Ep. 479 — Bianna Golodryga

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

CNN

News

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2022

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Growing up in Texas, Bianna Golodryga begged her immigrant parents to avoid speaking Russian in front of her friends for fear of not fitting in. She soon came to appreciate her background, becoming fluent in Russian and pursuing a degree in Russian/East European and Eurasian studies. Bianna, now a CNN senior global affairs analyst, joined David to discuss how watching CNBC with her father led to a career in journalism, the rapidly evolving Ukraine-Russia crisis, and how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s views have changed in recent years.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Ax Files, with
0:12.5	your host, David Axelrod.
0:19.0	You may know Biana Gola-Driga from her work as a news anchor for CNN and previously, for
0:24.2	CBS, ABC and CNBC, reporting on a wide range of topics.
0:29.2	But you probably don't know her backstory of her family's Jewish immigrant story from
0:33.7	the Republic of Moldova where she was born during the years of Soviet hegemony.
0:38.5	As a student here and later as a journalist, she's closely followed developments in Eastern
0:43.0	Europe and Russia, which makes her a particularly insightful voice in this moment of high drama
0:48.8	in Ukraine.
0:49.8	I spoke with Biana yesterday and here's that conversation.
0:59.9	Biana Gola-Driga, so good to see you, my friend.
1:03.2	You've been busy over there at CNN because of the events in Ukraine, lots of reporting
1:10.5	out of there.
1:11.5	And you bring a unique perspective to it because you come from that region, talk a little bit
1:17.4	about that in your background.
1:20.1	First of all, it's good to be with you.
1:21.1	It's an honor.
1:22.1	This is one of my favorite shows and I've told you that repeatedly over the past few years.
1:25.9	So I'm thrilled to be joining you.
1:27.5	That is not by the way why you were invited, but I don't want to encourage that sort of
1:32.3	flattery.
1:33.3	It's true.
	...

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