Reza Aslan on why Iran is winning, and why the idea of nationalism may be the next great illusion to fall.  | Subscribe to Futurology! https://linkin.bio/futurology/

What does it mean for a nation to fight a war it cannot win? Iranian scholar and author Reza Aslan joins Nathan Gardels to cut through four decades of American self-deception about Iran. In this episode, Aslan argues that the war in Iran has done exactly what decades of intelligence had predicted: silenced dissent, entrenched hardline power, and destroyed the slow-burning possibility of reform taking root in Iran. He makes the case that Iran is not an unhinged theocracy, but a completely rational actor facing a waning global superpower mired in a “cosmic war mentality.

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Mentioned in this Episode:

No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam — Reza Aslan (Book, 2005)

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth — Reza Aslan (Book, 2013)

God: A Human History — Reza Aslan (Book, 2017)

Where to find Resa Aslan:

https://www.rezaaslan.com/

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Credits 

Executive Producers: Nicolas Berggruen, Nathan Gardels, Nils Gilman, Dawn Nakagawa, & Jason Hoch

Producers: Grant Slater, Alex Gardels, & Nathalia Ramos

Associate Producer: Elissa Mardiney

Theme Music: Marcus Bagala

Audio Engineer: Aaron Bastinelli & Kyle Scott Wilson

Futurology is a production of Studio B and Wavland for the Berggruen Institute in Los Angeles, California.