Aug 21

Our Ancestors Were Messy: a Black history comedy show

In 1775, half a million enslaved people had to pick a side in a war between two groups of white men who both claimed to want freedom. In this live episode of Our Ancestors Were Messy, friend of the show, Nichole Hill takes B.A. Parker and Gene Demby through the choices one man ma ... Show More

1h 14m

Aug 18

Trump is demanding English — while defunding ESL

Last year President Trump made English the official language of the United States. Then his administration moved to zero out the federal money that teaches it. But even fully funded, those programs reached fewer than five-percent of the 25 million adults in this country still lea ... Show More

33m 45s

Aug 14

Jay-Z has F-you money. Is he saying it to the wrong people?

Jay-Z says he's a business, man. He sold out Yankee Stadium for three nights, and used the stage to answer everyone calling him a sellout. The billionaire released the 30th-anniversary edition of his debut album about hustling his way to independence as a Target exclusive in the ... Show More

31m 7s

Feb 2024

The View From Iran

To understand any country's foreign policy you need to understand domestic political dynamics. So what is driving Iranian decision making right now? Negar Mortazavi is a journalist, host of the Iran Podcast and senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. I reached ou ... Show More

25m 36s

Jul 2025

What Iran Wants

Historian and podcaster Afshon Ostovar joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the ideology and strategy of Iran, its recent conflict with Israel and what the future might hold for the Islamic Republic. Produced by Finbar Anderson

53m 46s

Apr 2024

Arash Azizi on Iran's Turbulent Past and its Uncertain Future

Regularly embroiled in international conflicts – both militarily and diplomatically – and locked in a cycle of protest and heavy government crackdowns on the domestic political front, Iran has rarely been out of the international spotlight over the past decades. The protests in r ... Show More

46m 30s

Jun 2025

Iran, Beyond the Headlines with Maziar Bahari

With the US now directly engaged in the Israel-Iran conflict, Jon is joined by Maziar Bahari, publisher of iranwire.com and author of “Then They Came for Me,” a memoir that served as the basis for Jon’s 2014 film “Rosewater.” Together, they explore the reality of life under Iran' ... Show More

1h 32m

Oct 2025

Iran is Down, Not Out

In this episode of MEnbar, Marc Owen Jones speaks with Sanam Vakil, Director of the Middle East and Africa Programme in Chatham House, about the Twelve Day War between Israel and Iran and its impacts on Iran’s nuclear program. Vakil discusses the implications of these attacks on ... Show More

33m 52s

Dec 2022

Understanding Iran

Yeganeh and Jason Rezaian join Ben to answer all of your burning questions about Iran: what life is like for girls and women, why this movement is different than any before it, the risk of civil war or wider conflict, and why we should all care about the future of Iran and its pe ... Show More

1h 21m

Dec 2020

Outside/In: Rules of Engagement

The US and Iran have been in some state of conflict for the last 40 years, since the Iranian revolution. This week, we look at three key moments in this conflict to better understand where it might go next.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of person ... Show More

51m 9s

Dec 2024

Killing hope: Iran's mind wars

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

33m 45s

May 2021

Washington’s Problem of Iran Expertise

Negar Mortazavi speaks to political anthropologist <a href="https://mena.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/visiting-affiliated-faculty/negar-razavi1.html">Negar Razavi</a> about the systemic problem of “Iran expertise” in Washington, how the U.S. foreign policy establishment has ... Show More

1h 1m

Feb 2025

With ‘maximum pressure’ back on the table, what will Iran do next?

Iran is facing a changed Middle East as it marks the anniversary of the Islamic revolution. With weakened allies and growing tensions with Israel and the United States, how will Iran’s leadership approach the year ahead? In this episode: Dorsa Jabbari (@DorsaJabbari), Al Jazeera ... Show More

20m 23s

Is The Door To Iran Closed Forever?