46: Arash Sobhani

In the 46^th episode of NEOHUMAN, Agah is chatting with Arash Sobhani. Arash is the founder, lead singer and songwriter of Kiosk, an underground Iranian rock band. Formed in Tehran in 2003, Kiosk was forced out of Iran because of its satirical lyrics which are often critical of the social and political environment under the Islamic regime. In addition to be an active musician, Arash is a TV host, a human rights activist, and one of the signatories of an open letter to then President-Elect Trump, urging Mr Trump ‘to send the clear message that the United States will not Tolerate the increasing threats of the Islamic Republic of Iran against its citizens and neighbors’, as well as ‘to support the pro-democracy Iranians whose goal is to replace the Khomeinist regime of Tehran with a liberal-democratic government’. They talk about a wide range of subjects, including technology, politics, the latest uprisings in Iran, Democracy and whether or not the Iranian society is ready for a democratic system, Donald Trump, Leftism as a new religion, criticism of Islam and Islamism, and a free-market economy as the only viable solution for rebuilding Iran.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:36 — 22.2MB)

Links: 

• Arash Sobhani: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arash_Sobhani
• Kiosk: www.kiosktheband.com
• An Open Letter by Iranian Dissidents to President-Elect Donald Trump: www.taghato.net/article/30837
• Tens of Thousands of People Have Protested in Iran. Here’s Why.: www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/03/tens-of-thousands-of-people-protested-in-iran-this-week-heres-why/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6ac6f6212cc4
• Iranian Poets Sentenced to Prison for Socially Conscious Poetry: www.huffingtonpost.com/arash-sobhani/iranian-poets-sentenced-to-prison_b_8370902.html
• Agah Bahari Asks Sir Salman Rushdie a Question: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oT–t1cdgk