119. The Last Shah

How did Ayatollah Khamenei ensure his son, Mojtaba, would take over after his death? How is this war a product of deep historical trends? What internal crises have been plaguing Iran’s government in recent years? Is there hope for Iran after this war? **To listen to the rest of t ...  Show more

Mao has declared that China is a communist republic. How did life change for ordinary people living in this new nation? To what extent was Mao’s China modelled on the USSR, and how did Mao and Stalin feel about each other? And how did Mao destroy the pillars of traditional cultur ...  Show more

On the day of England vs. Iran, Tom and Dominic are joined by friend of the show, Ali Ansari, to discuss Anglo-Iranian relations.  Tune in to hear stories of freemasons, early Iranian analysis of Tories and Whigs, the Anglo-Persian War, Salman Rushdie's fatwa, the ancestor of Br ...  Show more

On the 1st of April, 2024, a presumed Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing 13 people. Amongst them was a Brigadier General of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Reza Zahedi. In retaliation, Iran launched its first-ever dir ...

Negar Mortazavi speaks with Alex Vatanka about Iran’s domestic politics and mass protests, the crisis of legitimacy and the issue of leadership succession, Tehran’s deescalation with Washington and regional engagement with Arab rivals, and the continuous shift to the East towards ...  Show more

The death of Ebrahim Raisi will spark <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/05/19/the-death-of-irans-president-will-spark-a-high-stakes-power-struggle?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.conten ...