

The East is a Podcast
Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)
A critical lens on the history of the present on West Asia and North Africa. Interviews with experts and archival mashups.
Created by Sina Rahmani (twitter: @urorientalist)
Created by Sina Rahmani (twitter: @urorientalist)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 28, 2026 • 1h 5min
Iran War Diary (Day 29) w/ Kumars Salehi and Navid Zarrinnal
**We managed to get Navid online for a conversation on the perception of Iranians on this war. This episode is co-published with Kumars Salehi at Delete Ur Account** This week's episode is another collaboration with The Colony Archive and The East is a Podcast. As Roqayah continues to document the resistance to Israel's attempted ethnic cleansing of south Lebanon, Kumars and friend of the show Sina Rahmani reconnected with Navid Zarrinnal in Tehran after two weeks. Navid updates us on the current mood in Iran as US-Israeli bombardment continues, sharing his experiences of the significance of Quds Day and Palestinian liberation to people in Iran, and how Iranians are responding to their country's resilience. The gang also discusses the political divisions within the Iranian establishment, the source of accusations of corruption and economic mismanagement, and what a strategic defeat for the US and Israel means for Iran and the world. Don't miss Navid's urgent reporting and analysis for The Colony Archive on YouTube. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel

Mar 23, 2026 • 1h 18min
"War, War until Victory!": Iran resists ZioAmerican aggression w/ Sara Larijani and Taha Zeinali
Sara Larijani is a PostDoc fellow in Political Geography at the University of Tehran. Her research is on British colonialism in Iran's oil frontiers. Taha Zeinali (@tahazeinalih) is a doctoral researcher in development studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His research focus is imperialist hybrid war, sanctions and sovereign development in Iran. They are both co-founders of the Center for Resistance, Sovereignty and Development Studies at the University of Tehran. Watch the video edition on The East Is a Podcast YouTube channel https://youtu.be/PKc1RPqnca8 Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Mar 16, 2026 • 2h 9min
Iran Vs. The Declining Kayfabe Empire featuring Sina Rahmani & Kumars Salehi
**I did an episode with comrads Jay from MAKC and Kumars from Delete Ur Account last week and forgot to post it! The episode explores the concept "kayfabe" in governing American cultural and political life** In this episode Sina Rahmani from The East is a Podcast & Kumars Salehi from Delete Your Account will join us to talk about the wrestling term "kayfabe" which is about maintaining the illusions that staged storylines and pre-determined matches are authentic, and that wrestlers are actually the characters they portray. We'll talk about this idea in relation to how the US Empire projects itself globally, and particularly in light of massive setbacks being faced by Israel & the US in their war on Iran and the Arab-Iranian region.

Mar 15, 2026 • 1h 3min
The Ramadan War: Iran strikes back w/ Helyeh Doutaghi
Friend of the show Bikrum Gill is joined by Helyeh Doutaghi to discuss the resistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the US-Zionist war of aggression. The discussion focuses on the strategic objectives pursued by Iran in its resistance, and what the larger stakes are for the region and the world-system as a whole. It considers how Iran's resistance represents a historic advance for forces of anti-imperialism. Finally, the episode explores the basis of the specific social, historical, and theological bases of Iranian sovereignty. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel https://youtu.be/PaY4Rfdyerw Helyeh Doutaghi is scholar of international law and geopolitical economy. Her research explores the intersections of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), encompassing postcolonial critiques of law, sanctions, and international political economy. Her research draws on the mechanisms, harms, and beneficiaries of the sanctions regime imposed on Iran, centering questions of value transfer and wealth drain. Additionally, she is interested in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), having written about its history, practice, and the production of knowledge (and ignorance), particularly in the context of the US military. She was expelled from Yale Law School and the LPE project for speaking up for Palestinian liberation last year. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tehran, where she will focus on completing her manuscript on the Iranian sanctions regime and neoliberalism. Bikrum Gill is a scholar of international political economy and author of The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: Race, Nature, and Accumulation, published by Manchester University Press. Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Mar 8, 2026 • 2h 22min
Operation Epstein Fury vs. Iran - Day 5 with Adnan Husain, Lara Sheehi, & Sina Rahmani
***I recorded an episode with some friends earlier this week but forgot to upload it until today! Apologies for the lateness** As the imperialist war rages on a group of us will gather to talks through the developments of the last few days to analyze and discuss. Adnan Husain from the Adnan Husain Show: / @adnanhusainshow Lara Sheehi from Psychic Militancy: / @psychicmilitancy Sina Rahmani from East is a Podcast: / @theeastisapodcast Watch the livestream edition on MAKC YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZh7WXn9ovY To support our platform please contribute to / millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Mar 2, 2026 • 1h 3min
Iran and Resistance to US Imperialism - Out of Left Field Episode #5 w/ Sina Rahmani
***I did an episode with the lovely folks at Out of Left Field from the End of Sport podcast. Nathan is one of my older friends and comrades, and their show has been going strong for several years In this emergency episode of the End of Sport's Out of Left Field, Nathan, Derek, and Priyansh talk to The East is a Podcast's Sina Rahmani about the current situation in Iran, exploring the historical context, the role of imperialism, and the resilience of the Iranian state against foreign interference. We discuss the implications of the ongoing conflict across the world, the intersection of sports and politics, and the broader narrative surrounding the Islamic Republic's stance in the face of imperialist aggression. Hosts: Derek Silva, Anna Posbergh, Priyansh, Johanna Mellis & Nathan Kalman-Lamb ________________________________________ Support & Follow The End of Sport Patreon: patreon.com/Theendofsport (Support the show!) Bluesky: @endofsportpod.bsky.social Instagram: @endofsportpod Twitter/X: @EndofSportPod YouTube: The End of Sport Listen, share, and support The End of Sport, a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network, a community of over sixty leftist podcasts at harbingermedianetwork.com. #sports #labor #capitalism #marxism

Mar 1, 2026 • 2h 3min
Tankie Group Therapy #37: Tie me to another missle!
***Help support Mohammed and his siblings. They are having a difficult time with their living expences and donations have completely dropped off*** Tankie Group Therapy is back! Lara, Jay, Mikey, Adnan, Nora and Sina got together to discuss the ZioAmerican imperialist aggression on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Note: This episode was recorded a few hours before the announcement of the martyrdom of Imam Ali Khamenei Watch the livestream edition on the East is a Podcast YouTube edition https://youtube.com/live/wKEJ2N2hGA0 Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Feb 22, 2026 • 1h 41min
Hasbara at home: A deep dive into Zionist Hebrew media w/ Dror Dayan
**Note: This episode contains a lot of discussion of screenshares. Unfortunately, we didn't do the best job describing every graph for audio listeners, so watch the video edition if you are interested in seeing the graphs cited and the slides prepared by the guest.*** Filmmaker Dror Dayan returns to the show to provide us with an overview of the Zionist media machine in Occupied Palestine. You can follow him on Twitter https://x.com/DrorDayan Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel https://youtu.be/5fkp6GdlgcE Consider supporting the show https://www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Feb 22, 2026 • 1h 13min
The prehistory of Al Aqsa Flood w/ Mujamma Haraket (pt.1)
***This conversation with Mujamma stretched slightly over two hours and covered a lot of terrain. Part 2 is now available to patrons, as will the video edition of the entire episode. If a few of you sign up for the Patreon, I will unlock it in a couple of weeks on the free feed.*** The first half of a two-part episode with academic and translator Mujamma Haraket about the historical trajectory of actors, social forces, and ideologies that propelled the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine (HAMAS) from its early history to today. Support Mujamma's fantastic work on SubStack https://substack.com/@mujammaharaket Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel https://youtu.be/529Uh9WoapU Consider supporting the show https://www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Feb 10, 2026 • 2h 7min
Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism?
**Producer's note: The folks at Popular Front asked me to moderate this discusssion of Gabriel Rockhill's latest book on the history of the Frankfurt School. Make sure to check out Popular Front!** --- We're thrilled to host author and philosopher Gabriel Rockhill on his book tour in Toronto. One of the key intellectuals of our movement today, his latest work explores ideas that are essential to understanding the challenges and necessities in building a socialist movement—especially for those of us living in the West. Starting with a talk from the author, followed by a discussion with a guest panel and an audience Q&A – this will be an important evening to explore the past, present, and future of socialist thought, and the principles we need to uphold in order to succeed (which the ruling class desperately wants us to abandon). Featuring an exciting guest panel, including: Sina Rahmani (co-host) Sardana Nikolaeva Justin Podur Zeyad El-Nabolsy Special thanks to our partners in co-organizing this event: Qiao Collective (@qiaocollective) Critical Theory Workshop (@criticaltheoryworkshop) Monthly Review (@monthlyreview) East is a Podcast (@eastpodcast) And to our additional media partners: Anti-Empire Project (@jpodur) Journal of International Solidarity (@journalofintlsolidarity) --- ABOUT THE BOOK: "Rockhill's book elucidates how the intellectual world war on the socialist alternative has sought to promote a "compatible left" intelligentsia while misrepresenting, maligning, and trying to destroy the revolutionary left. […] The volume concludes by bringing to the fore the guiding methodological framework: a thoroughly anticolonial and anti-imperialist Marxism dedicated to building socialism in the real world." More info at Monthly Review Press: https://monthlyreview.org/9781685901349/ Canada: Available at most online book sellers, including University of Toronto Bookstore: https://utpdistribution.com/9781685901349/who-paid-the-pipers-of-western-marxism/


