Weekend Reads: Responding to the Sony Hack, More on Cuba, SCOTUS and Free Speech

New this week

U.S.-Cuba policy could transform hemispheric relations. The policy creates space for more productive U.S. engagement with Latin America, but Harold Trinkunas says that some states in the region, particularly Venezuela,
are likely to be quietly concerned
.

Should there be an official U.S. response to the Sony hack?
Katherine H.S. Moon says no, and that the best way to respond
is as American consumers. “Leaping to action may save the day in the movies, but not necessarily in geopolitics.”

These engineers are creating better nuclear energy technologies.
Watch Leslie Dewan and Mark Massie explain
how their re-imagined nuclear reactor works, then learn more about using nuclear power to combat climate change by reading
a new Brookings Essay by Josh Freed
.

Memories of working with Richard Nixon. In a new blog series, Steve Hess recalls five key moments from his time working with Richard Nixon.
Start at the beginning
, but don’t miss Hess recount 
his conversation with Nixon on the day President Kennedy died
.

Has the ruble gone to rubble?
Experts from Brookings Foreign Policy program react
to the ruble’s plummet earlier this week and answer questions about the Russian Central Bank’s next move and more.

Supreme Court weighs a high-profile free speech case.
In a detailed examination of Elonis v. U.S.
, Richard Lempert reminds us that reversing convictions of “scoundrels” like Anthony Elonis may be the price we pay for enjoying free speech.

What our experts are reading

A week late, but this is a great update on Clean Power Plan’s forgotten older sibling, having difficulties of its own. (@PhilipWallach)

As we consider reopening embassy in Havana, don’t miss Domani Spero on the inspection of U.S. Interests Section in Havana. (@TCWittes)

Interesting read. The lesson Tony Blair took from the Iraq War was to be more tolerant of dictators than before. (@ThomasWright08)

Excellent piece by James Conca in Forbes: Pipeline and Nuclear Shortages Send New England’s Utility Bills Soaring (@CharlesEbinger)