The Excerpt podcast: Young Russians mourn death of opposition leader Navalny

On Monday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Young Russians in particular are mourning opposition leader Alexei Navalny amid suspicions of Russian President Vladimir Putin's involvement in his death. Former USA TODAY Correspondent and current Managing Editor of the Harvard Crimson Miles Herszenhorn reports on the reaction inside Russia. Plus, listen to Sunday's episode on Putin's ambitions. How concerning is deepfake advertising? USA TODAY Health Reporter Karen Weintraub relays some of the latest guidance around COVID-19. A new program hopes to create more Black veterinarians. 'Barbie' wins big at the People's Choice Awards.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson. And today is Monday, February 19th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today what Navalny's death means inside Russia. Plus, a look at deepfake advertising and the latest COVID guidance.

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More than 400 Russian supporters of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been arrested for paying tributes, some as modest as laying flowers at impromptu memorials. The 47-year-old critic of President Vladimir Putin died last week in an Arctic prison. The Russian government says the cause of his death remains under investigation while President Joe Biden has blamed Putin for Navalny's death. For more, I spoke with former USA Today Correspondent and current managing editor of The Harvard Crimson, Miles Herszenhorn, on the reaction inside Russia to Navalny's passing and what it might mean for the country going forward.

Miles, it's so good to have you back on the show today. Thanks for having on.

Miles Herszenhorn:

Happy to be here. Thank you.

Taylor Wilson:

Miles, can you help us better understand who Navalny was and his role in Russia?

Miles Herszenhorn:

Navalny is often referred to as the opposition leader of Russia, which is a very interesting title for somebody who has never actually won a political election. He's been described by many folks as a political animal, somebody who desperately wanted to be the leader of Russia and viewed himself as a politician, but he never won an election. In fact, his start really came from being an anti-corruption blogger who then ended up leading mass protests in 2011 when Vladimir Putin, then Prime Minister of Russia, and then President Dmitry Medvedev announced that they would do a switch that would allow Putin to return to the presidency. So that's when he became really well known. And then over the years since his humor, his charisma has really captivated the Russian people. And a lot of younger Russians, a lot of liberal Russians really saw Navalny as somebody who could be their future, who could guide them out of Putinism and really chart a new course for the country.

Taylor Wilson:

How significant of an event is this inside Russia this week and going forward? You touched on this a bit, but could this spur protests or stronger opposition to the current regime? We also know that there's a presidential election coming next month. How could this impact that?

Miles Herszenhorn:

So Navalny was in prison for three years since he remarkably returned to Moscow from Berlin where he had been treated following that poisoning attack. He was never a candidate in this presidential election, although perhaps 12 years ago some may have hoped that he would be running for president or even running for reelection as president in this 2024 election. That being said, it's significant. People knew Navalny and not just his own supporters. He was somebody who got headlines. He made a lot of attention in Russia, and this will have a big impact. People came out into the streets to lay flowers for him.

We've not seen massive protests in part because following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the country has imposed very harsh laws that really prevent protests in the country. But people have been laying flowers. That's the one form that people are saying is a permissible way to demonstrate their support for Navalny. And even in those situations, we've seen videos of people getting arrested in Russia with altercations with the police following those shows of mourning.

Taylor Wilson:

Particularly young Russians have, I think, really felt a connection with Navalny. What does this death mean for them?

Miles Herszenhorn:

It's shocking to them. Many Russians that I spoke to said that they also viewed him as an immortal Superman. He seemed to be able to defy the odds time and time again. He would get arrested and then emerge from prison just to lead more mass protests. He would get poisoned and fall into a coma only to reemerge in an award-winning, an Oscar-winning documentary and become this beacon of hope as many people described him. And so this dashes the dreams for a lot of young Russians. For a lot of these people that I spoke to, Putin or Medvedev were the only two leaders that they ever knew in Russia. And they believe that Navalny might be able to help them get out of that trend, and now it won't be Navalny.

Taylor Wilson:

And Miles, from a Western perspective, what does this now mean for US-Russia relations, and also potentially Russia's tensions really across the west?

Miles Herszenhorn:

In many ways, it's hard to see how it could get worse. And the big thing to watch out for is what will US president Joe Biden do? What will other Western allies in Europe do? Ever since Navalny was arrested back in January of 2021, Western leaders had that there would be severe consequences should Navalny die in prison. Joe Biden said that Putin is responsible for what happened to Navalny. That being said, it's unclear. Many times in the past, Putin has pushed the boundaries with the West and we've not seen a very forceful response all the time. There were warnings about Putin invading Ukraine before he did. So it will only make relations between Russia and the US worse. It's not getting better from here right now.

Taylor Wilson:

Miles Herszenhorn, great insight here in the wake of Alexei Navalny's death in Russia. Thank you, Miles.

Miles Herszenhorn:

Thank you for having me on.

Taylor Wilson:

For more on Russia's ambitions in Europe and around the world, you can go back and check out the Sunday episode of The Excerpt with my co-host Dana Taylor and USA Today Pentagon correspondent Tom Vanden Brook. You can find a link in today's show notes.

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The world of deepfake advertising is here where the products are real, but the endorsements are anything but. I'm talking about videos appearing to show celebrities plucking items from dental plans to cookware that are actually just AI-generated fabrications that technology to alter voices, appearances, and actions. The technology and using it in this way may be in its relative infancy, but Colin Campbell, an associate professor of marketing at the University of San Diego who has published research about AI-generated ads, said, "I think there's still a lot of potential for it to become a lot bigger because of the technology which is getting better and better."

Actor Tom Hanks and Broadcaster Gayle King are among those who have said their voices and images were altered without their consent and linked to unauthorized giveaways, promotions, and endorsements. For the moment, it's still possible to spot clues with the naked eye that those AI-generated videos are not real. But experts say the technology has already come so far so quickly that a fabricated video may become indistinguishable from an authentic one in a handful of years.

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It's 2024 and COVID-19 is still here, but the guidance around the illness is shifting. I spoke with USA Today Health reporter Karen Weintraub for the latest.

Hello, Karen.

Karen Weintraub:

Hello. Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for hopping on. So would you start by just giving us kind of a COVID check-in? Where are we with cases these days and is it still circulating widely?

Karen Weintraub:

It is still circulating. It does still exist. It has not gone away. It probably never will unfortunately. But it is certainly not as bad as it was several years ago, largely because we've all been exposed. We've all probably had it once or twice or three times. We've all been vaccinated hopefully. So it's not a novel coronavirus anymore. It's something that our bodies have been exposed to before. So if we catch it now, we might still get sick. My poor husband tested positive for 19 straight days, but wasn't very sick for that time. So I know other people who were pretty flat out for a week or two, but were not hospitalized because they were otherwise healthy to begin with. And we also do have, in addition to vaccines, we do have treatments that will mitigate the worst effects if you are at high risk.

Taylor Wilson:

Karen, what does guidance say right now about how long to isolate, when it's okay to return to work or socialize after getting sick? And also what should folks do who really can't take off work for whatever reason?

Karen Weintraub:

So that's kind of controversial at the moment. The CDC is apparently thinking about changing its guidance. What it has been is to stay home for five days and then wear a mask, and N95 which are the heavier duty masks for another five days if you go out in public. So the thought is, some people say you should rely on tests, not on dates, because as I said, my husband was positive for 19 days. Probably not super contagious for that whole period. The most contagious period is typically the first two to three days, maybe the day before you show symptoms or as you're developing the positivity. And then for two or three days afterwards. It's hard to predict exactly when you're positive, when you're infectious. If you have to go to work in that time period, in our society, it's hard for some people to stay home. They don't get sick days or you lose vacation if you take sick days, do wear an N95 mask to avoid getting other people sick.

Taylor Wilson:

You mentioned testing. Testing was one of the big keywords from the height of the COVID pandemic. Where are we now with testing? It does seem like fewer people are getting tested. What do experts recommend here, Karen, in terms of the types of tests to get and when to get tested?

Karen Weintraub:

There is still a little bit of controversy around this. Tests are still available for free from the federal government. The volume is lower. It's a little harder to get and they are still sort of available at drug stores. They're behind the counter now. They're probably a little more expensive, harder to get for some people. The rapid tests are still generally pretty reliable. You might not test positive for a day or two as you're getting sick. So don't necessarily think you don't have COVID if you test negative, but you're very symptomatic.

In general, if you've been positive, you're probably still positive until you test negative. One person I talked to said you're probably less contagious as that line gets fainter further on into your illness. It's not perfect, but you're not contagious if you've been sick and the line goes to nothing.

Taylor Wilson:

Of course, vaccinations still exist to help prevent infection. A lot of people got their shots in 2021 and 2022. What's the guidance say, Karen, for 2024?

Karen Weintraub:

So the vaccines which are readily available, insurance covers them. There are government programs for people who do not have insurance, so you should not have to pay for vaccine out of pocket. They are very effective. They are generally extremely safe. They don't last very long. The protection against infection does not last very long. So if you have a wedding to go to or a big trip you're going on or a can't miss meeting, you might want to get a vaccine a week, two weeks before that can't miss event, but not two months, three months before.

Not a lot of people are getting vaccinated right now. Is it an irrational decision? Not entirely. The marginal benefit of a vaccine is smaller now than it was again because we've all been exposed to the virus at this point. But it still does provide some protection, reduces the risk of severe infection. It also can substantially reduce the risk of long COVID, which are those awful symptoms that linger for months or even years after an infection. So there is some advantage, but less so to a vaccine now than there used to be.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Karen Weintraub reminding us COVID has not gone away. Thank you, Karen.

Karen Weintraub:

Thank you.

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Taylor Wilson:

Black people make up only 3% of veterinarians in the workforce, but a new program plans to train Black vets. Last month, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore received state approval to create a school of Veterinary medicine that will become just the second among the nation's more than a hundred historically Black colleges and universities. Tuskegee University in Alabama holds the other, and there are fewer than three dozen vet programs across the country. The program comes amid a shortage of veterinarians. A study from Mars Veterinary Health in August of last year found that about 55,000 more vets will be needed by 2030 to meet pet healthcare needs in the US. The study also said there's a need to build a bigger talent pipeline and to strengthen career pathways. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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Awards season rolled on last night with the People's Choice Awards, and Barbie took Home Movie of the Year and Comedy Movie of the Year. While Oppenheimer, an expected favorite at next month's Oscars, took home best drama movie. Male Movie Star went to Ryan Gosling for Barbie and Female Movie Star went to Margot Robbie for Barbie. Meanwhile, Travis Kelsey, fresh off a Super Bowl win, grabbed Athlete of the Year. For Red Carpet photos and more, we have a link in today's show notes.

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And Happy Presidents' Day. Initially marking George Washington's birthday, it's often celebrated to honor all those who served as US presidents.

Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Excerpt podcast: Russians mourn death of opposition leader Navalny