Who lost Russia? In “The Future is History,” acclaimed author Masha Gessen dove into the heart of the Soviet Union and came up with the root causes of Russia’s trajectory in the decades after communism.

Dr Shay Rabineau, Assistant Professor of Israel Studies at Binghamton University, discusses his forthcoming book “Marking and Mapping the Nation: A history of Israel’s hiking trail network,” analyzing Israel’s unique culture of yediat ha’aretz, educational outdoor activities.

Dr Jonathan Karp, Associate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at Binghamton University, discusses the crossover between Jewish-American and African-American cultural, economic and intellectual histories.

Dr Nir Arielli, Associate Professor of International History at the University of Leeds, discusses his book “From Byron To Bin Laden: A History of Foreign War Volunteers.”

In Israel, people vote for a party rather than a candidate. But over the years, there’s been a shift towards the personalization of politics. Why have our elections become a competition among single personalities rather than a confrontation among different parties and ideas?

How did the influence and power of ultra-Orthodox parties shaped Israel’s political life? Gilad Malach, director of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel program at the Israel Democracy Institute offers his take.

In this special panel discussion recorded in Wash., DC, Gilad Halpern and Ori Nir speak to Amir Tibon and Said Arikat about covering consecutive US administrations, journalism in the age of social media, and the role of diaspora groups in setting the dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian-American love-hate triangle over the years.

Iran apparently hacked the cellphone of Benny Gantz, Netanyahu’s main challenger in the upcoming elections. Eli Bahar, former legal adviser to Shin Bet, and Ron Shamir, the former head of the tech division at Shin Bet, discuss the danger posed by potential cyber attacks on Israeli democracy.

Prof. Oren Harman, Chair of the Graduate Program in Science, Technology & Society at Bar-Ilan University, discusses his book “Evolutions: Fifteen Myths that Explain Our World” and “Talking about Science in the 21st Century,” a lecture series he directs at the VLJI.

Will Israel’s democratic institutions prove resilient? How is the party system changing and is Israel headed for a tyranny of the majority? Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, examines the ramifications of the unprecedented indictment of an incumbent Prime Minister in Israel.