About to deliver his analysis of Middle East conflict to a live television audience of millions, Joshua Landis takes a deep breath.
It’s a few minutes past 9 a.m. on a Thursday in late February, and as students brave cold winds on the University of Oklahoma campus, Landis sits, illuminated by three sets of lights in a television studio in the school’s Continuing Education building, ready to go live on Russian television.
The show is “CrossTalk,” the flagship program of Russia Today, a state-funded global television network considered by some to be a propaganda outlet for the Russian government.
As he waits to go on air, Landis, 57, sits on a stool with his head down, fiddling with his gold wedding band. His image nearly fills the camera frame, an OU logo visible in the background above his left shoulder. In this bright light, Landis, with his tousle of red hair, resembles a slightly older version of late-night television host Conan O’Brien.
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