What was the Iranian Revolution really about? With Scott Anderson

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Scott Anderson is a veteran foreign reporter and war correspondent, and a contributing writer for The New York Times. Over his career he has reported from Bosnia, Libya, Palestine and across the Middle East. In this episode, he spoke to host Hannah Lucinda Smith about his new book, King of Kings, a gripping account of the fall of the Shah of Iran, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the rise of the Islamic Republic. Together, they explore the flaws that led to the Shah’s downfall, and why Western powers fundamentally misunderstood what was happening in the country in the months before the revolution. They also examine how these events shaped Iran and the Middle East today, and the political future of a country whose power has been diminished in the region, but whose population is again rallying around the flag in response to external aggression. King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Unmaking of the Modern Middle East is available to by now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
0:04.0	I'm producer Mia Serente.
0:06.0	On today's episode, foreign reporter and war correspondent Scott Anderson
0:11.0	joins us to discuss his new book, King of Kings,
0:14.0	a gripping account of the fall of the Shah of Iran,
0:17.0	the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.
0:21.6	Together with our host, Hannah Lucinda Smith, he explores how the West misread the signs of the
0:26.6	revolution, the forces that toppled the Shah and how those events continue to shape Iran
0:31.6	and the Middle East today.
0:33.6	Let's join our host, Hannah, now, with more.
0:36.6	Welcome to Intelligence Squared.
0:38.8	I'm Hannah Lucinda Smith.
0:40.7	Our guest today is Scott Anderson, a veteran foreign reporter and war correspondent
0:45.3	and a contributing writer for the New York Times.
0:48.6	Over his career, he's reported from Bosnia, Libya, Palestine and across the Middle East.
0:53.8	His new book, King of Kings, is a gripping account of the fall of the Shah of Iran,
0:58.7	the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the rise of the Islamic Republic.
1:03.4	Welcome to Intelligence Squared Scott.
1:06.0	Thanks so much, Hannah. It's my pleasure to be here.
1:08.9	So although your book focuses on the people around the Shah, he's very much the subject of the book.
1:14.6	Why did you decide to write about Reza Pahlavi? And why now?
1:18.6	So I was actually in Washington, D.C. when the Shah came to visit President Carter for the first time,
	...

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