From Russia, with love (and hacking)

Zack, Jenn, and Alex examine the evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 election — and how much of it President Donald Trump had already been shown before his meeting in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They dig into the Justice Department’s indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence operatives, which came out just before Trump went to Helsinki, and another indictment announced the day of the Helsinki meeting targeting a Russian woman named Maria Butina who allegedly plotted to infiltrate the NRA. For Elsewhere, they look at the unrest in Nicaragua, which has killed some 300 people. Zack tells everyone how to pronounce “Guccifer,” Alex celebrates having gone to the same school as a Russian spy, and Jenn wishes she could dye her hair “red like Mother Russia.” We didn’t go deep into the actual press conference this episode, but if you want to read more about America’s geopolitical suicide, Zack wrote a great piece this week. Alex explained why we didn’t just give things up to Russia — we also didn’t get much in return. Zack mentioned this recent New York times story several times throughout the episode. Jenn talked about Vox writer Andrew Prokop’s breakdown of the Mueller indictment. This is the piece Jenn recommends for anyone who wants to read more about Maria Butina. This is the video of her short interview at FreedomFest Jenn touched on Alexander Torshin momentarily but suggests this for anyone who wants to do a deeper dive. More on Jenn’s point that Russia funded fake Black Lives Matter protests and other fake rallies Jenn gave a shout out to Vox writer Jen Kirby’s roundup of all the times opportunities Trump had to call out Russia for election meddling For Elsewhere, we talk about Nicaragua. For more on that story, Alex suggests this Washington Post piece. Here’s a short Washington Post video of protests in Nicaragua. As Zack promised, some research showing Nicaraguan commitment to democracy The response from Heather Nauert that Jenn paraphrased. Want more Nicaragua coverage? Check out Today, Explained’s episode on the issue.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices