State of the World from NPR A month of the Iran war through the eyes of a writer in Tehran
Mar 30, 2026
Ruth Sherlock, an NPR reporter who collected diary entries from a Tehran writer, narrates life under airstrikes and tight surveillance. Short readings depict bomb shelters, internet blackouts, and the fear of being watched. The piece also touches on conflicted emotions—grief, relief, and quiet acts of defiance like forbidden music and holiday rituals.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Writer's Apartment Shelter During Airstrikes
- A Tehran writer sheltered with friends in a small apartment as airstrikes shook the city and they hid between a concrete column and a cabinet away from windows.
- She describes the jets as close and loud, covering faces with pillows during strikes and writing prolifically despite fear, sending 258 pages to NPR's producer.
Trauma From January Protests Shapes Responses
- The blogger recounts surviving brutal January protests where security forces fired into crowds and more than 6,000 people were killed in two nights on January 8 and 9.
- She links that trauma to her conflicted response to airstrikes, calling some explosions the sound of revenge against the regime.
Conflicted Relief When Regime Targets Are Hit
- The writer feels conflicted: terrified by war yet relieved when strikes hit government targets tied to personal abuses like morality-police arrests.
- She mourns civilian loss but also calls the explosions 'the sound of revenge' against leaders she blames for past oppression.