Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign was profoundly connected to the Western news media. The mainstream press played an active role in the ousting of his rival Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, and spent the next two decades lavishing him with the kind of praise that only paid off toadies could provide.

But the relationship soured in the 1970s. As the pressures on his regime increased internally, Western journalists were beginning to do their jobs. Foolishly, the last monarch of Iran let his narcissism get the best of him and chose to accept interview after interview, allowing himself to be pestered with questions about torture, beatings, and the opposition to his authoritarian rule.

I've collected a bunch of interviews from mostly his later years, preceded by a brief introduction on the imperialist birthday party he threw for himself in 1971.

created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist) [email protected] https://twitter.com/east_podcast