talk iran

In this episode, I speak again with a previous guest, Dr. Amir Afkhami, a health policy expert, historian and trained physician. This episode is all about COVID-19! Early in the episode, we discuss the nature of this coronavirus and how it affects the body. Then, we get into the subject of Iran and how the country became one of the epicenters of the disease, its government’s response, the historical parallels with Iran’s past health crises, why the city of Qom was where the virus got its foothold in Iran, the role of religion, reported versus actual numbers of infections, testing failures, the role of US sanctions in Iran’s ability to fight the pandemic, if the curve has flattened in Iran, the effect of the pandemic on geopolitics and Iran’s internal politics, the balancing act between the economic and health impacts of the crisis, achieving herd immunity quickly versus flattening the curve, the psychological impact of being quarantined and many other topics.

In this episode, I speak with John Ghazvinian, an author, historian and a former journalist. He's considered a foremost expert on US-Iran relations and has written a comprehensive book about the subject.
John and I start off by talking about his book and the relationship between the US and Iran, going all the way back to the 1720’s up until the current times.

In the first half of the episode, we look at this interesting relationship in various phases and try to go beyond the narratives of the 1953 coup and the hostage crisis.

In the second half, we discuss current events including the unrest that has resulted from the death of Mahsa Amini, the opposition movement in the diaspora, the recent rapprochement between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia, the possibilities of how events can unfold in Iran in the future and finally the prospects of the future of US-Iran relations.

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 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 government of Iran, the various Iranian opposition groups, what would happen to Islamists in a democratic Iran, his book, the difference between his criticism of Islam and the right-wing xenophobic criticisms, the need for spirituality and a sense of community in people’s lives and other topics.

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