The Breakfast Club - Moj Mahdara Talks The Iranian Crisis, Women's Rights, Propaganda + More

Episode Date: November 22, 2022

Moj Mahdara stops by and speaks to the Breakfast Club about the Iranian crisis, women's rights, propaganda and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yes, sir. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha Guy. We are The Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the building.

Yes, indeed. Moj Madera. Did I say it right? You did. Okay. You've had practice. I did. I tried to tell him he didn't trust me, but you know.

You know what happens? Because a lot of times, Charlamagne will tell me the wrong thing on purpose. That's not true. I believe that. Then when I say it, he goes, I believe that. He did that to me a couple of times. He's jealous of you. Well, welcome.

How are you feeling this morning? I'm good. I'm happy to be here. Happy to have you, man. I am very happy to be here. I'm very grateful for the time you guys are about to dedicate to this insane conversation we're about to have. So thank you. Please inform us on what's going on in Iran.

Because there's so much going on in the world. And I know this is something that everybody should be aware of. But what is happening? And sometimes it's hard to get accurate information, too. I know. Let's talk about it. I'd love first to know what you guys think is happening. It feels like women's rights are being violated all over the world.

And it feels like, you know, Iran is the epicenter. I know everybody's definitely focused on what's happening here in America with Roe v. Wade. But it feels like what's going on over there is like just cruel and unusual punishment. I saw the thing the other day, which I had to research a little bit because I was like, I just can't be real. And they said that they were sentencing 15,000 protesters to death. Yes. The parliament essentially gave the green light to um so there's 15 000 protesters who've come out into the streets over the past eight weeks um over massa gina amini who's a kurdish woman uh she had come to tehran which is the capital with her family to just sightsee

and have a day out and she wasn't even wearing, she was wearing hijab. She wasn't like taking her, she was wearing her hijab, but she had, she was wearing culottes. So her ankles were out. Wow. And she was stopped by the morality police, which they call the Bastige, which have been essentially in power

since the Islamic Republic came into play in 1979. So they took her into custody. They tortured her. They beat her. And she unfortunately passed away a few days later. Wow. Because her ankles were showing and she wasn't dressed as conservatively.

Correct. Which sounds very conservative already. That is a tragedy. It is a tragedy. It is a morality police that walks around looking at what people are dressing and how they're acting. Yes. So I think, you know.

Is it women or is it men and women? So it's primarily women. I myself was stopped there in the early 90s when I went there. My grandmother was passing. I grew up with my grandmother in the house. We spoke Farsi in the house. My grandmother would always say, it's Iran inside this home. It's America outside this home. So I grew up very Iranian. And she was passing. I wanted to go and we were listening to in excess in the car and we were pulled over and they kept us overnight. So, yeah, that's what the Bastigi do. They are the morality police.

They are not necessarily part of the military. They are part of the Islamic Republic sort of guard that protects that echelon of religious leaders, the Ayatollahs. And yes, they police your dress, what you sing, what you listen to, dancing. Women legally have half the right there of men, legally, right? So whether that's being accused of someone who has raped you, if you want a divorce, if you want to choose how to spend your own money, I sort of try to bring it to American audiences through the lens of a conservatorship. Right. It's pretty similar to what just happened with Britney Spears, which is you are essentially living.

Britney Rana. Say again? You said Britney Spears. Yeah. Yeah, Britney Spears. I'm just a Britney Rana guy. Yeah. Britney Spears.

Well, that's another. We should talk about that, too. But Britney Spears lived in what a conservatorship, I think, for 15 years where she couldn't even, go ahead. Yeah, Britney Spears. Well, that's another. We should talk about that, too. But Britney Spears lived in a conservatorship, I think, for 15 years, where she couldn't even, you know... Touch her own money. Touch her own money. Yeah, touch her own money.

She couldn't have doors on her own home. She couldn't, you know... She had to work and then still give her money to... Business managers and agents and, you know, her father and what have you. I mean, we're all learning about this now, but this is, you know, there's 80-some- some odd million people in Iran.

Half of the population are women and they are living there. And I think the context of it is this country was living through a secular leadership up until 1979, right? Like women could, my grandmother was a famous singer. She made her living being a famous singer.

I always think of her as like the, like Lana Del Rey of Iran, you know, 50s and 60s. And so women had a lot of freedoms previous to the Islamic Republic. And now they are being tortured, raped, terrorized at scale in broad daylight on video. It's a problem. What happens when journalists try to cover this? Because like we were discussing, there is a lot of misinformation that's out there. And also, just talk about the coverage there

because I feel like that's also not allowed. So we are in an information war. You have a highly financed group of people in Iran, the Islamic Republic. Their agenda, Iran has 8% of the natural resources of the world. We're talking about uranium, copper, zinc, oil. So we're not talking about a country that is resource poor. And the people who are making the most amount of profit off of this resource is the government. So they have a ton of incentive to stay in power there.

And they do that by repressing people and most especially women. So what's happening is we don't have journalists on the ground. Every journalist we do have on the ground is currently in prison. Anyone who covers this is in jail, tortured. And it's not just like, oh, you're arrested and your lawyer is going to come and represent you in some, you know, hearing in the next few days. Your family doesn't know where you are. You are disappeared, literally. And when you are reappeared, it's either bags of bones, your organs are removed, your family is forbidden from having a memorial

and ceremony for you. I mean, for Iranian people, this is making us go apeshit. This is making us go crazy right now. Like, I think, I mean, I've bothered everyone I know. I'm like, hey, they're killing little girls. They're killing students. They're killing juvenile people in prison. And we can't report on it because we cannot get journalists on the ground. We can't get sources.

All we have. They block the Internet, too. That's right. They block the Internet, too, right? That's right. They block the Internet. So how can this be covered here in the United States, even? So I think that's why my friends and I started this new group called the Iranian Diaspora Collective. It's literally been eight weeks old.

It's a group of people in the diaspora who are in entertainment and social media and tech. We got together and we essentially said we're going to stand up an organization so we can be a resource. We published this insane document called How to Talk About Iran. And we update it every day for journalists and reporters and people who want to report it. And we put it up on our website. It's been downloaded thousands and thousands of times to essentially help the West better

understand. We've been holding we held a news conference the other night with Secretary Clinton and 20 members of the press to come and essentially have a Q&A with her and I around how to cover this accurately. And I think I don't think we need to cover this perfectly. I don't think it needs to be perfect. I don't think it I think it has to be about progress over perfection. I think you saw the same thing here when we've seen atrocities covered around police brutality here.

It's not going to always be perfect, the coverage, but the coverage needs to happen. I think the problem, I was going to say are there people who've escaped that have come here that can tell their stories? There are many people who've escaped who've come here who are refugees. There are many people. They're living in safe houses in Turkey.

They're living here on asylum in the United States. You have a ton of people here who've been arrested, who've been in Ibn. But I think it's just this is like a crisis of, to your point, women's rights are being rolled back globally.

There isn't a global agenda to roll back women's rights. And I think the Islamic Republic's largest export right now is their violence against women. I think if we do not find a way to shut this down, there will be copycatting of this behavior all over the world. Yikes. Do you think those stories, like the one where they said 15,000 protesters were sentenced to death, but it weren't. Do you think those stories caused more harm than good?

Because when you see that headline, you're automatically all in like, whoa. But then when you realize it's not real, you probably just dismiss the whole situation. So I, as you know, I'm a little bit of a Internet sleuth. I think that was a Islamic Republic strategy. I believe, from what I understand, they've hired some of the most established blue-chip comms organizations out of Europe, out of nowhere,

after eight weeks of no coverage, all this coverage. The headline was salacious. The facts were the Parliament gave the guards the right to execute all 15,000 people of those people. So the facts were the parliament gave the guards the right to execute all 15000 people of those people. So the facts are those 15000 people are at risk. They are. They they could. Yo, listen, the Islamic Republic is the leader per capita in mass executions.

This is not this is not some organization that's never done this before. We're not sure. And that headline was iffy. This has happened before. They've done it before in the 80s. They have done it two years ago. 1,500 people were killed. So why would they not take out 15,000 people

now that have been live streaming this protest? What is the U.S. doing to help, if any? Well, I mean, I think the U.S. is in a so, okay, France has done a lot. Macron basically acknowledged Moussa El-Najjad as an activist and leader, and I think he said something important, which is

this is a revolution, this is not a protest. The U.S., I think, is trying to course-correct the past four, I mean, the trying to course correct the past four. I mean, the history of Iran and why these guys are even there is tied up with, you know, the CIA, Jimmy Carter. How the Islamic Republic even came to be was, you know, Iranians believe they were put there by the United States. Right now, whether that was intentional, whether everyone had a plan that this would be the outcome, I don't think that's the case. I think people make the best

choices they can at the time. But the Islamic Republic would not be in power without the United States. So I think they have a huge responsibility to help the Iranian people to remove them. Right. So the U.S., I think, is figuring it out. I think you'll see movement from France, Germany. I think you'll see Europe move first. But I think the United States is trying to figure out its equal footing. I think part of what my group has been trying to do is we are trying to be the diaspora partners by being Iranians who are born here, but Iranian. So we have empathy for the West and relationships to the West, but also family there.

Can we help navigate communications? Because right now we don't even have a relation. We don't even have a diplomatic relationship with this country. So how can we help? I think they're trying to figure it out. Do they even care, you think? Of course they care. I mean, we care about a safe Israel.

We care about a safe Middle East. We need uranium to power nuclear power in terms of green energy go forward. We need their oil. We've got them aiding and abetting Russia and Ukraine right now. They're sending over drones. I mean, you can't. I mean, governments care about governments, but they rarely care about what's happening on the ground with the people is what I'm saying.

Well, that's why we're here. Yeah, yeah. Because I think, as you know, I believe culture impacts policy and government. And I think the more chitter-chatter online, the more people posting, the more they believe that the public at large cares about this as a human rights issue, not a political issue. I think the U.S. government will have to stand up with the Iranian people.

You've seen Canada do it, right? What does standing up look like? I mean, listen, these people's children come here, go to the best schools, live in the best places. They use the government's money to do whatever they want.

Sanction them. Shut down. Revoke their visas. Close their embassies immediately. Now, take them off the United Nations, the United Nations Committee for Women's Rights. That's a joke. They got to go. That's completely bogus. They should be deprioritized on a global level. You know, people have been arguing FIFA. Should they be allowed to play soccer?

You know, like there's a lot of ways to embarrass and shun them. Iranians are very prideful. They love to be loved. So to basically really, really, really stick it to them. I think everyone's got to turn their backs and stop doing business with them. They've had a hard two years with COVID. They're barely I don't think they have a heavy balance sheet. And without the support of Germany and Europe and China, I don't know how they're going to do business. So if everyone shuts down doing business with them,

I think you have to starve them out. And I do want to say, too, I did see where one person that was protesting in the street actually did get sentenced to death. So it's not far-fetched that you know they wouldn't do that to 15,000 others. These are the same people that won't let us in to tell us what nuclear weapons they have or have not. Okay, if nothing's happening, let's let Amnesty International and Justice for Iran in to report. Let's let them in.

Let's put them in Naveen. Let's have them. There are numerous reports. Girls are coming out of prison and begging their parents for abortion pills. Why? Why? Why are people going with suitcases to Iran with abortion pills right now? There are people constantly hitting themselves for fundraising.

Raise money for Starlink. Raise money for abortion pills. Raise money for shields. Raise money for helmets. Like, I'm a venture capitalist. This is insane. It's taken over my life for the past eight weeks. What does an ideal life for a woman

in Iran look like to you? An ideal life for a woman in Iran looks like her education is her priority. Her family is her priority. You know, you're living in a country where 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30. They are. Instagram tells us that Masa Amini is one of the largest hashtags they've ever had in the history of Instagram. They are internet first. They are super plugged in. But what's also true is that you cannot sing. You cannot dance.

You cannot hold hands with your boyfriend. You cannot be gay. You need your father's permission to get a passport, to travel, to get a visa, right? Your father and your brother, for all intents purposes, are your conservators. That's what it looks like.

And this is, I guess, somewhat common throughout Islamic countries. What's not, what is not common is that when people protest those regimes to be beating them in broad daylight and killing them in broad daylight to create propaganda that we will kill you, we will murder you and your families if you protest this. You have no vote. You have no agency. You can't design your your own life and it's it's difficult to do

that to a group of women who are so highly educated iran has a super duper high level of women who have been educated um in the arts and stem and sciences so it's like when you have a group of people who are educated but they have no opportunity this is why you're having this rage if you look at all the content, like what is the soundtrack to it? It's every hip hop group, you know, it's every artist, you know, you would think these kids grew up here the way they live on Instagram. What is I know you're writing a book also. Yes. What is your book about? It's a memoir. It's been in the works for some time. You know, I have a weird I have a I have a my life has been an interesting sort of road.

I left home when I was 16. I'm queer. I'm a little bit of an outsider in a lot of groups. And I've and I'm a culture, I guess, student of culture. So it's really a memoir. And I would say it's a little bit of lessons in my journey over the past three years years especially because my good friend Charlemagne told me three years ago I should go to therapy that's right and so it's a little bit of an awakening and it's a little bit of a discovery and it's a little bit of a sharing of what it feels like to sort of spend really the past three

years dealing with generational trauma and a lot of the noises that were going on in my head and how to distill that make that lessons go forward for people it's been really beneficial for you which part therapy yeah therapy has changed my life it is um i it's so funny i sometimes love my therapist so much like i just don't even know what i would do without this person. Like I have night terrors of like, what if something ever happens to this person? It's given me an amazing place to have a sounding board to, I think when you're, I think when you're kind of a traumatized human being and you've been through, whether it's physical or sexual, generational abuse, when you're queer, when you don't, you know, like I was Persian up until eight weeks ago because I was afraid to tell people I was Iranian. Right. Because you think of

the hostage crisis, you think of the Ayatollahs, you think of terrorism. And so I think therapy for me has been a place to find out how to be a better listener, a stronger, I think more boundaries. We've talked a lot about this. I think the boundaries has been heavy for me. And I think it's given me a place to process what's happened and think about how do I want to design my life, go forward. I know you guys talk about mental health a lot, so I appreciate that. So it was a huge. It was a huge favor to me a few years ago when you and I had that conversation. I always tell you, it's been a profound difference in my life. You know, my therapist always tells me you have to allow yourself to feel joy. How do you allow yourself to feel joy at a time like this when you know what's going on in Iran? I have a four and a half year old that is the funniest,

most hilarious guy on the planet. And he just sees the world through lens of possibility. And I think he sees me for who I really am and can be. And my wife and my son and my family's growing. And, you know, I think my family is my main battery on my back. I mean, that's, for me, my number one crew in my life and the people I want to be with all the time are my family. You know, how about you?

Same. Yeah. I know we relate to this. Yeah. Absolutely the same. I mean, that's where I find my joy. Yeah. My joy is that that i actually had

a great conversation with my therapist about that i'm not ready to explain it yet but when he the way the way it was explained to me about how you experience joy through the lens of your your family was it was profound only because like you know i think we spent a lot of time trying to protect ours so much but you have to let them go out into the world you have to let them go experience things so we try to have this sense of into the world. You have to let them go experience things. So we try to have this sense of control. But he said something to me. Once it sinks in, I'll be ready to share it.

But yeah. I can't wait to hear it. Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired, depressed, a little bit revolutionary? Consider this. Start your own country. I planted the flag.

I just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There's 55 gallons of water for 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it. I am King Ernest Emmanuel.

I am the Queen of Ladonia. I'm Jackson I, King of Capraburg. I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Mentonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition.

Why can't I create my own country? My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong? No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a rocket with a black powder, you know, with explosive warhead. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Bullets. We need help! We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. And we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going.

That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real, inspiring stories from the people you know, follow, and admire, join me every week for Post Run High. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's lighthearted, pretty crazy, and very fun.

Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself, and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves.

For self-preservation and protection, it was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love.

I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys,

like you've never heard her before listen to on purpose with jay shetty on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts hey there my little creeps it's your favorite ghost host teresa and guess what haunting is back dropping just in time for spooky season now i know you've probably been wandering the mortal plane wondering when I'd be back to fill your ears with deliciously unsettling stories. Well, wonder no more, because we've got a ghoulishly good lineup ready for you. Let's just say things get a bit extra. We're talking spirits, demons, and the kind of

supernatural chaos that'll make your spooky season complete. You know how much I love this time of year. It's the one time I'm actually on trend. So grab your pumpkin spice, dust off that Ouija board, just don't call me unless it's urgent, and tune in for new episodes every week. Remember, the veils are thin, the stories are spooky, and your favorite ghost host is back and badder than ever.

Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sup, y'all? This is Questlove, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right.

A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand-new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip hop.

Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. Did you know, did you know, I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was Claudette Goldman. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I was going to ask, so how can people help if they want to help in your cause? How can they help, follow,

donate if possible, or even push things forward? So if you go to the link in my bio, there's a link to our link tree. What's your Instagram? So people know. It's just Moj. M-O-J. Made it simple for you. Yeah, you're lucky to get that one. You must have been on there early. I was early and friends of, so they've been sweet to me.

So there's two things. One is we took out a heavily ambitious billboard project between L.A. and New York. We took over Times Square. We took 166 billboards across New York, L.A. and D.C. to really drive awareness. But you know what's crazy? These billboards turned out to be a memorial for people. People have been going to these things, crying, picnicking, vigils, protests, communion. I mean, I'm telling you, I have never in my life seen this stuff.

So that's one way you can help because we're about to take the campaign into Europe, in Toronto. The second way you can help is just we created this dope document. It's literally just it's every day we just add the headlines. We make it easy for you. We know this is a complicated thing to understand because language, culture, somehow in your head, you're like, I don't know if these people are even like me. Maybe they want to live like this. Maybe they're cool with this situation. So we are basically spoon-feeding press and talent.

Because if you care about women's rights, if you care about juvenile rights, you have to care about this situation. I think this is a cancer. And so talking about it, asking your senators, your congressmen, your city officials, like, what's your position? Where do you stand on it? The more you post, the more you reshare other people's posts, the more you talk about it. You know, Tracy Ellis Ross was like, hey, I'm doing a bunch of interviews and I'd like to bring up a couple of points. What can I say? Hit me up.

You know, give me two things I can say. You know, these are the kinds of allyships and friendships that like resonate so deep for me on a personal level to just get the word out. I was thinking and I don't know if this is relevant. So that's why I'm asking you. I read this book that really touched me a while ago called The Girl Who Escaped From ISIS. And did you read this or do you know? I've heard her story, I believe. Right. And so I was thinking about it because people always have this misperception and hearing and reading her story about how she was kidnapped, her family was separated. And then even when she was able to make it back, how she was shunned just because she was repeatedly raped by.

Correct. Well, this is why the this is why when women and young women especially are arrested in these protests, they are then taken to prison. They are then forced into what they call Sireh, which is essentially a workaround. The Islamic Republic has a guidebook on virgins go to heaven. I heard that. Right. Yeah. So they rape them so they don't go to heaven. They rape them so they virgins go to heaven. I heard it. Right? Yeah, so they rape them so they don't go to heaven? They rape them so they don't go to heaven.

That's real? The reports I'm reading on Justice for Iran, which is this amazing nonprofit that's been spearheading this over the past few decades, is that the girls are reporting and a person came forward saying I was one of the person that they chose to be like the rapor. Wow. He said they cried more during the raping than they did right before their executions.

I mean, that is. Some women were killing themselves. Correct. And they. He's a young. He's a young girl. Scratching out their faces, scratching out their eyeballs, because once you are de-virginized through this lens of rape within that culture you can't marry nope so then where do

you go who has you how do you what's your upward mobility once you've lost your greatest asset which somehow is your virginity that's why i hate religion right it's just like who do they think god that's that's literally like what you know this people that keep screaming because you see these videos of people being i know my feed is like a horrific you know, this people that keep screaming because you see these videos of people being. I know my feed is like a horrific like I'm sure people just muted me completely at this point. People are just screaming like you like you don't know God. You're not God loving person because they are just I mean, I'm talking like 30, 40 people. On top of one human being and like you're talking about a student just like in school because what?

He's chanting Zan Zandi Ozo Di, like women, life, freedom. I mean, that's fucking bullshit. Excuse my language, but that's just. It was heartbreaking. And that's why. But it was important, I felt like, for me to read, because like you said, it is important to educate yourself through people who know more than you about what's going on. This was in Iraq, though, and I always hear Iran and Iraq. So is it the same in both?

Like when it comes to what's happening in Iran right now? Iran is a very different country in the sense that it is Shiite. It is not Sunni. And the most important thing I think about Iran to know is up until 1979, it was a secular, you know, it was a country wasn't perfect. There are many flaws. The Shah was not by at all a perfect king and perfect leader. That's a whole nother episode. And people more educated than me can give you all the reasons why he wasn't perfect. But he did create opportunities of education and freedom for women. He was a supporter of women and their mobility within society. Forgot my mom came here to go to get an education, you know, under the Shah and was blessed by her whole family. I mean, my family's, you know, just like a middle normal family from Iran. My mom came here,

got an education. Her, got an education. Her sister got an education. This was a normal thing. This was a very, she came here, she's an entrepreneur. And the craziest thing about Iran that I will tell you is that it's a matriarchal society. There is no, I, it is a society where the person doing the bossing and bullying in the household is my mother.

It's not my father. You know? And that's how it is in 99% of Iranian households. It's the woman who drives yeses and nos and how it's going to be. And it's worse to catch hell from her than it is from him. How can we help to amplify more people from Iran's voices? So listen, this is one of the things can we help amplify more people from Iran's voices? So listen, this is one of the things that we have done

with this document. We have put together a panel of people who are domain experts. I'm talking 30, 40 years on this topic. We've also put together a panel of people who are, I would say, more culture-driven, more Gen Z driven. My friend started an amazing Instagram called Samanism, S-A-M-A-N-I-S-M.

He creates these insane videos all tracked to whether it's Rage Against the Machine or Kendrick Lamar. So it's like he's trying to make the content very Western, but he's showing the footage. Our friend started an account called From Iran. It's beautiful. It's artistic. She's a she's a master's from Yale. So you look at this content, you think it's Refinery29. There's these two young women that start an account called Middle East Matters. They're domain experts of everything in the Middle East. I think of them as like our young vice media. So giving voice to some of these folks and having them come and talk about what's going on here, I think is super important.

I think, you know, you can make donations to our getting a GoFundMe was almost impossible. I always have to give a shout out to GoFundMe. They went above and beyond because with sanctions, it's almost impossible to help this country or raise money for this country. We can't give money to Iran, but we can raise money to help raise awareness for Iran. So that's one way you can help. But I think giving exposure to because, again, we're not Iraq, we're not Afghanistan. We are we are we are adjacent, but we are something very different because we have nuclear capabilities, because we have 89 million people, 60 percent of them of under the age of 30. But we are the highest users of Instagram within the Middle East.

Literally, you can ask Instagram this. We are hybrid communicators. But I believe if we don't get this Islamic Republic out of power, it's not just a how many more days of footage are you going to watch? This is going to embolden these people. And they've already sent drones to Russia. Right? They're just they don't care. They think they can

do whatever they want. Dangerous. Lord have mercy. I'm like, I know I'm coming in all heavy. I'm like, you can ask me a fun question. You know what, I did have one more question. Since you did say you have your memoir coming out. I'm working on it.

Okay. It's been pushed back. It is coming out. We don't know when. We don't know when. You'll be the first to know. And so for you being queer in your family and culturally, how was that?

Like as far as how did they accept that right away? Was it a hard conversation? I mean, I was emancipated at 16 because we did not have language. My parents have I would say deep levels of trauma.

People who are exiled from their country, they don't fit in. They don't understand how to assimilate they did not um no they were not good about they were terrible about it they know that they were terrible about it they feel badly about it um i have been through therapy and through lots of other things i've done a ton of sort of thought leadership and thinking about it. I think finding empathy for people who've done you a little dirty creates a lot of grace. And so we're actually pretty tight right now. We've been tight for the past.

We've been tight for the past nine or somewhat years, 10 years. Yeah. That was part of the reason you were emancipated. It was the reason I was emancipated. Yeah. I mean, my parents were like, you cannot be gay. You cannot be queer. This is not cool with us.

We're not, we won't support you financially. And that's what they were taught. So. I think that's what they were taught. I think they want to fit in in America. But I also think that they did not expect me to be so stubborn that I would take a trash bag, fill it with tuna fish and socks and a couple pairs of parents pants and march out the door and never come back.

I don't, I think they thought I would like change my mind or something or suppress it. Yeah. But I think from the very beginning, I was a bit of a revolutionary personality. Um, all the things I read about, the things I read about the things i cared about the music i

listened to engendered and emboldened my sense of being moj and so you know we've prayed on it we've i think what's also helped is my wife she's iranian and my son i think this you know what's so funny. I think they were afraid that me being gay meant I wasn't Iranian, that I was like somehow dissing their culture. And then I think when they realized as I was older that I was heavy Iranian, that they were like, oh, like you still love us. It's like some sort of weird trauma bond. I don't know. My therapist, this is what I spend all this money on.

This is what I spend. I spend more money on this than I do vacation. How's that? You should try to get them to go, too. I have tried. I have begged. But they are the generation of, like, how could you possibly tell everyone that they could tell other people? That's right.

And I'm like, no, it's confidential. It's legally confidential. It's like telling your lawyer. They're like, I don't tell a lawyer anything either. You're like, cool. How can they help you? I know. What you said is true about grace, though, because one of the biggest things I learned in regards to my father

is you realize your parents were people before they were your parents. And when you find out their stories, it allows you to give them a lot more grace. I think that I never trust a person that can't forgive. You cannot forget. Like, my relationship with them is very boundaried. So I'm like, this is what we do. This is what we can talk about.

They don't like it because I'm very, like, boundaried. But there's a lot of love present, especially now. I've never seen them so broken as I have in the past eight weeks. It's almost like they're reliving this trauma of exile. I think it's, I always tell people, I'm like, imagine you go on a trip somewhere for a few weeks and all of a sudden in the middle of that trip, you're told you can't go back to your home.

And your home, the streets have changed, names, your schools have changed names your schools have changed names all your stores that you love are closed um and i think it's a lot to be exiled from a place that you grew up in i think that's deep and then it's demonized i mean look at the ayatollah like yo i look at that dude and i'm like he it's hard to believe that that's, you know, your country. It's hard to believe. And look, I think a lot of people felt that way about Donald Trump in this country and what you've seen here. Whether you like him or not, you can't argue that this country has gone in the direction of divisiveness and a lot more hate present than before. And whether that's true or not, I think that's just how people feel right that's what i'm not looking for i do not want him back on the

campaign trail really no that's the last thing i want you think you can win i mean yeah i think you win but i don't want him back on the campaign trail because every day we're gonna have to hear about him in the news cycle every day it's gonna be something that's stirring the pot every day it's gonna be more divisiveness. Like I don't want that. I think it's unavoidable at this point. I do too. You know, I think he's coming. I think we need to be prepared like we were for these midterms.

I think we need to continue to support our local officials and keep pushing through Congress and Senate and keeping heavy on our judges to make the right decisions. But yeah, I think a fight for freedom, for inclusion and democracy is a global fight right now. You know, I think everyone needs to put their foot on the gas. So I think I mean, you guys know, like I'm heavy on Iran because I've been heavy on trans rights, gay rights. You know, I mean, you know, I don't have to say, but it's just like, fuck, I can't handle where we're going as a global sort of thought leadership around women in general. It just seems wrong.

So ask me a fun question, please. Don't make me just answer these heavy questions. No, this was you were here for the education. We needed this. What can I do to help you guys? That's my bigger question. You just did. Is there anything else we can do as a group that we can help? You just did it. OK, you can make us some copies of those papers. I'm going to get you copies of this. I'm going to send it to you. I love a PDF or something. Yeah, I'll send it to you.

Give you a PDF. I will send it to your friends. And yeah, I mean, I think people just need to keep paying attention because if you look at these kids, they're mega inspiring. I mean, that's I think that's the one. I mean, you've seen all the rappers. You've seen their videos. You've seen how much they love Drake. You see how much they love Kendrick Lamar. It's like I'm really trying hard to get people from the culture to start to speak up for these artists and activists over there who are just living and dying through the lens of the music that we make here. You know? And that's really what

that's really been our goal. So yeah. Well thank you for joining us and giving us all that information. We appreciate you. Yeah I don't even work here and I'm here so I mean when I came in and saw you I was like very flattered and happy to see you. We've been trying to kick her out for the last, I don't even know how long.

What's going on with you? That's a great question. She don't know. She Tommy from Martin right now. She says she got a job. We don't believe her. It starts in January. Allegedly.

But they will not let me get off this show. I've been trying, and it's a lot of work. I'm doing double duty right now, trying to work on this new show and working here. Are you having fun? She hates us. I'm ready to go. now. I saw your new show and working here. Are you having fun? She hates us. I'm ready to go. I don't believe it. But I'm glad to have been here for this conversation.

Thank you for having me. I'm glad you're Mr. Big Time now. You're all famous. I'm doing okay. God is good. And you are just killing on all of your business endeavors and making your family happy. My wife is good. I know.

And that's what I said. That's beautiful. My wife is good. Not my life. My wife is good. I know. And that's what I said. That's beautiful. My wife is good. Not my life. My wife is good. That's really all that matters. I appreciate you guys so much. I love you guys so much.

Love you more. Without any asking, you're like, please come. I know what a huge audience you have. Please, please, please. Anything I can do.

And for all the listeners, you can go to the link in the bio. And we are more than happy to spend the next few days just answering questions. At MO MOJ at Moj. That's right. Love you guys.

Love you. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, the running interview show where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more.

After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love.

I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace for yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete.

Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone. I'm Madison Packer, a pro hockey veteran going on my 10th season in New York. And I'm Anya Packer, a former pro hockey player and now a full Madison Packer stan. Anya and I met through hockey, and now we're married and moms to two awesome toddlers, ages two and four. And we're excited about our new podcast, Moms Who Puck, which talks about everything from pro hockey to professional women's athletes to raising children

and all the messiness in between. So listen to Moms Who Puck on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherevereadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight,

if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.