Season 2, Episode 21: Laura Winterfell (Kazakhstan/Brooklyn)

In which your caffed-out host talks Central Asian democracy with Kazakhstani-Brooklynite activist Laura Winterfell. She recounts how a potato-shaped man with all the charisma of a doorknob quietly reigned over one of the largest countries on Earth for thirty nightmarish years, and then retired (without actually retiring) but not before renaming the capital of Kazakhstan after … himself. Laura discusses the various anti-authoritarian projects that consume what free time she has: from marches and protests in Times Square to crowdfunding the reimbursement of the ludicrous fines and legal fees slapped on native Kazakhstanis for exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest the abuses and excesses of an almost comically corrupt regime. Detours include fascistic felines, the art of appearing as an extra in a rap video, Borat, and Thom Yorke’s new solo album — Anima — a multi-medium masterwork that your host hasn’t even had the time to watch or listen to yet. This episode, like all others before it, is dedicated to the legacy of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Enjoy your retirement, bud. Grab a vodka tonic and hit the links. Go ahead and shoot nine while you’re at it. You’ve earned it, big guy.