Guests of Groong Podcast
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Rafael Ishkhanyan
Rafael Ishkhanyan is a lawyer specializing in human rights, particularly freedom of assembly and expression. He coordinates the monitoring of peaceful assemblies at the Helsinki Committee of Armenia and is a member of the ODIHR Panel of Experts on Freedom of Assembly and Association. In 2023, together with colleagues, he co founded the Armenian Center for Political Rights, a watchdog organization focusing on detecting, responding to, and preventing political persecution and safeguarding political rights.
Rouben Galichian
Rouben Galichian is an author and specialist of Armenia’s maps and borders through 2600 years of history. His works can be found on roubengalichian.com.
Ruben Melikyan
Ruben Melikyan was formerly Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman, and prior to that he was rector of the Justice Academy of Armenia. In 2019, Melikyan co-founded and currently leads the “Path of Law” NGO. Իրավական ուղի in Armenian.
Ruben Muradyan
Ruben Muradyan is a Yerevan-based cybersecurity analyst. He’s an independent researcher, and a frequent speaker on cybersecurity topics on ArmSec, BarCamp.
Scott Horton
Scott Horton is an American radio host, author, and prominent voice in the libertarian antiwar movement. He is the editorial director of the Libertarian Institute and Antiwar.com, as well as the host of The Scott Horton Show, where he has conducted thousands of interviews with experts on foreign policy, war, and civil liberties. He also hosts Antiwar Radio on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles.
Horton has authored several highly regarded books critiquing U.S. military interventionism, including Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan, Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, and most recently, Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine. Through his writing and broadcasting, Horton has become a leading critic of American foreign policy, advocating for non-interventionism and diplomatic solutions over perpetual warfare.
Sergei Melkonian
Dr. Sergei Melkonian is an Academic Director at the Armenian Research Foundation. He served as assistant to President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, on Russia and Middle East politics. Sergei is currently a Research Fellow at APRI Armenia and the Institute of Oriental Studies, and also Assistant Professor at Yerevan State University and the Russian-Armenian University. He is a co-founder of the Armenian Project NGO.
Setrag Balian
Setrag Balian is a Jerusalemite Armenian activist and co-founder of the Save The ArQ movement.
Sopo Japaridze
Sopo Japaridze is the chair of Solidarity Network, an independent care workers union in Georgia. She has been a labor organizer for over a decade. She researches and studies labor and social relations and writes for various publications. She is cofounder of the Reimagining Soviet Georgia podcast.