Escalation

Lawfare & Goat Rodeo

The War in Ukraine has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and left entire cities in ruins. It’s a human tragedy on an unimaginable scale. But beyond the death toll and destruction, the conflict represents something even larger: a flashpoint in the ongoing battle between democracy and authoritarianism, sovereignty and imperialism. Escalation is a gripping narrative podcast that delves deep into the complex and often fraught history of the relationship between the United States and Ukraine. Co-produced by Goat Rodeo and Lawfare, this eight-episode series unravels the decades of diplomacy, political scandals, and high-stakes decision-making that shaped this alliance, now tested by the largest land war in Europe since World War II. This is the feed for Lawfare Presents. A home for limited run series and specials from Lawfare and Goat Rodeo.

Produced by Goat Rodeo.

www.goatrodeodc.com

Lawfare

www.lawfaremedia.org/

This series is made possible by the generous support of DeleteMe. To learn more about DeleteMe, visit www.joindeleteme.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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20 episodes
Avg 41 min
English

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S6 · E7
Apr 14, 2025 · 57 min
Escalation Ep 7: Boiling The Frog
In the season finale of Escalation, Anastasiia Lapatina and Yulia Tymoshenko recount Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022. The western world is shocked, and US President Joe Biden and the US Congress attempt to send weapons to Ukraine to fight back. But fundamentally different perspectives on the fight will emerge and lead to tensions that leave Ukraine's fate uncertain, and its relationship with The United States in jeopardy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 14, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
BONUS: Conversation with John Mearsheimer
In this bonus episode of Escalation, hear our conversation with Professor John Mearsheimer. Mearsheimer is a historian and foreign policy expert at The University of Chicago, and he has some controversial opinions on the relationship between The United States, Ukraine, Russia and NATO. Our conversation with him was at times tense, but always interesting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 7, 2025 · 55 min
Escalation Finale Preview: Making 'Escalation'
In this bonus episode of 'Escalation,' we give you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show, featuring a conversation with our reporting and production team of Anastasiia Lapatina, Tyler McBrien, Benjamin Wittes and Max Johnston Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 6, 2025 · 14 min
BONUS: Music from Ukrainian Cultural Forces
In this bonus episode of Escalation, you'll hear more music from the Ukrainian Cultural Forces. The Cultural Forces are a group of Ukrainian artists and veterans who travel the world as emissaries from the Ukrainian army. In September 2024, they were in Washington, DC, where our production team captured some of their performances. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 · E6
Mar 31, 2025 · 56 min
Escalation Ep 6: Nothing Else Matters
In 2019, the relationship between The United States and Ukraine faces one of its biggest tests during a phone call between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The resulting scandal makes Ukraine a toxic issue for some lawmakers in the US Congress, where Ukrainian veterans are still trying to generate support for the war to this day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 30, 2025 · 24 min
BONUS: Conversation with Evelyn Farkas
In this bonus episode of Escalation, you'll hear our conversation with Evelyn Farkas, who is the Executive Director for The McCain Institute, and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia in the Obama Administration. Farkas describes the US government's reaction to the invasion of Crimea, and discussions over aid to Ukraine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 · E5
Mar 24, 2025 · 50 min
Escalation Ep 5: Resets
When Ukraine’s Russia-backed president refuses to sign a deal with the European Union, millions of Ukrainians take to the streets to force him out. Then the West watches as Russia invades Crimea and parts of Eastern Ukraine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 22, 2025 · 25 min
BONUS: Conversation with Mary Sarotte
In this bonus episode of Escalation, we're bringing you an extended cut of our conversation with Mary Sarotte, a NATO Historian and International Relations Expert at John Hopkins University. Mary tells us about NATO's history and origins, it's strange relationship with Russia, and Ukraine's murky status in the alliance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 · E4
Mar 17, 2025 · 39 min
Escalation Ep 4: The Worst of Both Worlds
A dirty presidential campaign in Ukraine culminates in an attempted assassination and ‘The Orange Revolution,’ where Ukrainians stop The Kremlin’s attempts to rig the election. Years later at a NATO summit in 2008, The United States and European allies concoct a high-risk plan to protect Ukraine going forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 15, 2025 · 25 min
BONUS: Conversation with Daria Kaleniuk
In this bonus episode of Escalation, we're bringing you a conversation with Daria Kaleniuk, a Ukrainian anti-corruption expert and activist. Daria tells us about Ukraine's history with corruption, the roots in the Soviet system, and the country's efforts to fight it. Stay tuned each week for the next chapter of Escalation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 · E3
Mar 10, 2025 · 38 min
Escalation Ep 3: Us vs. Them
By the late 90’s, Russia is reverting back to its corrupt, authoritarian ways and Ukraine begins to slide backward with it. In Ukraine, that corruption will lead to a gruesome murder and cover-up. While in Russia, that corruption will destroy any hopes for an emerging democracy. But after 9/11, The United States is solely focused on the fight against terrorism. About Escalation: In this narrative series from Lawfare and Goat Rodeo, Escalation lays bare the stakes of the Ukraine-Russia War through powerful storytelling and compelling voices. It reveals forgotten promises and fragile alliances that have shaped the U.S.-Ukraine relationship and how the decisions of policymakers in Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow have global consequences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 8, 2025 · 26 min
BONUS: Extended Conversation with Mariana Budjeryn
In this bonus episode of Escalation, we're bringing you an extended conversation with Mariana Budjeryn, a Historian and Senior Research Associate at Harvard and an expert on Ukraine's denuclearization. Stay tuned each week for the next chapter of Escalation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 · E2
Mar 3, 2025 · 41 min
Escalation Ep 2: No Guarantees
Newly-independent Ukraine has inherited thousands of nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union. So The United States, Russia and Ukraine craft a high-stakes deal to disarm Ukraine in exchange for national security protection. But has Washington held up their end of the bargain? Or has Ukraine been betrayed? About Escalation: In this narrative series from Lawfare and Goat Rodeo, Escalation lays bare the stakes of the Ukraine-Russia War through powerful storytelling and compelling voices. It reveals forgotten promises and fragile alliances that have shaped the U.S.-Ukraine relationship and how the decisions of policymakers in Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow have global consequences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 1, 2025 · 22 min
BONUS: Extended Conversation with Fiona Hill
In this bonus episode of Escalation, we're bringing you an extended conversation with Russia expert and diplomat Fiona Hill. Stay tuned each week for the next chapter of Escalation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 · E1
Feb 24, 2025 · 37 min
Escalation Ep 1: Chicken Kyiv
Escalation
Feb 10, 2025 · 1 min
Trailer: Escalation
A new series from Lawfare and Goat Rodeo
S5 · E5
May 2, 2024 · 1 hr 19 min
The Aftermath S2E5 - With Liberty and Justice for Some
The fate of Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 prisoners are intertwined. The prisoners' biggest hope for freedom is if Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, takes office and makes the federal cases go away. But the people who stormed the Capitol committed straightforward crimes that were easier to investigate, easier to indict, easier to prove. Three years after Jan. 6, the story of how they have been held criminally accountable is mostly over. But for Trump and other Jan. 6 plotters, that story is just beginning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 · E4
Mar 1, 2024 · 45 min
The Aftermath S2E4 - The Hidden Insurrection
It’s December 2020. Donald Trump continues to deny that he has lost the election. He and his inner circle are working feverishly to try to overturn it while Trump is getting more and more irate. Then, on Dec. 21, he meets a man named Jeffrey Clark. Suddenly, the full might of the Justice Department is within reach. And he plans to use it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 · E3
Feb 7, 2024 · 1 hr 3 min
The Aftermath S2E3 - #StormtheCapitol
Social media was key to Jan. 6. End to end. It was key to gathering the crowd that stormed the Capitol. It was key to generating the sentiment that led people to drop their lives to come to Washington willing to commit crimes. It was key to sending them home when the deed was done. Of course, we’re all on social media. But how does social media propel people to action, even inspire them to move from online to on the ground—and to the grounds of the Capitol? It’s impossible to track. But we know that some accounts wielded enormous influence, and none more so than Donald Trump’s. The thing is, Trump wasn’t the only one behind his social media face. He had one trusted aide who ran the accounts with him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 · E2
Jan 23, 2024 · 58 min
The Aftermath S2E2 - Lawyers for the Coup
In December 2020, The President and his advisors are still fighting to overturn the results of November’s presidential election. Then, in the middle of the month, a lawyer in Wisconsin sends a memo to the president’s legal team. This memo marks the beginning of a scheme that works its way through state legislatures and the halls of Congress, then to Trump himself. It is a scheme that ends with the Vice President of the United States in mortal danger. The main architect and proponent of this scheme is a little-known law professor from California, John Eastman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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