342. Iran: The Three Ayatollahs – From Revolution to Dynasty

Empire: World History

Goalhanger

History

4.5 • 5.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 the Mao series today, join the Empire Club at empirepoduk.com** In light of the war in Iran, we disrupt our current series to bring you the vital historical view of a region we have often covered on Empire. William is joined by Ali Ansari, author of Iran (Polity Histories), to discuss the decades of history that have led to this war in 2026. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/EMPIRE. Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:06.8	discounts for all the books mentioned in the week's podcasts, add free listening, and a weekly newsletter,
0:12.5	sign up to Empire Club at www.mparpoduk.com.
0:19.1	Hey, this is Michael and Hannah from Gollhangers. The Rest is Science.
0:22.2	This episode is brought to you by Project Hail Mary, the new spectacular space adventure coming to cinemas.
0:28.7	Okay, hypothetically, imagine that there's this mission to save our world.
0:32.8	Only you can do the job.
0:34.5	As this expert in mathematics and science, how do you think you would do?
0:39.5	Terribly, but not because I love teaching and learning, because I'm a scaredy cat.
0:45.6	But what about yourself, Hannah?
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	...

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