The Not Old - Better Show

America and Iran: From Allies to Adversaries - Dr. John Ghazvinian

The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. I’m Paul Vogelzang, and this is episode #511. As part of our Smithsonian Associates Streaming series, our guest today is Dr. John Ghazvinian, and the title of Dr. Ghazvinian’s upcoming presentation at the Smithsonian Associates is America and Iran: From Allies to Adversaries.

Iran and America’s fraught relationship seems to be always in and out of the news. In January 2020, just a year ago, after the drone strike assassination of Qasem Soleimani, headlines declared the two nations on the brink of war. More recently, it was revealed that Iran may be planning, alongside Russia and China, to interfere in the presidential election this November.

Historian John Ghazvinian draws on his new book, America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present—for which he had access to Iranian government archives rarely available to Western scholars—to examine a complex relationship that reaches back to the Persian Empire and architects of American independence.

Long before the “Great Satan” and “Axis of Evil” speeches, before the 1979 hostage Crisis and Ayatollah Khomeini—the two nations were allies and looked to each other for friendship, inspiration, and opportunity. Ghazvinian covers what he terms the “four seasons” of U.S.–Iran relations: the spring of mutual fascination; the summer of early interactions; the autumn of close strategic ties; and the long, dark winter of mutual hatred. But, are we at war, or will we be with Iran?

That, of course, is our guest today, Dr. John Ghazvinian, speaking to us directly from the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where we’ve caught up with him today.

Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associate, Dr. John Ghazvinian.

My thanks to Dr. John Ghazvinian, who will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates program via Zoom, January 28, and the title of Dr. Ghazvinian’s upcoming presentation at the Smithsonian Associates is America and Iran: From Allies to Adversaries. Please check our website for more details. Thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show, and thanks to you our wonderful Not Old Better Show audience. Please, everyone, practice smart social distancing, be well, and remember, let’s Talk About Better. The Not Old Better Show.

For more details about Dr. John Ghazvinian’s upcoming Smithsonian Associates presentation, please click here: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/america-and-iran-from-allies-to-adversaries