John Feffer on the Liberal Project and Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams

In 1990, journalist and former Open Society Fellow John Feffer interviewed several hundred activists, scholars, and politicians in Central and Eastern Europe. More than two decades later, he returned to track down many of the same interviewees to hear their stories of struggle and adaptation. 

The book Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams is the result. Through these interviews, Feffer assesses the economic, political, and cultural transformation in the region in an effort to understand the reasons for the rise and fall of the liberal project. 

At a recent event, Feffer sat down with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Tina Rosenberg for a discussion of his book. Listen to the discussion above.