Sopel's Soapbox
Sopel's Soapbox
BBC World Service
Conflicts of Interest and Russia
19 minutes Posted Dec 23, 2016 at 10:14 am.
0:00
19:18
Download MP3
Show notes

"Mr Trump is choosing to be wilfully ignorant of events around the world," says Tim Weiner, a journalist specialising in security issues and author of Legacy of Ashes, a history of the CIA.

He speculates about Russia's influence on the US election and how it sought to disrupt American democracy, as well as gathering intelligence to use against Hilary Clinton and to discover information about Donald Trump to save for later use.

He adds, "If we have a president of the United States living in a state of vincible ignorance, then the world will be more dangerous than it already is."

Also on the programme: with its close proximity to Russia, Alaska's residents share what they think of the idea of the nation affecting the US election.