Podcasts about modern iran

Tonight we are joined by Dr. Assal Rad, scholar of Middle East History, she works on research and writing related to US Foreign policy issues, the Middle East and contemporary Iran. He writing can bee seen in Newsweek, the National Interest, the Independent, Foreign Policy and more. She has appeared as a commentator on the BBC, CNN, NPR. She completed a PHD in history from the University of California Irvine in 2018 and is the Author of State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran. Join us for a in depth conversation.you can follow Assal here:https://x.com/AssalRad

Western media has played a central role in justifying and whitewashing Israel's assault on Gaza—just as it has done in past U.S.-backed wars from Iraq to Syria. Journalists who claim to champion press freedom are silent as activists and students face unprecedented repression for speaking out on Palestine. Why does the media function as a propaganda arm for empire, and how do we push back?Rania Khalek is joined by Assal Rad, a scholar of Modern Middle East History, a non-resident fellow at DAWN, and the author of State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran, to break it all down.Full episode available exclusively for Breakthrough News members. Support independent media and watch the full conversation at Patreon.com/BreakthroughNewsRead Assal Rad's latest piece: https://dawnmena.org/how-western-media-has-manufactured-consent-for-atrocities-from-iraq-to-gaza/ Like, share, and subscribe to help Breakthrough News challenge mainstream propaganda!Music Bed License:MB01LVVE0BBVFNN

داریم درباره‌ی یک پادشاهی ترک‌تبار حرف می‌زنیم که بر ایران و فراتر از آن حکومت می‌کرده. زبان رسمیش فارسی بوده و تا پیش از رضاشاه تقریبا هر قدرتی در ایران با همون سیستم حکومت می‌کرده.متن: پدرام وفاداری، نشاط شیرازی، علی بندری | ویدیو و صدا: حمیدرضا فرخ‌سرشتبرای دیدن ویدیوی این اپیزود اگر ایران هستید وی‌پی‌ان بزنید و روی لینک زیر کلیک کنیدیوتیوب بی‌پلاسکانال تلگرام بی‌پلاسمنابع و لینک‌هایی برای کنجکاوی بیشترخواجه نظام الملک ابو علی حسن بن علی، (۱۳۴۴). سیاست نامه. تصحیح محمد قزوینی. کتابفروشی زوار.شیخ رضایی حسین، (۱۴۰۱). داستان فکر ایرانی، جلد ۴، دوران طلایی. نشر افق.بکایی حسین، (۱۴۰۱). داستان فکر ایرانی، جلد ۵، فرار از عقل. نشر افق. داودی علیمراد، (۱۳۸۶). مقالات داودی. انتشارات خوارزمی.حدیث خداوندی و بندگی، تحلیل تاریخ بیهقی. محمد دهقانی. نشر مرکز.مقاله ایران در سده‌های میانه، نگین یاوری (تاریخ ایران، پژوهش آکسفورد)Peacock, Andrew (2015). The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press Ltd ISBN 978-0-7486-9807-3.Iran; A modern History, Abbas Amant. Yale University PressThe Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran, Homa Katouzian. Yale University PressSnow, P. (2018). History of the world map by map. In DK Pub. eBooks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part III: Religious Minorities in Modern Iran ‎ In this episode, I delved into the intricate dynamics of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. ‎We explored how the 1979 Islamic Revolution brought ideological shifts that reshaped policies and ‎attitudes toward non-Muslim communities. From the strategic public relations campaigns projecting ‎tolerance to the underlying systemic discrimination entrenched in laws, the discussion unravelled the ‎complexities of the state's dual narrative.‎ I also examined the social realities faced by Iran's religious minorities, including Persian Jews, Christians, ‎and Zoroastrians, and how they navigate a society shaped by both solidarity and segregation. The ‎episode further addressed Iran's ideological opposition to Zionism, its domestic policies toward Jewish ‎communities, and the broader global implications of its approach to diversity.‎ This conversation offered a nuanced look at the contradictions between ideology and practice, shedding ‎light on the delicate balance between state policies and societal attitudes. Your thoughts and reflections ‎are welcome—let's keep the dialogue going!‎ Keywords ‎ ‎#ReligiousMinorities; #IranianHistory; #IslamicRevolution; #ShiiteIslam; #MinorityRights; ‎‎#IslamicRepublic; #Zionism; #ReligiousDiscrimination; #HumanRights; #IranianJews; #Zoroastrianism; ‎‎#ChristianityInIran; #InterfaithRelations; #ClericalInfluence; #PersianSociety; #ToleranceAndContradictions; #IranianConstitution‎

In the past few weeks, Israel has bombed Lebanon, assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, launched a ground invasion, and displaced over a million people. Health care workers are warning of an 'apocalyptic' situation, with many now sleeping on the streets of Beirut. More than 1,300 have been killed, including at least one Lebanese American citizen. Meanwhile, Israel continues to commit genocide in Gaza and carry out military invasions in the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday, Iran launched over 100 missiles at Israel, targeting military sites in retaliation for Israel's killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. We're joined by Assal Raad. Assal specializes in research and writing on Iran policy and U.S.-Iran relations. Her work has appeared in Newsweek, The National Interest, The Independent, Foreign Policy, and more. She's been a commentator on BBC World, Al Jazeera, NPR, and others. She holds a PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of California, Irvine, and is the author of The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran.   - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical, independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Subscribe to our free email newsletters. Share this podcast Share The Mondoweiss Podcast with your followers on Twitter. Click here to post a tweet! If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Podchaser, leave us a review, and follow the show! Follow The Mondoweiss Podcast wherever you listen Amazon Apple Podcasts Audible Deezer Gaana Google Podcasts Overcast Player.fm RadioPublic Spotify TuneIn YouTube Our RSS feed We want your feedback! Email us Leave us an audio message at SparkPipe More from Mondoweiss Subscribe to our free email newsletters: Daily Headlines Weekly Briefing The Shift tracks U.S. politics Palestine Letter West Bank Dispatch Follow us on social media Mastodon Instagram Facebook YouTube Bluesky Twitter/X WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn    

To see the full episode, subscribe to  American Exception on Patreon! Aaron and Bryce speak with Dr. Assal Rad. She is the Research Director at the National Iranian American Council and the author of 'The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran'. Special thanks to: Dana Chavarria, production Casey Moore, graphics Michelle Boley, animated intro Mock Orange, music

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/architecture

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A vibrant urban settlement from mediaeval times and the royal seat of the Safavid dynasty, the city of Isfahan emerged as a great metropolis during the seventeenth century. Using key sources, Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran (Penn State University Press, 2024) reconstructs the spaces and senses of this dynamic city. Focusing on nuances of urban experience, Dr. Farshid Emami expands our understanding of Isfahan in a global context. He takes the reader on an evocative journey through the city's markets, promenades, and coffeehouses, bringing to life the social landscapes that animated the lives of urban dwellers and shaped their perceptions of themselves and the world. In doing so, Emami reveals seventeenth-century Isfahan as more than a cluster of beautiful monuments and gardens. It was a cosmopolitan city, where senses and materials, nature and artifice, and ritual and sociability acted in unison, engendering urban experiences that became paramount across the globe during the early modern period. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rania Khalek was joined by Assal Rad, who holds a PhD in Modern Middle East History and is the author of “State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran.”This is just part of this episode. The full interview is available for Breakthrough News Members only. Become a member at https://www.Patreon.com/BreakthroughNews to access the full episode and other exclusive content.

Another round of bloodletting in the world of podcasting and public radio. NPR listenership is down 15-20%, and the excuses the industry is relying on wither, don't apply, or are flat out wrong.  Mike offers a path to course correction that he doubts his old colleagues will take. But one public broadcaster is crushing it ... the BBC. Could this be because Mike is prominently featured in Episode 3 of Helen Lewis Has Left The Chat? And we're joined by Emily Blout, author of Media and Power in Modern Iran to talk about her recent article, "The Disturbing Rise of Strategic Antisemitism." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Assal Rad graduated with a PhD in Middle Eastern History from the  University of California, Irvine in 2018. Her PhD research focused on  Modern Iran, with an emphasis on national identity formation and  identity in post-revolutionary Iran. With this background, Assal works  with the policy team on research and writing related to Iran policy  issues and U.S.-Iran relations.We discuss the ongoing crisis in Yemen, Ukraine, and issues with Israel.

Imprisoned in Tehran's notorious Evin jail where 'inmates' die at the hands of guards, Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi wins the Nobel Peace Prize Meanwhile, yet another young Iranian woman, 16 year old Armita Geravand entered a subway car not wearing a hijab and was moments later carried out by passengers unconscious. A Kurdish human rights organization claims the teen suffered a "severe physical assault" by Iranian morality police. A beatng similar to that suffered by 22 year old Mahsa Amini who died from that beating? In the case of the 16 year old Armita Geravand, state media claim she lost her balance and fell. Guest: Masih Alinejad. Iranian journalist/activist. Author, The Wind in my Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran. @AlinejadMasih on 'X' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast: War breaks out following Hamas rocket and ground attack into Israel. Guest: Iddo Moed. Israel Ambassador-Designate to Canada. Imprisoned in Tehran's notorious Evin jail where 'inmates' die at the hands of guards, Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi wins the Nobel Peace Prize Meanwhile, yet another young Iranian woman, 16 year old Armita Geravand entered a subway car not wearing a hijab and was moments later carried out by passengers unconscious. A Kurdish human rights organization claims the teen suffered a "severe physical assault" by Iranian morality police. A beatng similar to that suffered by 22 year old Mahsa Amini who died from that beating? In the case of the 16 year old Armita Geravand, state media claim she lost her balance and fell. Guest: Masih Alinejad. Iranian journalist/activist. Author, The Wind in my Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran. @AlinejadMasih on 'X' The $250 million civil fraud case against Donald Trump began in New York City this week. If convicted, Trump could lose his control of Trump Tower in Manhattan and other businesses, as well as properties and his licences to conduct business in the state. Yesterday Trump tried to halt the trial, but an appeals judge denied the request of the 45th president of the United States. Guest: Michael Bachner. Former assistant district attorney in the Rackets Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. --------------------------------------------- Host/Content Producer – Roy Green Technical/Podcast Producer – Tom McKay Podcast Co-Producer – Matt Taylor If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Roy Green Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/roygreen/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend marks the first anniversary of the death in Iran of Mahsa Amini, the young woman (22) arrested by the so-called Morality Police for defying the country's hijab laws. Nationwide protests erupted and dozens of young Iranian protesters are reported to have been shot and killed by police. Mahsa Amini's father detained by security forces and warned to not commemorate his daughter's death before being released. Guest: Masih Alinejad. Iranian journalist/activist. Founder of #WhiteWednesdays & #MyCameraIsMyWeapon. Author: The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran. Her life under constant threat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Safawid Dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1501 to 1736, marked the beginning of modern Iranian history. At its height, it controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus including Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The period was extensively documented by scholars, western travellers, in literary works and commercial and political records. There are surviving buildings, monuments, coins, pottery, carpets, paintings, metalwork, and illustrations.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb meets Professor Andrew Newman to find out more about this fascinating history.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians including Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code TUDORS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here >You can take part in our listener survey here >For more Not Just The Tudors content, subscribe to our Tudor Tuesday newsletter here > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Historian, Assal Rad, explores identity formation in modern Iran, both under the Pahlavi dynasty as well as after the 1979 Revolution under the Islamic Republic. Her book "State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran" examines top-down and bottom-up manifestations of national identity as narrated by state structures and popular culture, respectively. Her fascinating analysis is based on a historical assessment of how modern state-building in Iran inculcated a sense of national belonging in the population, as well as on interviews with people in Tehran and examples taken from popular music and film. Can national identity play a positive role in liberation struggles?

Although Masih Alinejad was exiled from Iran in 2009, she continues to fight for the people of her country — and was named one of Time Magazine's 2023 Women of the Year.  And even though she has to use her voice from afar, she has amassed 9 million social media followers that hear her message of equality and freedom for the women of Iran — and the world.RelatedMasih Alinejad on InstagramWomen's Advancement at the George W. Bush InstituteThe Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran

On September 13th of last year 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family, having traveled from Irans' Kurdish region. While in Tehran she was stopped by Iran's morality police for improperly wearing her hijab, or head covering. Three days after her arrest she was dead. In the days, weeks, and months following her death Iran has seen nationwide protests, and while protests are not a particularly new thing in Iran, what's unprecedented about these protests are the calls not simply for reforms but for the toppling of Iran's theocratic regime, a regime that has been in power since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Today's episode provides an update on the protests. Last month also saw another seismic event in Iranian, and Middle East politics. After decades of saber rattling, proxy wars, and general hostility, China helped to negotiate the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. What this means for the two regional super powers, for those within their spheres of influence, and for geopolitics will be the focus of the second half of our show. Dr. Assal Rad received her PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of California, Irvine in 2018. Her PhD research focused on Modern Iran, with an emphasis on national identity formation, and identity in post-revolutionary Iran. She's also author of “The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran.  Dr. Pouya Alimagham is a historian of the modern Middle East at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His areas of expertise range from revolutionary movements, Political Islam and post-Islamism, terrorism, US foreign policy, and contemporary politics. He's also the author of “Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings" (Cambridge University Press).  

Isabella interviews Nazila Fathi, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and author. Together, they discuss what this new revolution that is driven by women means for Iran and women's rights globally. Fathi is a former correspondent for the New York Times where she covered the Iranian political climate, human rights, women's rights, etc.  She is the author of, "The Lonely War: One Woman's Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran," a memoir that details the Iranian revolution and the subsequent future that lies for women and the country. 

This conversation with two Iranian activists, both of whom will remain anonymous for obvious reasons. 'Vicky' joined us from Tehran, and Kiana from Manchester. We talked about the recent Iranian uprising following the murder of Jina 'Mahsa' Amini and why 'reforming' the regime cannot work. We spoke about the strikes, the clear gendered aspect of the protests, and what might come next. We also spoke about the now-familiar campism that we see in much of the world whereby a shallow 'anti-imperialism' is often enough for folks to erase the agency of activists and protesters in other countries. Check out 'Women for Iran': https://linktr.ee/WomenForIran ---- Mentions and Book Recommendations: - In Defense of Sentimentality by Robert C. Solomon - The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran by Masih Alinejad ---- You can support The Fire These Times on patreon.com/firethesetimes with a monthly or yearly donation and get a lot of perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the book club, merch and more. Want to help our with transcribing episodes? Check out this link. ---- You can also follow updates on Mastodon | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Website & Mailing List Joey Ayoub can be found on Mastodon | Twitter | Instagram | Website The newsletter is available on Substack ---- Host: Joey Ayoub Producer: Joey Ayoub Music: Rap and Revenge Main theme design: Wenyi Geng Sound editor: Joey Ayoub Episode design: Joey Ayoub

E283 – Inner Voice – a Heartfelt Chat with Dr. Foojan.  In this episode, Dr. Foojan Chats with Dr. Janet Afary. She holds the Mellichamp Chair in Global Religion & Modernity at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she is a Professor of Religious Studies. She is a historian of modern Iran with a Ph.D. in History and Near East Studies from the University of Michigan, where her dissertation received the Distinguished Rackham Dissertation Award. Previously she taught at the Department of History and the Program in Women's Studies at Purdue University, where she was appointed a University Faculty Scholar. Her books include Sexual Politics in Modern Iran; The Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Grassroots Democracy, Social Democracy, and the Origins of Feminism; Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism; Charand-o Parand: Revolutionary Satire in Iran.  And her latest book is based on a large study, Iranian Romance in the Digital Age: From Arranged Marriage to While Marriage – Sex, Family and Culture in the Middle East.  Her articles have appeared in The Nation, The Guardian, Huffington Post, and numerous other scholarly journals and edited collections. www.janetafary.com      Check out my website: www.FoojanZeine.com. 

On this edition of Parallax Views, Dr. Assal Rad, research director for NIAC (National Iranian-American Council) returns to the program to discuss the wave of "Death to the Dictator" protests that have swept through Iran in recent months. The protest began after the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini. Amini was arrested for wearing her hijab in a manner deemed the Guidance Patrol (or what's been called morality police) deemed improper. According to eyewitnesses Amini was beaten by the police. Protests began after Amini's death and the Islamic Republic has sought to crackdown on the dissent. Dr. Rad discusses the nature of the protests, how they started, the involvement of women and youths in the protests, and much, much more. Additionally, we delve into the themes and ideas of Dr. Rad's new book The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran. Said book investigates the history of Iranian national identity and nationalist sentiments from the Pahlavi dynasty to the Islamic Republic and the bottom-up Iranian people's resistance to having a narrowly-defined identity imposed upon them by either Iranian authorities or outside forces. Among the topics covered: - The Pahlavi dynasty's focus on pre-Islamic Persian culture as a national identity and the Islamic Republic's focus on Shi'ite Islam as a national identity - Iran, oil, and the West - The cinema and music of Iran and what it says about Iranian national identity - Nationalism, the problems with nationalism, and liberation struggles - The Iranian diaspora - Human rights abuses in Iran - The possibility of a broader, more inclusive, even cosmopolitan national identity for Iran - The concept of vatan, a love of the homeland - How those of us in the U.S. and other countries miss nuances of Iranian culture and politics that we otherwise would recognize in our own culture - The Iranian protests and BLM (Black Lives Matter) - Understanding Iran's elections, their significance, and the dual powers in Iran (the elected officials on one hand and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - And much, much more!

As protests continued across Iran, a number of Iranian-made kamikaze drones were fired by Russian forces at targets thousands of miles away in Kyiv, Ukraine.It marks the first time that these Iranian weapons have been used against a European capital, as well as a new low for relations between Iran and the West - which were already under strain.So how did we get here? In this episode of Warfare, James Rogers is joined by Professor Ali Ansari of St Andrews University in Scotland to learn the historical context of modern Iran - from the Iranian Revolution to the nuclear deal torn up by former US President Donald Trump in 2018.This episode was first broadcast on 24th October 2022.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny and Derek welcome back Assal Rad, research director at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and Pouya Alimagham, historian of the Middle East at MIT, for an episode on the ongoing protests in Iran. They discuss protest tactics, Iranian Student Day, labor power from the bazaar, the state's reaction, the role of sanctions, the situation in Sistan and Baluchestan, and more. Order your copy of Assal's book, The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran, and also pick up Pouya's book, Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

Yass Alizadeh (@AlizadehYass) is a clinical assistant professor of Persian language and literature and the Persian program coordinator at New York University. Her research focuses on the layering of ethical themes in the ambiguously coded language of folktales in Modern Iran, the intricate link between politics and fiction, and the critical role of metaphors in the reframing of Iran’s classical oral tales. Welcome to what we're calling our "Out of the Loop" episodes, where we dig a little deeper into fascinating current events that may only register as a blip on the media's news cycle and have conversations with the people who find themselves immersed in them. Here, we talk with NYU clinical assistant professor of Persian language and literature Yass Alizadeh about the protests going on in Iran right now for people who may be a bit out of the loop. Listen, learn, and enjoy! Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/746 On This Episode of Out of the Loop, We Discuss: What spark set off the current round of protests in Iran, and how does this differ from previous periods of unrest in the country? How did Iran go from a rapidly modernizing state to a tyrannical theocracy? Why the younger generations in Iran are standing up to the current regime in ways prior generations didn't dare. Iranian regime change vs. regime reform — who really supports each approach and why it matters. Where Yass sees these protests going, and what she hopes they bode for the future of the Iranian people. And much more! Connect with Jordan on Twitter, on Instagram, and on YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on an Out of the Loop episode, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our conversation with NPR’s Guy Raz? Catch up with episode 404: Guy Raz | How I Built This here! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

With the Supreme Court giving anti-choicers decisive wins in red America, those who advocate using state power to force women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term are turning their efforts to drawing new battlelines in blue states. Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a campaign that is just getting underway. And then we are joined by Assal Rad, research director for the National Iranian American Council and author of State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran, to talk about the popular uprising that has spread across Iran after the apparent murder of a young woman who was detained by Iran's "morality police" for not wearing a head covering. Rad explains why these protests have cut across demographic and class divides despite often deadly suppression by Iarnian security forces. PlaylistReza Pishro: "Freedom"Stevie Nicks: "For What It's Worth" 

On September 13th, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family, having traveled from Irans' Kurdish region. While in Tehran she was stopped by Iran's morality police for improperly wearing her hijab, or head covering. Three days after her arrest she was dead. In the days and weeks following her death Iran has seen nationwide protests, and while protests are not a particularly new thing in Iran, what's unprecedented about these protests are the calls not simply for reforms but for the toppling of Iran's theocratic regime, a regime that has been in power since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Assal Rad is a historian and research director at the National Iranian American Council. She's also author of “The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran".  Pouya Alimagham is a professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and author of, “Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings.” Support Latitude Adjustment on Patreon Support our Palestine Podcast Academy

Iran is in upheaval. The death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran's “morality police” has sparked an uprising throughout the country. Protesters have turned the current regime's revolutionary iconography against it. Faced with what might be the biggest test to its legitimacy since 1979, the Iranian government has imposed a brutal crackdown on dissent.  Countries and human rights organizations around the world condemn the government's violence. In the United States, President Biden has paused nuclear negotiations and expressed his administration's support for the protesters. But there is little consensus on how and whether this support should transform into official U.S. policy. This week on None Of The Above, EGF's Mark Hannah speaks with Assal Rad and Reza Aslan, two experts on Iranian politics and culture. They discuss Iran's history of uprisings and revolutions, the importance of international solidarity, and why  Iran's future is ultimately in Iranian hands.  To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Assal Rad is the research director at the National Iranian American Council and the author of The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran (2022). Reza Aslan is a scholar, writer, and television producer. He is the author of numerous books including his most recent, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville (2022). Reza is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

As protests continued across Iran last week, a number of Iranian-made kamikaze drones were fired by Russian forces at targets thousands of miles away in Kyiv, Ukraine.It marks the first time that these Iranian weapons have been used against a European capital, as well as a new low for relations between Iran and the West - which were already under strain.So how did we get here? In this episode, James is joined by Professor Ali Ansari of St Andrews University in Scotland to learn the historical context to modern Iran - from the Iranian Revolution to the nuclear deal torn up by ex-US President Donald Trump in 2018.For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code WARFARE for 7 days free + 50% off your first three months' subscription. To download, go to Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New UK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt delivered an emergency statement today designed to stabilize financial markets and the economy. Joining us to discuss the crisis is investor, author, fund manager and columnist for the Financial Times Ruchir Sharma.  Also on today's show: Amid the ongoing protests in Iran, Julia welcomes Masih Alinejad, an Iranian dissident in exile and author of a new memoir, The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The world is watching as women across Iran take to the streets to protest the rule of the 'morality police', burning burqas and cutting their hair. How did the country get to this point, and what do you need to know about its history to understand what happens next? We look through the history of Iran, explaining how power moves throughout the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world is watching as women across Iran take to the streets to protest the rule of the 'morality police', burning burqas and cutting their hair. How did the country get to this point, and what do you need to know about its history to understand what happens next? We look through the history of Iran, explaining how power moves throughout the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a powerful act of resistance, Iranian women are risking their lives by burning their headscarves and protesting against their government. But what sparked these protests? Will this uprising bring about a new Iran? We're joined by Assal Rad, Research Director, National Iranian American Council. She's also the author of ‘State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran.'Image credit: Shutterstock

In a powerful act of resistance, Iranian women are risking their lives by burning their headscarves and protesting against their government. But what sparked these protests? Will this uprising bring about a new Iran? We're joined by Assal Rad, Research Director, National Iranian American Council. She's also the author of ‘State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran.'Image credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Click here for the full interview with Assal Rad: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-iranians-protest?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “The state is responsible. Period. There's just no question.” Author and historian Assal Rad joins Useful Idiots to discuss the Iranian protests over the case of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died after being detained by Iran's “Morality Police” for not adequately covering her hair. “She shouldn't have been detained in the first place,” Rad says. “The fact that there is this law, this dress code, that doesn't allow women a basic form of free expression is the problem.” Amini's death has sparked protests across Iran and the west, with politicians and celebrities weighing in from around the world. “This is a human rights issue,” Rad says. “But so were the sanctions on Iran during the pandemic. It's problematic when you only cite human rights organizations and international law and the UN when it serves your purpose.” Today, crippling sanctions on Iran are starving its people, and women are affected the most. But Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber aren't posting on Instagram about it. The West chooses when to call out human rights abuses against women and when to ignore them. “And that's why outside powers having any kind of intervention is so problematic. They're not doing it in the interest of those civilians, they're doing it in their own national interest,” Rad says. “This is why listening to and supporting voices in Iran is so important.” Assad Rad's new book is “The State of Resistance Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran.” Plus, subscribe to hear the full interview on why Biden won't reenter the Iran nuclear deal, the historic suppression of the Iranian left stemming from the Cold War, and how sanctions are crushing Iranian workers. It's all this, and more, on this week's episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With protests erupting all across Iran after the killing of a young woman for wearing her headscarf too loosely, Dan is talking to Assal Rad. As Research Director for the National Iranian American Council and historian for Middle East History, she provides us with unique insight into these protests and Iran more broadly.Follow Assal Rad at: https://twitter.com/AssalRadYou can order her book "The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran on https://t.co/HiZkKB93gE. Follow us on Social Media:► Twitter:                     https://twitter.com/IronDicePod► Dan's Twitter:          https://twitter.com/Dan_Arrows► Instagram:              https://www.instagram.com/dan.arrows/  Support the show

Mahsi Amini was an Iranian woman who challenged the Tehran regime's hijab laws. After being arrested by Iran's morality police Mahsi Amini died in hospital last Friday after spending three days in a coma. Demonstrations have continued across Iran as women set their hijabs on fire in protest and demand accountability for the death of Ms. Amini. Masih Alinejad is an Iranian journalist, author and women's rights campaigner. Hosts "Tablet" a talk show on Voice of America's Persian service. She has been repeatedly attacked by the Tehran regime. Last year police uncovered a kidnapping plot to force Alinejad back to Iran and in August police arrested a man who was repeatedly seen outside her home in her Brooklyn neighbourhood. The FBI arrested the man, finding a loaded AK47 with filed off serial numbers. On CNN Masih Alinejad told the Tehran regime "Go to hell. I'm not scared of you. I have only one life. You care about power. I care about dignity and my freedom like millions of other people in Iran. You can kill me, but you cannot kill the idea. The idea is just fighting for freedom, dignity."  Guest: Masih Alinejad. Iranian journalist and activist. Author: The Wind in My Hair: My Fight For Freedom in Modern Iran. Founder: White Wednesdays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast: Thursday was Pierre Poilievre's first day to stand in parliament during Question Period as leader of the official opposition challenging prime minister Justin Trudeau. We speak to the leader of the opposition. Abacus national polling shows Poilievre and the Conservative Party holding a 5 point lead over the Liberals. Guest: Pierre Poilievre. Leader, Conservative Party of Canada Putin threatens nuclear war, mobilizes up to 300K reservists to fight Ukraine and holds fake referenda to annex areas of Ukraine Russia is not in complete control of. What will change? Nothing, according to my guest. "We have nowhere to go. We will fight to the end for our homes, our families and our country". Guest: Oleksandr Scherba. Former Ukraine Ambassador to Austria, Ukraine Ambassador at large following the 2014 conflict between Russia and Ukraine and author of Undiplomatic Thoughts. Mahsi Amini was an Iranian woman who challenged the Tehran regime's hijab laws. After being arrested by Iran's morality police Mahsi Amini died in hospital last Friday after spending three days in a coma. Demonstrations have continued across Iran as women set their hijabs on fire in protest and demand accountability for the death of Ms. Amini. Guest: Masih Alinejad. Iranian journalist, author and women's rights campaigner. Hosts "Tablet" a talk show on Voice of America's Persian service. She has been repeatedly attacked by the Tehran regime. Last year police uncovered a kidnapping plot to force Alinejad back to Iran and in August police arrested a man who was repeatedly seen outside her home in her Brooklyn neighbourhood. The FBI arrested the man, finding a loaded AK47 with filed off serial numbers. On CNN Masih Alinejad told the Tehran regime "Go to hell. I'm not scared of you. I have only one life. You care about power. I care about dignity and my freedom like millions of other people in Iran. You can kill me, but you cannot kill the idea. The idea is just fighting for freedom, dignity." Guest: Masih Alinejad. Iranian journalist and activist. Author: The Wind in My Hair: My Fight For Freedom in Modern Iran. Founder: White Wednesdays. The UCP in Alberta will announce its new leader and premier on October 12.  Guest: Travis Toews. Candidate for UCP leader and former Alberta Minister of Finance. --------------------------------------------- Host/Content Producer – Roy Green Technical/Podcast Producer – Tom McKay Podcast Co-Producer – Matt Taylor If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Roy Green Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/roygreen/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome Assal Rad, research director at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and Poulya Alimagham, historian of the Middle East at MIT, for the first episode in a series on modern Iran. The crew sets the stage for the 1953 coup against prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, discussing Iranians’ attempts to wrest sovereignty from the hands of foreign powers since the 19th century, the 1890 tobacco concession, the ousting of the Qajars, the rise of the Pahlavis, the 1941 allied occupation, Mosaddegh’s background, “Third World” nationalism, and more. Pre-order your copy of Assal’s book, The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran, and also pick up Poulya’s book, Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Compared to rival ideologies, liberalism has fared rather poorly in modern Iran. This is all the more remarkable given the essentially liberal substance of various social and political struggles - for liberal legality, individual rights and freedoms, and pluralism - in the century-long period since the demise of the Qajar dynasty and the subsequent transformation of the country into a modern nation-state. The deeply felt but largely invisible purchase of liberal political ideas in Iran challenges us to think more expansively about the trajectory of various intellectual developments since the emergence of a movement for reform and constitutionalism in the late nineteenth century. It complicates parsimonious accounts of Shi'ism, secularism, socialism, nationalism, and royalism as defining or representative ideologies of particular eras. Hidden Liberalism: Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran (Cambridge UP, 2020) offers a critical examination of the reasons behind liberalism's invisible yet influential status, and its attendant ethical quandaries, in Iranian political and intellectual discourses. Hussein Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai's research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran's political development. He has published on these topics in academic, policy, and popular periodicals. In addition to Hidden Liberalism, he is the co-author of two volumes on US-Iran relations: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022); Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); and co-editor of Human Rights at the Intersections: Transformation through Local, Global, and Cosmopolitan Challenges (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023).  Amir Sayadabdi is a Lecturer in Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. He is mainly interested in anthropology of food and its intersection with gender studies, migration studies, and studies of race, ethnicity, and nationalism.

RS | The Hijab Controversy in Modern Iran | Dr Lloyd Ridgeon In this presentation, Dr Lloyd focuses specifically on the views of two Iranian clerics, Ayatollah Motahhari and Ahmad Qabel, whose views on the hijab are diametrically opposed, but who argue from a position of “rationality”. These arguments assume greater importance given the current campaign for unveiling in Iran. #hijab #iran #hijabiniran #islamichijab

This event, with research drawn from Dr. Golnar Nikpour's book manuscript 'The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public Life in Iran', examined the making of the carceral state in modern Iran. Until the turn of the 20th century, prisons were virtually nonexistent in Iran. Even by the 1920s, as the first modern prison network was being built in central Tehran, there were only a few hundred detainees being held by the centralising Pahlavi government. By the eve of the 1979 revolution, that number had ballooned to approximately 20,000 detainees. Now, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, there are at least a quarter of a million detainees being held in 268 official jails and prisons. How and why did this extraordinary transformation and expansion occur? How did Iranians come to understand their increasingly policed and punished social worlds? What does Iran's penal history tell us about the expansion of prisons across the world? Golnar Nikpour is Assistant Professor of History at Dartmouth University. Nikpour is a scholar of modern Iranian political and intellectual history, with a particular interest in the history of law, incarceration, and rights. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University's department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, & African Studies. She teaches on an interdisciplinary set of topics including modern Middle Eastern and North African history, Iranian history, political theory, Islamic studies, critical prison studies, and women and gender studies. From 2015-2017, Nikpour was an A.W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and in 2017-2018, she served as Neubauer Junior Research Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. Since 2019, Nikpour has served on the editorial collective of the journal Radical History Review, and she also serves the editorial board of the Radical Histories of the Middle East book series on Oneworld Press. Nikpour is also co-founder and co-editor of B|ta'arof, a journal for Iranian arts and writing, where she has written extensively on the intellectual and cultural histories of Iran and its diaspora. She is currently finishing her first book project, a history of Iranian prisons and carcerality in a global context. Nazanin Shahrokni is Assistant Professor of Gender and Globalisation and Director of MSc Programme in Gender and Gender Research at the London School of Economics. She is the author of the award-winning book, Women in Place: The Politics of Gender Segregation in Iran (University of California Press 2020) which offers a gripping inquiry into gender segregation policies and women's rights in contemporary Iran. Nazanin serves on the Executive Committee of the International Sociological Association and is on the advisory board of Middle East Law and Governance, as well, the Global Dialogue.

“Literary Roots of the Revolution” - Part 21 of the Roqe Media series, The Contemporary History of Iran. What role did Iranian writers and intellectuals play in bringing on a revolution in Iran in 1979? How important was Persian literature in creating political sea change? And what were the lessons for those who fought political repression and censorship in the Pahlavi era and supported the overthrow of the Shah, when they faced an even worse plight under Khomeini? Distinguished writer and professor of Persian at the UCLA Department of Near Eastern Languages and Culture, Dr. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, author of the recent book, “ A Fire of Lilies: Perspectives on Literature and Politics in Modern Iran,” joins Jian Ghomeshi from Los Angeles to discuss the intellectual and creative class that supported the revolution of 1979 and their reasons for doing so, the heartbreak of those same intellectuals as the revolution was coopted by Islamic formalists who consolidated power, and the writers who were executed, imprisoned or exiled in the aftermath.

Dr. Assal Rad graduated with a PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of California, Irvine in 2018. Her PhD research focused on Modern Iran, with an emphasis on national identity formation and identity in post-revolutionary Iran. With this background, Assal works with the policy team on research and writing related to Iran policy issues and U.S.-Iran relations. We discuss the ongoing crisis in Yemen, Ukraine, and issues with Israel. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/district34/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/district34/support

This is a recording of a live webinar held on Friday 12th November 2021 for the MEC. Dr Mattin Biglari (SOAS, University of London) presents “Air Pollution, Toxicity, and Environmental Politics in the History of Iranian Oil Nationalisation”. Dr Stephanie Cronin (Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford) chairs this webinar. As we witness the increasingly visible effects of the global climate emergency, it is paramount that the study of the environment is better integrated into the social sciences and humanities. This is especially so in the case of Iran, where the recent drying up of rivers in the province of Khuzestan has caused water scarcity for the local population and led to subsequent political mobilisation. Yet it is also vital to consider less spectacular forms of environmental degradation that equally afflict the country today, particularly air pollution, which presents one of the world's greatest health challenges and each year contributes to over 8 million deaths globally. This talk will turn attention to the toxicity of air pollution to illuminate its relationship to embodied subjectivity, (in)visibility, temporality and infrastructure, especially with reference to the politics of Iran's oil nationalisation in 1951. By focusing on subaltern experiences in the oil refinery town of Abadan, it will offer an alternative account to challenge dominant nationalist narratives of this important episode in the country's history. In doing so, it connects the modern history of Iran to a burgeoning body of work in the environmental and energy humanities that highlights the relationship between global pollution and imperialism in the Middle East and wider Global South. Dr Mattin Biglari is a Research Associate and Teaching Fellow at SOAS. His research focuses on the intersection of energy, environment, infrastructure and labour, especially in the history of Iran and the Middle East. His doctoral thesis, which was awarded the 2021 BRISMES Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize for best PhD dissertation, examines the technopolitics of Iranian oil nationalisation, especially focusing on expertise, labour and anti-colonialism in Abadan. His monograph based on this thesis entitled Refining Knowledge: Labour, Politics and Oil Nationalisation in Iran, 1933-51 will be published with Edinburgh University Press in 2023. Mattin has also published about banditry in Iran during the early twentieth century, examining its relationship to the country's constitutional revolution and integration into the capitalist world economy. He has also written an article in Diplomatic History about how perceptions of Shi'a Islam shaped U.S. foreign policy during the 1978-79 Iranian revolution. Mattin completed his PhD in History at SOAS in 2020. Previously he attained an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS and a BA in History at the University of Cambridge. Stephanie Cronin is Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. She is the author of Armies and State-building in the Modern Middle East: Politics, Nationalism and Military Reform (I. B. Tauris, 2014); Shahs, Soldiers and Subalterns in Iran: Opposition, Protest and Revolt, 1921-1941 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010); Tribal Politics in Iran: Rural Conflict and the New State, 1921-1941 (Routledge, 2006); and The Army and the Creation of the Pahlavi State in Iran, 1910-1926 (I. B. Tauris, 1997). She is the editor of Subalterns and Social Protest: History from Below in the Middle East and North Africa (Routledge, 2007); Reformers and Revolutionaries in Modern Iran: New Perspectives on the Iranian Left (Routledge, 2004); and The Making of Modern Iran; State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921-1941 (Routledge, 2003).

For centuries, Iran had a strict social hierarchy that prevented women—particularly upper class women—from participating in public life. This started to change in the early 20th century when Iranians became disillusioned with the ruling class and had a constitutional revolution. This new constitution established a parliament, public schools, and also opened the door for women to start asserting their own rights to education and employment. Following the constitutional revolution was a period of rapid modernization in Iran. Girls were allowed to go to school, and women were encouraged to stop veiling to look more like their European counterparts. Over the course of a few decades, women's role in society changed dramatically.In 1979, their roles changed again. Islamic fundamentalists were frustrated by Western influence on Iran's culture and economy, and ushered in another revolution. Almost overnight, women were once again restricted from participating in public life.This history fascinates UnTextbooked producer Arya Barkesseh. He's Iranian American, and after witnessing a White Wednesday protest while on a family trip to Tehran, he wanted to know more about the evolution of women's rights in Iran. On this episode of UnTextbooked, Arya interviews Dr. Janet Afary, author of the book Sexual Politics in Modern Iran. They discuss the cultural context for both the constitutional and Islamic revolutions, and the ways in which Persian women have asserted agency in big and small ways throughout history.Book: Sexual Politics in Modern IranGuest: Janet Afary, PhD, professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa BarbaraProducer: Arya BarkessehMusic: Silas Bohen and Coleman HamiltonEditors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

In this episode, Ali interviews Dr. Mana Kia, an Associate Professor in Columbia University's department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies about her book, Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin Before Nationalism (Stanford University Press, 2020). If contemporary notions of being Persian are rooted in recent history, what did it mean to be Persian before nationalism? In the interconnected spaces of premodern Asia, Persian served as a language of learning and shared communication that facilitated the exchange of texts, practices, goods, and ideas, creating a Persianate cultural sphere. Persian not only provided a shared language but also gave access to a whole series of broader ideas and practices. In this older sense of being Persian, Dr. Kia has uncovered a conception of selfhood based on a very different understanding of place and origin. In it, people always understood themselves in relation to multiple collectives, not singular nations, origins, or ethnicities. Her study argues that the wide range of possible Persianate selves allowed for a type of pluralism that the nation state has been unable to provide, a pluralism that has more promise than the eurocentric notion of tolerance. The types of kinship that are produced through these shared lineages all center around the vast notion of adab. Adab is “aesthetic in ethical form,” a notion of the proper form of things that guides seeing, experiencing, thinking, and even desiring. It was adab, she argues, that kept Persianate worlds together even as their societies collapsed-- providing a shared pluralistic moral order and language that allowed them to reconstitute after each collapse. Key to this were literary genres like poetry or tazkira writing, serving as acts of commemoration in which these selves and modes of belonging were articulated. This episode concludes with a reflection on Dr. Kia's own multifaceted family history and how it informs and aids her work.

In this episode, Ali interviews Dr. Mana Kia, an Associate Professor in Columbia University’s department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies about her book, Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin Before Nationalism (Stanford University Press, 2020). If contemporary notions of being Persian are rooted in recent history, what did it mean to be Persian before nationalism? In the interconnected spaces of premodern Asia, Persian served as a language of learning and shared communication that facilitated the exchange of texts, practices, goods, and ideas, creating a Persianate cultural sphere. Persian not only provided a shared language but also gave access to a whole series of broader ideas and practices. In this older sense of being Persian, Dr. Kia has uncovered a conception of selfhood based on a very different understanding of place and origin. In it, people always understood themselves in relation to multiple collectives, not singular nations, origins, or ethnicities. Her study argues that the wide range of possible Persianate selves allowed for a type of pluralism that the nation state has been unable to provide, a pluralism that has more promise than the eurocentric notion of tolerance. The types of kinship that are produced through these shared lineages all center around the vast notion of adab. Adab is “aesthetic in ethical form,” a notion of the proper form of things that guides seeing, experiencing, thinking, and even desiring. It was adab, she argues, that kept Persianate worlds together even as their societies collapsed-- providing a shared pluralistic moral order and language that allowed them to reconstitute after each collapse. Key to this were literary genres like poetry or tazkira writing, serving as acts of commemoration in which these selves and modes of belonging were articulated. This episode concludes with a reflection on Dr. Kia’s own multifaceted family history and how it informs and aids her work.

Negar Mortazavi speaks with Roya Khadjavi, a New York-based curator who showcases young and emerging artists from Iran. Roya talks about her mission to introduce new generations of Iranian artists to the West, and how US-Iran tensions impact her work and the life of these young artists. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theiranpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theiranpodcast/support

Dear listeners, I hope that each of you is blessed with a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! This episode chronicles the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States. It explains how what has happened between the two countries in the past can serve as a road map for what may be in store for US and Iranian relations in 2021. If you would like to support this podcast, then you can do so in two ways. You can share it with others, or you can become a monthly supporter by going to anchor.fm/james-blaise/support --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-blaise/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/james-blaise/support

Humanity realized we could do more with stone tools some two and a half million years ago. We made stone hammers and cutting implements made by flaking stone, sharpening deer bone, and sticks, sometimes sharpened into spears. It took 750,000 years, but we figured out we could attach those to sticks to make hand axes and other cutting tools about 1.75 million years ago. Humanity had discovered the first of six simple machines, the wedge.  During this period we also learned to harness fire. Because fire frightened off animals that liked to cart humans off in the night the population increased, we began to cook food, and the mortality rate increased.  More humans. We learned to build rafts and began to cross larger bodies of water. We spread. Out of Africa, into the Levant, up into modern Germany, France, into Asia, Spain, and up to the British isles by 700,000 years ago. And these humanoid ancestors traded. Food, shell beads, bone tools, even arrows.  By 380,000-250,000 years ago we got the first anatomically modern humans. The oldest of those remains has been found in modern day Morocco in Northern Africa. We also have evidence of that spread from the African Rift to Turkey in Western Asia to the Horn of Africa in Ethiopia, Eritraea, across the Red Sea and then down into Israel, South Africa, the Sudan, the UAE, Oman, into China, Indonesia, and the Philopenes.  200,000 years ago we had cored stone on spears, awls, and in the late Stone Age saw the emergence of craftsmanship and cultural identity. This might be cave paintings or art made of stone. We got clothing around 170,000 years ago, when the area of the Sahara Desert was still fertile ground and as people migrated out of there we got the first structures of sandstone blocks at the border of Egypt and modern Sudan. As societies grew, we started to decorate, first with seashell beads around 80,000, with the final wave of humans leaving Africa just in time for the Toba Volcano supereruption to devastate human populations 75,000 years ago.  And still we persisted, with cave art arriving 70,000 years ago. And our populations grew.  Around 50,000 years ago we got the first carved art and the first baby boom. We began to bury our dead and so got the first religions. In the millennia that followed we settled in Australia, Europe, Japan, Siberia, the Arctic Circle, and even into the Americas. This time period was known as the Great Leap Forward and we got microliths, or small geometric blades shaped into different forms. This is when the oldest settlements have been found from Egypt, the Italian peninsula, up to Germany, Great Britain, out to Romania, Russia, Tibet, and France. We got needles and deep sea fishing. Tuna sashimi anyone? By 40,000 years ago the neanderthals went extinct and modern humans were left to forge our destiny in the world. The first aboriginal Australians settled the areas we now call Sydney and Melbourne. We started to domesticate dogs and create more intricate figurines, often of a Venus. We made ivory beads, and even flutes of bone. We slowly spread. Nomadic peoples, looking for good hunting and gathering spots. In the Pavolv Hills in the modern Czech Republic they started weaving and firing figurines from clay. We began to cremate our dead. Cultures like the Kebaran spread, to just south of Haifa. But as those tribes grew, there was strength in numbers.  The Bhimbetka rock shelters began in the heart of modern-day India, with nearly 800 shelters spread across 8 square miles from 30,000 years ago to well into the Bronze Age. Here, we see elephants, deer, hunters, arrows, battles with swords, and even horses. A snapshot into the lives of of generation after generation. Other cave systems have been found throughout the world including Belum in India but also Germany, France, and most other areas humans settled. As we found good places to settle, we learned that we could do more than forage and hunt for our food.  Our needs became more complex. Over those next ten thousand years we built ovens and began using fibers, twisting some into rope, making clothing out of others, and fishing with nets. We got our first semi-permanent settlements, such as Dolce Vestonice in the modern day Czech Republic, where they had a kiln that could be used to fire clay, such as the Venus statue found there - and a wolf bone possibly used as a counting stick. The people there had woven cloth, a boundary made of mammoth bones, useful to keep animals out - and a communal bonfire in the center of the village. A similar settlement in modern Siberia shows a 24,000 year old village. Except the homes were a bit more subterranean.  Most parts of the world began to cultivate agriculture between 20,000 and 15,000 years ago according to location. During this period we solved the age old problem of food supplies, which introduced new needs. And so we saw the beginnings of pottery and textiles. Many of the cultures for the next 15,000 years are now often referred to based on the types of pottery they would make. These cultures settled close to the water, surrounding seas or rivers. And we built large burial mounds. Tools from this time have been found throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and in modern Mumbai in India. Some cultures were starting to become sedentary, such as the Natufian culture we collected grains, started making bread, cultivating cereals like rye, we got more complex socioeconomics, and these villages were growing to support upwards of 150 people.  The Paleolithic time of living in caves and huts, which began some two and a half million years ago was ending. By 10,000 BCE, Stone Age technology evolved to include axes, chisels, and gouges. This is a time many parts of the world entered the Mesolithic period. The earth was warming and people were building settlements. Some were used between cycles of hunting. As the plants we left in those settlements grew more plentiful, people started to stay there more, some becoming permanent inhabitants. Settlements like in Nanzhuangtou, China. Where we saw dogs and stones used to grind and the cultivation of seed grasses.  The mesolithic period is when we saw a lot of cave paintings and engraving. And we started to see a division of labor. A greater amount of resources led to further innovation. Some of the inventions would then have been made in multiple times and places again and again until we go them right.  One of those was agriculture.  The practice of domesticating barley, grains, and wheat began in the millennia leading up to 10,000 BCE and spread up from Northeast Africa and into Western Asia and throughout. There was enough of a surplus that we got the first granary by 9500 BCE. This is roughly the time we saw the first calendar circles emerge. Tracking time would be done first with rocks used to form early megalithic structures.  Domestication then spread to animals with sheep coming in around the same time, then cattle, all of which could be done in a pastoral or somewhat nomadic lifestyle. Humans then began to domesticate goats and pigs by 8000 BCE, in the Middle East and China. Something else started to appear in the eight millennium BCE: a copper pendant was found in Iraq. Which brings us to the Neolithic Age. And people were settling along the Indus River, forming larger complexes such as Mehrgarh, also from 7000 BCE. The first known dentistry dates back to this time, showing drilled molars. People in the Timna Valley, located in modern Israel also started to mine copper. This led us to the second real crafting specialists after pottery. Metallurgy was born.  Those specialists sought to improve their works. Potters started using wheels, although we wouldn't think to use them vertically to pull a cart until somewhere between 6000 BCE and 4000 BCE. Again, there are six simple machines. The next is the wheel and axle.  Humans were nomadic, or mostly nomadic, up until this point but settlements and those who lived in them were growing. We starting to settle in places like Lake Nasser and along the river banks from there, up the Nile to modern day Egypt. Nomadic people settled into areas along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers with Maghzaliyah being another village supporting 150 people. They began to building using packed earth, or clay, for walls and stone for foundations. This is where one of the earliest copper axes has been found. And from those early beginnings, copper and so metallurgy spread for nearly 5,000 years.  Cultures like the Yangshao culture in modern China first began with slash and burn cultivation, or plant a crop until the soil stops producing and move on. They built rammed earth homes with thatched, or wattle, roofs. They were the first to show dragons in artwork. In short, with our bellies full, we could turn our attention to the crafts and increasing our standard of living. And those discoveries were passed from complex to complex in trade, and then in trade networks.  Still, people gotta' eat. Those who hadn't settled would raid these small villages, if only out of hunger. And so the cultural complexes grew so neolithic people could protect one another. Strength in numbers. Like a force multiplier.  By 6000 BCE we got predynastic cultures flourishing in Egypt. With the final remnants of the ice age retreating, raiders moved in on the young civilization complexes from the spreading desert in search of food. The area from the Nile Valley in northern Egypt, up the coast of the Mediterranean and into the Tigris and Euphrates is now known as the Fertile Crescent - and given the agriculture and then pottery found there, known as the cradle of civilization. Here, we got farming. We weren't haphazardly putting crops we liked in the grounds but we started to irrigate and learn to cultivate.  Generations passed down information about when to plant various crops was handed down. Time was kept by the season and the movement of the stars. People began settling into larger groups in various parts of the world. Small settlements at first. Rice was cultivated in China, along the Yangtze River. This led to the rise of the Beifudi and Peiligang cultures, with the first site at Jaihu with over 45 homes and between 250 and 800 people. Here, we see raised altars, carved pottery, and even ceramics.  We also saw the rise of the Houli culture in Neolithic China. Similar to other sites from the time, we see hunting, fishing, early rice and millet production and semi-subterranean housing. But we also see cooked rice, jade artifacts, and enough similarities to show technology transfer between Chinese settlements and so trade. Around 5300 BCE we saw them followed by the Beixin culture, netting fish, harvesting hemp seeds, building burial sites away from settlements, burying the dead with tools and weapons. The foods included fruits, chicken and eggs,  and lives began getting longer with more nutritious diets. Cultures were mingling. Trading. Horses started to be tamed, spreading from around 5000 BCE in Kazakstan. The first use of the third simple machine came around 5000 BCE when the lever was used first, although it wouldn't truly be understood until Archimedes.  Polished stone axes emerged in Denmark and England. Suddenly people could clear out larger and larger amounts of forest and settlements could grow. Larger settlements meant more to hunt, gather, or farm food - and more specialists to foster innovation. In todays Southern Iraq this led to the growth of a city called Eridu.  Eridu was the city of the first Sumerian kings. The bay on the Persian Gulf allowed trading and being situated at the mouth of the Euphrates it was at the heart of the cradle of civilization. The original neolithic Sumerians had been tribal fishers and told stories of kings from before the floods, tens of thousands of years before the era. They were joined by the Samarra culture, which dates back to 5,700 BCE, to the north who brought knowledge of irrigation and nomadic herders coming up from lands we would think of today as the Middle East. The intermixing of skills and strengths allowed the earliest villages to be settled in 5,300 BCE and grow into an urban center we would consider a city today.  This was the beginning of the Sumerian Empire Going back to 5300, houses had been made of mud bricks and reed. But they would build temples, ziggurats, and grow to cover over 25 acres with over 4,000 people. As the people moved north and gradually merged with other cultural complexes, the civilization grew.  Uruk grew to over 50,000 people and is the etymological source of the name Iraq. And the population of all those cities and the surrounding areas that became Sumer is said to have grown to over a million people. They carved anthropomorphic furniture. They made jewelry of gold and created crude copper plates. They made music with flutes and stringed instruments, like the lyre. They used saws and drills. They went to war with arrows and spears and daggers. They used tablets for writing, using a system we now call cuneiform. Perhaps they wrote to indicate lunar months as they were the first known people to use 12 29-30 day months. They could sign writings with seals, which they are also credited with. How many months would it be before Abraham of Ur would become the central figure of the Old Testament in the Bible?  With scale they needed better instruments to keep track of people, stock, and other calculations. The Sumerian abacus - later used by the Egyptians and then the device we know of as an abacus today entered widespread use in the sixth century in the Persian empire. More and more humans were learning larger precision counting and numbering systems.  They didn't just irrigate their fields; they built levees to control floodwaters and canals to channel river water into irrigation networks. Because water was so critical to their way of life, the Sumerian city-states would war and so built armies.  Writing and arithmetic don't learn themselves. The Sumerians also developed the concept of going to school for twelve years. This allowed someone to be a scribe or writer, which were prestigious as they were as necessary in early civilizations as they are today.  In the meantime, metallurgy saw gold appear in 4,000 BCE. Silver and lead in 3,000 BCE, and then copper alloys. Eventually with a little tin added to the copper. By 3000 BCE this ushered in the Bronze Age. And the need for different resources to grow a city or empire moved centers of power to where those resources could be found.  The Mesopotamian region also saw a number of other empires rise and fall. The Akkadians, Babylonians (where Hammurabi would eventually give the first written set of laws), Chaldeans, Assyrians, Hebrews, Phoenicians, and one of the greatest empires in history, the Persians, who came out of villages in Modern Iran that went back past 10,000 BCE to rule much of the known world at the time. The Persians were able to inherit all of the advances of the Sumerians, but also the other cultures of Mesopotamia and those they traded with. One of their trading partners that the Persians conquered later in the life of the empire, was Egypt.  Long before the Persians and then Alexander conquered Egypt they were a great empire. Wadi Halfa had been inhabited going back 100,000 years ago. Industries, complexes, and cultures came and went. Some would die out but most would merge with other cultures. There is not much archaeological evidence of what happened from 9,000 to 6,000 BCE but around this time many from  the Levant and Fertile Crescent migrated into the area bringing agriculture, pottery, then metallurgy.  These were the Nabta then Tasian then Badarian then Naqada then Amratian and in around 3500 BCE we got the Gerzean who set the foundation for what we may think of as Ancient Egypt today with a drop in rain and suddenly people moved more quickly from the desert like lands around the Nile into the mincreasingly metropolitan centers. Cities grew and with trade routes between Egypt and Mesopotamia they frequently mimicked the larger culture.  From 3200 BCE to 3000 BCE we saw irrigation begin in protodynastic Egypt. We saw them importing obsidian from Ethiopia, cedar from Lebanon, and grow. The Canaanites traded with them and often through those types of trading partners, Mesopotamian know-how infused the empire. As did trade with the Nubians to the south, who had pioneered astrological devices. At this point we got Scorpion, Iry-Hor, Ka, Scorpion II, Double Falcon. This represented the confederation of tribes who under Narmer would unite Egypt and he would become the first Pharaoh. They would all be buried in Umm El Qa'ab, along with kings of the first dynasty who went from a confederation to a state to an empire.  The Egyptians would develop their own written language, using hieroglyphs. They took writing to the next level, using ink on papyrus. They took geometry and mathematics. They invented toothpaste. They built locked doors. They took the calendar to the next level as well, giving us 364 day years and three seasons. They'd of added a fourth if they'd of ever visited Minnesota, don'tchaknow. And many of those Obelisks raided by the Romans and then everyone else that occupied Egypt - those were often used as sun clocks. They drank wine, which is traced in its earliest form to China.  Imhotep was arguably one of the first great engineers and philosophers. Not only was he the architect of the first pyramid, but he supposedly wrote a number of great wisdom texts, was a high priest of Ra, and acted as a physician. And for his work in the 27th century BCE, he was made a deity, one of the few outside of the royal family of Egypt to receive such an honor.  Egyptians used a screw cut of wood around 2500 BCE, the fourth simple machine. They used it to press olives and make wine.  They used the fifth to build pyramids, the inclined plane. And they helped bring us the last of the simple machines, the pulley. And those pyramids. Where the Mesopotamians built Ziggurats, the Egyptians built more than 130 pyramids from 2700 BCE to 1700 BCE. And the Great Pyramid of Giza would remain the largest building in the world for 3,800 years. It is built out of 2.3 million blocks, some of which weigh as much as 80 tonnes. Can you imagine 100,000 people building a grave for you?  The sundial emerged in 1,500 BCE, presumably in Egypt - and so while humans had always had limited lifespans, our lives could then be divided up into increments of time.  The Chinese cultural complexes grew as well. Technology and evolving social structures allowed the first recorded unification of all those neolithic peoples when You the Great and his father brought flood control, That family, as the Pharos had, claimed direct heritage to the gods, in this case, the Yellow Emperor. The Xia Dynasty began in China in 2070 BCE. They would flourish until 1600 BCE when they were overthrown by the Shang who lasted until 1046 when they were overthrown by the Zhou - the last ancient Chinese dynasty before Imperial China.  Greek civilizations began to grow as well. Minoan civilization from 1600 to 1400 BCE grew to house up to 80,000 people in Knossos. Crete is a large island a little less than half way from Greece to Egypt. There are sites throughout the islands south of Greece that show a strong Aegean and Anatolian Cycladic culture emerging from 4,000 BCE but given the location, Crete became the seat of the Minoans, first an agricultural community and then merchants, facilitating trade with Egypt and throughout the Mediterranean. The population went from less than 2,000 people in 2500 BCE to up to 100,000 in 1600 BCE. They were one of the first to be able to import knowledge, in the form of papyrus from Egypt. The Mycenaeans in mainland Greece, along with earthquakes that destroyed a number of the buildings on Crete, contributed to the fall of the Minoan civilization and alongside the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians, we got the rise of the first mainland European empire: Mycenaean Greece. Sparta would rise, Athens, Corinth, Thebes. After conquering Troy in the Trojan War the empire went into decline with the Bronze Age collapse. We can read about the war in the Iliad and the return home in the Odyssey, written by Homer nearly 400 years later.  The Bronze Age ended in around 1,200 BCE - as various early empires outgrew the ability to rule ancient metropolises and lands effectively, as climate change forced increasingly urbanized centers to de-urbanize, as the source of tin dried up, and as smaller empires banded together to attack larger empires. Many of these empires became dependent on trade. Trade spread ideas and technology and science. But tribalism and warfare disrupted trade routes and fractured societies. We had to get better at re-using copper to build new things. The fall of cultures caused refugees, as we see today. It's likely a conflagration of changing cultures and what we now call Sea People caused the collapse. These Sea People include refugees, foreign warlords, and mercenaries used by existing empires. These could have been the former Philistines, Minoans, warriors coming down from the Black Sea, the Italians, people escaping a famine on the Anatolian peninsula, the Mycenaeans as they fled the Dorian invasion, Sardinians, Sicilians, or even Hittites after the fall of that empire. The likely story is a little bit of each of these. But the Neo-Assyrians were weakened in order to take Mesopotamia and then the Neo-Babylonians were. And finally the Persian Empire would ultimately be the biggest winners. But at the end of the Bronze Age, we had all the components for the birth of the Iron Age. Humans had writing, were formally educating our young, we'd codified laws, we mined, we had metallurgy, we tamed nature with animal husbandry, we developed dense agriculture, we architected, we warred, we destroyed, we rebuilt, we healed, and we began to explain the universe. We started to harness multiple of the six simple machines to do something more in the world. We had epics that taught the next generation to identify places in the stars and pass on important knowledge to the next generation.  And precision was becoming more important. Like being able to predict an eclipse. This led Chaldean astronomers to establish Saros, a period of 223 synodic months to predict the eclipse cycle. And instead of humans computing those times, within just a few hundred years, Archimedes would document the use of and begin putting math behind many of the six simple devices so we could take interdisciplinary approaches to leveraging compound and complex machines to build devices like the Antikythera mechanism. We were computing.  We also see that precision in the way buildings were created.  After the collapse of the Bronze Age there would be a time of strife. Warfare, famines, disrupted trade. The great works of the Pharaohs, Mycenaeans and other world powers of the time would be put on hold until a new world order started to form. As those empires grew, the impacts would be lasting and the reach would be greater than ever.  We'll add a link to the episode that looks at these, taking us from the Bronze Age to antiquity. But humanity slowly woke up to proto-technology. And certain aspects of our lives have been inherited over so many generations from then. 

In our first episode of Season 6, The Media School's Dean Jim Shanahan sits down with Hussein Banai, assistant professor at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Banai's new book, "Hidden Liberalism Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran," describes the ways that liberal political ideals appear in the country, and what their influence might mean for Iran's future. The two discuss the book, modern Iran's political sphere, and how it may affect international relations in the future.

♦你聽過巴哈伊嗎？♦ 方大同也信仰的神祕宗教？ 完整影片 ► http://ruru1212.piee.pw/S8QS3 — #宗教信仰 到底是拿來做什麼的呢？ 不知道你會不會也有這樣的疑問？ 坊間看到的無非就是一些 #走火入魔 的信徒，宗教到底對我們有什麼好處呢？ 通常大家可能會認為就是勸人為善或保平安之外，但是你有沒有想過，它可能也是我們改變這個世界的動力呢？ 這次就讓我們來聊聊想 #構造改革 的 #巴哈伊 吧！

The Shahnameh شاہنامہِ فردوسئ ('The Book of Kings') is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 couplets. The Shahnameh is one of the world's longest epic poems. It tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century. Modern Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and the greater region influenced by Persian culture. https://www.facebook.com/Safarwithsadaffarooqui/

One of the main objectives of the Iranian revolution was to get rid of social classes. But how effective was that undertaking exactly? There are still major gaps between the haves and the have-nots within Iran. So in that case, it’s very much a worthwhile endeavor to explore the inner workings of Iranian society and to be able to view the post-revolution Iranian government and their approach to society management through the eyes of someone that’s been there.

My guest this week is Dr. Assal Rad. Dr. Rad graduated with a PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of California, Irvine in 2018. Her PhD research focused on Modern Iran, with an emphasis on national identity formation and identity in post-revolutionary Iran. Assal works with the policy team of the National Iranian American Council as a Research Fellow on Iran policy issues and U.S.-Iran relations. We discuss the recent history of Iran, the reasons why the US is threatening Iran and imposing crippling sanctions, the Iranian people's attitudes toward the government and other topics.

Timestamps: 3:45 Armin’s upbringing in Iran 9:05 Armin’s fear of hell and how it drove him to attempt suicide 18:29 How seriously do people generally take religion? 21:32 Sex and religion 23:33 The true costs of religion 25:42 Armin loses his faith 28:27 Opposition to theocracy in Iran 32:03 Iranian ethnonationalists; Zoroastrianism 52:33 The MEK 56:12 The monarchists 01:02:03 Secular democrats 01:02:49 Ethnic minority groups in Iran 01:04:03 People with economic grievances 01:04:50 Conflicts between the various groups 01:07:01 Opposition to foreign intervention 1:11:57 Paranoia and conspiracy theories 1:23:08 Grass roots opposition to Islamic extremism and theocracy 1:37:44 How can we support atheists and secularists within Iran Armin Navabi is the founder of http://www.atheistrepublic.com/ and the co-host of the podcast “Secular Jihadists” (with Ali Rizvi, see episode 8 of this podcast). You can find them here: https://secularjihadists.libsyn.com/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmR6dMMdVE9lhsRAOn56K3A. Armin is the author of Why There Is No God: Simple Responses to 20 Common Arguments for the Existence of God (2014). Follow Armin on Twitter @ArminNavabi or on Facebook: Armin.Navabi. To learn more about the secularist campaign in Iran, follow the social media hashtags #MyStealthyFreedom #WhiteWednesdays and #MyCameraIsMyWeapon and read Masih Alinejad’s book The Wind in my Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran (2018).

What is it like to put yourself in danger fighting for your rights as a woman? Kim Chakanetsa unites two women from Iran and Saudi Arabia, who decided to defy their governments' discriminatory laws - and suffered huge personal sacrifices as a result. In Iran women must cover their hair in public, according to the dress rule enforced after the Revolution in 1979. Masih Alinejad says she began to defy this compulsory wearing of the hijab as a teenager and continued to question it from within Iran until it became too dangerous for her to stay. In 2014, Masih posted a picture of herself uncovered online and the My Stealthy Freedom movement began, encouraging ordinary Iranian women to share photos of themselves without the headscarf. Now living in the US, Masih says she suffers abuse, death threats and hasn't seen her parents for nine years, but the truly brave ones are the women in Iran who risk arrest defying this discriminatory law. Masih's book is The Wind in My Hair - My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran. Manal al-Sharif's rebellion began when she got behind the wheel of a car in Saudi Arabia in 2011. Whilst there was no formal ban, it was not legal for women to drive at that time. Manal was driving her own car but was arrested and imprisoned. After her release she continued the campaign she had co-founded #Women2Drive, which led to the loss of her job and eventually leaving the country. On June 24th 2018, the ban on women driving in Saudi was lifted. However women's rights activists continue to be arrested and Manal, who now lives in Australia, says she no longer feels safe to go back. This means she cannot see her elder son who is not allowed to leave the country to visit her. Manal's memoir is Daring to Drive - The Young Saudi Woman Who Stood up to a Kingdom of Men. Image: (L) Manal al-Sharif. Credit: Manal al-Sharif (R) Masih Alinejad. Credit: Kambiz Foroohar

Masih Alinejad is the Iranian journalist and activist who founded #MyStealthyFreedom, inviting women in Iran—where the Islamic headscarf (hijab) is mandatory—to post pictures of themselves without it. The project went viral, and is making international headlines today more than ever. Masih's riveting book, The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran, is now available, and Armin calls it one of the best books he has ever read. She joined us on the podcast to talk about it, we had SO much fun. (Rest assured, every time Masih and Armin broke out into Persian, Ali insisted on immediate translations.) You'll feel inspired, you'll feel moved, and most importantly, you'll laugh. Check it out. Watch the video version here (for patrons): https://www.patreon.com/posts/mystealthyfreedo-19887093  Listen to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite podcast app: http://secularjihadists.com     The Secular Jihadists has been made possible thanks to the gracious support of the Illuminati and the great state of Israel. That's what we have been told, but we haven't received our checks yet. In the meantime, we greatly appreciate the support of our current donors. Please consider supporting by sharing the podcast with your fellow heathens or by donating at https://www.patreon.com/SJME  Subscribe to The Secular Jihadists on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite podcast app. And please leave us a review

I speak with Masih Alinejad who leads the women's rights campaign #MyStealthyFreedom and #WhiteWednesdays against compulsory hijab in Iran, and is author of the new book 'The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran.' Follow Masih Alinejad https://www.instagram.com/masih.alinejad/ https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih Contribute on Patreon patreon.com/lalodagach Podcast available on YouTube youtube.com/lalodagachpodcast Also available iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay and TuneIn Follow Lalo Dagach twitter.com/LaloDagach facebook.com/lalodagachpage

With so much attention on Iran this week, we look at daily life for women. Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad joins us to discuss her campaign against compulsory hijab. Plus, how Western feminists and politicians can be better allies to women in Iran. Masih's soon-to-be-released memoir is The Wind in My Hair. Reading List: The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran by Masih Alinejad My Stealthy Freedom campaign White Wednesdays Girls of Revolution Street

What events have shaped Iran as we know it today? What lies at the foundation of Iran's culture and society? Where does it see itself on the global stage? Abbas Amanat discusses modern Iran's past and present.

What events have shaped Iran as we know it today? What lies at the foundation of Iran’s culture and society? Where does it see itself on the global stage? Abbas Amanat discusses modern Iran’s past and present. Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Soundcloud

Aug. 30, 2016. Ida Meftahi discussed her book, "Gender and Dance in Modern Iran: Biopolitics on Stage." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7540

Nazila Fathi was a little girl when the Iranian Revolution took place, and she grew up in the shadows of the upheaval and changes wrought by the new regime. She went on to become an accomplished journalist in her home country writing for a number foreign publications – most notably ‘The New York Times’. In what she describes as her historical memoir, ‘The Lonely War: One Woman's Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran’, Nazila Fathi relates her personal experiences and thoughts of reporting and witnessing events over the course of more than two decades. Now living in the United States and working for the World Bank Group, she reflects in ‘Bookmark’ upon her experiences as an Iranian, a woman and a journalist. She talks of how events in her home country both touched her personally, and also affected people throughout Iranian society. Bookmark explores the creative literary works of World Bank Group staff members. To listen to others episodes of the series, visit: http://www.soundcloud.com/worldbank/sets/bookmark

Speaker: Pejman Abdolmohammadi, LSE Middle East Centre Chair: Roham Alvandi, LSE In the last three years, the main focus of the international community and the media dealing with Iran has been the nuclear issue and Iranian foreign policy. Despite the relevance of these two elements, Pejman Abdolmohammadi argues that there is another paramount aspect which, in the next two decades, could have a crucial influence over the future of Iran. This new aspect is related to Iranian civil society and its ongoing radical change and is defined by Abdolmohammadi as the “Iranian Renaissance”. Recorded on 1 December 2015. Image Credit: Andrew Partain, Flickr. Iran's 2009 Green Revolution.

A lecture in English by Ali Mirsepassi, Dept. of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University

Nazila Fathi is a journalist, translator and commentator on Iran who reported from Iran for nearly two decades... until 2009, when threats from the Iranian government forced her into exile. From 2001 until 2009, Nazila was based in Tehran as the only full-time New York Times correspondent in Iran, writing over 2000 articles. Before that, she wrote for TIME magazine. Nazila's new book is "The Lonely War: One Woman's Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran." Nazila Fathi was in the Northwest to speak at Town Hall Seattle, presented by Town Hall and Elliott Bay Book Company, as part of the Civics series.

Following the 1979 Revolution, many Iranians hoped to see democracy emerge in their country. Instead, theocracy filled the political vacuum, stifling political discourse and restricting the freedom of Iranian citizens. Much has changed in the intervening years - the middle class is growing, more women are attending college and a moderate president has taken office. However, broader political change still seems distant. The Supreme Leader remains the highest authority and internet censorship and restrictions on freedom of the press continue. Iran appears to be on the path towards reform, but it may a long journey.Born in Iran shortly before the 1979 Revolution, Nazila Fathi spent two decades as an Iranian correspondent for the New York Times. She fled the country in 2009, fearing for the safety of her family after defying a ban on media coverage of the Green Revolution. Fathi will share her firsthand experiences of Iran's transformation and her thoughts on where the country is headed.Nazila Fathi, Journalist, Translator and Commentator, will speak.For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1395

A lecture by Hussein Banai, Dept. of Diplomacy and World Affairs, Occidental College

with Kent Schullhosted by Chris Gratien This episode is part of our series on Islamic law Download the seriesPodcast Feed | iTunes | SoundcloudWhile humans have devised no shortage of ways to punish each other throughout history, the rise of the prison and incarceration as a method for dealing with crime is primarily a nineteenth century phenomenon. In this episode, Kent Schull discusses his recent book about the development of the Ottoman prison system and explores the lives of Ottoman prisoners.Stream via Soundcloud (US / preferred) Kent Schull is Associate Professor of History at State University of New York, Binghamton. (see academia.edu)Chris Gratien is a doctoral candidate at Georgetown University researching the social and environmental history of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East. (see academia.edu)Episode No. 158Release date: 7 June 2014Location: German Orient Institut, IstanbulEditing and production by Chris GratienBibliography courtesy of Kent SchullErzurum: the prison and prisoners (Source: Keghuni, No. 1-10, 1903, 2nd year, Venice, St Lazzaro) fromhoushamadyan.orgSELECT BIBLIOGRAPHYSchull, Kent F. Prisons in the Late Ottoman Empire: Microcosms of Modernity. 2014. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon Books, 1977.Adams, Bruce F. The Politics of Punishment: Prison Reform in Russia, 1863-1917 (DeKalb, Ill: Northern Illinois University Press, 1996).Ignatieff, Michael. A Just Measure of Pain: The Penitentiary and the Industrial Revolution, 1750-1850 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978).Maksudyan, Nazan, ‘Orphans, Cities, and the State: Vocational Orphanages (ıslahhanes) and Reform in the Late Ottoman Urban Space’, IJMES 43 (2011), pp. 493-511.Peters, Rudolph. Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).Yıldız, Gültekin. Mapusane: Osmanlı Hapishanelerinin Kuruluș Serüveni, 1839-1908 (İstanbul: Kitabevi, 2012).Abrahamian, Ervand. Tortured Confessions Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

Unlike other parts of the Middle East, the Iranian home as a storehouse of people’s belongings has not been paid the scholarly attention it deserves. This inattention is in part due to the inadequacy of the themes that have dominated the scholarship of modern Iranian history, which distracts from understanding transformations of everyday life. By contrast, this presentation shows how a substantial component of the modernization process in Iran advanced in the context of the home. In particular it shows how home life became a topic of interest in the mass media, where politicians, religious figures, the Left and other opposition parties communicated their respective views. Through analyzing a series of case studies and appraising a wide range of media— from newspapers, photographs, films, TV series, novels, and artworks—this talk foregrounds the significance of private life in Iran’s public sphere.

Speaker: Ali Ansari, University of St Andrews Chair: Toby Dodge, LSE Middle East Centre Launching his latest book, 'The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran', Ali Ansari explores the idea of nationalism in the creation of modern Iran, considering the broader developments in national ideologies that took place following the emergence of the European Enlightenment and showing how these ideas were adopted by a non-European state. Recorded on 18 March 2013.

In The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Ali Ansari traces the nationalist movement in Iran from the Tobacco Revolt of 1891 up to the current government led by president Ahmadinejad. Ansari explains how the events of the early 20th century led to the more well known events of Iran's recent history, providing detailed insight into the key people that have been a part of Iran's nationalist movement. The book explains the internal struggles that the movement has faced in the past century, along with the outside influences that effected its development. Ansari describes how Ahmadinejad has used nationalism to his advantage, and what he sees as the future for political participation in Iran.

In The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Ali Ansari traces the nationalist movement in Iran from the Tobacco Revolt of 1891 up to the current government led by president Ahmadinejad. Ansari explains how the events of the early 20th century led to the more well known events of Iran’s recent history, providing detailed insight into the key people that have been a part of Iran’s nationalist movement. The book explains the internal struggles that the movement has faced in the past century, along with the outside influences that effected its development. Ansari describes how Ahmadinejad has used nationalism to his advantage, and what he sees as the future for political participation in Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Ali Ansari traces the nationalist movement in Iran from the Tobacco Revolt of 1891 up to the current government led by president Ahmadinejad. Ansari explains how the events of the early 20th century led to the more well known events of Iran’s recent history, providing detailed insight into the key people that have been a part of Iran’s nationalist movement. The book explains the internal struggles that the movement has faced in the past century, along with the outside influences that effected its development. Ansari describes how Ahmadinejad has used nationalism to his advantage, and what he sees as the future for political participation in Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Ervand Abrahamian, was born in Iran and educated in England and the US. He is one of the most distinguished scholars on modern Iranian history and politics. He has published five books: Iran Between Two Revolutions, The Iranian Mojahedin, Khomeinism, Tortured Confessions, and Inventing the Axis of Evil. He is a distinguished professor of history at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center, and he has taught at Princeton, New York University, and Oxford University. He is currently working on two books: one on the CIA coup in Iran; and another, A History of Modern Iran, for Cambridge University Press.

Reza Abedini discusses his work rituals, how he initially studied painting, and the Iranian touch in his work. He also talks about the current state of Iranian design, the richness of Persian calligraphy and its importance in design. The influence of the revolution on current design, and how he approaches design and finally what it means to receive the Prins Claus Award. Reza Abedini website :: Iranian Graphic Society :: New Visual Culture of Modern Iran book :: Prins Claus Award 2006 :: File Download (27:18 min / 25 MB)

Click here for the full interview with Assal Rad: https://usefulidiots.substack.com/p/extended-episode-iranians-protest?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Become a Useful Idiot for extended interviews and bonus content at http://usefulidiots.substack.com “The state is responsible. Period. There's just no question.” Author and historian Assal Rad joins Useful Idiots to discuss the Iranian protests over the case of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died after being detained by Iran's “Morality Police” for not adequately covering her hair. “She shouldn't have been detained in the first place,” Rad says. “The fact that there is this law, this dress code, that doesn't allow women a basic form of free expression is the problem.” Amini's death has sparked protests across Iran and the west, with politicians and celebrities weighing in from around the world. “This is a human rights issue,” Rad says. “But so were the sanctions on Iran during the pandemic. It's problematic when you only cite human rights organizations and international law and the UN when it serves your purpose.” Today, crippling sanctions on Iran are starving its people, and women are affected the most. But Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber aren't posting on Instagram about it. The West chooses when to call out human rights abuses against women and when to ignore them. “And that's why outside powers having any kind of intervention is so problematic. They're not doing it in the interest of those civilians, they're doing it in their own national interest,” Rad says. “This is why listening to and supporting voices in Iran is so important.” Assad Rad's new book is “The State of Resistance Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran.” Plus, subscribe to hear the full interview on why Biden won't reenter the Iran nuclear deal, the historic suppression of the Iranian left stemming from the Cold War, and how sanctions are crushing Iranian workers. It's all this, and more, on this week's episode of Useful Idiots. Check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Ali interviews Dr. Mana Kia, an Associate Professor in Columbia University's department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies about her book, [Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin Before Nationalism](http://https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=29033) (Stanford University Press, 2020). If contemporary notions of being Persian are rooted in recent history, what did it mean to be Persian before nationalism? In the interconnected spaces of premodern Asia, Persian served as a language of learning and shared communication that facilitated the exchange of texts, practices, goods, and ideas, creating a Persianate cultural sphere. Persian not only provided a shared language but also gave access to a whole series of broader ideas and practices. In this older sense of being Persian, Dr. Kia has uncovered a conception of selfhood based on a very different understanding of place and origin. In it, people always understood themselves in relation to multiple collectives, not singular nations, origins, or ethnicities. Her study argues that the wide range of possible Persianate selves allowed for a type of pluralism that the nation state has been unable to provide, a pluralism that has more promise than the eurocentric notion of tolerance. The types of kinship that are produced through these shared lineages all center around the vast notion of adab. Adab is “aesthetic in ethical form,” a notion of the proper form of things that guides seeing, experiencing, thinking, and even desiring. It was adab, she argues, that kept Persianate worlds together even as their societies collapsed-- providing a shared pluralistic moral order and language that allowed them to reconstitute after each collapse. Key to this were literary genres like poetry or tazkira writing, serving as acts of commemoration in which these selves and modes of belonging were articulated. This episode concludes with a reflection on Dr. Kia's own multifaceted family history and how it informs and aids her work.