Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War

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What was it like to be at the center of political tensions in Moscow and tasked with explaining the Soviet Union to the American public? Chosen by legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow to become one of what came to be known as the ‘Murrow Boys,’ veteran journalist Marvin Kalb shares his journey from radio newswriter to one of America’s most widely known foreign correspondents. In his newest memoir, Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War, Kalb takes readers on a personal journey through some of the darkest moments of the Cold War and the early days of television news. Drawing from his firsthand experiences, Kalb will comment on US-Russia relations and covering diplomacy in changing times, which is increasingly important as technological advances and social media outlets change the way that we deliver information. 

Marvin Kalb is a nonresident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. He focuses on the impact of media on public policy and politics. He is also an expert in national security, with a focus on U.S. relations with Russia, Europe, and the Middle East. Kalb’s distinguished journalism career spans more than 30 years and includes award-winning reporting for both CBS and NBC News as chief diplomatic correspondent, Moscow bureau chief, and anchor of NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Kalb went on to become founding director of Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. Kalb is the Murrow professor emeritus at Harvard and hosts The Kalb Report at the National Press Club.

The Washington History Seminar is co-chaired by Eric Arnesen (George Washington University and the National History Center) and Christian Ostermann (Woodrow Wilson Center) and is organized jointly by the National History Center of the American Historical Association and the Woodrow Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. It meets weekly during the academic year. The seminar thanks its anonymous individual donors and institutional partners (the George Washington University History Department and the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest) for their continued support.