Today's guest is Amie Ferris-Rotman, the Moscow correspondent for The Washington Post, and a veteran reporter on Russia, who’s previously worked for Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Vogue, The Atlantic, Politico, and Foreign Policy. She’s also covered Afghanistan, and she was awarded the John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University, where she developed and founded the “Sahar Speaks” project, which mentors and trains aspiring women journalists in Afghanistan.On September 20, the website Coda published a story by Amie about how Vladimir Putin maintains a reputation as a conservative moral leader, while simultaneously supporting women’s abortion rights. Kevin asked Amie if she thinks the main takeaway from her research is a positive or negative outlook for reproductive rights in Russia, and what other contortions Putin supporters need to make to reconcile his various policy positions. They also discussed the difference between American and British reporting, and the prospects for civic activism in Russia’s more far-flung corners.Follow Amie on Twitter:https://twitter.com/Amie_FRFollow her work at The Washington Post:https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/amie-ferris-rotmanRead her recent story about reproductive rights in Russia:https://codastory.com/disinformation-crisis/traditional-values/putin-prochoice-championLearn about her project, “Sahar Speaks”:http://www.saharspeaks.org/our-story/Support this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic:“Polyushka Polye” by The Red Army Choir, www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2YlbiyiuMcОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQ“Your Health,” Soyuzmultfilm, 1965, Ivan Aksenchuk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFKxyA81TtM

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)