This episode explores Shivan Mahendrarajah’s A History of Herat: From Chingiz Khan to Tamerlane (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), tracing the city’s transformation from its destruction under Chingiz Khan in 1222 to its capitulation to Tamerlane in 1381. Despite this violent history, Herat rose to become a major political, cultural, and economic center of the eastern Islamic world. Note: Herat is located in present-day Afghanistan, a country whose borders were drawn by British imperial powers in the 19th century.

Saudi Arabia reignited its war on Yemen’s Ansarallah (“Houthis”) on 13 July, deploying mercenary forces and expecting a quick win. Instead, Ansarallah went on the offensive, striking Saudi military bases and oil infrastructure, including the East-West pipeline. By September 11, they’d captured Yemen’s west coast and key Red Sea islands, securing fire-control over the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint. Episode examines how the war became a strategic defeat for Saudi Arabia and the US, and a win for Iran.

How Saudi Wahhabism forged the Taliban and al-Qaeda: this 9/11 anniversary special traces extremist ideology from 18th-century Arabia to Saudi-funded madrasas on the Afghan-Pakistan border, and its role in the Taliban’s war against Kabul and the US.

Iranian Jews represent the oldest continuous Jewish community in the Middle East. They have a 3,000-year history that predates and belies Israeli narratives. Iran’s Jewish community is anti-Zionist and patriotic; they challenge Western assumptions and propaganda by thriving in Iran. Iran’s Jewish community is explored in the independent documentary, “Uncaptured: Jews in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Mary Renault is lauded as a groundbreaking LGBT authoress, but this detracts from her brilliance as a historian of ancient Greece and Iran. She masterfully weaves history, geography, and Greek literature with fiction to depict the life of Alexander the Great. Her “Persian Boy” was my introduction to Iran.

US and Israel handed Tehran the precious gift of nuclear ambiguity. Before 13 June 2025, Iran had the most open nuclear program in the world; today, the most opaque program. 440.9kg of 60% “highly-enriched uranium” survives at scattered sites; there is no single target for Special Forces or USAF to strike. The hoopla about “Pickaxe … Continue reading Iran’s Nuclear Ambiguity and Trump’s “Pickaxe Mountain” Pickle →

Sat., 15-Aug-26, is the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s victory over the US. In a 20-minute podcast, two discussants analyze the intellectual failures that led to the US’s strategic defeat. It is based on Shivan Mahendrarajah’s article in “Small Wars & Insurgencies,” and “is a scathing indictment of Generals Petraeus, McChrystal, et al., who brought … Continue reading How the Taliban Defeated the Pentagon’s “Best and Brightest” →

“The Iranian missile cities the US could not destroy” by the Financial Times caused a stir, but Iran specialists knew that underground bases were selected for their geography and geology. They are impregnable. Evidence and analysis in the essay.

China’s satellite network provides Iran with 24/7/365 coverage and real-time updates: SIGINT, terrain mapping, telemetry; radar, optical, and infrared all-weather, day & night imaging, allowing Iran to precisely strike Israeli and U.S. targets. Details in the essay.

Trump’s Gamble. On Easter Weekend, 4–5 April, US Special Forces suffered a debacle near the nuclear site in Isfahan. Trump’s social media meltdown was because the plan to seize Iran’s enriched uranium failed. The “pilot rescue” story is false. Read the essay at my website.