Stolen Revolution: Behind Iran's Protest Movements (feat. Bozorgmehr Sharafedin)

Stolen Revolution: Behind Iran's Protest Movements (feat. Bozorgmehr Sharafedin)

Author: FDD June 3, 2026 Duration: 57:30

Every Iranian revolution begins with an ordinary life hitting an extraordinary wall. Stolen Revolution captures those moments — the personal reckonings with a regime that promised faith and delivered suffocation. Co-authored by award-winning journalists Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, the book traces six Iranians living the full arc of modern Iranian history: a Khomeini devotee cast from power, a poet who gave voice to a generation's shattered dreams, a bureaucrat who risked everything to expose state corruption, an entrepreneur crushed by the security apparatus, and two young women who joined the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.

Iran International's Bozorgmehr Sharafedin joins FDD Iran Program Senior Director Behnam Ben Taleblu to unpack the human stories behind Iran's seismic shift from reform to revolution, and what they reveal about life under the Islamic Republic.


Hosted by Mark Dubowitz, The Iran Breakdown with Mark Dubowitz is a focused miniseries from FDD that cuts through the noise surrounding one of the world's most persistent and complex crises. Rather than just recounting headlines, this podcast delves into the underlying forces-historical, religious, and societal-that shape Iran's actions both at home and abroad. You'll hear detailed analysis on the regime's nuclear ambitions, its support for proxy networks across the Middle East, and the ongoing struggle for human rights within its borders. Each episode aims to connect these geopolitical strategies to their real-world impact, offering a clearer understanding of a nation that consistently defies simple explanation. For anyone trying to make sense of the tensions that ripple from Tehran to the wider world, this series provides essential context and insight, moving beyond surface-level reporting to explore the deeper cultural and ideological drivers. Tune in for a sober, informed exploration that treats the subject with the gravity it demands.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

The Iran Breakdown with Mark Dubowitz
Podcast Episodes
War of the Words in Iran (feat. Ali Ansari) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:03
This war isn’t just being fought with missiles and drones. There's also a war of the words, a narrative battle.While the regime pushes its narrative at home and abroad, the West struggles to keep up — and the Iranian peo…
Breaking Down The Islamic Republic (Cliff May feat. Mark Dubowitz) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:48
We’re marking one year of The Iran Breakdown by bringing you a special conversation from our sister FDD podcast.In this episode of Foreign Podicy, host Cliff May sits down with Mark Dubowitz to unpack a question at the c…
Cracking The Regime (feat. Ray Takeyh and Reuel Marc Gerecht) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:47
The regime is down — but it's not out. So... what does collapse actually look like? Not strikes... Not decapitations... The moment the regime loses control. Mark asks Ray Takeyh and Reuel Marc Gerecht to answer the only…
FDD SITREP: The Islamic Republic Is Falling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:50
Bonus Episode of The Iran Breakdown: Mark Dubowitz joins FDD's Jonathan Schanzer and Rich Goldberg for a late night FDD SITREP following the death of Khamenei.---In the early hours of February 28, the United States and I…
48 Hours in Iran (feat. Behnam Ben Taleblu) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:17
One of the gravest human rights crises in recent history is happening right now in Iran. The Islamic Republic has carried out mass killings on a scale not seen in modern Iranian history, slaughtering an estimated 33,000,…