March 16 – Putin on the Warpath; Malaysia’s Authoritarian Government Under Scrutiny; An Analysis of Possible Scenarios That Might Explain the Disappearance of the Malaysian Boeing 777

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the demonstrations that took place in Moscow over the weekend against war with Ukraine and speak with Russian journalist and author Masha Gessen about the “other Russia” that is opposed to Putin who is riding high in the polls. She is the author of the bestseller “The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin” and her latest book is “Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot”. She also has an article in The Washington Post “Putin Wins in Russia Only by Escalating his War Rhetoric”.

Part 2

Then we look into the political recriminations in Asia between a furious Chinese government and the authoritarian and apparently inept Malaysian government over the disappearance of a Beijing-bound Malaysian airliner with 239 people aboard, 153 of whom are Chinese, including a delegation of prominent artists. Michael Buehler, a Professor of Political Science at Northern Illinois University who has contributed to political risk evaluations for private sector companies operating across South East Asia, joins us to discuss the internal politics of Malaysia and bureaucratic infighting that may have led to unnecessary confusion and a week’s delay in calling off a fruitless search in the wrong ocean.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with an aviation safety expert with the Transport Studies Group at Loughborough University in the U.K., David Gleave, who analyzes the possible scenarios that might explain the actions of the plane after it was diverted from its scheduled flightpath and where the Boeing 777 may have ended up, what may have happened to the passengers, as well as what may be the intentions behind those involved in the plane’s hijacking whether suicide for insurance, theft for ransom, or a flying bomb for future use by a terrorist group.