcast covers aspects of modern events and Russian culture (and recent history) in a at not found in other podcasts. It covers issues I didn't know existed as well as those that are well known, but from a new perspective.

Great podcast if you are looking for a knowledgeable dialogue about Russia.