Post by On Spec Podcast

Our team was reporting on the plight of Iranian dissidents two years ago, much before the January 2026 massacre and subsequent war that seems to have no end. But we want to steer clear of polarized perspectives of us vs. them. On Spec Podcast investigates human rights abuses in different parts of the globe in the form of audio storytelling. In On Spec’s fifth season Lethal Dissent, our team spent 18 months trying to understand what it costs a person to speak out against the Iranian regime — and to keep speaking out from exile, year after year, with no guarantee of safety and no clear end in sight. Convicted kidnappers hired by the Islamic Republic even threatened our reporters in an attempt to scare us into abandoning the investigation. Things have not changed for these Iranians in exile even today: poets, politicians, and regular folk trying to build a life far from Iran but never free of the shadowy reach of the regime's spies and assassins. The story continues. The US and Israel assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei but his son has taken over the same structures that keep the Iranian people oppressed. Iranian dissidents and journalists abroad are still receiving death threats and having their assets seized. Family members inside Iran are still vulnerable to being used as leverage to lure dissidents back. And yet, dissidents even today speak out against the regime, knowing that thousands have been secretly imprisoned or executed for it. If you want to understand the human story behind the headlines — not just the geopolitics of warring nations— this season is the place to start. 🎧 Link to Season 5 in the comments. And if this kind of reporting matters to you, follow On Spec — a new Season Six, with a story as urgent and vital, dropping end of 2026 or early 2027. Season 5 "Lethal Dissent" was produced in partnership with PRX's The World, with funding from the Pulitzer Center and Radio Zamaneh. #Iran #HumanRights #Journalism #OnSpecPodcast #IndependentMedia #IranianDissidents