Podcast appearances and mentions of Saddam Hussein

In this episode, we welcome Tom Satterly, a highly decorated combat veteran who served in the Army for 25 years, including 20 years in the elite Tier One unit, Delta Force. He fought in and was portrayed in the Oscar Winning 2001 film: Black Hawk Down and led countless missions, including the capture of Saddam Hussein. Tom is a recipient of numerous medals including a Silver Star, and 4 Bronze Stars. He also shares his experience of overcoming the mental and emotional struggles he faced after coming within seconds of taking his own life. Today, Tom is the co-founder and COO of All Secure Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving Special Operation warriors and their families to reconnect and heal on the homefront from the trauma of war. Tom is also the best-selling author of "All Secure: A Special Operations Soldiers Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront '' and a professional speaker. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a true American hero and learn from his experiences in leadership, critical decision-making, and overcoming mental and emotional struggles. Also, I think PTS is a better label than PTSD which we talk about in the episode, I just know fewer people are familiar with the acronym. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a movie with a Guinness World Record, an Oscar nomination and, miraculously, an R-rating. That R-rating contributed to it being the highest grossing R-rated animated film for seventeen years, too.If the Motion Picture Association of America had their way, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut would have been rated NC-17, but the irony doesn't stop there. The kids of South Park; Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny sneak into an R-rated movie, discover all the swears and their parents condemn the movie for being a terrible influence; and this is exactly what happened in real life, not just with the movie, but with the hit TV show that preceded it. South Park set out to offend everyone. The fact that this movie's main antagonists are Saddam Hussein and censorship goes someway to show how South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut prided itself on tackling current affairs, as well as its own form of social justice. It's a righteous warning against overbearing parenting, quick to blame popular culture for social issues, and the notion that cursing is bad on its own.It's also a terrific musical, still holds up remarkably well 23 years later, and proves that, should we need reminding, animation is very much not just for children. BARBRA STREISAND!I would love to hear your thoughts on South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut !GET IN TOUCH.... Twitter @verbaldiorama Instagram @verbaldiorama Facebook @verbaldiorama Letterboxd @verbaldiorama Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com Website verbaldiorama.comSUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review Join the Patreon Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler, Stu and Brett!BRAND-NEW Merch STORE!! T-shirts inspired by The Mummy (1999) with more collections to come!EPISODE THANKS TO....Most excellent patrons:Andy for his patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter and his podcast Geek Salad on all your podcast apps.Brett for his patron thoughts. You can find him @DissectThatFilm on Twitter and his podcast Dissect That Film on all your podcast apps.and Nicholas for his Patron thoughts, too!Twitter peeps@BurghFan004@NextToTheAisle@andywilliams250@KyleWoolfSays@nobodyasked4pod@NeededRoads@ContrarianPrime@calebwatchmovie@Oral_mfc@Trib_Ey@laughmatician@gfpaterson@GenuineChitChat@Bedsit_Cinema@mtgcomicInstagram folk@piloterrorpodcastFacebook chumsRobAndrewTheme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme SongMusic by Chloe Enticott -

Le 17 janvier 1991, une vaste opération militaire débutait contre l'Irak. Son nom : Tempête du désert. Une coalition internationale est missionnée par l'ONU contre le régime de Saddam Hussein. C'était il y a tout pile 32 ans. A Bagdad, des tirs d'artillerie se font entendre : la première guerre du Golfe vient de commencer. Quelques mois plus tôt, en août, le Koweït a été envahi par l'Irak sur fond de conflit autour du pétrole koweïtien et de dette irakienne. La coalition menée par les Etats-Unis (dont la France fait partie, avec la division Daguet) s'est déployée en Arabie Saoudite.

Admiral McRaven was the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command during which time he led a force of 69,000 men and women and was responsible for conducting counter-terrorism operations worldwide. McRaven also is a recognized national authority on U.S. foreign policy and has advised presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and other U.S. leaders on defense issues. Served as the primary author of the President's first National Strategy for Combating Terrorism Drafted and was the primary author of the National Security Presidential Directive-12 (U.S. Hostage Policy) Drafted the counter-terrorism policy for President George W. Bush's National Security Strategy McRaven's military legacy goes beyond strategy and warfare. As commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, McRaven spearheaded the creation of the Preservation of the Force & Family initiative to ensure the mental, spiritual and physical well-being of those who serve, as well as their families. His wife, Georgeann, has dedicated much of her career to playing a leadership role with military families and wounded warriors. In Sea Stories, which begins in the early 1960' in France, where Allied officers and their wives gathered to have drinks and tell stories about their adventures during World War II -- is where Admiral McRaven learned from the greatest generation. Sea Stories is an in-depth look back on one man's incredible life, where he went to BUDS to become a Navy Seal, to working in the Middle East, to being injured in a parachuting accident, and becoming a very important piece in the anti-terrorism agenda after 9/11. Admiral McRAven played a major part in American military history, having been involved in some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden. Instead of highlighting specific adventures and operations that Admiral McRaven was a part of, I am going to read the last chapter of the book, titled The Final Salute. This chapter summarizes so much goodness and honor not only as a high ranking officer in the US Military, but what a man can do when he is driven by values that were instilled in him as a child. Purchase Sea Stories at any available book store. Please visit and sign up for my newsletter on my website: johngrdina.com Please follow me on Instagram @jgrdina04 If you have land or would like to donate to the John Grdina Classroom please email me at grdinajohn@gmail.com

Today, Dan and Jordan continue their viewing of Alex's coverage of Saddam Hussein's capture.  In this installment, equally dumb theories begin to develop both at Infowars and at Knowledge Fight HQ. Follow this link to get tickets to our upcoming live show at X-Ray Arcade on 3/3

In a vault, underneath a mosque in Baghdad, is a book whose very existence is considered morally and spiritually unforgivable. Three keys are required to open the vault: one owned by a spiritual leader, one by the chief of police, and one by an unnamed, anonymous citizen. In 1997, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered for a 605-page, 6,000-verse Quran to be written entirely in his blood. Since both its creation and destruction are strictly forbidden in Islamic law – it poses the ultimate dilemma for Iraqi authorities. H&S find out the origins of a cursed artefact.

On January 9, 1991, George H.W. Bush writes a letter to Saddam Hussein on the eve of war. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone who's driven by a car dealership in the U.S. has probably seen them: Inflatable nylon figures with smiley faces, bending and twisting in the breeze. These roadside attention getters are known in the marketing world as "tube men" or "sky dancers." Paul Chan calls them "Breathers," and they have played a central role in the artist's practice since he debuted his own uncanny renditions of the dancers in 2017 at Greene Naftali gallery in New York. The swaying figures also symbolize the artist's own winding approach to his practice, and the need, sometimes, to take a breather. After working primarily with video early in his career—including violating sanctions to shoot a video essay in Baghdad during the U.S. occupation—Chan grew exhausted by screens. He left art production for five years and opened his own publishing house, the beloved indie outfit Badlands Unlimited, which has put out eclectic titles ranging from Saddam Hussein's speeches on democracy to the interactive e-book What Is a Kardashian? Chan made his return to visual art after realizing that those car-lot tube men could be turned into offscreen animations. Now, the "Breathers" are the centerpiece of a major solo show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, open through July 16. Artnet News's deputy editor Rachel Corbett sat down with Chan—a recent winner of the MacArthur 'Genius' grant—to talk about the tyranny of screens, his early adoption of crypto, and the importance, in every artist's life, of simply taking a break.

Anyone who's driven by a car dealership in the U.S. has probably seen them: Inflatable nylon figures with smiley faces, bending and twisting in the breeze. These roadside attention getters are known in the marketing world as "tube men" or "sky dancers." Paul Chan calls them "Breathers," and they have played a central role in the artist's practice since he debuted his own uncanny renditions of the dancers in 2017 at Greene Naftali gallery in New York. The swaying figures also symbolize the artist's own winding approach to his practice, and the need, sometimes, to take a breather. After working primarily with video early in his career—including violating sanctions to shoot a video essay in Baghdad during the U.S. occupation—Chan grew exhausted by screens. He left art production for five years and opened his own publishing house, the beloved indie outfit Badlands Unlimited, which has put out eclectic titles ranging from Saddam Hussein's speeches on democracy to the interactive e-book What Is a Kardashian? Chan made his return to visual art after realizing that those car-lot tube men could be turned into offscreen animations. Now, the "Breathers" are the centerpiece of a major solo show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, open through July 16. Artnet News's deputy editor Rachel Corbett sat down with Chan—a recent winner of the MacArthur 'Genius' grant—to talk about the tyranny of screens, his early adoption of crypto, and the importance, in every artist's life, of simply taking a break.

Ow-z (Aws) Al-Darkazali, known as “Big Al,” is an Iraqi dentist.  At first euphoric over the ouster of Saddam Hussein, he grew so discouraged with the outcome that he gave up everything and left home to rebuild his life.  After false starts in Cyprus and England he settled in the US.  Hear Big Al's perspectives on the Iraq war and life in America. Support the show

In this episode of The Optimistic American, Paul Johnson welcomes back Dr. Emily Bashah to discuss psychopathy, decision-making, and agency in the context of hierarchy. The two also discuss their book Addictive Ideologies, Stanley Milgram's 1960s experiment and tyranny. Paul Johnson and Dr. Emily Bashah discuss psychopathy, the mistakes that are often made when trying to define it, and the tools that can help explain and identify a psychopath. Bashah explains that not all convicted killers are psychopaths, and that not all psychopaths are killers – there are CEOs, successful politicians, and companies that do share psychopathic traits and tendencies. Paul and Dr. Bashah talk about whether psychopathy has a genetic nature to it or not, and about the differences between narcissists and psychopaths. Paul shares his definition of power and his hypothesis about how it manifests in different contexts such as parenthood and politics. Paul and Dr. Bashah go over taking action, guilt, making decisions, and doing so as an informed person, as well as the tyranny and persecution that happened in Iraq with Saddam Hussein, during the Second World War, in the Bosnian War, and in Rwanda. Paul and Dr. Bashah bring up the role that agency has in the context of hierarchy, and they go over the psychology of a con artist. Paul's and Dr. Bashah's new book is called Addictive Ideologies – they focus on one of the key points they make in it. Bashah talks about when and why complacency is key, and about the 1960s experiment of Stanley Milgram.     Mentioned in This Episode: Addictive Ideologies: Finding Meaning and Agency When Politics Fail You Dr. Philip Zimbardo How to Become a Tyrant (Netflix series) Stanley Milgram

Today, Dan and Jordan give an update about Alex's forthcoming predictions about 2023. There aren't any, so they go back to the past to experience Alex's immediate reaction to the news that Saddam Hussein had been found in Iraq.  

National bacon day. Pop culture from 2014, USSR formed, Saddam Hussein hanged, 1st color TV's went on sale. Todays birthdays - Bo Diddley, Jeff Lynne, Del Shannon, Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Tracy Ullman, Suzy Bogguss, Tyrese Gibson. Dawn Wells died.

In this fascinating discussion, Eric Maddox shares why he enlisted in the U.S. Army where he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, a jumpmaster, and graduate of Ranger School. In 2003, he was sent to Tikrit, Iraq where he joined a Delta Force team who was searching for high value targets on the infamous Deck of Cards. After five months and over 300 interrogations, Eric was able to track down and eventually give the team the exact location of the spider hole in which Saddam hid. For this, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, the Defense Intelligence Agency Director's Award, and the Bronze Star. Eric has successfully transitioned his technique of empathy based listening to teach business leaders across the globe on how to follow the breadcrumbs that lead to the stage of the person you are negotiating with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National horse day. Pop culture from 1982. US National Guard formed 1636, Saddam Hussein captured. Todays birthdays - Dick Van Dyke, Christopher Plummer, Wendie Malick, Randy Owen, Steve Buscemi, Ted Nugent, Jaimie Foxx, John Anderson, Morris Day, Taylor Swift. Grandma Moses died.

On December 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein is captured. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dan Goodgame, Editor of Texas Monthly still carries a skinny reporter's notebook in his back pocket. He is our special guest on Legends and is so deserving as a legendary journalist. Hear about his career that included interviews with six Presidents, Saddam Hussein, Tiger Woods and many others. Enjoy his fun story on Ronald Reagan. You will also get a sneak peek into the future of Texas Monthly covering this great states' 30 million characters. A special thanks to Bob Philipps of Texas Country Reporter for this introduction.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Jordan Cohen,  policy analyst in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, joins the show to discuss the 2022 Cato Handbook for Policymakers: Arms Sales report. Jordan makes the case the U.S. arms sales today lack oversight leading problems like arms dispersion that leads to weapons ending up in the hands of unsavory entities such as drug cartels and terrorist organizations. Moreover, said arms sales often contribute to aiding authoritarian governments and states that commit human rights abuses. Among the topics discussed in this conversation: - Top U.S. arms consumers are often "risky" clients; defining risk countries buying U.S. arms - U.S. weapons sales from anti-aircraft missiles and fighter jets to small arms and light weapons (SALW) - The Executive Branch's unrivaled power in regards to arms sales and why Congress can't regulate arms sales effectively - Saudi Arabia and the war in Yemen - Weapons dispersion in Central America's Northern Triangle - The potential connection between weapons dispersion, refugee crises, and immigration - How U.S. arms sales undermine many of the stated foreign policy aims/objectives of President Joe Biden's administration - The Ukraine/Russia war and arms sales - Thoughts on foreign policy under the Biden administration thus far - The need to "flip the script" on how we talk about U.S. arms sales - And much, much, much more! In the second segment of the show, Mitch Robson of the conservative student paper The Chicago Thinker joins us to discuss confronting Liz Cheney on the her father Dick Cheney and the Iraq War. On November 11, 2022 Liz Cheney, who has gained newfound popularity due to her opposition to Trumpism and the January 6th insurrection, appeared at a University of Chicago Institute of Politics (IOP) event. Mitch, in response to a recent ad where Liz and Dick Cheney together opined that "a real man wouldn't lie to his supporters" in reference to Trump, grilled Ms. Cheney about what many have argued are the lies that embroiled the United States in the George W. Bush administration initiated Iraq War. Robson's exchange with Cheney has gone viral and he joined to discuss the issues he had with Liz Cheney's response detailing the issues with claims like, for example, Saddam Hussein's government having had operational ties with al Qaeda.

In the first of two conversations centered on his book Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations, Admiral William H. McRaven joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss how growing up the son of a fighter pilot and a Texas schoolteacher led to his military career in the Navy SEALs and the capture of Saddam Hussein. Covering his time in the ROTC, his training upon joining the Navy SEALs, his experience of 9/11, and eventually his mission to hunt down the ‘deck of cards' leading to Saddam Hussein, Admiral McRaven provides an up-close look at the story behind this pivotal moment in American history. Recorded on October 22, 2022 

WHOA!!  Are you ready to get naked and fired up with today's guest, Eric Maddox?!  Eric is a recipient of the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director's Award, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star, for his direct role in the capture of Saddam Hussein.  Yes, that's right...Saddam Hussein!  Tune in to hear Eric and David talk about how Eric's interrogation skills can be used in business and learn to become effective at utilizing those tools.  Be sure to stay to the end to hear Eric tell the story of how his last 24 hours of hunting Saddam Hussein played out!IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: [00:01:23] Beginning of Interrogation Career[00:11:18] Using Interrogation Skills in the Business World[00:15:57] How Can Someone Become More Influential?[00:20:26] How Can Someone Gain Leadership?[00:25:19] Eric's Last 24 Hours Hunting SaddamConnect with Eric Maddox:1. Follow Eric on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram & Twitter2. Find Eric on his website3. Contact Eric to schedule Consulting and/or TrainingConnect with David AsarnowFind David on his websiteFind David on his Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook

Tis the season, to remember all the people on the front lines this holiday. When so many are celebrating. So many are standing guard. The French remember that. It's why 80 years later, when French president Macron comes to the US for a state visit; he meets with and thanks American veterans who were part of the greatest generation that liberated France. The Ukrainians know that now. Help will come. From America, help will come.  America is about remembering that helping others is required. And that helping is contagious. Even when America needs help ourselves. The spirit of America—and the spirit of not being the world's police, but being a helper, being a global citizen, being a good neighbor. We must continue to set the example. From America, help will come.  And our guest this week has a unique perspective on what that means— and what all of it means. As one of the first journalists allowed to enter and report on the capture of Saddam Hussein, later covering the conflict in Gaza as well as the Arab Spring. He understands the middle east. He understands America. He understands Georgia. And his unique perspective will help shed light on the Georgia special election results, the growing American insurgency, revolution in Iran, as well as the war in Ukraine. He's Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM).  Every episode of Independent Americans hosted by author, activist and social entrepreneur Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) is the truth beyond the headlines–and light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It's content for the 42% of Americans that proudly call themselves independent. Always with a unique focus on national security, foreign affairs and military and veterans issues. This is another pod to help you stay vigilant. Because vigilance is the price of democracy. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans will continue to be your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope.  -Join the movement. Sign up to get our regular breakdowns of the independent news you need to know.  -Learn more about Operation Independent.  -Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  - WATCH video of Paul and Ayman's conversation here. -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours.  -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us. And get a cool, new IA hoodie sweatshirt just in time for the holidays.  -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. America's next great independent media company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Ghaith Abdul Ahad reflects on 20 years of reporting from conflict areas including Yemen and Afghanistan. Recalling the 2003 US invasion of Iraq that made him leave his former career as an architect, he reveals how he once talked his way into Saddam Hussein's palace and what it's like to sit across the table from people who committed atrocities. He also reflects on the challenges of mediation – arguing that people are often less concerned with ideological narratives than sheer survival and how armoured convoys and green zones can get in the way of real connection with people on the ground.

Matt Rexroad  and Sam Fischer discuss the book and miniseries "Generation Kill".   "Generation Kill"  is an American seven-part television miniseries produced for HBO that aired from July 13 to August 24, 2008.  It is based on Evan Wright's 2004 book about his experience as an embedded reporter with the US Marine Corps' 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Matt discusses his own experience of being a Recon Marine at the same time that the Generation Kill series  takes place.  He talks about being assigned to Saddam Hussein's palaces.  Sam and Matt also discuss the Marines and the impact it had on him in  his professional career.  VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dlZY6ZAioUSupport the showThanks for listening! SUBSCRIBE, Review, Rate, and Share. Contact us: cowboysnoteggheads@gmail.com Let us know if you want a hat ($20), tee shirt ($30), coffee cup ($25), or window decal for your truck. ($30)

Hey! Join us in our latest show as we speak to Nora (everything else you could possibly want to know is classified). Listen to Nora talk about growing up in Iraq in the 90's under Saddam Hussein's brutal regime to living in Arkansas and eventually Poland. Please Listen, Like, Share and Subscribe! SHARE! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/beforeiforget/message

El la historia de los presuntos platillos volantes nazis alcanzó sus máximas cotas de delirio durante la Guerra del Golfo. Hoy tenemos un menu extraño y variado, Saddam Hussein, aliénigenas arios de Aldebarán, puertas estelares, pilotos nazis de platillos volantes, biografías inexistentes y algunas verdades incómodas sobre el mundo del misterio... Y además: La enfermedad del aburrimiento, con Josefa Ros Velasco. Caballo de Troya 12, con J. J. Benítez. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Popa HALLics #90 "From Dickens to Dictators"Just in time for the holidays comes a new high-spirited, self-aware musical  that reimagines Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" from the ghosts' perspective.  Meanwhile,  Kate is fascinated by a podcast that explores the origin stories of "the worst humans in history." First up: Hitler. Steaming:"Spirited," Apple TV +. Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds sing and even tapdance as the Ghost of Christmas Present (Ferrell ) tries to convince an "unredeemable" PR sleazeball (Reynolds) to change his ways. With Octavia Spencer."The Crown," Netflix. Season 5 finds the royal family struggling to show their relevance in the 1990s, as Prince Charles and Princess Diana spar in the media.  Imelda Staunton now plays Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth Debicki is Princess Di, and Dominic West is Charles. "Andor," Disney +.  The most grown-up, complex, nuanced "Star Wars" offering yet traces how a roguish thief (Diego Luna) eventually becomes a hero willing to lay his life on the line for the Rebellion. "House of The Dragon," HBO Max. This worthy prequel to "Game of Thrones"  features intrigue, sex, and dragons during the reign of  House Targaryen.Podcast:"Behind the Bastards." This podcast delves into the bizarre  stories of history's greatest real-life villains, from Hitler forming his monstrous ideology from young adult novels to Saddam Hussein's side gig as a trashy romance novelist. Books::"The Death of Jane Lawrence," by Caitlin Starling.  In this acclaimed Gothic horror novel, a young woman's marriage of convenience turns creepy when her new husband forbids her to visit his family estate—and she does."Jade City," by Fonda Lee. This clever mix of "Godfather"-style gang intrigue and fantasy finds clans in an Asian-like nation struggling for power. Contact with jade makes them faster, stronger, more alert—but can also drive them crazy."Sleeping Beauties," by Stephen and Owen King. This page turner asks the question: What would happen to the world if women disappeared from it?  Women begin falling asleep, a weird cocoon covering their heads, and not waking up.  The men left alone turn to violence. ...Music:The "Spirited" soundtrack got us thinking about all the other holiday musicals we love. Popahallics #90 Playlist contains gems from "A Muppet Christmas Carol," "Elf," "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," and more—including "Spirited." Listen to it here. 

The Sassoons were one of the great merchant families of the nineteenth century, alongside such names as the Jardines, the Mathesons, and the Swires. They dominated the India-China opium trade through the David Sassoon and E.D. Sassoon companies. They became Indian tycoons, English aristocracy, Hong Kong board directors, and Shanghai real estate moguls. Yet unlike the Kadoories and Swires, the Sassoon companies no longer exist today. Professor Joseph Sassoon in his latest book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire (Pantheon, 2022) helps to answer that question, from the Sassoons' start fleeing Baghdad for Bombay, through to Victor Sassoon's investments in the Shanghai before the Second World War. In this interview, Joseph and I talk about the Sassoon family: from David, the patriarch of the family, through to Victor Sassoon, Shanghai real estate mogul. And we also think about the Sassoons as a business: how did this great, global family trading house decline–and are there lessons for the businesses of today? Joseph Sassoon is Professor of History and Political Economy and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Trustee of the Bodleian Library. His previous books include the prize-winning Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (Cambridge University Press: 2012), The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (I. B. Taurus, 2010), and Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics (Cambridge University Press: 2016). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Sassoons. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The Sassoons were one of the great merchant families of the nineteenth century, alongside such names as the Jardines, the Mathesons, and the Swires. They dominated the India-China opium trade through the David Sassoon and E.D. Sassoon companies. They became Indian tycoons, English aristocracy, Hong Kong board directors, and Shanghai real estate moguls. Yet unlike the Kadoories and Swires, the Sassoon companies no longer exist today. Professor Joseph Sassoon in his latest book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire (Pantheon, 2022) helps to answer that question, from the Sassoons' start fleeing Baghdad for Bombay, through to Victor Sassoon's investments in the Shanghai before the Second World War. In this interview, Joseph and I talk about the Sassoon family: from David, the patriarch of the family, through to Victor Sassoon, Shanghai real estate mogul. And we also think about the Sassoons as a business: how did this great, global family trading house decline–and are there lessons for the businesses of today? Joseph Sassoon is Professor of History and Political Economy and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Trustee of the Bodleian Library. His previous books include the prize-winning Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (Cambridge University Press: 2012), The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (I. B. Taurus, 2010), and Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics (Cambridge University Press: 2016). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Sassoons. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

The Sassoons were one of the great merchant families of the nineteenth century, alongside such names as the Jardines, the Mathesons, and the Swires. They dominated the India-China opium trade through the David Sassoon and E.D. Sassoon companies. They became Indian tycoons, English aristocracy, Hong Kong board directors, and Shanghai real estate moguls. Yet unlike the Kadoories and Swires, the Sassoon companies no longer exist today. Professor Joseph Sassoon in his latest book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire (Pantheon, 2022) helps to answer that question, from the Sassoons' start fleeing Baghdad for Bombay, through to Victor Sassoon's investments in the Shanghai before the Second World War. In this interview, Joseph and I talk about the Sassoon family: from David, the patriarch of the family, through to Victor Sassoon, Shanghai real estate mogul. And we also think about the Sassoons as a business: how did this great, global family trading house decline–and are there lessons for the businesses of today? Joseph Sassoon is Professor of History and Political Economy and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Trustee of the Bodleian Library. His previous books include the prize-winning Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (Cambridge University Press: 2012), The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (I. B. Taurus, 2010), and Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics (Cambridge University Press: 2016). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Sassoons. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

EPISODE 86: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: Three weeks ago - so quietly it has barely been noticed - the government declassified the 31-page "memorandum for the record" of the 9/11 Commission's 2004 interview with President George W. Bush (2:20) In it, Bush's words are beyond damning - they are confessional. They confirm his dereliction of duty, his culpability, his malfeasance, in the months before 9/11. Bush lied (5:38) about the August 6 President's Daily Briefing (6:58) Bush lied about the only threats being "overseas" (7:53) Bush lied about Al-Qaeda cells in the U.S. (8:23) Bush lied about aircraft as missiles (8:57) Bush lied about being warned about domestic threats (9:30) Bush lied about George Tenet never warning him (10:00) Bush lied about never being told how Al-Qaeda would attack (14:28) Sadly the 9/11 Commissioners never asked Bush about the allegation that he rushed through the August 6 2001 PDB because he wanted to go fishing and told the briefer "All right, you've covered your ass now." That's unfortunate because ALL Bush did in his interview with the Commissioners was try to cover HIS ass. For more than 20 years he's succeeded, but after the declassification of this memorandum, history will conclude two things: Osama Bin Laden attacked America - no one else. And George W. Bush made sure that America was unprepared - no one else. B-Block (19:29) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Lucky in California (20:21) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: McCarthy promises a committee to investigate the 1/6 Committee - IF he can get elected; and after promising no layoffs, CNN's Chris Licht lays off hundreds (22:26) IN SPORTS: How IS Pele? And Don Mattingly's new job and why whenever he sees me he says "That's Mel on the right!" (25:25) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The man who ignored the warning 'never drink while playing Monopoly' and the gullible website Semafor compete with Elon "I Lied About Apple" Musk for the honors. C-Block (29:31) 37 years ago this month I was new in L.A. and on my way to a great interview with baseball immortal Mickey Mantle. That's when I ran into the most elegantly dressed couple I have ever seen in my life. They were fans of my new local sportscast, and they introduced themselves as Joseph and Patricia Carlton. But who WERE they and why he look SO familiar? An amazing explanation in "Things I Promised Not To Tell."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sassoons were one of the great merchant families of the nineteenth century, alongside such names as the Jardines, the Mathesons, and the Swires. They dominated the India-China opium trade through the David Sassoon and E.D. Sassoon companies. They became Indian tycoons, English aristocracy, Hong Kong board directors, and Shanghai real estate moguls. Yet unlike the Kadoories and Swires, the Sassoon companies no longer exist today. Professor Joseph Sassoon in his latest book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire (Pantheon, 2022) helps to answer that question, from the Sassoons' start fleeing Baghdad for Bombay, through to Victor Sassoon's investments in the Shanghai before the Second World War. In this interview, Joseph and I talk about the Sassoon family: from David, the patriarch of the family, through to Victor Sassoon, Shanghai real estate mogul. And we also think about the Sassoons as a business: how did this great, global family trading house decline–and are there lessons for the businesses of today? Joseph Sassoon is Professor of History and Political Economy and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Trustee of the Bodleian Library. His previous books include the prize-winning Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (Cambridge University Press: 2012), The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (I. B. Taurus, 2010), and Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics (Cambridge University Press: 2016). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Sassoons. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The Sassoons were one of the great merchant families of the nineteenth century, alongside such names as the Jardines, the Mathesons, and the Swires. They dominated the India-China opium trade through the David Sassoon and E.D. Sassoon companies. They became Indian tycoons, English aristocracy, Hong Kong board directors, and Shanghai real estate moguls. Yet unlike the Kadoories and Swires, the Sassoon companies no longer exist today. Professor Joseph Sassoon in his latest book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire (Pantheon, 2022) helps to answer that question, from the Sassoons' start fleeing Baghdad for Bombay, through to Victor Sassoon's investments in the Shanghai before the Second World War. In this interview, Joseph and I talk about the Sassoon family: from David, the patriarch of the family, through to Victor Sassoon, Shanghai real estate mogul. And we also think about the Sassoons as a business: how did this great, global family trading house decline–and are there lessons for the businesses of today? Joseph Sassoon is Professor of History and Political Economy and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Trustee of the Bodleian Library. His previous books include the prize-winning Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (Cambridge University Press: 2012), The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (I. B. Taurus, 2010), and Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics (Cambridge University Press: 2016). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Sassoons. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. 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

The Sassoons were one of the great merchant families of the nineteenth century, alongside such names as the Jardines, the Mathesons, and the Swires. They dominated the India-China opium trade through the David Sassoon and E.D. Sassoon companies. They became Indian tycoons, English aristocracy, Hong Kong board directors, and Shanghai real estate moguls. Yet unlike the Kadoories and Swires, the Sassoon companies no longer exist today. Professor Joseph Sassoon in his latest book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire (Pantheon, 2022) helps to answer that question, from the Sassoons' start fleeing Baghdad for Bombay, through to Victor Sassoon's investments in the Shanghai before the Second World War. In this interview, Joseph and I talk about the Sassoon family: from David, the patriarch of the family, through to Victor Sassoon, Shanghai real estate mogul. And we also think about the Sassoons as a business: how did this great, global family trading house decline–and are there lessons for the businesses of today? Joseph Sassoon is Professor of History and Political Economy and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College, Oxford and a Trustee of the Bodleian Library. His previous books include the prize-winning Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime (Cambridge University Press: 2012), The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (I. B. Taurus, 2010), and Anatomy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Republics (Cambridge University Press: 2016). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Sassoons. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Too few people know that parts of the Arab world and Iran were once home to large Jewish communities. This Mizrahi Heritage Month, let's change the story, with the final episode of the first season of The Forgotten Exodus, the first-ever narrative podcast series devoted exclusively to the rich, fascinating, and often-overlooked history of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewry. Thank you for lifting up these stories to celebrate Mizrahi Heritage Month. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to the rest of The Forgotten Exodus, wherever you get your podcasts.   __ Home to one of the world's oldest Jewish communities, the story of Jews in Iran has been one of prosperity and suffering through the millennia. During the mid-20th century, when Jews were being driven from their homes in Arab lands, Iran assisted Jewish refugees in providing safe passage to Israel. Under the Shah, Israel was an important economic and political ally. Yet that all swiftly changed in the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which ushered in Islamic rule, while chants of “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” rang out from the streets of Tehran.   Author, journalist, and poet Roya Hakakian shares her personal story of growing up Jewish in Iran during the reign of the Shah and then Ayatollah Khomeini, which she wrote about in her memoir Journey From the Land of No. Joining Hakakian is Dr. Saba Soomekh, a professor of world religions and Middle Eastern history who wrote From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture. She also serves as associate director of AJC Los Angeles, home to America's largest concentration of Persian Jewish immigrants.  In this sixth and final episode of the season, the Hakakian family's saga captures the common thread that has run throughout this series – when the history of an uprooted community is left untold, it can become vulnerable to others' narratives and assumptions, or become lost forever and forgotten. How do you leave behind a beloved homeland, safeguard its Jewish legacy, and figure out where you belong? __ Show notes: Listen to The Forgotten Exodus and sign up to receive updates about future episodes.  Song credits:  Chag Purim · The Jewish Guitar Project Hevenu Shalom · Violin Heart Pond5:  “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Oud Nation”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Haygaz Yossoulkanian (BMI), IPI#1001905418 “Persian”: Publisher: STUDEO88; Composer: Siddhartha Sharma “Meditative Middle Eastern Flute”: Publisher: N/; Composer: DANIELYAN ASHOT MAKICHEVICH (IPI NAME #00855552512), UNITED STATES BMI Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Sentimental Oud Middle Eastern”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Sotirios Bakas (BMI), IPI#797324989. “Frontiers”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Pete Checkley (BMI), IPI#380407375 “Persian Investigative Mystery”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Peter Cole (BMI), IPI#679735384 “Persian Wind”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Sigma (SESAC); Composer: Abbas Premjee (SESAC), IPI#572363837 “Modern Middle Eastern Underscore”: Publisher: All Pro Audio LLC (611803484); Composer: Alan T Fagan (347654928) “Persian Fantasy Tavern”: Publisher: N/A; Composer: John Hoge “Adventures in the East”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI) Composer: Petar Milinkovic (BMI), IPI#00738313833. ___ Episode Transcript: ROYA HAKAKIAN: In 1984, when my mother and I left and my father was left alone in Iran, that was yet another major dramatic and traumatic separation. When I look back at the events of 1979, I think, people constantly think about the revolution having, in some ways, blown up Tehran, but it also blew up families. And my own family was among them.  MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in Arab nations and Iran in the mid-20th century. This series, brought to you by American Jewish Committee, explores that pivotal moment in Jewish history and the rich Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations as some begin to build relations with Israel. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience. This is The Forgotten Exodus.  Today's episode: Leaving Iran MANYA: Outside Israel, Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East. Yes, the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2022. Though there is no official census, experts estimate about 10,000 Jews now live in the region previously known as Persia.  But since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Jews in Iran don't advertise their Jewish identity. They adhere to Iran's morality code: women stay veiled from head to toe and men and women who aren't married or related stay apart in public. They don't express support for Israel, they don't ask questions, and they don't disagree with the regime. One might ask, with all these don'ts, is this a way of living a Jewish life? Or a way to live – period?  For author, journalist, and poet Roya Hakakian and her family, the answer was ultimately no. Roya has devoted her life to being a fact-finder and truth-teller. A former associate producer at the CBS news show 60 Minutes and a Guggenheim Fellow, Roya has written two volumes of poetry in Persian and three books of nonfiction in English, the first of which was published in 2004 – Journey From the Land of No, a memoir about her charmed childhood and accursed adolescence growing up Jewish in Iran under two different regimes.  ROYA: It was hugely important for me to create an account that could be relied on as a historic document. And I did my best through being very, very careful about gathering, interviewing, talking to, observing facts, evidence, documents from everyone, including my most immediate members of my family, to do what we, both as reporters, but also as Jews, are called to do, which is to bear witness. No seemed to be the backdrop of life for women, especially of religious minorities, and, in my own case, Jewish background, and so I thought, what better way to name the book than to call it as what my experience had been, which was the constant nos that I heard. So, Land of No was Iran. MANYA: As a journalist, as a Jew, as a daughter of Iran, Roya will not accept no for an answer. After publishing her memoir, she went on to write Assassins of the Turquoise Palace, a meticulously reported book about a widely underreported incident. In 1992 at a Berlin restaurant, a terrorist attack by the Iranian proxy Hezbollah targeted and killed four Iranian-Kurdish exiles. The book highlighted Iran's enormous global footprint made possible by its terror proxies who don't let international borders get in the way of silencing Iran's critics.   Roya also co-founded the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, an independent non-profit that reports on Iran's human rights abuses.  Her work has not prompted Ayatollah Khameini to publicly issue a fatwa against her  – like the murder order against Salman Rushdie issued by his predecessor. But in 2019, one of her teenage sons answered a knock at the door. It was the FBI, warning her that she was in the crosshairs of the Iranian regime's operatives in America. Most recently, Roya wrote A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious about the emotional roller coaster of arriving in America while still missing a beloved homeland, especially one where their community has endured for thousands of years. ROYA: I felt very strongly that one stays in one's homeland, that you don't just simply take off when things go wrong, that you stick around and try to figure a way through a bad situation. We came to the point where staying didn't seem like it would lead to any sort of real life and leaving was the only option. MANYA: The story of Jews in Iran, often referred to as Persia until 1935, is a millennia-long tale. A saga of suffering, repression, and persecution, peppered with brief moments of relief or at least relative peace – as long as everyone plays by the rules of the regime. SABA SOOMEKH: The history of Jews in Iran goes back to around 2,700 years ago. And a lot of people assume that Jews came to Iran, well at that time, it was called the Persian Empire, in 586 BCE, with the Babylonian exile. But Jews actually came a lot earlier, we're thinking 721-722 BCE with the Assyrian exile which makes us one of the oldest Jewish communities.  MANYA: That's Dr. Saba Soomekh, a professor of world religions and Middle Eastern history and the author of From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture. She also serves as associate director of American Jewish Committee in Los Angeles, home to America's largest concentration of Persian Jewish immigrants. Saba's parents fled Iran in 1978, shortly before the revolution, when Saba and her sister were toddlers. She has devoted her career to preserving Iranian Jewish history.   Saba said Zoroastrian rulers until the 7th Century Common Era vacillated between tolerance and persecution of Jews. For example, according to the biblical account in the Book of Ezra, Cyrus the Great freed the Jews from Babylonian rule, granted all of them citizenship, and permitted them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple.  The Book of Esther goes on to tell the story of another Persian king, believed to be Xerxes I, whose closest adviser called Haman conspires to murder all the Jews – a plot that is foiled by his wife Queen Esther who is Jewish herself. Esther heroically pleads for mercy on behalf of her people – a valor that is celebrated on the Jewish holiday of Purim.  But by the time of the Islamic conquest in the middle of the 7th Century Common Era, the persecution had become so intense that Jews were hopeful about the new Arab Muslim regime, even if that meant being tolerated and treated as second-class citizens, or dhimmi status. But that status had a different interpretation for the Safavids. SABA: Really things didn't get bad for the Jews of the Persian Empire until the 16th century with the Safavid dynasty, because within Shia Islam in the Persian Empire, what they brought with them is this understanding of purity and impurity. And Jews were placed in the same category as dogs, pigs, and feces. They were seen as being religiously impure, what's referred to as najes. MANYA: Jews were placed in ghettos called mahaleh, where they wore yellow stars and special shoes to distinguish them from the rest of the population. They could not leave the mahaleh when it rained for fear that if water rolled off their bodies into the water system, it would render a Shia Muslim impure. For the same reason, they could not go to the bazaars for fear they might contaminate the food. They could not look Muslims in the eye. They were relegated to certain artisanal professions such as silversmithing and block printing – crafts that dirtied one's hands.  MANYA: By the 19th century, some European Jews did make their way to Persia to help. The Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Paris-based network of schools founded by French Jewish intellectuals, opened schools for Jewish children throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including within the mahalehs in Persia.  SABA: They saw themselves as being incredibly sophisticated because they were getting this, in a sense, secular European education, they were speaking French. The idea behind the Allianz schools was exactly that. These poor Middle Eastern Jews, one day the world is going to open up to them, their countries are going to become secular, and we need to prepare them for this, not only within the context of hygiene, but education, language.  And the Allianz schools were right when it came to the Persian Empire because who came into power was Reza Pahlavi, who was a Francophile. And he turned around and said, ‘Wow! Look at the population that speaks French, that knows European philosophy, etc. are the Jews.' He brought them out of the mahaleh, the Jewish ghettos, and said ‘I don't care about religion. Assimilate and acculturate. As long as you show, in a sense, devotion, and nationalism to the Pahlavi regime, which the Jews did—not all Jews—but a majority of them did. MANYA: Reza Pahlavi took control in 1925 and 16 years later, abdicated his throne to his son Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1935, Persia adopted a new name: Iran. As king or the Shah, both father and son set Iran on a course of secularization and rapid modernization under which Jewish life and success seemed to flourish. The only condition was that religious observance was kept behind closed doors. SABA: The idea was that in public, you were secular and in private, you were a Jew. You had Shabbat, you only married a Jew, it was considered blasphemous if you married outside of the Jewish community. And it was happening because people were becoming a part of everyday schools, universities.  But that's why the Jewish day schools became so important. They weren't learning Judaism. What it did was ensure that in a secular Muslim society, that the Jewish kids were marrying within each other and within the community. It was, in a sense, the Golden Age. And that will explain to you why, unlike the early 1950s, where you had this exodus of Mizrahi Jews, Arab Jews from the Arab world and North Africa, you didn't really have that in Iran.  MANYA: In fact, Iran provided a safe passage to Israel for Jewish refugees during that exodus, specifically those fleeing Iraq. The Pahlavi regime considered Israel a critical ally in the face of pan-Arab fervor and hostility in the region. Because of the Arab economic boycott, Israel needed energy sources and Iran needed customers for its oil exports.  A number of Israelis even moved to Tehran, including farmers from kibbutzim who had come to teach agriculture, and doctors and nurses from Hadassah Hospital who had come to teach medicine.  El Al flew in and out of Tehran airport, albeit from a separate terminal. Taking advantage of these warm relations between the two countries, Roya recalls visiting aunts, uncles, and cousins in Israel.  ROYA: We arrived, and my mom and dad did what all visiting Jews from elsewhere do. They dropped to their knees, and they started kissing the ground. I did the same, and it was so moving. Israel was the promised land, we thought about Israel, we dreamed about Israel. But, at the same time, we were Iranians and, and we were living in Iran, and things were good.  This seems to non-Iranian Jews an impossibility. But I think for most of us, it was the way things were. We lived in the country where we had lived for, God knows how many years, and there was this other place that we somehow, in the back of our minds thought we would be going to, without knowing exactly when, but that it would be the destination. MANYA: Relations between the Shah and America flourished as well. In 1951, a hugely popular politician by the name of Mohammad Mosaddegh became prime minister and tried to institute reforms. His attempts to nationalize the oil industry and reduce the monarchy's authority didn't go over well. American and British intelligence backed a coup that restored the Shah's power. Many Iranians resented America's meddling, which became a rallying cry for the revolution. U.S. officials have since expressed regret for the CIA's involvement.  In November 1977, President Jimmy Carter welcomed the Shah and his wife to Washington, D.C., to discuss peace between Egypt and Israel, nuclear nonproliferation, and the energy crisis.  As an extension of these warm relations, the Shah sent many young Iranians to America to enhance their university studies, exposing them to Western ideals and values.  Meanwhile, a savvy fundamentalist cleric was biding his time in a Paris basement. It wouldn't be long before relations crumbled between Iran and Israel, Iran and the U.S,. and Iran and its Jews.  Roya recalls the Hakakian house at the corner of Alley of the Distinguished in Tehran as a lush oasis surrounded by fragrant flowers, full of her father's poetry, and brimming with family memories. Located in the heart of a trendy neighborhood, across the street from the Shah's charity organization, the tall juniper trees, fragrant honeysuckle, and gold mezuzah mounted on the door frame set it apart from the rest of the homes.  Roya's father, Haghnazar, was a poet and a respected headmaster at a Hebrew school. Roya, which means dream in Persian, was a budding poet herself with the typical hopes and dreams of a Jewish teenage girl.  ROYA: Prior to the revolution, life in an average Tehran Hebrew Day School looked very much like life in a Hebrew Day School anywhere else. In the afternoons we had all Hebrew and Jewish studies. We used to put on a Purim show every year. I wanted to be Esther. I never got to be Esther. We had emissaries, I think a couple of years, from Israel, who came to teach us how to do Israeli folk dance. MANYA: There were moments when Roya recalls feeling self-conscious about her Jewishness, particularly at Passover. That's when the family spent two weeks cleaning, demonstrating they weren't najes, or dirty Jews. The work was rewarded when the house filled with the fragrance of cumin and saffron and Persian dishes flowed from the kitchen, including apple and plum beef stew, tarragon veal balls stuffed with raisins, and rice garnished with currants and slivers of almonds.  When her oldest brother Alberto left to study in America, a little fact-finding work on Roya's part revealed that his departure wasn't simply the pursuit of a promising opportunity. As a talented cartoonist whose work had been showcased during an exhibition in Tehran, his family feared Alberto's pen might have gone too far, offending the Pahlavi regime and drawing the attention of the Shah's secret police.  Reports of repression, rapid modernization, the wide gap between Tehran's rich and the rest of the country's poor, and a feeling that Iranians weren't in control of their own destiny all became ingredients for a revolution, stoked by an exiled cleric named Ruhollah Khomeini who was recording cassette tapes in a Paris basement and circulating them back home.  SABA: He would just sit there and go on and on for hours, going against the Shah and West toxification. And then the recordings ended up in Iran. He wasn't even in Iran until the Shah left. MANYA: Promises of democracy and equality galvanized Iranians of all ages to overthrow the Shah in February 1979. Even the CIA was surprised.  SABA: I think a lot of people didn't believe it. Because number one, the Shah, the son, was getting the most amount of military equipment from the United States than anyone in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf. And the idea was: you protect us in the Gulf, and we will give you whatever you need. So they never thought that a man with a beard down to his knee was able to overthrow this regime that was being propped up and supported by America, and also the Europeans. Khomeini comes in and represents himself as a person for everyone. And he was brilliant in the way he spoke about it. And the reason why this revolution was also successful was that it wasn't just religious people who supported Khomeini, there was this concept you had, the men with the turbans, meaning the religious people, and the you know, the bow ties or the ties, meaning the secular man, a lot of them who were sent by the Shah abroad to Europe and America to get an education, who came back, saw democracy there, and wanted it for their country.  MANYA: Very few of the revolutionaries could predict that Tehran was headed in the opposite direction and was about to revert to 16th Century Shia Islamic rule. For almost a year, Tehran and the rest of the nation were swept up in revolutionary euphoria.  Roya recalls how the flag remained green, white, and red, but an Allah insignia replaced its old sword-bearing lion. New currency was printed, with portraits bearing beards and turbans. An ode to Khomeini became the new national anthem. While the Shah had escaped on an Air France flight, corpses of his henchmen graced the front pages of newspapers alongside smiling executioners. All celebrated, until the day one of the corpses was Habib Elghanian, the Jewish philanthropist who supported all of Iran's Hebrew schools. Charged and convicted as a Zionist spy.  Elders in the community remembered the insurmountable accusations of blood libel during darker times for Iran's Jews. But younger generations like Roya's, who had not lived through the eras of more ruthless antisemitism and persecution, continued to root for the revolution, regardless of its victims. Meanwhile, Roya's Jewish day school was taken over by a new veiled headmistress who replaced Hebrew lessons with other kinds of religious instruction, and required robes and headscarves for all the students.  ROYA: In the afternoons, from then on, we used to have lessons in a series of what she called: ‘Is religion something that you inherit, or is it something that you choose?' And so I think the intention, clearly, was to convince us that we didn't need to inherit our religions from our parents and ancestors, that we ought to consider better choices. MANYA: But when the headmistress cut short the eight-day Passover break, that was the last straw for Roya and her classmates. Their revolt got her expelled from school.  Though Jews did not universally support Khomeini, some saw themselves as members of the Iranian Communist, or Tudeh Party. They opposed the Shah and the human rights abuses of his monarchy and cautiously considered Khomeini the better option, or at least the lesser of two evils. Alarmed by the developments such as Elghanian's execution and changes like the ones at Roya's school, Jewish community leaders traveled to the Shia holy city of Qom to assure the Supreme Leader of their loyalty to Iran.  SABA: They did this because they wanted to make sure that they protected the Jewish community that was left in Iran. Khomeini made that distinction: ‘I am not against Jews, I'm against Zionists. You could be Jewish in this country. You cannot be a Zionist in this country.'  MANYA: But that wasn't the only change. Right away, the Family Protection Law was reversed, lifting a law against polygamy, giving men full rights in divorce and custody, and lowering the marriage age for girls to nine. Women were banned from serving as judges, and beaches and sports events were segregated by gender.  But it took longer to shut down universities, albeit for only two years, segregate public schools by gender, and stone to death women who were found to have committed adultery. Though Khomeini was certainly proving that he was not the man he promised to be, he backed away from those promises gradually – one brutal crackdown at a time. As a result, the trickle of Jews out of Iran was slow.  ROYA: My father thought, let's wait a few years and see what happens. In retrospect, I think the overwhelming reason was probably that nobody believed that things had changed, and so drastically. It seemed so unbelievable. I mean, a country that had been under monarchy for 2,500 years, couldn't simply see it all go and have a whole new system put in place, especially when it was such a radical shift from what had been there before. So I think, in many ways, we were among the unbelievers, or at least my father was, we thought it could never be, it would not happen. My father proved to be wrong, nothing changed for the better, and the conditions continued to deteriorate. So, so much catastrophe happened in those few years that Iran just simply was steeped into a very dark, intense, and period of political radicalism and also, all sorts of economic shortages and pressures. And so the five years that we were left behind, that we stayed back, changed our perspective on so many things. MANYA: In November 1979, a group of radical university students who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seized hostages, and held them for 444 days until President Ronald Reagan's inauguration on January 20, 1981. During the hostages' captivity, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Iran. The conflict that ensued for eight years created shortages on everything from dairy products to sanitary napkins. Mosques became distribution centers for rations. ROYA: We stood in line for hours and hours for eggs, and just the very basic things of daily life. And then it became also clear that religious minorities, including Jews, would no longer be enjoying the same privileges as everyone else. There were bombings that kept coming closer and closer to Tehran, which is where we lived. It was very clear that half of my family that was in the United States could not and would not return, because they were boys who would have been conscripted to go to war. Everything had just come apart in a way that was inconceivable to think that they would change for the better again. MANYA: By 1983, new laws had been passed instituting Islamic dress for all women – violations of which earned a penalty of 74 lashes. Other laws imposed an Islamic morality code that barred co-ed gatherings. Roya and her friends found refuge in the sterile office building that housed the Jewish Iranian Students Association. But she soon figured out that the regime hadn't allowed it to remain for the benefit of the Jewish community. It functioned more like a ghetto to keep Jews off the streets and out of their way. Even the activities that previously gave her comfort were marred by the regime. Poetry books were redacted. Mountain hiking trails were arbitrarily closed to mourn the deaths of countless clerics.  SABA: Slowly what they realize, when Khomeini gained power, was that he was not the person that he claimed to be. He was not this feminist, if anything, all this misogynistic rule came in, and a lot of people realize they, in a sense, got duped and he stole the revolution from them. MANYA: By 1984, the war with Iraq had entered its fourth year. But it was no longer about protecting Iran from Saddam Hussein. Now the Ayatollah wanted to conquer Baghdad, then Jerusalem where he aspired to deliver a sermon from the Temple Mount. Meanwhile, Muslim soldiers wounded in the war chose to bleed rather than receive treatment from Jewish doctors. Boys as young as 12 – regardless of faith – were drafted and sent on suicide missions to open the way for Iranian troops to do battle.  SABA: They were basically used as an army of children that the bombs would detonate, their parents would get a plastic key that was the key to heaven. And the bombs would detonate, and then the army would come in Iranian army would come in. And so that's when a lot of the Persian parents, the Jewish parents freaked out. And that's when they were like: we're getting out of here.  MANYA: By this time, the Hakakian family had moved into a rented apartment building and Roya was attending the neighborhood school. Non-Muslim students were required to take Koran classes and could only use designated water fountains and bathrooms.  As a precaution, Roya's father submitted their passports for renewal. Her mother's application was denied; Roya's passport was held for further consideration; her father's was confiscated.  One night, Roya returned home to find her father burning her books and journals on the balcony of their building. The bonfire of words was for the best, he told her. And at long last, so was leaving. With the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Roya and her mother, Helen, fled to Geneva, and after wandering in Europe for several months, eventually reunited with her brothers in the United States. Roya did not see her father again for five years. Still unable to acquire a passport, he was smuggled out of Iran into Pakistan, on foot.  ROYA: My eldest brother left to come to America in the mid-70s. There was a crack in the body of the family then. But then came 1979, and my two other brothers followed. And so we were apart for all those very, very formative years. And then, in 1984, when my mother and I left and my father was left alone in Iran, that was yet another major dramatic and traumatic separation. So, you know, it's interesting that when I look back at the events of 1979, I think, people constantly think about the revolution having, in some ways, blown up Tehran, but it also blew up families. And my own family was among them.  MANYA: While her father's arrival in America was delayed, Roya describes her arrival in stages. She first arrived as a Jewish refugee in 1985 and found her place doing what she had always done – writing in Persian – rebuilding a body of work that had been reduced to ashes.  ROYA: As a teen I had become a writer, people were encouraging me. So, I continued to do it. It was the thing I knew how to do. And it gave me a sense of grounding and identity. So, I kept on doing it, and it kind of worked its magic, as I suppose good writing does for all writers. It connected me to a new community of people who read Persian and who appreciated what I was trying to do. And I found that with each book that I write, I find a new tribe for myself.  MANYA: She arrived again once she learned English. In her first year at Brooklyn College, she tape-recorded her professors to listen again later. She eventually took a course with renowned poet Allen Ginsberg, whose poetry was best known for its condemnation of persecution and imperial politics and whose 1950s poem “Howl” tested the boundaries of America's freedom of speech.  ROYA: When I mastered the language enough to feel comfortable to be a writer once more, then I found a footing and through Allen and a community of literary people that I met here began to kind of foresee a possibility of writing in English. MANYA: There was also her arrival to an American Jewish community that was largely unaware of the role Jews played in shaping Iran long before the advent of Islam. Likewise, they were just as unaware of the role Iran played in shaping ancient Jewish life. They were oblivious to the community's traditions, and the indignities and abuses Iranian Jews had suffered, continue to suffer, with other religious minorities to keep those traditions alive in their homeland.   ROYA: People would say, ‘Oh, you have an accent, where are you from?' I would say, ‘Iran,' and the Jews at the synagogue would say, ‘Are there Jews in Iran?' MANYA: In Roya's most recent book A Beginner's Guide to America, a sequel of sorts to her memoir, she reflects on the lessons learned and the observations made once she arrived in the U.S. She counsels newcomers to take their time answering what might at first seem like an ominous or loaded question. Here's an excerpt: ROYA: “In the early days after your arrival, “Where are you from?” is above all a reminder of your unpreparedness to speak of the past. You have yet to shape your story – what you saw, why you left, how you left, and what it took to get here. This narrative is your personal Book of Genesis: the American Volume, the one you will sooner or later pen, in the mind, if not on the page. You must take your time to do it well and do it justice.” MANYA: No two immigrants' experiences are the same, she writes. The only thing they all have in common is that they have been uprooted and the stories of their displacement have been hijacked by others' assumptions and agendas. ROYA: I witnessed, as so many other Iranian Jews witness, that the story of how we came, why we came, who we had been, was being narrated by those who had a certain partisan perspective about what the history of what Jewish people should be, or how this history needs to be cast, for whatever purposes they had. And I would see that our own recollections of what had happened were being shaded by, or filtered through views other than our own, or facts other than our own. MANYA: As we wrap up this sixth and final episode of the first season of The Forgotten Exodus, it is clear that the same can be said about the stories of the Jewish people. No two tales are the same. Jews have lived everywhere, and there are reasons why they don't anymore. Some fled as refugees. Some embarked as dreamers. Some forged ahead without looking back. Others counted the days until they could return home. What ties them together is their courage, perseverance, and resilience–whether they hailed from Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, or parts beyond. These six episodes offer only a handful of those stories–shaped by memories and experiences. ROYA: That became sort of an additional incentive, if not burden for me to, to be a witness for several communities, to tell the story of what happened in Iran for American audiences, to Jews, to non-Iranian Jews who didn't realize that there were Jews in Iran, but also to record the history, according to how I had witnessed it, for ourselves, to make sure that it goes down, as I knew it. MANYA: Iranian Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who in the last century left their homes in the Middle East to forge new lives for themselves and future generations.  Many thanks to Roya for sharing her family's story and for helping us wrap up this season of The Forgotten Exodus. If you're listening for the first time, check out our previous episodes on Jews from Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan. Go to ajc.org/theforgottenexodus where you'll also find transcripts, show notes, and family photos. There are still so many stories to tell. Stay tuned in coming months. Does your family have roots in North Africa or the Middle East? One of the goals of this series is to make sure we gather these stories before they are lost. Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to find more of these stories.  Call The Forgotten Exodus hotline. Tell us where your family is from and something you'd like for our listeners to know such as how you've tried to keep the traditions and memories alive. Call 212.891.1336 and leave a message of 2 minutes or less. Be sure to leave your name and where you live now. You can also send an email to theforgottenexodus@ajc.org and we'll be in touch. Tune in every Friday for AJC's weekly podcast about global affairs through a Jewish lens, People of the Pod, brought to you by the same team behind The Forgotten Exodus.  Atara Lakritz is our producer, CucHuong Do is our production manager. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Sean Savage, Ian Kaplan, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name, for making this series possible. And extra special thanks to David Harris, who has been a constant champion for making sure these stories do not remain untold. You can follow The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can sign up to receive updates at AJC.org/forgottenexodussignup. The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC.  You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed the episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

Ayatollah Khamenei's niece arrested after she compares Iran's supreme leader to Hitler, Mussolini Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Farideh Moradkhani, the niece of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has compared her uncle to fascist dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. "How long do we have to witness oppression by political autocrats in any part of this world? Isn't the experience of Hitler, Mussolini, Ceaușescu, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Khomeini and his last one, Khamenei, enough?" Moradkhani said. Moradkhani's comments came in the form of a video message posted to YouTube and Twitter on Friday by her brother, Mahmoud Moradkhani. "All humanity is observing that Iranian people with empty hands, with exemplary courage and bravery, are fighting with the evil forces," Moradkhani said. "At this point in time, the people of Iran are carrying the burden of this heavy human responsibility alone by paying with their lives." Moradkhani also criticized apparent inaction other than "short and ineffective statements" by the United Nations as her country suffers under "obvious cruel oppression." She also blasted the "ridiculous and laughable sanctions" that have been levied against Iranian officials. This is just my opinion. PS: If you enjoy my content, I will think of you while drinking my coffee. – Buy Me a Coffee The Slippery Slope Spotify J Fallon Apple Music J Fallon Spotify J Fallon YouTube The Slippery Slope Apple Podcasts The Slippery Slope YouTube The Slippery Slope Stitcher --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jason-fallon/message

In this PSMLS class from September 13, 2022, we studied the history of Afghanistan, particularly the history of the so-called “Soviet-Afghan War” and the socialist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan that lasted from 1978 to 1992. We also briefly touched on the history of the formations of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 20 years war in Afghanistan and the current state of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and the Afghan people. The history of any and all socialist states that have existed is critically important for us as modern day Marxist-Leninists to understand. Connect with PSMLS: linktr.ee/peoplesschool Sign up to join the PSMLS mailing list and get notified of new Zoom classes every Tuesday and Thursday: eepurl.com/h9YxPb Literature used in class: "Afghanistan, Washington's Secret War" by Phillip Bonosky, released in 1985. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:27 Preface from General Secretary of the Party of Communists USA, Angelo D'Angelo 1:37 Section 1 of reading, “Antique Land” chapter; Background on Afghan history 9:31 Amin's Faction in Saur Revolution, History of Factions in Revolutions 12:34 CIA making Kingdom of Afghanistan purge communists in military 14:50 Khalqists and Parchamis 16:27 Impact that Imperialism and Colonialism on Middle East 18:04 What is a nation, Marxism & National Question 18:48 A legitimate revolution 20:23 Section 2 of reading, “What Happened in December” chapter; USSR & Afghanistan pre-1979 26:29 China's support for Mujahideen, Maoist Insurgent Groups, Iran's support for Shia Mujahideen 27:50 Why would China back the mujahideen? (Q&A) 28:29 China's opposition to anything Soviets supported 28:54 When did events take place? (Q&A) 30:22 Instances of China's support for counter-revolutionary movements to get control over international communist movement 31:40 China was on the same side as the US. 32:40 Amin closed all the mosques 33:41 What made the Saur Revolution premature? (Q&A) 34:12 Was a native born revolution, not USSR instigated. 34:59 Revolution came from urban intelligentsia and military officers. 36:28 No masses no revolution. No trade unions, no revolution. 37:04 Afghanistan has never been united 39:00 We don't mourn monarchists 39:43 Is ultra-left factionalism what's happening right now in Chile. 39:57 Problem in Chile is that it is not a proletarian constitution. 41:50 Section 3 of reading, “Arms to the Rebels: No, Perhaps and then Reagan” chapter; Beginnings of US intervention in Afghanistan 47:46 CIA gave weapons to Osama bin Laden 51:36 Taliban takeover in 2021 is a result of US imperialism 52:50 US funded Saddam Hussein at same time as Mujahideen 54:05 Why US turned on Saddam Hussein. 56:01 Gulf War was partially responsible for Al-Qaeda's hostility towards US 57:14 What is a better way of messaging that capitalism is the issue? (Q&A) 58:30 Explain to them dialectical materialism 59:29 Capitalists are not united 1:01:01 Final section of reading, written by PSMLS; Taliban Takeover, 9/11 and 20 years war 1:10:16 Background on the Dulles brothers 1:11:22 US backed Afghanistan government lasted less time than the anarchist Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone 1:12:30 Dulles brothers involvement in Nazi collusion 1:13:12 Opium production in Afghanistan 1:13:50 Heroin/Fentanyl epidemic could be a CIA operation 1:14:38 Taliban outlawed opium production in 2000 1:14:50 Most 9/11 deaths were because workers were not given PPE 1:15:10 Better living conditions for Afghan people under DRA

On this edition of Parallax Views, long-time war reporter Patrick Cockburn, author of War in the Age of Trump, joins us in the first segment to discuss the latest in regards to the Putin's war in Ukraine as well as his thoughts on Netanyhu's political victory in the Israeli elections. Among the topics covered in the conversation: - Putin's war as a hubristic miscalculation and the evolution of the war; what is Russia's aim in Ukraine now? - The problem of wars that don't end and why they escalate - Ukraine's blowing up of the Kerch bridge and the Russian war against Ukrainian infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies - The way modern warfare has changed in way that some don't realize; the U.S. no longer has a monopoly on precision weapons like they did in the 1990s - Escalation and the question of nuclear weapons being used; why Patrick is skeptical that nuclear weapons will be launched - Ukrainian victories not being decisive defeats of Russia - U.S. Chief of Staff Mark Milley's call for diplomacy and the Biden administration's opposition to that; why Patrick doesn't see diplomacy as being acceptable right now to either Ukraine or Russia - Parallels between the Middle East Forever Wars and the Russia-Ukraine War - U.S. arms to Ukraine - Ferreting out war propaganda and separating that propaganda from reality - The economic war against Russia and the use of sanctions; sanctions, Iraq, the Kurds, and Saddam Hussein, the boomerang effect of sanctions - Donald Trump, the foreign policy establishment, and the forever wars mess - The natural tendency for wars to escalate and spread - Prospect for diplomacy vs. escalation - Putin and nuclear saber-rattling - The problem with journalists covering wars today; coverage of war on the ground vs. war on infrastructure - The electoral loss suffered of Bolsonaro in Brazil, Trump's civil war with the GOP, and the failed comeback of Boris Johnson in the UK - Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral victory in Israel and the normalization of Israel's far-right - The importance of remembering/thinking about the Afghanistan war, the Iraq War, the Saudi War in Yemen, and the death of Gaddafi in Libya - And much, much more! In the second segment of the show, Prof. Jacob Dorman joins us to discuss Black Israelite religions in light of the controversy over NBA basketball player Kyrie Irving tweeting about the Ronald Dalton Jr.'s documentary Hebrews 2 Negroes: Wake Up Black America. The tweet caused a backlash due to the documentary peddling not only Black Israelite beliefs in the documentary, but also antisemitic tropes and quotes from notorious antisemites like Henry Ford. Among the topics covered in this conversation: - The history of the Black Israelite movement including it's relationship to the 19th century Holiness movement, Freemasonry, the Anglo-Israelite movement, Rastafarianism, Judaism, and Black Nationalist/Black Power movements - Harlem, Rabbi Wentworth Arthur Matthew, and the Second Wave of Black Israelism;  - William Sauders Crowdy and the Church of God and Saints of Christ - Black Israelite thought as a theory of history rather than a religion - The spread of Black Israelite thought or elements of it through the internet - Understanding the Black Israelite movement in the context of anti-black racism historically including Jim Crow, lynchings, and anti-racism - Dorman's take on Kyrie Irving, Kanye West as well as his take on on Hebrews to Negroes being a documentary "by and for stoned people"; Irving as being a different case from Kanye and Kanye as more truly peddling antisemitism; Irving's apology over his tweet; Kanye and mental illness; Kanye's "slavery was a choice" comments - The concept of polyculturalism (as opposed to multiculturalism) in regards to Black Israelite religions; identity and Israeli scholar Shlomo Sand's The Invention of the Jewish People; genetics and the claim to being an Israelite - Black Israelism as a powerful critique of anti-black racism - Antisemitism as not being representative of all Black Israelite religions; Dorman's experiences with Black Israelites; sensationalism in reporting on Black Israelism; One West and the amplification of the most extreme elements of Black Israelism - Black Israelites and cosmopolitanism - Similarities between Black Israelites and Black Muslims - Should Black Israelism be written off as historical revisionism? - White supremacy, white Jews, black antisemitism, and James Baldwin - A summary of Dorman's new book The Princess and the Prophet: The Secret History of Magic, Race, and Moorish Muslims in America - And much, much more!

Today, Dan and Jordan dip back to the past to see how Alex deals with the lead-up to Saddam Hussein being found.  In this installment, Alex bores everyone and interviews a severely antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theorist/techno musician. Citations

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the fourth episode in what is now a FIVE-part series. We pick up in the wake of the Islamic Revolution as Khomeini consolidates power, represses his rivals, and confronts an invasion from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. We continue through the Iran-Iraq War, the mass execution of thousands of leftist prisoners, and Khamenei and Rafsanjani's rise to power after Khomeini's death.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigCheck out our vast archives and newsletter at thedigradio.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the fourth episode in what is now a FIVE-part series. We pick up in the wake of the Islamic Revolution as Khomeini consolidates power, represses his rivals, and confronts an invasion from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. We continue through the Iran-Iraq War, the mass execution of thousands of leftist prisoners, and Khamenei and Rafsanjani's rise to power after Khomeini's death. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Check out our vast archives and newsletter at thedigradio.com

#84: Eric Maddox is a public speaker, author, and former special operations soldier. He was member of a Delta Force Special Operations team that was part of the Joint Special Operations Command responsible for tracking down the most wanted men in Iraq. During his six month tour with this Delta Force team, Eric conducted over 300 interrogations and collected intelligence which directly led to the capture of Saddam Hussein.As a result, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Defense Intelligence Agency's Director's Award, and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement. During his time working with the Department of Defense he conducted over 2,700 interrogations while deploying eight times in support of the Global War on Terrorism.Eric currently helps corporations, sports teams, universities, and CEOs master the art of empathy based listening, leading from behind, and negotiating. Eric is also the author of “Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein.” On the show Eric dives into how he was able to gather the intel that led to the location and capture of Saddam Hussein, his story, developing empathy based listening, confidence, faith, and a lot more. Enjoy the show!

After the United States invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power in spring 2003, the city of Fallujah became a hotbed of unrest.  In March 2004, four American contractors were brutally murdered and mutilated there.   President Bush ordered an attack to subdue the city.  This attack was called off early after it sparked a media and political firestorm.  With U.S. forces out of it, Fallujah became the red-hot epicenter of Iraq's Sunni insurgency and the U.S. recommitted to taking it through large-scale offensive action.  This operation, known as Phantom Fury, lasted from through November and December 2004.  It was America's bloodiest battle of the Iraq war.  Bing West tells the story in “No True Glory.”  We are joined in this episode by Mr. Pat Carroll who spent close to four years in Iraq working in or dealing with Fallujah

Hello Closeteers, and welcome to another episode of Inside the Closet! This week, Matteo talks about Courtney Love's (and Emma's) ill-fated attempts to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, scenic and terrifying experiences in small planes, Emma's mission to transform her gut health and how (and when) to handle hecklers, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices