Best Of: Fighting for free press in Russia / ‘Fear and Fury’
Fresh Air
NPR
4.3 • 36.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 February 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Julia Loktev’s latest documentary, ‘My Undesirable Friends - Part 1: Last Air in Moscow,’ follows independent Russian journalists in the months leading up to, and just after, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The film has arrived in the U.S. at a moment when questions about press freedom feel newly present. “Every day it feels like there is something to bring the story home for Americans, where it almost feels like there’s Easter eggs in the film that become more and more relevant.” she says.
Also, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Heather Ann Thompson revisits a 1984 New York City subway shooting, when Bernhard Goetz, a white man, shot four Black teenagers. In the days that followed, Goetz became a hometown hero. “We are watching someone tell us exactly who they are, exactly what they did, and it will not matter. Up will become down, down will become up. And that also felt very, very familiar to where we are today.” Her book is ‘Fear and Fury.’
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| 0:00.0 | Over the years at NPR's Fresh Air, we've gotten to talk with a lot of great filmmakers. |
| 0:05.4 | Now we've made a playlist of some of our favorites, including Martin Scorsese, Stephen Spielberg, |
| 0:10.6 | Ava DuVernay, Mel Brooks, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog, and others. Find all our new |
| 0:16.1 | playlists and more at Fresh Air Plus at plus.npr.org slash fresh air. |
| 0:23.1 | From W.HYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley. |
| 0:28.7 | Today, filmmaker Julia Loctiv. Her latest documentary follows independent Russian journalists |
| 0:34.7 | in the months leading up to and just after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The film has arrived in the months leading up to, and just after, Russia's full-scale |
| 0:38.3 | invasion of Ukraine. The film has arrived in the U.S. at a moment when questions about press |
| 0:43.8 | freedom feel newly present. Every day, it feels like there is something to bring the story |
| 0:50.2 | home for Americans, where it almost feels like there's Easter eggs in the film that become |
| 0:55.2 | more and more relevant every day. Also, historian Heather Ann Thompson revisits a 1984 New York |
| 1:02.9 | City subway shooting when Bernard Getz, a white man, shot four black teenagers. In the days |
| 1:09.6 | that followed, Gets became a hometown hero. |
| 1:13.4 | Up will become down, down will become up. |
| 1:16.1 | And that also felt very, very familiar to where we are today. |
| 1:20.7 | That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend. |
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