{"id":7431,"date":"2013-11-04T08:10:48","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T12:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=7431"},"modified":"2013-11-04T22:15:31","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T02:15:31","slug":"podcast-the-land-of-the-big-sulk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/podcast-the-land-of-the-big-sulk","title":{"rendered":"Podcast: The Land of the Big Sulk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hooman<\/a><\/p>\n

Virtual Memories \u2013 season 3 episode 25 – The Land of the Big Sulk<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Season_3_Episode_25_-_The_Land_of_the_Big_Sulk.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“Most people [in Iran] don’t want to see an out-and-out revolution. They don’t want to see the chaos that comes with it. Particularly after the Arab Spring. People want change, a better life. If it has to be Islamic-tinted, then so be it, for now.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Writer and journalist\u00a0Hooman Majd<\/a>\u00a0was born in Iran in 1957, but lived his life abroad, first because of his father\u2019s career as a diplomat and then because of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In 2011, when U.S-Iran relations were near an all-time low, Hooman, his Wisconsin-born wife, and their 8-month-old son moved to Teheran for a year. That experience has resulted in Hooman\u2019s\u00a0new book, The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay: An American Family in Iran<\/a>\"\", out this week from Doubleday Books.<\/p>\n

“There are 80 million people in Iran, and they have the same wants and desires that we do. There are people we’re going to disagree with on an ideological basis, and there are people we’re going to agree with. And they’re suffering under sanctions. It’s not to say that the Iranian leadership is without fault. But the people who are suffering . . . are the people.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We talked about Hooman’s fascinating book, his family\u2019s experience with Iran\u2019s culture, the significance of Iran’s nuclear program, how its nationalism can trump religion and vice versa, why Iranians hate Great Britain much more than they hate the U.S., what he missed most during his year in Iran, whether it\u2019s possible for a state to achieve modernity without being a liberal democracy, why he doesn\u2019t plan on writing another Iran book, the growth of Islamic sectarianism and the possibility of another revolution in Iran, how its leaders may be taking baby steps in coming to terms with Israel (and why he thinks the two countries should<\/em> be BFFs),\u00a0whether there’s a Farsi word for \u201csprezzatura\u201d, and Iran’s other unconventional weapon: The Big Sulk.<\/p>\n

“There’s a recognition that this system, the way that it is right now, cannot endure forever. It has to undergo some change, some reforms. Whether they’re fast and drastic or slow is another question.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Season_3_Episode_25_-_The_Land_of_the_Big_Sulk.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

Enjoy the conversation!<\/a>\u00a0Then check out\u00a0the archives<\/a>\u00a0for more great episodes! Related conversations:<\/p>\n