On today’s episode, Washington Post national security reporter and friend of the show, Shane Harris, joins Matt to discuss last week's historic prisoner exchange between the US and Russia, securing the release of several prominent journalists and pro-democracy activists. Shane dives into his reporting on the swap, detailing months of delicate negotiations, who the Russians got in return, and touches on the complicated question of whether these exchanges incentivize autocrats like Putin to take hostage more Westerners and journalists to extract concessions from their governments.

Read Shane’s work for The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/shane-harris/

Follow Shane on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaneharris
Follow Shane on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@shanewharris

Reporting and groups discussed in the episode

"Inside the deal that led to a blockbuster prisoner swap between US, Russia" by Shane Harris, Yasmeen Abutaleb & Souad Mekhennet: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/08/01/deal-us-russia-prisoner-swap/

Committee to Protect Journalists: https://cpj.org

James Foley Legacy Foundation: https://jamesfoleyfoundation.org

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