In this episode, Keyvan and Séamus cover the rise of the first Pahlavi Shah, the Anglo-Soviet invasion that deposed him, and how Stalin occupied northwest Iran to pressure the Iranian state into giving up some of its oil to the USSR.

In this first episode, Séamus and Keyvan talk about the unraveling of the Persian empire under Qajar dynasty, Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Tobacco Protest of 1890, the Constitutional Revolution, the Socialist Soviet Republic of Gilan, and the rise of Reza Pahlavi.

Séamus and Keyvan introduce themselves and the podcast. They explain why the world needed another podcast (or not) and what topics this project will aim to cover.