Episode Details

Silicon Bites Ep366 | 2026-07-14 | the book and movie Stalker: enter at your own risk, assume everything is hazardous, and stop looking for redemption in the rubble. You may find things of use in the Zone of contagion, but what you find may also corrupt and kill you. ZONE OF CONTAGION: In a single fortnight, the IOC has reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee, Netflix has expanded a Russian cartoon empire into more than a hundred countries, and the Venice Biennale has already spent a season laundering the pavilion of a state that bombs museums and conducts daily human safaris in Kherson Oblast. All while Russian glide bombs hit bus stops in Sumy and ballistic missiles land in Kyiv's residential districts. The West keeps searching for the "good Russia" — the culture, the art, the sport — as if finding it would redeem the state committing the crimes. This is weakness and naivety that will get us all killed. And it is based on extraordinary weakness that verges on complicity with evil. This fictitious good Russia is a convenient excuse for us to take no action to defeat the real Russia – the one attacking Ukraine and us. This blindness to Russia’s evil intent must stop. ----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga’s Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampires----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:NPR — "IOC clears way for Russian athletes to return to Olympics" (8 July 2026)IOC — "IOC provisionally lifts suspension of Russian Olympic Committee" (7 July 2026)Sportico — "IOC Ban on Russian Athletes Lifted Ahead of Los Angeles 2028 Olympics" (7 July 2026)Marathon Handbook — "Russia Cleared To Return To The Olympics As IOC Lifts Its Suspension" (7 July 2026, incl. World Athletics Council decision of 3 July 2026)Meduza (English) — "British lawmakers demand ban on Russian cartoon 'Masha and the Bear' over 'propaganda'" (3 July 2026)Propastop — "Masha and the Bear: Why Did Russian Media Go on the Defensive?" (6 July 2026)The Telegraph (via Yahoo News) — "The Russian children's cartoon embroiled in Putin's soft-power war" (July 2026)Georgia Today — "Netflix faces criticism after expanding global access to Russian cartoon Masha and the Bear" (late June 2026)Euronews — "EU countries back suspension of funding for the Venice Biennale over Russian participation" (12 May 2026)Artforum — "Russia's Venice Pavilion Will Be Closed to Public for Duration of Biennale" (28 April 2026)EUobserver — "Russia's pavilion at the Venice Biennale won't whitewash its crimes against humanity" (8 May 2026)AP / Reuters (via US News) — "Russian attacks kill 6, wound 29, as Ukrainian forces target oil tankers" and "Russian Strikes Kill Eight, Wound Dozens" (11 July 2026)Al Jazeera — "At least 22 killed in Kyiv as Zelenskyy warns of 'massive Russian strike'" (2 July 2026)The Moscow Times — "Nine Dead as Russia, Ukraine Exchange Strikes" (12 July 2026)Background: Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic (1972); Andrei Tarkovsky, Stalker (1979).----------