The alleged Boston Marathon bombers are ethnic Chechens who spent the last 11 years in the United States, but have family roots in Dagestan and southern Russia, in an area called the Caucuses. Since most of us know nothing about that part of the world and the people who live there, I invited Oliver Bullough — who has traveled the area and written about it — to join me on America Weekend to explain some recent history of the Chechen people. We also discussed the perceived radicalization of the older brother, Tamarlan Tsarnaev, and the possible influence of extremist Islam. Listen to our conversation here.

For more, read Bullough’s op-ed, “Beslan Meets Columbine.”