This podcast began by describing Tehran in the early 20th century and Reza Khan’s plans to modernize the city and country. The introduction is meant to capture your attention and it was successful. About three minutes in the narrator introduces herself. The podcast is going to tell the story of modern Iran.
Oriana Coburn does a good job of narrating the podcast. The episode focuses on a tobacco protest in 1891. The introduction doesn’t relate to podcast episode, so it must be an indicator of where book one is going to conclude. If not it didn’t need to be included in the podcast episode and should have been saved for an episode that actually discussed 1924 Iran.
I enjoyed listening to the podcast and it serves as a good source to gain an introductory level of Iranian history.
Below is one of my favorite quotes from the podcast:
“The tobacco protests were narrow in scope and didn’t result in any massive changes or a political reconstruction but the movement itself became a symbol, a sign of hope that through action and devotion anything was possible. By finding a common cause that everyone could relate to the issue of tobacco became a stepping stone to prepare Iranians for the bigger fights to come.”
Overall I enjoyed listening and will add this podcast to my library. This is a very new podcast as the first episode was only published on March 20th.
Samuel Adams believed in American Independence from Great Britain. He is one of the most well know Son's of Liberty. On August 1, 1776 he gave a speech to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
William Wilberforce has been called an agitator for his commitment to ending the slave trade. One of his well known speeches on the subject was given on May 12, 1789.
Cardinal Richelieu has been hailed as a great statesman and as a subversive authoritarian. Depending on who you talk to he was a man needed to strengthen the monarchy in France, or he was a tyrant seeking personal power. Next week I will have a book review that may shed more light on Cardinal Richelieu.
This month this community will focus on Natural Law. What is Natural Law? How is it applied in real world situations? What are the alternatives to Natural Law? These are some of the issues that will be discussed this month.
