European history and nuclear arms policy expert Benjamin Abelow chats with Trey Elling about HOW THE WEST BROUGHT WAR TO UKRAINE: UNDERSTANDING HOW U.S. AND NATO POLICIES LED TO CRISIS, WAR, AND THE RISK OF NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE. Topics include: NATO's expansion east over the past 30 years (0:35) Why NATO would've promised not to expand east in the early 1990s (2:46) NATO adding Poland is a member in the late '90s (6:09) George W. Bush withdrawing the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in late 2001 (8:48) NATO's failed attempt to add Georgia and Ukraine in 2008 (11:00) The US's role in Ukraine's 2014 coup (17:16) Russia's response to the coup (26:26) US actions in Romania in 2016 (29:50) Trump surprisingly continuing aggressive policies toward Russia (33:53) NATO & US diplomacy with Ukraine intensifying in 2021 (38:20) The immediate future of the current conflict (47:15) The likely culprit(s) of the Nord Stream Pipeline attacks (53:25) Ben's concern about a nuclear weapon being used (1:02:40)