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'Crushing Eastern Europe' Behind The 'Iron Curtain'

Credit Courtesy of Doubleday

Credit James Kegley / Doubleday

Anne Applebaum is a columnist for The Washington Post and Slate. Her 2003 book, Gulag: A History, won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction.

By editor

Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 1:47 pm

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If you read Anne Applebaum's Iron Curtain as a manual on how to take over a state and turn it totalitarian, the first lesson, she says, would be on targeted violence. Applebaum's book, which was recently nominated for a National Book Award, describes how after World War II, the Soviet Union found potential dissidents everywhere.

"It really meant anybody who had a leadership role in society," she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "This included priests, people who had been politicians, people who had been merchants before the war, and people who ran youth groups."

12:07 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

Pentagon Says Iran Fired On Unarmed U.S. Drone Flying Over Persian Gulf

Credit MSgt. Scott Reed / AP

In this Sept. 6, 2007 photo, an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle flies over a range in Nevada.

By Eyder Peralta

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said that Iranian warplanes fired on an unarmed U.S. drone in the Persian Gulf on Nov. 1.

According to Reuters, Little said the MQ1 Predator drone, which returned safely to its base, was in international waters at the time. Reuters adds:

11:56 am

Thu November 8, 2012

Author Warns 'Second Nuclear Age' Is Here

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Second Nuclear Age

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Paul Bracken is also the author of Fire in the East and The Command and Control of Nuclear Forces.

By editor

Originally published on Sun November 11, 2012 5:34 am

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Since the end of the Cold War, many Americans have come to the conclusion we don't need nuclear weapons anymore and ought to focus on reduction of stockpiles as quickly as possible. The problem, according to Yale professor Paul Bracken, is that the other countries that have nuclear weapons view them very differently.

11:34 am

Thu November 8, 2012

Polio Hides Out In A Few 'Sanctuaries' In Nigeria

Credit David Gilkey / NPR

Ado Ibrahim carries his son Aminu through a village in northern Nigeria. Aminu, 4, was paralyzed by polio in August.

By editor

Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 1:05 pm

Nigeria is the world's epicenter for polio. It's the only place where cases are ticking up, and it's been the source of outbreaks in other countries since 2003.

There was a disappointing update from public health officials Thursday about the polio situation in Nigeria. Despite beefed-up efforts to vaccinate kids and a flood of new resources, Nigeria still hasn't turned the corner on polio.

11:03 am

Thu November 8, 2012

What Did The Billions The Campaigns Spent Buy?

By editor

Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 11:34 am

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Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Before the election recedes too far, there are a couple more takeaways that deserve attention. One is the money. Spending in the 2012 campaign reached record heights. Some estimates put the total at more than $6 billion, and the new outside groups, the superPACs and the nonprofits, spent more than a billion to buy maybe one million television ads. In a moment, the effect of that unprecedented flow of cash.

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12:16 pm

Thu November 8, 2012