Assignment Russia: A conversation on journalism and the Cold War

In a new memoir from the Brookings Institution Press — “Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War” — award-winning journalist Marvin Kalb describes a personal journey through some of the darkest moments of the Cold War and the early days of television news.

Chosen by broadcaster Edward R. Murrow to become one of what came to be known as the Murrow Boys, Kalb captures the excitement of being present at the creation of a whole new way of bringing news immediately to the public. Cold War tensions were high between Eisenhower’s America and Khrushchev’s Soviet Union and Kalb was at the center, occupying a unique spot as a student of Russia tasked with explaining Moscow to Washington and the American public.

On April 15, Foreign Policy at Brookings hosted a fireside chat between Kalb and respected, long-time journalist and Senior Fellow E.J. Dionne for a discussion about Kalb’s book, journalism’s history, and life behind the Iron Curtain.

Viewers submitted questions via e-mail to events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at #AssignmentRussia.