Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy

Summary

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Conspirituality – Bonus Sample: Oil, Power, and Theocracy

Hosts: Julian Walker (featuring a quote from journalist Farhanak Ahmadi)
Date: January 19, 2026

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode examines the complex interplay between oil, power, and theocratic rule in Iran, especially as ongoing mass protests challenge the regime's legitimacy. The hosts contextualize Iran’s political struggles as emerging from both historical Western interference and the unique oppression of its theocratic system. Through current events and personal testimony, the discussion unpacks how entrenched religious authority and state violence intersect, and the paradoxes that haunt geopolitical conflicts in the region.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 1953 Coup and Western Involvement

Julian Walker [02:16]:

• Describes how the 1953 CIA-MI6 coup in Iran is often presented in an oversimplified way in popular history, potentially distorting current understanding.
• Asserts the episode will offer a more nuanced exploration of how these events echo into the present.

2. Overview of Current Protests

Julian Walker [02:45]:

• Recent protests in Iran are the largest since the 1979 Revolution, sparked by both economic hardship and high-profile cases of state violence (e.g., the death of Mahsa Jina Amini in 2022).
• The demonstrations evolved from calls for reform to open demands for regime change and even restoration of the monarchy.

3. State Crackdown and Human Cost

Julian Walker [03:20]:

• Government response includes internet blackouts, mass arrests (over 18,000), torture, public confessions, and shoot-to-kill orders against protestors.
• Estimates of deaths range from over 2000 (official) to 2,700 or more (independent), with the regime deploying the IRGC in civilian disguise for violent crackdowns.

4. Acts of Defiance

Julian Walker [03:55]:

• Protesters have used cellphone lights in citywide blackouts, openly destroyed government propaganda, and shared viral images of unveiled women burning images of Ayatollah Khamenei—a powerful symbol of resistance.

5. The Role of Mosques in Repression

Farhanak Ahmadi, BBC journalist [04:35]:

• "And mosques are not just a place of worship in Iran. Many, if not most of them, are headquarters of Basij militias who are used on the streets to shoot people. And in everyday life, they are used to control every facet of your life."
• Shares a personal story: Basij militias raided a mixed-gender house party, arrested attendees, and brought her first to a mosque, then to a police station—a routine tool of state surveillance and punishment.

6. The Nature of Theocracy

Julian Walker [05:31]:

• Defines Iranian theocracy as a "religious cult enshrined into law," backed by the state’s policing and surveillance apparatus.
• The Supreme Leader wields both secular and divine authority, making dissent equivalent to religious heresy.
• Acknowledges two interpretive narratives:
  • The theocracy as power-hungry distortion of religion.
  • The regime as a reactive product of anti-colonial resistance.
• Notes that regardless of rationale, the strategy appears to have failed Iran’s population, who increasingly risk their lives in revolt.

7. Geopolitical Paradoxes

Julian Walker [06:27]:

• Identifies ongoing paradoxes in regional (and global) geopolitics, where efforts to resist outside oppression or reclaim dignity can spawn new forms of internal authoritarianism.
• Argues that such contradictions are endemic to the politics of power and resistance worldwide.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Julian Walker [05:31]:
  "Theocracy is a religious cult enshrined into law, wielding the full power of the police, military, prison system, and nowadays surveillance technology to impose its will. It is forced religion and forced compliance with archaic laws based on religion. Make no mistake, the supreme leader... is an authoritarian dictator... Loyalty to him is framed as akin to loyalty to God."

• Farhanak Ahmadi [04:35]:
  "Mosques are not just a place of worship in Iran. Many... are headquarters of Basij militias... They raided that party and... take you quite forcefully... to the mosque first, and from there... to the police station. Many times I've been arrested for either being with a man... or because of my hijab. One of the first places I've been taken to was a mosque."

• Julian Walker [06:27]:
  "These types of consequential paradoxes seem to be ubiquitous in the geopolitics of this region, and perhaps in geopolitics as a whole."

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Key Timestamps

• [02:16] – Introduction to the 1953 coup, Western intervention, and its modern legacy.
• [02:45] – Background on current mass protests and their evolution after Mahsa Jina Amini’s death.
• [03:20] – The regime’s escalating repression: statistics on arrests, deaths, and tactics to suppress dissent.
• [03:55] – Narration of symbolic and viral moments from the protests, including women’s acts of defiance.
• [04:35] – Farhanak Ahmadi details the weaponization of mosques and Basij militias in daily life and repression.
• [05:31] – Walker’s analysis of Iranian theocracy, its mechanisms, and the false dichotomies often invoked in its defense.
• [06:27] – Reflection on the enduring paradoxes of geopolitics in Iran and similar contexts.

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Tone and Style

The episode combines urgent reportage with historical context and philosophical reflection. The tone is sober, critical, and empathetic—giving voice to those resisting oppression while examining the broader structural and ideological roots of the crisis.

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For the full episode and further analysis, access Conspirituality’s bonus content via Patreon or Apple subscriptions.

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Transcript

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[Julian Walker]

In 1953, the CIA and Britain's MI6 participated in a coup in Iran. That true sentence and what usually follows in most accounts of those events can create an oversimplified and distorted picture of the history, though, and how it leads us to the present situation. We'll unpack why soon, but Iran is in the news Again with the biggest Protest since the 1979 revolution. Revolution bringing millions to the streets over the last two to three weeks. There have been large protests several times in the last decade or so, centered most recently on the Woman Life Freedom movement in the wake of the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of morality police after having been arrested for having hair showing from under her headscarf in 2022. The current wave started as unrest over economic hardship and currency devaluation and then grew into a mass uprising calling for an end to the regime, death to the dictator, and it seems even the return of the overthrown monarchy with growing popular support for the son of former autocratic Shah Reza Pahlavi, which seems odd. As the protests have grown, the regime has cracked down even harder. An Internet blackout, mass arrests, and increasingly a shoot to kill directive. Over 18,000 have been arrested across 31 towns and cities. Some have apparently been tortured into giving blindfolded televised confessions of being foreign agents who've committed crimes in the name of Americ and Israel. Conservative estimates put the death toll close to 2.7 thousand, but some sources say it may be much higher and the regime is willing to admit to 2000. Chilling footage has shown that in addition to their more militarized presence, at the peak of the unrest, groups of the irgc, that's the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in plain clothes, rode motorcycles into protest areas to shoot Iranians. Protesters have held up their cell phone flashlights to show how many of them were gathered on blacked out streets. Others have been shown dancing and singing around, destroying government buildings, tearing down billboards showing the Supreme Leader. And there have been those iconic photographs which went viral of defiant women, long hair uncovered, with a cigarette between their lips that they were lighting with a burning photograph of the ayatollah. At least 50 mosques, but according to the Foreign Minister, as many as 350 have been set on fire. Here's Farhanak Ahmadi, an Iranian journalist for the BBC, explaining why.

[Farhanak Ahmadi]

And mosques are not just a place of worship in Iran. Many, if not most of them are headquarters of Basij militias who are used on the streets to shoot people. And in everyday life, they are used to control every facet of your life. Back in Iran, we were at mixed gendered house party, like maybe 10 people at that birthday. There was music and we're dancing. These Basij militias patrolled that area all the time, like they did every area to. So they raided that party and when they come and take you quite forcefully, they take you to the mosque first, and from there they file a report, and then from there they take you to the police station. Many times I've been arrested for either being with a man that was unrelated to me or because of my hijab. One of the first places I've been taken to was a mosque.

[Julian Walker]

This is what theocracy looks like, and it's been a reality in Iran for almost 47 years. Theocracy is a religious cult enshrined into law, wielding the full power of the police, military, prison system, and nowadays surveillance technology to impose its will. It is forced religion and forced compliance with archaic laws based on religion. Make no mistake, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, like Khamenei before him, is an authoritarian dictator. He differs from most other dictators in the world today because he's also the highest religious authority in the land, and his political and legal edicts carry the additional gravitas of divine authority. Loyalty to him is framed as akin to loyalty to God. Some will make the case that this is not really about religion, it's just the distorted manipulation of religion so as to have power over people. Or they may say this is just the long tail manifestation of Western colonialism, forcing oppressed people to double down in resistance on their cultural and religious roots so as to claw back some human dignity. To whatever extent that may be true, it appears to be a failed strategy in this case for the population risking life and limb in the name of freedom. But these types of consequential paradoxes seem to be ubiquitous in the geopolitics of this region, and perhaps in geopolitics as a whole. I'm Julian Walker. You're listening to the introduction of a Monday bonus episode titled Oil, Power and Theocracy. You can continue listening once subscribed for as little as $[e-mail] conspirituality where you can also hear all of our episodes ad free and chat with a lively community. Or if you'd rather, you could just have new bonus episodes dropped right into your regular feed via Apple subscriptions.

[Conspirituality Host]

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