PROGRAM
Wednesday, October 13
  Arrival of participants
Informal reception at 6 p.m., Stanford Terrace Inn
Thursday, October 14
  All conference sessions in Stauffer Auditorium, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
8:00 A.M. Continental breakfast, Hatfield Court
8:30 A.M. Welcome
 
Opening Remarks: The Honorable George P. Shultz, Hoover Institution
Welcome: John Raisian, Director, Hoover Institution; Elena Danielson, Associate Director, Hoover Institution; Christian Ostermann, Director, Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
 
Special Welcome: President Václav Havel (recorded)
 
Conference Program Overview: A. Ross Johnson, Hoover Institution
9:00 A.M. Panel 1
 
Roundtable—Goals and Content of Western Broadcasts; Testimony of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Officials
Moderator: Norman Naimark, Stanford University and Hoover Institution
 
Participants: Paul Henze, former RFE and U.S. official; J. F. Brown, former RFE Director; Gene Sosin, former RL official Commentator: István Rev, Open Society Archives, Budapest
 
Discussion
10:30 A.M. Break
11:00 A.M. Panel 2
 
Roundtable—Goals and Content of Western Broadcasts—VOA, BBC, RIAS; Testimony of Officials and Experts
Moderator: Chip Blacker, Stanford University
 
Participants: Alan Heil, former VOA official; Eugeniusz Smolar, former BBC official; Christian Ostermann, Cold War International History Project Commentator: Mark Pomar, IREX, former broadcast official
 
Discussion
12:30 P.M. Luncheon, Hatfield Court
1:30 P.M. Panel 3
 
Impact of the Broadcasts: Jamming and Audiences
Moderator: John Dunlop, Hoover Institution
 
Paper: Jamming and Counterjamming–George Woodard, former RFE/RL and International Broadcasting Bureau Chief Engineer
Paper: RFE/RL Estimates of Audiences–Gene Parta, RFE/RL
Paper: Soviet Measurements of Audiences–Elena Bashkirova, Romir, Moscow
Paper: Polish Measurements of Audiences–Leszek Gawlikowski, RFE/RL
Discussant: Sharon Wolchik, Elliot School, George Washington University
 
Discussion

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 6:30 PM ET
Markus Wolf
Book Talk: "The Troika: The Troika: A Story Of Three Families, Friendship, And The Cold War"
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives is partnering with the International Spy Museum to co-host a hybrid event on "The Troika", Markus Wolf'… International Spy Museum (700 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington DC 20024)
Thursday, September 24, 2026 12:00 PM PT
Yellow Peril Newspaper Excerpt
The Kaiser's Warning: How A 1908 Interview Wrongly Predicted The Transformation Of American Racism
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University and the Japanese Association for Migration Studies will co-host a virtual… Zoom
Friday, October 2, 2026
Democracy Without Shelter: How Mongolia Holds The Line
You are coordially invited to a fireside chat on Democracy Without Shelter: How Mongolia Holds the Line with Elbegdorj Tsakhia and H.R. McMaster on… Hauck Auditorium, David and Joan Traitel Building
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