Michael Idov is a screenwriter, journalist, and the former editor-in-chief of GQ Russia. His latest book is Dressed Up for a Riot.

"It just goes to show that the best thing you can possibly do as a journalist is to forget you’re a journalist, go out, have some authentic experiences, preferably fail at something really hard, and then write about that."

Thanks to MailChimp and Mubi for sponsoring this week's episode.@michaelidovIdov on Longform[01:15] "The Movie Set That Ate Itself" (GQ • Oct 2011)[02:00] Idov’s Archive at NY Mag[02:25] Dressed Up for a Riot (Farrar, Straus and Giroux • 2018)[06:35] “Samizdat”[14:00] "Bitter Brew" (Slate • Dec 2009)[16:55] Ground Up (Farrar, Straus and Giroux • 2009)[19:30] Adam Moss on the Longform Podcast[19:35] Jim Nelson on the Longform Podcast[21:40] "Georgia’s Next Leader May Be a Billionaire Zookeeper with Albino Rapper Children" (The New Republic • Sep 2012)[22:20] "Dosvedanie to All That" (Julia Ioffe • The New Republic • Feb 2014)[24:30] 4 (Magnolia Home Entertainment • 2009)[32:50] "My Accidental Career as a Russian Screenwriter" (New York Times • Jan 2016)[33:05] "Russia: Life After Trust" (New York • Jan 2017)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices