262. Oliver Stone on Ukraine, Putin, and the Military-Industrial Complex

<p>In episode 262, Shermer speaks with Oliver Stone about: the relationship with truth in dramatic films vs. documentary films; how the world would be different if JFK were not assassinated; why diplomacy and trade agreements are necessary with Russia, even now after the invasion of Ukraine; the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey, and Nikita Khrushchev’s response; Putin’s justifications for Soviet/Russian actions in Hungary, Afghanistan, Georgia, Chechnya, Syria, and Crimea; what he thinks Putin would say to justify the invasion of Ukraine; why he thinks we can’t trust Western media; U.S. foreign policy and how he thinks it is just as aggressive as Russia’s; and his moral equivalency argument for American vs. Russian aggression.</p> <p><strong>Oliver Stone</strong> studied at Yale University, taught English in South Vietnam, and served in the Vietnam War in the U.S. Army where he earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. He then attended film school at NYU and studied under the acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. Stone won his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for <em>Midnight Express</em> (1978) and won his second and third as Best Director for <em>Platoon</em> (1986) and <em>Born on the Fourth of July</em> (1989) respectively. Stone also wrote the screenplay for <em>Scarface</em>, which went on to become one of the most iconic films in history. His directed several documentary films, including <em>Comandante</em> (2003), the <em>Putin Interviews</em> (2017), and the controversial <em>JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass</em> (2021).</p>