Today we talked again with journalist Scott Anderson, author of King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution — A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation. In his second conversation with The Ink Book Club, we talked about the many lessons the U.S. has failed — or has been unwilling — to learn from past experiences in Iran, and how those failures are shaping the unfolding conflict in the Middle East.
Anderson talked to us about the breakdowns of intelligence under Jimmy Carter’s administration that shaped U.S. policy in the region, how the Ronald Reagan campaign exploited the hostage crisis to win the 1980 election, Donald Trump’s apparent lack of even the concept of a plan for the current war, and why he thinks Ayatollah Khomeini’s brutal Iranian Revolution was a transformational moment — the event that laid the groundwork for our authoritarian era.
If you’re looking for real insight into what’s actually happening in America’s latest war, click on the video player above to watch now.
And catch up on our previous conversation with Anderson at the link below:
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How to participate in the Book Club
Each week, we’ll post questions — our discussion guide — on Sunday, and on alternate Wednesdays we’ll meet for a discussion with the Club or a visit from an author or other special guest (occasionally we’ll schedule special events on alternate days or times, but we will let you know). Look out for posts with further details.
In between meetings, we invite you to chat or comment on our posts with your insights and questions. The Book Club will meet next on Wednesday, April 1, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with Ibram X. Kendi, for the first of two conversations on his new book, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of our Authoritarian Age.
To participate in our meetings and author talks on Substack Live, join from your phone or tablet with the Substack app. You can also watch from your computer at The Ink, and comment and ask questions in our chat, but you won’t be able to join the live video discussion. Make sure you enable notifications, and when our meetings begin, you should receive an email alert; if you can’t find the message, just check the notifications tab (the small bell-shaped icon to the upper right of the website or lower right of the app at the time of the event to find a link.
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