About this episode
Iran is a real-world stress test of freedom: the Islamic Republic is built to outlast dissent. In this special Iran Unchained episode, David talks with Sana Ebrahimi and Amin Soleimani about the regime’s control stack, including unelected theocracy, street-level coercion, corruption as governance, and propaganda that reaches far beyond Iran’s borders.They unpack gender apartheid, internet blackouts during uprisings, why protests keep returning, and what the West gets wrong about “intervention” and regional stability.---?SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium---?POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKEThttps://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast?BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDThttps://bankless.cc/bitget-futures?BANKLESS PREMIUM | AD-FREE & BONUS EPISODEShttps://bankless.cc/spotify-premium?THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTShttps://bankless.cc/TDR-pro?ICO WATCH | UPCOMING PUBLIC TOKEN SALEShttps://bankless.cc/ico-watch---TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro1:21 “How does it feel to be Iranian right now?”3:39 Sana’s background: Tehran ? U.S., and a life shaped by protests4:38 What is the Iranian regime and what does it want?9:51 What an Ayatollah is and how that status concentrates power16:46 Promises vs reality: revolutionary slogans, economic collapse, and control loops24:15 1979’s alliance, the Marxists, and the purge that followed34:53 Repression as a system: arrests, torture, and fear as governance39:15 “Let this land burn”: why the regime doesn’t step down41:23 Gender apartheid, Mahsa Amini and the spark that keeps reigniting protests51:58 Protest math: why people still return to the streets55:18 The internet blackout playbook1:02:52 “Regime apologists” abroad: media, think tanks, and narrative capture1:07:17 Why the West gets confused: Palestine politics and cognitive dissonance1:17:56 Western intervention: “Not Iraq, not Afghanistan”1:28:57 The diaspora, brain drain, and what a free Iran could unlock1:31:40 What they’re hoping for next and how to h
