Jian continues the Iran Rises series with a timely panel discussion examining the unfolding protest movement inside Iran.

Recorded on January 8, 2026, this episode brings together four perspectives - street-level insight, security analysis, economic context, and historical framing - to better understand what is happening now and what may come next.

Guests:

Picasso Moin – Iranian activist and commentator (Istanbul)

Mahdi Ghodsi – Economist, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies

Sepehr Vakil – Associate Professor, Northwestern University; author of Revolutionary Engineers

Shayan Samii – U.S. national security analyst and strategic communications expert

The conversation explores protest organization, regime power dynamics, economic pressure points, historical parallels, international response, and what may determine whether this moment advances or stalls.

The episode opens with Jian’s essay honoring the bravery of Iranians in the streets.

This edition of Roqe is brought to you with the support of:

Stellar Law – stellarlaw.ca

Famluxy – famluxy.com