Pigeon Towers of Iran (Classic)

<p>Carpets are everyday objects we rarely stop to think about. But they’re far more than decoration or something soft to step on. Each one holds an origin story – threads that run through centuries of history, connecting small villages of master weavers to sprawling, power-hungry ... Show More

<p>When Elliott Long’s dad started planting a forest of “bottle trees” with trunks of steel and old bottles for leaves, Elliott immediately understood that one day, it would be his job to keep his dad’s forest alive. He wanted nothing to do with it. And then his dad died, and Ell ... Show More

<p>Atop a mountain in a picturesque Colorado town is the frozen corpse of a Norwegian grandpa. We get the tale of how this came to be, from the person who for years has trekked up and down the mountain for this unique preservation mission. </p><p><strong>READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:</ ... Show More

<p>Once considered noble and heroic, pigeons are now viewed as an urban nuisance — one that costs cities millions of dollars a year. Zachary Crockett tosses some crumbs.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="http://www.andrewblechman.com/">Andrew Blechman</ ... Show More

In this collection, a heavy package returns to sender and starts to smell. Something is happening to all the pigeons. And, a hot air balloon flies across the sky with no one in it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds force and the Basij militias are back in the news due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. What are they, how do they operate and how have they become so influential? In this episode, we look at the origins, the branding and the ... Show More

The fall of Assad in Syria is a disaster for Iran, so much so that people are beginning to ask if this might finally be the moment when Iran’s pro-democracy movement breaks through. This is the story of one activist’s 25 year fight against the Islamic regime in Iran, a story of c ... Show More

On Tuesday 13 September 2022, all Mahsa Amini has planned is a day shopping in Tehran. Her birthday is next week. But she is arrested as she comes out of the subway – the Guidance Patrol deem her hijab inadequate. On Friday she is pronounced dead. By Sunday, women have taken to t ... Show More

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of Amwaj.media, a London-based news site focusing on Iran, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula countries. Together, they discuss Iran’s regional strategy and the choices Iran has after a year of rising regional ... Show More

In her new ethnographic study Unknowing and the Everyday: Sufism and Knowledge in Iran (Duke University Press, 2023), Seema Golestaneh guides her readers through processes and praxes of mystical experience and knowledge acquisition amongst Sufi communities in contemporary Iran. T ... Show More

Let's face it: camels look goofy. And we say this with great affection! In fact, the camel's seemingly awkward appearance is the result of some stellar adaptation toward survival in one of the world's most inhospitable biomes. Back in the 1800s, a small group of camel enthusiasts ... Show More