Left to Right: Alexis Mrachek, Bay Fang, Lisa Curtis, Olivia Enos
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 22, 2026) – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) and the Hudson Institute today co-hosted an event titled, “Why Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Matter for America.” The event follows a November 2025 report by the McCain Institute’s Alexis Mrachek and Hudson Institute’s Olivia Enos on the importance of ensuring information access for closed societies through Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The future of RFA and RFE/RL remains uncertain following funding cuts.
The event featured a panel of experts, including RFA President Bay Fang, RFE/RL Board Chair Lisa Curtis, Global Peace Foundation Lead Strategist Hyun-Seung Lee, and Dialogbüro Vienna Program Coordinator for Belarus Viktoryia Andrukovich. The panel was moderated by McCain Institute Human Rights and Freedom Senior Program Manager Alexis Mrachek and Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Olivia Enos.
“RFE/RL and RFA are absolutely critical to shedding light on human rights abuses and repression occurring under authoritarian regimes, including those of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea,” said Mrachek. “We cannot let these adversaries win the information war—if the U.S. does not fill the information space with truth, American national security is at risk because our adversaries will fill the void with propaganda and disinformation. Thank you to the Hudson Institute for the opportunity to discuss the importance of RFE/RL and RFA.”
“We want to maintain U.S. soft power where we influence the world. RFA and RFE are soft power,” said Curtis. “Our organizations and surrogate reporters are necessary components for the U.S. getting out its messaging.”
“[If RFE/RL and RFA are lost] we lose the ability to reach people in countries with authoritarian governments,” said Fang. “The audience is hungry for the content— before last March we reached 60 million people in Asia.”
A recording of the event is available to view HERE. To learn more about the McCain Institute’s Human Rights and Freedom program, click HERE.