Compact Podcast – Episode Summary
Episode Title: One Gayatollah After Another
Release Date: March 18, 2026
Panelists:

• Matthew Schmitz (Host)
• Steven Adubato
• Ashley Frawley
• Geoff Shullenberger

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Compact team explores two central themes: the cultural and political implications of the 2026 Oscars, and the intrigue surrounding Iran’s new leader, Mujtaba Khamenei—including rumors about his sexuality and what these say about the intersection of Western and Middle Eastern ideas about identity and power. The episode weaves a critique of contemporary culture with insight into current events, combining sharp humor, philosophical reflection, and media commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recap and Analysis of the 2026 Oscars

Timestamps: 00:57 — 29:17

- Oscar Winners and the "Vibe Shift" in Hollywood (transformation of cultural values)

• Geoff Shullenberger opens by critiquing the Oscars as a "mediatic pseudo event" he refuses to watch, yet comments on the films’ broader social messaging (01:40).
• Main winners: One Battle After Another and Sinners. Both are political, address race and identity, but are not overtly didactic (03:00).
  • On Sinners:
    • “It's kind of a mess as a film...but it's actually in some senses kind of thematically richer in terms of the conflicts that it embodies.” (12:15, C)
    • Explores the resilience of Black communities in the Jim Crow South, the allure and danger of vampirism as metaphor for escape/emancipation, and an underlying tension between conservatism and revolution.
    • Notable connection to Clarence Thomas's ideals about self-reliant Black communities.
    • Ambiguous message: “There's a kind of odd way that [vampirism] is also represented as, in some sense, appealing and emancipatory.” (07:40, C)
    • Cites cringe-worthy didacticism in a specific dance scene and overall thematic ambiguity.
  • On One Battle After Another:
    • Ambiguity about the heroes—left-wing terrorists are not simply glorified.
    • “...even though it's about and sort of has as its heroes and protagonists these sort of left wing terrorists, it's not a particularly glamorous or glorifying vision of them.” (11:15, C)
    • Detachment from specific American political chronology allows for broader explorations of ideology and morality.
  • On Marty Supreme:
    • Did not win anything but signals an “embracing of toxic masculinity—a film about male egotism and ambition.”
    • “It really does just expressly convey various currents that would be conceived of today as...toxic masculinity.” (13:55, C)
    • The lack of recognition may point to the durability of old cultural boundaries.

- Oscar Ceremony as Cultural Relic

• Ashley Frawley: Highlights the outdated format and lingering nostalgia:
  • “This desire to kind of make the Oscars into this...longing for a time that's very clearly gone. I mean, even the format...it's clearly from another moment.” (16:04, A)
• Discussion of cultural elitism, “reverse snobbery,” and how mocking ballet/opera becomes a kind of social status signaling.
  • “It's become kind of cool to mock ballet and opera as these kind of highbrow things that only rich people like and therefore are necessarily exclusionary because they take time, education and funds.” (18:37, A)
  • Wider point about the democratization—or devaluing—of high culture.

- Ambivalence Toward Political Violence in Art and Real Life

• Ashley explores the paradox of leftwing admiration for violent groups like Hamas.
  • “So many people on the left celebrate Hamas, like killing people. That seems crazy to me. I thought the left was all about kindness...” (22:13, A)
  • Reflects on her own youthful radicalism and how violence is sometimes secretly envied by less radical Western leftists.

- Adaptation and Parody within "One Battle After Another"

• Geoff Shullenberger: The film draws from Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, which is “a bit of a sort of wistful parody” of 1960s-‘70s revolutionary groups (24:03, C).

• The film’s tone:

  • Features absurd, cartoonish elements—e.g., the left-wing terror group named “the French 75” and their right-wing opposites, "the Christmas Adventurers".
  • “There's also this...right wing paramilitary who call themselves the Christmas Adventurers. So again, there is just a lot of kind of absurd, absurdism in, in this whole thing.” (26:20, C)
  • The sexual and erotic undertones of violence are commented on, referencing the Baader-Meinhof era's blurring of revolution and eroticism.
  • Overall, the film's stance is “ambivalent...a thrill in charge of kind of enjoying these spectacles of subversion, but I think that there's also a great deal of...parodic distance.” (28:35, C)

• Steven Adubato delivers a “Baudrillardian” hot take:

  • “I just wanted to take the Baudrillardian position and say that the Oscars did not take place. As far as I'm concerned, I just think they’re totally irrelevant...” (29:17, D)

2. Speculation and Satire: The New Ayatollah’s Sexuality

Timestamps: 29:31 — 39:43

- Media Rumor: "Is the New Ayatollah Gay?"

• Prompted by New York Post reports that President Trump was briefed on rumors that Mujtaba Khamenei is gay, causing much amusement for Trump (29:31, B).
• Steven Adubato relays rumors and cultural interpretation:
  • “Apparently, according to a US State Department cable...the Nuayatola was going to England for treatment for his problems with impotence...” (30:30, D)
  • Suggests rumors about his sexuality stem from delayed marriage, father's concerns, and an episode involving his tutor.
  • Draws historical/cultural context:
    • “This isn’t so far-fetched in a lot of Middle Eastern cultures...where, I mean, you have this Persian Sufi poetry about, you know, pederasty between a mentor and his young student...I am going to make the argument that that doesn’t count as being gay.” (31:33, D)
  • Asserts distinction between 'gay' as modern Western identity and historic cultural forms of male same-sex relations.

- Is the Iranian Regime Western, Traditional, or Both?

• Matthew Schmitz raises the question of hybridity:

  • “To what extent is [Iran’s regime] a reflection of...traditional and autochthonous Islam? And to what extent does it reflect Western philosophical, cultural and political occurrence?” (32:10, B)
  • Notes “kind of recurring joke on Twitter” about Khamenei being a “theory cell” for his literary interests, blurring familiar and exotic identities.

• Steven Adubato connects Lord Byron’s orientalist fascination with the Middle East to the issue:

  • “Part of what attracted Byron to the Middle East...was that...there was more space for homoeroticism. Again, not straight up homosexuality between two adult males, but this kind of pederastic boy love, which...was like, kind of given a pass.” (34:04, D)
  • Challenges binary East/West readings of sexuality.

- Would a “Queer” Ayatollah Prove Foucault Right?

• Geoff Shullenberger:

  • “The real twist would be that that Maktaba, you know, is actually familiar with the work of Michel Foucault, who infamously was an early enthusiast for the Iranian revolution...” (35:08, C)
  • Points out that Iranian leaders, like Ali Larijani, have studied Western philosophy (e.g., Kant).

• Matthew Schmitz: Reports that Larijani has just died.

  • “He has passed on to a better place... How will the regime survive without a Kantian in, in a high up position? I think that’s really the death blow to the whole thing.” (36:34–36:56, B & C)

- Satire: Iran’s Regime as "Intersectional"

• Ashley Frawley: Mocks Western progressive frameworks:
  • “Maybe it’s about to enter into a new, profoundly intersectional era...you might wind up with a disabled trans man of color that the left can see as a beacon leading one of the most powerful countries against the United States.” (37:42, A)
• Geoff Shullenberger brings up leftist online discourse:
  • Recalls Angela Nagle's remark that “obviously, like disabled people are not going to lead the revolution... now she’s being proven wrong.” (38:38, C)
• Steven Adubato closes the bit with a joke about conversion therapy:
  • “He may have been a successful case with conversion therapy. I mean, maybe it did actually cure him, even though the EU is trying to ban it right now. So you never know.” (39:12, D)
• Ashley Frawley: Ties the rumors about delayed marriage and UK visits to possible euphemisms for conversion therapy or impotence treatment (39:26, A).
• Matthew Schmitz: “Conversion therapy out, impotence treatment is in, and there are no gay people in Iran.” (39:43, B)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Hollywood’s political movies:
  • “It’s much more of a mess as a film than something like Get Out. But it’s actually in some senses kind of thematically richer...” — Geoff Shullenberger (12:15)
• On cultural elitism and high art:
  • “It's become kind of cool to mock ballet and opera as these kind of highbrow things that only rich people like and therefore are necessarily exclusionary because they take time, education and funds.” — Ashley Frawley (18:37)
• On leftwing radical chic and violence:
  • “...the left idolizes violence. Why are, why, why did they…celebrate Hamas, like killing people? That seems crazy to me...” — Ashley Frawley (22:13)
• On historical same-sex relations:
  • “Is it really gay? I don't, I don't think so. It's not haram, at least according to Islamic law.” — Steven Adubato (31:43)
• On theory-infused autocrats:
  • “He's a theory cell. He's a sensitive boy...he was talking about reading Jane Austen or other books...” — Matthew Schmitz (32:59)
• On the end of the enlightenment project:
  • “How will the regime survive without a Kantian in, in a high up position? I think that's really the death blow to the whole thing.” — Geoff Shullenberger (36:56)
• Satirical vision:
  • “You might wind up with a disabled trans man of color that the left can see as a beacon leading one of the most powerful countries against the United States. That is the future.” — Ashley Frawley (37:42)

Segment Guide (with Timestamps)

• 00:57–15:29: Oscars, movies, “vibe shift,” and Hollywood’s politics
• 15:29–29:17: Elitism, high art, political violence in leftwing culture
• 29:17–29:31: The Oscars “did not take place” (Baudrillardian hot take)
• 29:31–39:43: Ayatollah succession, sexuality rumors, Orientalism, and grand satire of intersectionality in geopolitics

Tone & Style

• Intellectual, satirical, sometimes irreverent banter
• Mix of high theory (Baudrillard, Foucault, Kant), pop culture, and current events
• Willingness to lampoon both right and left, and to question received wisdom on all sides

For More

Visit compactmag.com for articles and more discussions.