In this episode of Talk Without Borders, I speak with Iranian activist and former political prisoner Shabnam Madadzadeh.

Shabnam was arrested as a university student for her involvement in the student movement and spent five years in Iranian prisons, including time in solitary confinement inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. In this conversation, she shares her personal experiences with imprisonment, interrogation, psychological pressure, and the realities of political dissent inside Iran.

We also discuss the structure of power in Iran, the role of the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guard, the protest movements led by students and young people, and the broader struggle for democratic change.

Because the geopolitical situation changed significantly after our initial recording, this episode also includes a second, ...