Fresh Air: Best Of – Fighting for Free Press in Russia / ‘Fear and Fury’

Date: February 7, 2026
Hosts: Tonya Mosley (NPR)

Overview

This episode features two powerful interviews:

1. Filmmaker Julia Locktiv discusses her new documentary My Undesirable Friends, Part One: Last Air in Moscow, which chronicles the experiences of independent Russian journalists before and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amid growing repression.
2. Historian Heather Ann Thompson delves into her new book, Fear and Fury: The Reagan 80s, the Bernie Goetz Shootings and the Rebirth of White Rage, examining how fear and racial dynamics shaped American society, beginning with the infamous 1984 New York subway shooting.

Both segments focus on the perils and responsibilities of telling the truth in hostile or fearful environments—whether under authoritarian governments or in societies weaponizing fear for political gain.

Segment 1: Julia Locktiv on Russia’s Last Free Press

[03:09–32:22]

Main Theme

Locktiv’s documentary follows young, independent journalists in Russia as the government escalates crackdowns, labeling them “foreign agents” and turning dissent into a criminal act. The film captures the rapid loss of press freedom and resonates for American audiences as threats to journalism increase globally.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The “Foreign Agent” Label: Soviet Legacy, New Repression

• The term “foreign agent” is revived from Soviet times and applied not just to organizations, but individuals—reporters, bloggers, even human rights groups.
• Designation requires labeled warnings on all published material, with legal and personal consequences for noncompliance, including fines and potential imprisonment.
  • “It was this very legalistic... For example, if I was a foreign agent and you were introducing me on this show, you would also have to state this, because if you didn't say I was a foreign agent, you'd get a fine and eventually jail.” – Julia Locktiv [09:38]

The Urgency and Method of the Film

• Locktiv flew to Moscow within weeks of reading about the crackdown, convinced the emerging repression demanded documentation.
• She embedded herself using only an iPhone, creating intimacy and trust with sources:
  • “The best thing I had was my eye and also how comfortable people seemed to feel with me… there’s an intimacy to the film.” – Julia Locktiv [11:51]

Journalists’ Lives Before and After the Invasion

• Prior to 2022, Russia had pockets of genuine investigative journalism, critiquing government corruption and human rights abuses.
• Post-invasion, all independent media became vulnerable—labelled, censored, and often forced into exile.
  • “All that independent journalism becomes impossible in Russia… it’s things like calling the war a war is illegal in Russia.” – Julia Locktiv [16:25]
  • Choices became: “Do we go to work tomorrow, or do we go to the airport?” [17:26]

Personal Risk and the Exile Dilemma

• Locktiv describes her focus during the escalating crisis, prioritizing filming over her own safety:
  • “Every day I walked past this wall of riot police… but the only thing I could think of was my footage and making sure I was capturing things.” – Julia Locktiv [18:56]
• The risk was most acute in newsrooms that were under threat of raids and surveillance.

The Journalists: Youth, Community, and Humor as Resistance

• The core group were mostly young women in their 20s and 30s, from engaged and intellectual backgrounds, some only barely adults when Putin rose to power.
  • “Two of them talk about how they were in first grade when Putin came to power… As long as I’ve known there was such a thing as a president… it’s been Putin.” – Julia Locktiv [22:15]
• Communal living, support, and dark humor were survival tactics:
  • “Let joy and laughter also be a part of our resistance… dark humor is a huge, huge, huge role in this film and really a huge role in this culture.” – Julia Locktiv [25:11]

Daily Realities: Absurdity and Compliance

• Foreign agent status required minutiae of daily life—cat food, Netflix subscriptions—to be declared to the state.
  • “If you were a foreign agent, you also had to declare all your expenses to the government. So… that pair of underwear that you bought yesterday is now supporting a foreign agent.” – Julia Locktiv [27:02]

The Loss of Normalcy and the Echo with the West

• The war and sanctions shuttered Western stores and brands, symbolizing Russia’s isolation–a world very similar to New York or Paris, suddenly cut off:
  • “They love Matcha lattes… One of them cracks a joke… ‘no more Nike or Apple. We don’t have a country anymore.’” – Julia Locktiv [28:06]
  • Moscow’s youth culture mirrors the West, making their dispossession deeply relatable for global viewers.

Lessons for Americans and the Universality of Resistance

• Locktiv draws parallels between Russian repression and challenges now facing American journalists (recent US journalist arrests noted).
• The documentary asks audiences how to keep up the fight in the face of overwhelming opposition:
  • “Let joy and laughter be part of our resistance, finding meaning in pushing the stone and not giving up even when things seem rather hopeless.” – Julia Locktiv [30:47]
  • “I like the story of Sisyphus… he finds meaning in pushing the stone… that’s incredibly important.” [31:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It feels like there’s Easter eggs in the film that become more and more relevant every day… it resonates in a different way.” – Julia Locktiv [06:28]
• “We thought it was quite disturbing… when a society forces members… to mark themselves everywhere as suspect… as foreign agents.” – Julia Locktiv [10:50]
• “You know, Putin would like us to just curl up in the fetal position and cry, but we will continue to laugh even as we’re fighting.” – Julia Locktiv [25:11]

Important Timestamps

• [03:09] Locktiv’s background and arrival in Moscow to film
• [04:46] How the “foreign agent” label works
• [06:03] Relevance to American audiences
• [11:51] Filming methodology and intimacy
• [16:25] The legal annihilation of independent journalism post-invasion
• [18:56] First-hand experiences of risk
• [21:31] Journalism’s youth, backgrounds, and daily life
• [27:02] Bureaucratic absurdities of reporting cat food, Netflix, etc.
• [30:47] Lessons for opposition and meaning in resistance

Segment 2: Heather Ann Thompson on ‘Fear and Fury’

[33:55–51:47]

Main Theme

Thompson examines the 1984 “subway vigilante” case—where Bernard Goetz, a white man, shot four Black teenagers—and how media and politics stoked public fear and race-based narratives. The book traces how these dynamics have echoed through American culture and law ever since.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Centering the Victims, Not the Vigilante

• Thompson intentionally did not interview Goetz, noting the media’s myopic focus on him:
  • “The story is all about him… there was a complete erasure actually of the serious victims of this crime.” – Heather Ann Thompson [36:04]

The Tumultuous Backdrop of 1980s NYC

• Economic devastation, crumbling infrastructure, and rising crime contributed to a climate of fear and uncertainty.
• Reagan’s policies eroded social safety nets, especially impacting marginalized communities:
  • “People were interpreting that really terrible urban situation as the fault of its weakest residents… Meanwhile, the funding for things like public health centers, schools, trash collection is being stripped.” – Heather Ann Thompson [39:09]

The Shooting: What Happened and Why

• The teens planned to break into arcade coin machines for money—a minor crime shaped by desperation.
• Goetz’s extreme response (“combat position”) and his own words revealed a deep-rooted animosity:
  • “He says, do you have $5?... Troy Canty thinks he’s reaching for his wallet… but Goetz stands up, pulls out a gun and essentially lays down a—using his words—’a pattern.’” – Heather Ann Thompson [44:02]
  • “He then walks over to Darryl Cabey who is cowering… ‘You look all right—here’s another.’ And shoots him point blank range, severing his spinal cord.” [45:16]

Chilling Confession, Upside-Down Justice

• Goetz’s interrogation video (played in the episode) shows chilling indifference and escalation:
  • “If I had more bullets, I would have shot them all again and again… my problem was I ran out of bullets… and I was gonna gouge one of the guys’ eyes out with my keys afterwards.” – Bernard Goetz (confession) [46:09]
• Thompson reflects: “He didn’t like the look in Troy Canty’s eyes—what he saw was terror and bewilderment… up will become down. Down will become up. And that also felt very, very familiar to where we are today.” [46:45]

Enduring Heroization and Racial Framing

• Public celebrated Goetz—fan letters, donations, celebrity support—while the teen victims received hate mail.
  • “Both sets of sentiments were passionate and scary. Frankly, really scary. It made me realize the moment we are in is less new than we think.” – Heather Ann Thompson [48:40]
• Media and society cast Goetz as a desperate citizen forced to act, with a hero narrative that persists in online comments and public discourse even today.

Race as the Underlying Throughline

• Situations like Goetz, George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin, and Daniel Penny/Jordan Neely share the logic of frightened white men justified in killing Black or marginalized people.
• “There is an inescapable story here… cases like it were fueled and animated and legitimated by the sense that the people who had been killed… had deserved exactly what they got. And all of that is framed in such a way that it is just inescapably racialized.” – Heather Ann Thompson [50:11]
• Once violence is normalized and facts are dispensable, everyone is at risk: “If the rule of law doesn’t matter, and if truth doesn’t matter, we are all in danger.” [51:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Up will become down. Down will become up. And that also felt very, very familiar to where we are today.” – Heather Ann Thompson [46:45]
• “The violence we have unleashed, the lawlessness, the disregard for a rule of law… when that happens, nobody is safe.” – Heather Ann Thompson [51:32]

Important Timestamps

• [35:37] Introducing Goetz case, Thompson’s refusal to center him
• [39:09] Structural backdrop of NYC and Reagan-era policies
• [44:02] Detailed account of subway shooting
• [46:09] Goetz’s confession
• [48:40] Heroization in American culture and hate mail to the victims
• [50:11] Race as the thread linking past and present
• [51:32] Final warning: dangers of normalized violence and disregard for truth

Conclusion

This “Best Of” episode connects the struggles for journalistic and historical truth in Russia and the United States. Through intimate storytelling and critical reflection, both segments challenge listeners to see freedom, safety, and democracy as fragile—and underscore the power of community, resistance, and honesty even in dark times.

(For more:

• My Undesirable Friends, Part One: Last Air in Moscow – Julia Locktiv
• Fear and the Reagan 80s, the Bernie Getz Shootings and the Rebirth of White Rage – Heather Ann Thompson)

Produced by: Fresh Air on NPR
Host: Tonya Mosley