Today, Vladimir Kara-Murza explains how Russia’s opposition is leveraging the discontent of that nation’s youth against the dictatorial Putin regime; a new episode of Free Speech Unmuted covers what the law says about press access in the White House; and Terry Anderson makes the case that the repeal of a “roadless” rule by the Forest Service will actually improve public land management, not spell the end of the American wilderness.
Freedom Frequency
Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, who recently spoke with H.R. McMaster in the latest episode of Today’s Battlegrounds, recalled a childhood memory: the 1991 coup attempt that ordinary Russians resisted by streaming—unarmed—into the streets. Just as popular determination caused the coup attempt to fail, the continued democratic desires of today’s Russians give hope for a better future, Kara-Murza told McMaster. As Human Security Project staff member Carolyn Kennedy notes in this essay overview of the podcast, the guest also revealed why it’s important to Putin to give the appearance of popular support for his rule and for the ongoing war in Ukraine. This explains why Russia has just held another sham election during which the only opposition party that rejected the Ukraine war was shut out. But this was not a defeat for that party, Kara-Murza pointed out. Its persistence, as well as the voices of young Russians who want a different life, is evidence that the democratic flame is still burning, he said. Read more highlights from this conversation here.
Free Speech
When President Trump moved to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House over allegedly biased coverage, it set off a fast-moving legal showdown. Today, Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh and Free Speech Unmuted cohost Jane Bambauer break down why the law is surprisingly clear-cut on this issue.
The Big Idea: Drawing on a 50-year-old DC Circuit precedent and a fresh ruling on Oval Office access, the hosts explain the crucial distinction between the press briefing room—a forum where reporters can’t be excluded based on viewpoint—and the Oval Office, the president’s own turf, where he can talk to whomever he wants. Watch or listen here.
Environmental Policy
At The Hill, Senior Fellow Terry L. Anderson comments on the US Forest Service’s announcement in August that it was “considering rescinding the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.” Critics have alleged that this change would be a handout to timber companies and come at the expense of wilderness habitat, Anderson says. But he notes that congressionally designated wilderness would remain roadless, and the lack of roads in many remote areas presents one of the greatest challenges to fighting large wildfires. Anderson argues that the rule change would thus improve wildfire readiness and promote better fuel management. “Rescinding the roadless rule is not a threat to federal wilderness,” Anderson concludes. “It is a statement that we have enough already and that we need to manage it rather than let it burn.” Read more here.
Technology Policy
America’s STEM education system output has more than doubled in the past 30 years, and it relies on a large number of foreign enrollees at the graduate and postgraduate level to fulfill the nation’s demand for high-skill talent in many of the nation’s most important technological fields. That’s the main takeaway from a new joint report from Hoover’s Technology Policy Accelerator and the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence that examines the US-China technology competition through the educational choices made by the people wishing to join the US high-skilled tech workforce, both within the country and from abroad. Using more than 30 years of data from federal surveys, international databases, research rankings, publication and patent records, visa filings, and company histories, Senior Fellow Amy Zegart and research assistant Emerson Victoria Johnston identified the education and career paths taken by hundreds of thousands of students, graduates, researchers, workers, and founders. The report’s findings point to a system with substantial advantages but also considerable and growing vulnerabilities compared with America’s rivals. Read more here.
Political Economy
This week’s guest on EconTalk offers a thought experiment for those who would grant government new powers: Cross out “government” and insert the name of the politician you trust least. Then see if you still like the idea.
Get the Story: In his 52nd EconTalk appearance, Duke professor of political science Mike Munger speaks with host Russ Roberts about public choice, politics without romance, and why treating government like a loving family (or your family like a business), ends badly. The conversation also explores why Edmund Burke’s famous defense of legislators voting their conscience cost him his seat in Parliament and why voters rationally know so little. Watch or listen here.
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