Episode S4 | E1

U.S.-Iran Relations

Air Date: Jun 05, 2019

About this episode

Iran, seat of the ancient Persian kingdoms—older than the pyramids—home of the 2,500-year reign of the line of the Shahs, and land, for the past 40 years, of the militant Islamic Republic. What does Iran want in the world? What does the world want from and for Iran? Once Iran’s ally and champion, but more recently its wary adversary, what should be the posture of the United States towards Iran, today and into the future?

About the guests

Dr. Jim Walsh

Senior Research Associate, MIT’s Security Studies Program

Dr. Jim Walsh is a Senior Research Associate at the MIT Security Studies Program (SSP). Dr. Walsh's research and writings focus on international security, and in particular, topics involving nuclear weapons, the Middle East, and East Asia. Dr. Walsh has testified before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on issues of nuclear terrorism,...

Dr. Annie Tracy Samuel

Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Annie Tracy Samuel is an assistant professor of history at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Prior to joining the UTC faculty, Prof. Tracy Samuel served as a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in history from Tel Aviv University and a B.A. in...

Dr. Suzanne Maloney

Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy program, The Brookings Institution

Suzanne Maloney is deputy director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and a senior fellow in the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy and Energy Security and Climate Initiative, where her research focuses on Iran and Persian Gulf energy. Her books include the 2008 monograph "Iran's Long Reach" (United States Institute of...