badlands podcast by borzou daragahi

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit borzou.substack.com Monday, June 1, 2026, Istanbul The same people who goaded Donald Trump into launching a war of choice against Iran that would be over in a few days or weeks are now signaling that the US president should just stay the course for another two-and-a-half years! This comes as the US and Iran again exchanged fire overnigh...

Friday, May 29, 2026, Istanbul Not enough has been said about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s systematic dismantling of Turkey’s opposition movement and the craven acquiescence of the United States and the European Union to his machinations. Today’s podcast features an interview with Turkish scholar and fellow Substacker Orhan Şener Deliormanlı . He’s a UK-educated political commentator a...

Thursday, May 28, 2026, Istanbul It was one of the nastiest and most uncalled for moments in Donald Trump’s unhinged second term. In the middle of a press briefing at a cabinet Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman if it didn’t do the Americans’ bidding on the Strait of Hormuz. It was a deranged outburst that is part of a pattern of Trump attacking the countries attempting to find a diplomatic soluti...

In today’s edition of badlands, I speak with journalist Leila Gharagozlou, a CNN correspondent who has amassed a massive following on her TikTok account with astute, pithy takes and takedowns on Iran and geopolitics. She often gives her talks while chilling on her couch in Dubai in her favorite bathrobe. In a wide-ranging discussion we talk about everything from the role of the Revolutionary Guard...

Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Istanbul Iranians are warning of a wider war following US airstrikes on the country late Monday or early Tuesday. On the latest edition of badlands, I discuss how little the latest attack makes sense. Also on today’s jam-packed podcast: * Why Iran might got internet restored * Whether Israel might face more international pressure * Whether the United Arab Emirates may be fac...

News of a possible deal between Iran and the US sent heads exploding among neocons and warmongers. Truth be told it was a delight to be behold. In today’s special edition of the podcast, I discuss the deal and how it could still fall apart. Plus, in an interview with India’s NewsX World, I speak about Turkey’s efforts to destroy President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main opposition party and shut down...

Friday, May 22, 2026, Istanbul On Wednesday, Donald Trump took a call from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Thursday, Turkey’s Erdogan-controlled judiciary removed the effective and charismatic leader of the opposition party from his post, and re-installed a flailing dullard. On today’s podcast, I discuss how time after time, Trump’s idiocy, arrogance, and naïveté allow him to be used b...

Thursday, May 21, 2026, Istanbul Ukraine stunned the world last weekend with a fresh, robust drone and missile strike on Russia’s capital. It wasn’t the first Ukrainian attack on Moscow, but it was most definitely the most robust, targeting Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to decrease Russia’s ability to wage war. In an exceptional and insightful interview, Ukrainian analyst Anastasiya...

Wednesday, May 20, 2026, Istanbul After signaling that the US was again getting ready to resume its military operations against Iran, Trump again backed down. He said he was convinced to give diplomacy a chance for a few days, but the facts suggest he remains caught in a trap created by a combination of military and geographic reality and his own rhetoric. On today’s edition of b a dlands, I discu...

Last week Tehran-based tech entrepreneur Hamidreza Ahmadi stunned Iran watchers with an insightful and extraordinarily brave essay written from Iran about the real reasons behind Iranians’ misery in the leftist journal Jacobin. In the piece, the Queens College graduate and one-time New York resident stu recounts the double tragedy of the January protests in Iran. Not only were the protests brutall...

Donald Trump again threatened war this weekend, and there are reasons to believe he means this time. But does he know what he’s in for? In today’s podcast, I discuss the inventive ways that Iran has fended off the US attacks and pressure, a creativity born of both new weapons of warfare and Iran’s unique geography. Lots of fun stuff in the latest edition, including AI-generated depictions of battl...

It was something out of a 1960s brat-pack comedy. Israel got sick of being treated like the side piece and announced to the world that it had a thing going with the United Arab Emirates, publicly announcing that Benjamin Netanyahu had visited the UAE and met with the leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. An Israeli channel even reported that MbZ picked up Bibi from airport, personally driving to...

Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Istanbul Diplomacy over Iran remains at an impasse, as Donald Trump heads to Beijing for his big meeting with Xi Jinping without a deal, a victory, or even an open Strait of Hormuz. Trump also reveals that he US tried to arm Iran’s opposition by handing weapons Kurds, despite his own skepticism, but that they stole the weapons instead . In today’s podcast I also discuss the...

Monday, May 11, 2026 There appears to be no perfect English translation for the Persian word, “ghar.” It means you’ve disowned someone, disavowed friendship or a familial relationship, and refuse to acknowledge them over some slight or act of disrespect. To say you’re ghar with someone means you used to hold someone dear, but now are no longer on speaking terms. Within the Iranian diaspora over th...

Friday, May 8, 2026, Paris There was another exchange of fire between Iran and the US on Friday. This time Americans disabled two Iranians ships. Meanwhile Iran struck Dubai. Images emerged showing smoke rising from the city’s glitzy international airport. The UAE may have also taken part on a series of US airstrikes on Thursday targeting Tehran, Qeshm Island, and Bandar Abbas. Iran can’t reach th...

Thursday, May 7, 2026, Paris Despite a US-imposed ceasefire, Israel continued to aggressively target Lebanon, ostensibly to target members and leaders of the Shia group Hezbollah. On Wednesday, for the first time since the ceasefire, Israel also launched an attack on Beirut, targeting an apparent Hezbollah commander, but also in a likely attempt provoke Hezbollah’s Iranian patrons and complicated...

Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Paris Lots of back and forth today on whether Iran and the US were getting closer to a deal or not. There were reports citing US officials saying that the countries were close to signing a memorandum of understanding that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic and serve as a framework for a broader and more durable deal. But Iranians denounced the US propos...

Tuesday, May 5, 2026, Paris It was no surprise that the US tried to test Iran’s resolve on the Strait of Hormuz just after it announced the launch on Monday of its “Project Freedom,” an attempt to break the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz by offering ships passage. What was a bit shocking was the Iranian response. It launched a barrage of missiles at the United Arab Emirates, including at...

Monday, May 4, 2026, Paris Iran opened fire at two US ships on Monday, even as Americans claimed that two US-flagged vessels managed to sneak through the Strait of Hormuz as part of President Donald Trump’s “Operation Freedom.” Centcom also said two US naval vessels are operating in the “Arabian Gulf” after managing to transit through the strait, despite Iranian warnings. It remains unclear how mu...

Friday, May 1, 2026, London You can count how many missiles or how much oil storage capacity Iran has and how many interceptors and Tomahawak missiles the US has and conclude the war between the countries can only last a few more months. But history shows us that wars can drastically reshape nations, and that it’s possible and likely that the warring countries and the rest of the world could make...

April 30, 2026 Iraq this week agreed on a new prime minister-designate, a relatively unknown player, who was blessed by the constellation of Shia political parties, power brokers, and armed factions who dominate the country. Ali al-Zaid, born 1986, is relatively young businessman whose interests include media and supermarkets. He succeeds Mohammed al-Sudani after a weeks-long deadlock that followe...

Wednesday, April 29, 2026, London Was it all an op? A blockbuster piece in Israel’s Ynet by journalists Nahum Barnea and Ronen Bergman said Israel’s spy services began planning to topple Iran’s regime four years ago. The plan by Benjamin Netanyahu and the Mossad was to kill Iran’s leaders, spark a popular uprising, and back a Kurdish insurgency in the country’s west. According to the Hebrew-langua...

Monday, April 27, 2026 Iran’s defense ministry said on Saturday that the US was desperately looking for an offramp from the war that he and Israel launched against Israel. “Donald Trump is in a tough situation,” I tell India’s NewsX in an interview. We also discuss Iran’s nuclear program, its human rights records, Turkey and Europe’s worries about the conflict, and the declining influence and stat...

Thursday, April 23, 2026, Paris President Donald Trump and Israel continued to wave their sabres. Trump posted a message on Truth Social calling for an attack on Iran’s leadership while Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said it was eager for war: We are waiting for the green light from the U.S., first and foremost, to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty and to return Iran to the d...

Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Paris The talks are off but the dual blockade of the Persian Gulf continues. Iran is barring ships from other countries from entering and exiting the Strait of Hormuz, while the US is barring Iranian ships from the chokepoint. The game of brinkmanship is costing the global economy dearly. Sahar Mechmech, an economist at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, said f...