PROGRAM
Wednesday, October 13
  Arrival of participants
Informal reception at 6 p.m., Stanford Terrace Inn
Thursday, October 14
  All conference sessions in Stauffer Auditorium, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
8:00 A.M. Continental breakfast, Hatfield Court
8:30 A.M. Welcome
 
Opening Remarks: The Honorable George P. Shultz, Hoover Institution
Welcome: John Raisian, Director, Hoover Institution; Elena Danielson, Associate Director, Hoover Institution; Christian Ostermann, Director, Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
 
Special Welcome: President Václav Havel (recorded)
 
Conference Program Overview: A. Ross Johnson, Hoover Institution
9:00 A.M. Panel 1
 
Roundtable—Goals and Content of Western Broadcasts; Testimony of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Officials
Moderator: Norman Naimark, Stanford University and Hoover Institution
 
Participants: Paul Henze, former RFE and U.S. official; J. F. Brown, former RFE Director; Gene Sosin, former RL official Commentator: István Rev, Open Society Archives, Budapest
 
Discussion
10:30 A.M. Break
11:00 A.M. Panel 2
 
Roundtable—Goals and Content of Western Broadcasts—VOA, BBC, RIAS; Testimony of Officials and Experts
Moderator: Chip Blacker, Stanford University
 
Participants: Alan Heil, former VOA official; Eugeniusz Smolar, former BBC official; Christian Ostermann, Cold War International History Project Commentator: Mark Pomar, IREX, former broadcast official
 
Discussion
12:30 P.M. Luncheon, Hatfield Court
1:30 P.M. Panel 3
 
Impact of the Broadcasts: Jamming and Audiences
Moderator: John Dunlop, Hoover Institution
 
Paper: Jamming and Counterjamming–George Woodard, former RFE/RL and International Broadcasting Bureau Chief Engineer
Paper: RFE/RL Estimates of Audiences–Gene Parta, RFE/RL
Paper: Soviet Measurements of Audiences–Elena Bashkirova, Romir, Moscow
Paper: Polish Measurements of Audiences–Leszek Gawlikowski, RFE/RL
Discussant: Sharon Wolchik, Elliot School, George Washington University
 
Discussion

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 10:00 AM PT
Purple background with title in cream above a leather bound photo album covered in paintings, metalwork, and jewels. Gajda Album
Eastern Europe And Beyond: Photographic Albums Revealed
Discover the rich tapestry of Eastern Europe and beyond in a new photographic album exhibition from the Hoover Institution Library & Archives Lou Henry Hoover Gallery, Hoover Tower
overlay image