This interview originally aired on "In the Moment" on SDPB Radio.

For six months, Janet Johnson visited a country she never thought she'd see: The Soviet Union.

She and her husband, scientist W. Carter Johnson, were sent to the country together during the height of the Cold War. He collected botanical data, and she crafted poems about their experiences.

Now, decades later, Johnson has published those poems in "The Rebel Coat."

She joins "In the Moment" to share what surprised her about the Soviet Union and to read a poem from her book.