I'm Derek Thompson, the host of the podcast, Plain English.

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Hello media consumers, welcome to Press Box final edition.

Brian Curtis of the Ringer here along with producer Erica Servantes.

Our guest today, Tim Mac reported from Ukraine for National Public Radio from the very

beginning of the Russian invasion.

After leaving NPR in May, he's gone back to Ukraine on his own.

He now writes in Substack Newsletter, the counteroffensive, which he calls the first

substack dedicated exclusively to war correspondents.

He also calls it a bed against cynicism and ignorance and apathy.

He joins us from Kiev where it's Wednesday evening.

Tim, welcome to the press box.

Hey, thanks so much for having me.

Let us start back last February when the Russian invasion began.

You were there covering it for NPR.

What was the first day of the war like?

You can talk to any Ukrainian and they'll tell you that that was the longest day of their

lives, right?

That no one will ever forget that day.

...