People gather in protest against the death of Mahsa Amini along the streets on September 19, 2022 in Tehran, Iran.

Iran’s Protest Culture

A succession of authoritarian regimes birthed a strong tradition of collective action.
Ceiling of Shah Mosque at Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran

Scientific Seances in Twentieth-Century Iran

Spiritism appealed to Iranian intellectuals who sought to reconcile their commitment to science with their pursuit of moral reform.
Funeral of Qasem Soleimani, Tehran, Iran on 6 January 2020.

Iran in the Trump Era

President Trump's decision to order the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani has backfired in spectacular fashion. Why?
The cover of Gharbzadegi by Jalal Al-e-Ahmad

Progress Is Not the Same as Westernization

Jalal Al-e Ahmad, a political and literary writer in pre-revolutionary Iran, had ideas about how his country could modernize in its own, non-Western way.
Tehran, Iran

Why People Live In Earthquake Zones

Millions of people now live atop fault lines because long ago small communities gathered at fresh water sources.