Making ‘Sesame Street’ in Russia

The years after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s were a heady time in Russia. All sorts of American political, economic and cultural groups showed up to try and promote democratic values and free thinking. One of them was the group behind the children’s show

“Sesame Street.” Marco Werman speaks with Natasha Lance Rogoff, the American journalist and Russian speaker hired to head up the project. Her new book, “Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia,” describes the challenge, chaos and rewards of bridging cultural divides and coming up with something distinctly Russian.