Masha Gessen (2024) - The War of the Narratives

In an age of creeping authoritarianism, anyone who questions the
logic of competing narratives when it comes to historical
conflicts risks being silenced. Russian American journalist Masha
Gessen says however, in order to learn from history we have to
question our world and recognise the signs of when we're sliding
into darkness. 


Gessen examines how the intersection of history, memory,
propaganda and censorship enforces the narratives of today – and
what happens when narrative becomes dogma.


Masha Gessen is an opinion columnist for The New York
Times and a Distinguished Professor at the Craig Newmark
Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
They have written extensively on The Russian-Ukrainian war,
Israel/Palestine, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump. They have won
numerous awards, including the George Polk Award, the Hannah
Arendt Prize for Political Thinking, and the National Book
Award. 


Chaired by journalist Hamish Macdonald.