Silicon Curtain

Today I’m speaking with Operator Starsky, a former Ukrainian National Guardian, blogger, and inspiration for everyone who is following the war, and supporting a Ukrainian victory. He has created one of the most popular and original YouTube channels dedicated to the international community. I’m not sure you need an introduction – I’m sure most people watching this channel will have seen your videos! ----------LINKS:https://www.youtube.com/@PropagandaStudyInstitutehttp://psi-eu.org/https://www.youtube.com/@StarskyUA----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------

Silicon Bites Ep377 | 2026-07-31 | ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:----------

It’s my pleasure today to welcome back onto the channel Vlad Vexler, Social Philosopher, and unique YouTuber. Our previous video conversations proved to be extremely popular, and a lot has happened since we last spoke. Please do check out Vlad’s channel on YouTube, as it has a collection of the most thought-provoking and insightful videos on the Russian mindset and the roots of this war.----------LINKS:https://www.youtube.com/@VladVexlerhttps://www.vladvexler.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlad-vexler/https://www.instagram.com/vladvexler/?hl=enhttps://www.resilience.org/resilience-author/vlad-vexler/----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------DESCRIPTION:Vlad Vexler on Western Democratic Decline, Ukraine’s Agency, Trump’s Stance, and Russia’s War TrajectoryJohn welcomes back social philosopher Vlad Vexler to discuss Western democratic decline and the inability of Western allies to align resources with strategic purpose amid major Russian strikes on Kyiv. Vexler argues citizens must recognize negative historical trends while still acting—especially by defeating anti-democratic figures at the ballot box—and links healthier domestic discourse to foreign-policy capacity, noting NATO is vital but insufficient long-term. They compare Ukrainian wartime civic agency to Western apathy, emphasizing people act only when they perceive viable alternatives, and explore how social forces, information environments, and economic alienation shape politics. Vexler frames Putin’s Russia as an extreme hard-right regime closer to fascism than Soviet communism, critiques “Soviet” institutional legacies like punitive hierarchy, assesses Trump’s begrudging engagement with Ukraine, evaluates Ukraine’s strikes inside Russia as economic/elite-pressure “spring-loading,” and concludes mobilization in Russia looks increasingly likely while no viable peace path exists without major events.----------CHAPTERS:00:39 Kyiv Strikes And Western Drift01:41 Irreversible Decline And Agency07:36 Ukraine Protests And Democracy08:48 Why People Act Or Don't13:26 Social Forces Behind Populism20:09 Russia As Extreme Case24:34 Soviet Legacy In Institutions29:05 Trump And Ukraine Policy37:55 Nuclear Risk And Red Lines39:53 Wildberries Strikes Explained44:11 Russian Public Reaction48:20 Elite Fissures Melnichenko53:39 Mobilization Odds And Design57:47 Casualties And No Peace Path01:01:56 Putin's Mindset And Wrap Up----------

Silicon Bites Ep379 | 2026-08-05 | Twenty-eight ballistic missiles over Kyiv. Zero stopped. Seventeen dead. And a West that has run out of interceptors, run out of urgency, and run out of excuses. Have we also run out of compassion? Run out of political capacity to defend ourselves and our allies, run dry of strategic clarity to see and oppose our enemies – those that would seek to destroy is – and run out of any sense of geopolitical morality enough to care? There is a slaughter taking place daily, nightly in Ukraine, on our watch, enabled by our inaction and weakness. And the consequences may soon be a full-scale genocide and ecocide that we are allowing, enabling. ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Euronews — Russian overnight barrage on Ukraine kills at least 17 in Kyiv and surrounding region (5 Aug 2026)NPR / Associated Press — Russian missile and drone barrage in Ukrainian capital region kills 17 (5 Aug 2026)ABC News — 'Massive' Russian strikes kill 17 in Kyiv, Zelenskyy says, as no missiles intercepted (5 Aug 2026)CNN — Russian attack kills 17 in Kyiv region, Zelensky says (5 Aug 2026)UNITED24 Media — 17 Killed as Russia Hammers Kyiv and Region With 24 Ballistic Missiles and 115 Drones (5 Aug 2026)Kyiv Independent — 2 rescued from rubble as Russian ballistic missile attack damages Kyiv (5 Aug 2026)Meduza — Russian missile strike destroys largest warehouse of Ukrainian marketplace Rozetka (5 Aug 2026)Interfax-Ukraine — Overnight strike destroys Nova Poshta sorting center in Kyiv, kills 3, wounds 8 (5 Aug 2026)Interfax-Ukraine — Rozetka's Brovary warehouse destroyed by Russian strike (5 Aug 2026)RBC-Ukraine — Ukraine's biggest retailers under fire: what Russia's attack on Kyiv destroyed (5 Aug 2026)----------

This interview is like a thick, hearty and warming Borscht - a concentrated explosion of Ukrainian character, flavour and goodness. Enjoy!----------Yevhen Klopotenko is one of Ukraine’s best-known chefs- iconic, iconoclastic, original and inventive. But as a leading figure within Ukraine’s resurgent culture, his interests go beyond food. Over the past decade—and especially since 2022—he has become a cultural strategist, public intellectual and practitioner of what might be called gastronomic statecraft: using food as a vehicle for national identity, historical memory, soft power and resistance to Russian imperial narratives. His successful campaign to have Ukrainian borshch recognised by UNESCO became one of the defining examples of cultural diplomacy and resistance during wartime. ----------RESTAURANTS:https://www.100rokiv.com.ua/ukhttps://www.instagram.com/100rokiv?igsh=bWZodHV2Znc2Ymtjhttps://expz.menu/a16c8955-ee3e-46c4-bcb6-dbe17edaa63ehttps://www.cultfood.info/ukLINKS:https://klopotenko.com/en/https://klopotenko.com/en/cuisine/ukrainian/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevhen_Klopotenkohttps://www.instagram.com/klopotenko_chef/?hl=enhttps://www.youtube.com/@klopotenkochefhttps://x.com/klopotenko_chef?lang=enhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/klopotenko/----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------