talk iran

In this episode, I speak with Narges Bajoghli, an award-winning anthropologist, filmmaker, writer and an Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. We mostly talk about the topics in her upcoming book titled 'Iran Reframed,' which is about the state-controlled media in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We discuss what it means to be pro-regime in Iran and the debates... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, a historian and a Senior Lecturer at King's College London. We talk about what he calls 'dislocative nationalism', a sort of Iranian nationalism that was deliberately devised and disseminated, starting in the 19th century. He outlines the founding of dislocative nationalism and how it aimed to cast Iran’s pre-Islamic period as the nation’s golden age, interpreting Islam as an alien r... Read more

I'm ending Season 1 of talk iran with this short update episode. Stay tuned for Season 2 starting in April!

In this episode, I speak with Lior Sternfeld, a social historian of the modern Middle East with a particular interest in the histories of the Jewish populations of the region. Lior and I talk about the 2,700-year history of the Iranian Jewish population focusing mostly on the 20th century and the misperceptions of the lives of Jews in Iran. We further talk about how Iranian Jews became a prominent community within Iran during the c... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Lior Sternfeld, a social historian of the modern Middle East with a particular interest in the histories of the Jewish populations of the region. Lior and I talk about the 2,700-year history of the Iranian Jewish population focusing mostly on the 20th century and the misperceptions of the lives of Jews in Iran. We further talk about how Iranian Jews became a prominent community within Iran during the c... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Bahman Kalbasi, the New York and United Nations Correspondent for BBC Persian. He and I talk about the recent US sanctions against Iran and the reports of related shortages in food and medicine coming out of that country, how the tension between the US and Iran may unfold, the various Iranian opposition movements in exile and whether they have mobilizing potential, the Jamal Khashoggi murder and its im... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Florida State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, the first ever Iranian-American to be elected to the Florida legislature and one of only a handful of Iranian-Americans to ever be elected to public office in the US. She and I talk about her historic win, her family background and why she decided to run, why Iranian-Americans have shied away from running for public office in the US, national politics and ... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Yara Elmjouie, an Iranian-American video producer and presenter at AJ+. He and I talk about his time in Iran as a freelance journalist, his background and how he became a video producer, the video making process, Iranian politics and the sanctions, the Iranian-American identity and whether to identify as Persian or Iranian and many other topics.

In this episode, I speak with Armin Navabi, an Iranian-Canadian ex-Muslim atheist, secular activist, author and podcaster. Armin and I talk about his experience as a child growing up in Iran and becoming indoctrinated in the Shia Muslim faith, a fateful suicide attempt, how he left religion and started the Atheist Republic online community, the operations of Atheist Republic, atheism and anti-Islamic sentiment in Iran, the governme... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi, a political and intellectual historian of modern Iran and the Middle East. My conversation with him mostly revolves around Iran’s post-revolutionary reform movement. We further discuss the ascent of Ayatollah Khamenei to become Iran’s Supreme Leader after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, the obstacles to reform within the Iranian system, Mahmoud... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Maral Karimi, the author of the book 'The Iranian Green Movement of 2009' and a PhD student at the University of Toronto. Besides the green movement and the concepts in her book, Maral and I discuss the overall state of the reform movement in Iran, the alternatives to reform, how the recent protests in that country compare to the 2009 protests, the various opposition groups in exile and other topics.

In this episode, I speak with Neda Maghbouleh, the author of the 2017 book 'The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race' and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. She and I talk about her background, race within the Iranian and the Iranian-American contexts, the Aryan myth as it exists among Iranians, the history of racial classification in the US, the importance of racia... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Ervand Abrahamian, a world-renowned author and historian of Iran. We start our conversation talking about the reasons for the success of the clerical establishment in bringing about the Islamic revolution of 1979, and we also talk about the Persian identity versus the Shia identity, the similarities between Zoroastrianism and Shiism, the failure of democracy in Iran, foreign interference in Iranian aff... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Trita Parsi, an award-winning author and the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). Trita and I talk about the founding of NIAC, his and NIAC’s involvement in the the Iran Nuclear Deal, the various pitfalls of the Deal and Trump’s withdrawal, whether the only alternative to diplomacy is war, the current challenges facing Iranian society, his thoughts on the Irania... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Anousheh Ansari, the first ever person of Iranian descent to travel to space and the first female self-funded space traveler of any nationality. Anousheh and I talk about her spaceflight experience, her background and how her Iranian identity has affected her life, the controversy around having an Iranian flag on her spacesuit, the overview effect and the epiphanies she had looking down on planet earth... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American journalist and author. Hooman and I talk about the current level of support the Islamic Republic has inside Iran, the Iranian revolution and the current struggles of the Iranian people, democracy and secularism within the Iranian context, the role of the US and the Iranian diaspora in regards to Iran, the criticism he has received because of his connections to the Islam... Read more

In this episode, I speak with Vahid Yücesoy, a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Montreal. Vahid and I talk about his background, how he became disillusioned with the Iranian reform movement, the intentions and the role of the US in regards to Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the validity and the results of various polls conducted in Iran, the divisions amongst Iranians on social media and other topics.

In this episode, I speak with Eli Lake, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. Eli and I talk about the recent US sanctions on Iran, the general role of the US and other external forces in shaping Iran’s future, how various historical events in other countries can serve as a model for change in Iran, the possibility of war, the various players opposing the regime, and other topics.

In this episode, I speak with Holly Dagres, an Iranian-American Middle East analyst. Holly and I talk about her background, her time in Cairo, the recent protests in Iran, Reza Pahlavi and other alternatives to the Islamic Republic, and of course the Trump administration.