With Minutes With...Natasha Lance Rogoff

Natasha Lance Rogoff chats to us about her book, ‘Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story Of Making Sesame Street In Russia', one of the most unlikely stories of East-West relations of the last thirty years.

In 1991 it seemed a great idea to bring Sesame Street - Ulitsa Sezam - to millions of children living in the former Soviet Union. Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, the Cookie Monster, Elmo and all the rest, were surely the ideal ambassadors of Western values. Except it didn’t quite turn out that way. Amidst bombings, assassinations, and a military takeover of the production office, this is the unlikely story of how Natasha Lance Rogoff and her Moscow team of artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers and puppeteers tried to bring laughter, learning, and a new way of seeing the world to Russian children.

Interview by CVHF volunteer, Ben Marvell

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