Restless Nation | The Red-Green Alliance: The Making of Modern Iran (Part 2)

Breaking History

The Free Press

History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In our last episode, we traced the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and the forces building toward Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. This week, we turn to the man who brought that monarchy to an end: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. From exile in a quiet French chateau, Khomeini launched a revolution that shattered 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. But he didn’t do it alone. Liberals and leftists, both inside Iran and across the West, played a crucial role in legitimizing his cause, a dynamic that feels familiar today. This is the story of the first Red-Green Alliance, a tactical partnership between Islamists and the progressive left, and the cost of that alliance once power changed hands. -------- Producers Poppy Damon & Adam Feldman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to breaking history. In the last episode, we explored the prelude to Iran's Islamic
0:05.5	revolution in 1979, the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty. In this episode, we examined the life
0:13.4	of the cleric who helped lead that revolution. His name was Ayatollah Ruhola Khomeini, and he ended 2,500 years of Iranian monarchs from
0:24.9	his exile in a chateau on the outskirts of Paris.
0:30.5	He couldn't have done that without the consent and support of liberals and leftists at home
0:37.1	and abroad.
0:38.4	After the break, the first red-green alliance, and a reminder of how it works today.
0:45.5	Haye Poubal and back, La Bebel, the part you got this next year's model.
0:54.0	Lee Harvey-Arvd, Irving Berlin.
0:58.2	What happened once happens again?
1:01.9	When news up is a mystery.
1:04.3	Because I don't get it.
1:06.1	Turn into breaking history.
1:09.3	History.
1:16.6	Hey, listeners. This week, we're dropping the paywall at the free press. That means everything that is normally reserved for paying subscribers will be offered for free this week and only this week to anyone with a registered account.
1:33.4	All of our columns, videos, commentary, and investigations will be paywall-free.
1:39.1	The team here is also curating a collection of some of our favorite archival essays,
1:42.4	timeless stories that we think are worth revisiting, that you'll be able to browse freely in one place.
1:45.7	So subscribe to the Free Press today at thefp.com.
1:52.7	Hi, listeners, I want to tell you about the Free Press's latest new podcast, Old School with Shiloh Brooks.
1:59.7	When we met Shiloh, he was one of the most popular professors,
2:03.2	and he was making reading great books cool again. Now he's hosting his show to help all of us,
	...

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