Stop Making Iran Protests About American Politics: Podcast
Instead of arguing about media coverage and posturing about partisan reactions, maybe focus on sanctions and refugee policy?

Today's Reason Podcast, which features myself, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Peter Suderman, begins with a discussion about the dramatic protests in Iran: their significance, the context, the vast amount that we don't know, the bad Twitter takes, the America-centric focus, and what Washington should do specifically about what few existing policies directly affect the situation in Tehran and throughout the Islamic Republic.
We also argue about legal (but heavily regulated) weed in California and elsewhere; President Donald Trump's recent comments on North Korea, Pakistan, and DACA; and whether cheesy '80s movies about nuclear holocaust (think The Day After and Testament) are worth rewatching.
Audio production by Ian Keyser.
Relevant links from the show:

* "What Feminists—and Islamists—Don't Get About Burqas"
* "Unplugging the Doomsday Machine: Daniel Ellsberg on nukes, leaks, and the lost documents he copied along with the Pentagon Papers"
* "The Myth of the Playground Pusher: In Tennessee and around the country, 'drug-free school zones' are little more than excuses for harsher drug sentencing."
* "Government Almost Killed the Cocktail: 80 years after Prohibition, the Dark Ages of drinking are finally coming to an end."
* "The Democratic Way of Prohibition: How the party of pot smokers ended up standing in the way of pharmacological freedom"
Subscribe, rate, and review the Reason Podcast at iTunes. Listen at SoundCloud below:
Don't miss a single Reason podcast! (Archive here.)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
Not to be crude, but outside of our interests, we should give no shits about what happens to ANYBODY in Iran.
It is not, in any way, our problem.
We cover them on the ONLY level that is of any importance to us: OUR interests.
If we aren't focusing on our interests, why even notice what is going on?
Because we can care about it as an aspect of our own humanity or even morbid interest. You can care about things without saying it's about you and without saying the government need to get involved.
I'm making over $7k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life.
This is what I do... http://www.onlinecareer10.com
I care about Iranians as much as I care about Nebraskans.
I hope you care about Arizonans or else I will be deeply and personally saddened.
We used to not care about you. Since you moved to Seattle, we now actively hate you.
Abloo hoo hoo
You're outside of my interests, so why should I give a fuck what you say or what happens to you?
How do you know if something pertains to your interests if you don't notice it in the first place...?
Because of reality?
Iran's interests and America's interests aren't mutually exclusive, like any other multiple populations. This is even more apparent in the reality of an increasingly interconnected world, socially and economically. The well-being of other populations in the world increases well-being across the board. The lack of well-being of Syrians directly affected Europe. The social state of Egyptians affected the entire Arab world. Normal cause and effect.
We're well past the horse and buggy era of communication, transaction and transportation.
I just started 7 weeks ago and I've gotten 2 check for a total of $2,000...this is the best decision I made in a long time! "Thank you for giving me this extraordinary opportunity to make extra money from home.
go to this site for more details..... http://www.startonlinejob.com
I just started 7 weeks ago and I've gotten 2 check for a total of $2,000...this is the best decision I made in a long time! "Thank you for giving me this extraordinary opportunity to make extra money from home.
go to this site for more details..... http://www.startonlinejob.com
Does this one have Star Wars spoilers too?
Turns out the Galaxy Far Far Away was a little closer than we first thought ...
"Stop making the Iran protests about domestic politics. Also, Trump's travel ban is somehow tied to this, because reasons"
Welch is morphing into Gillespie
"MAKE THIS ABOUT MY PET INTERESTS!" ? Reason
How about how focus on folks protesting in defense of their...liberty?
Welch says we need to focus on his pet domestic political issues instead.
1. Sanctions don't work.
2. No refugees.
3. Why the fuck are we getting involved again? The whole reason the place is the shithouse it is can be directly linked to us getting involved in the past.
Let the damned Iranians sort out Iran. Then, even if it ends up a shitshow - we'll have no blame in it.
Stop Making Iran Protests About American Politics [12 words] maybe focus on sanctions and refugee policy?
Right, because it's not like any countries ever helped us in our revolt against the English to become an independent ...
Oh wait...