Johns Hopkins University
Novelist, journalist and academic; Visiting fellow and Director of Cultural Conversations at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC; author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and Things I Have Been Silent About, she is currently writing a book on the neglect of imagination and thought in the US
Can 'A Separation' Help Close the US-Iran Divide? A Separation is nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture and for Best Screenplay, even though it was written in Farsi. The Iranian film is not about politics or war, but about two families working out problems common to people in all parts of the world. When the film won the Golden Globe as best foreign picture, director Asghar Farhadi offered a simple message. Rather than thanking his crew or family, he acknowledged his fellow Iranians , "I think they are a truly peace-loving people." Can a film do anything to change America’s longstanding animus toward its country of origin?
Iran: A Nation in Turmoil After a weekend of protests across the country, the government of Iran today organized large-scale counter demonstrations including threats of death to future dissenters, threats backed up by Iran's highest officials. While such harsh reaction might signal the beginning of the end for Iran's revolutionary regime, there are new problems for the US and its allies. President Obama's offer to "engage" on the nuclear buildup has apparently been rejected, providing new impetus for international sanctions. But can they be targeted narrowly enough to damage government leaders without injuring the dissenters the West wants to help? Will the challenges from within topple the current regime, at least force greater freedom, or lead to a tyranny more repressive than ever?
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
