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Can a nation modernize and reclaim its independence when powerful foreign empires are determined to keep it within their grasp? Between 1920 and 1941, Iran's attempt to forge its own future collides with the ambitions of Britain, the Soviet Union, and the upheaval of World War II.

Reza Pahlavi rises to power as Reza Shah, founding the Pahlavi dynasty and launching an ambitious campaign to transform Iran, inspired in part by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's modernization of Turkey. But strengthening his country proves difficult when foreign powers continue to exert pressure over its future. As World War II reshapes the region, Reza Shah's perceived sympathies toward Germany contribute to his downfall. In 1941, British and Soviet forces invade Iran, forcing him to abdicate in favor of his teenage son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. A new Shah takes the throne, but Iran's struggle for sovereignty is far from over.

For a more immersive experience while you listen, visit our image gallery for this series at https://www.usofamnesia.com/blog/image-gallery-for-the-us-and-iran-what-went-wrong/.

Sharon Bibee joins us in this episode. For more from Sharon, read her column, "Redacted No More," in which she explores history, politics, travel, culture, and whatever else sparks her curiosity. You can find it on Substack at https://sharonbibee.substack.com/.

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Intelligence professional and Substack author Sharon Bibee joins us to begin our new series on the complicated history of U.S.-Iran relations. We travel back to Qajar Persia, where Iran was caught between the competing ambitions of the British and Russian Empires.

Along the way, we meet two Americans who played surprising roles in Iran's Constitutional Revolution: missionary and teacher Howard Baskerville, remembered as Iran's "American Lafayette," and lawyer William Shuster, whose efforts to reform Iran's finances brought him into conflict with the foreign powers dominating the country. We also examine the devastating famine of 1918-1919 and the forces that shaped Iran's relationship with the West.

For a more immersive experience while you listen, visit our image gallery for this series at https://www.usofamnesia.com/blog/image-gallery-for-the-us-and-iran-what-went-wrong/.

For more from Sharon, read her column, "Redacted No More," in which she explores history, politics, travel, culture, and whatever else sparks her curiosity. You can find it on Substack at https://sharonbibee.substack.com/.

Rimsky-Korsakov., "Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite, Op. 35, The Young Prince And Princess," the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux, violin solo by Naoum Blinder, from Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rimsky-Korsakov._Scheherazade,_Symphonic_Suite,_Op._35_-_03_The_Young_Prince_And_Princess.ogg), used under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license.

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For obvious reasons, Abraham Lincoln's presidency is best remembered for his emancipation of America's slaves, determination to preserve the Union in the face of Southern secession, and leadership in the American Civil War. But an often-overlooked aspect of his administration was its promotion of the United States Government as an active, positive actor in such matters as infrastructure improvement and economic affairs. In this conclusion to the series, Marshall leads our discussion of how the first four years of Lincoln’s presidency in the 1860s were among the most consequential in U.S. history for civic infrastructure and economic reform, rivaling the achievements of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society of the 1960s.

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