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What is a dissident? In an autocracy, standing against the rulers could mean harassment, prison, torture, even death. Dissidents stand up anyway.
Host Garry Kasparov is joined by Masih Alinejad, whose work for women’s rights against the Islamic Republic of Iran has led to her exile in the United States. It has not ended her fight, nor has distance made her safe—she was targeted for assassination at her Brooklyn home. Masih and Garry discuss their joint work in fighting autocrats worldwide, and the importance of safeguarding the values of democracy before it’s too late.
The following is a transcript of the episode:
[Music]
Garry Kasparov: What is a dissident? In an autocracy, the line is brightly drawn. The ruling authority is unjust. The people have no legitimate voice in their destiny or that of the nation. Standing against the rulers could mean harassment, prison, torture, even death. Dissidents stand up anyway.
If that is too long a definition, here’s another one: A dissident is Masih Alinejad. She’s my friend and the guest in today’s episode. Her brave stand for women’s rights against the Islamic Republic of Iran has led to her exile in the United States, but it has not ended her fight, nor has distance made her safe. She was targeted for assassination at her Brooklyn home. But the would-be killers were captured and recently convicted in a New York City court. Her story teaches us to value what we have and to never take our rights—or our safety—for granted.
From The Atlantic, this is Autocracy in America. I’m Garry Kasparov.
Since the Cold War ended—and with it, the categorical good and evil contrasts it contained—many people lucky enough to have been born in a free country, especially America, have begun to forget how lucky they are.
Of course, many Americans have started thinking about their freedoms a lot these days, but not for the reasons I would’ve hoped. They’re seeing with their own eyes some of the early warning signs that dissidents in unfree countries know too well. I’ve always believed that if you stop caring about freedom everywhere, you won’t have it at home for long. The moral relativism of the post–Cold War era has come home to roost.
So it’s time to organize and time to fight, and there’s no one who can inspire and teach us how to do those things better than Masih Alinejad.
Hello, Masih. So good to see you.
Masih Alinejad: Always good to see you, Garry. You are my brother-in-arms.
Kasparov: You are my sister-in-arms. So where do we start? There’s so much I want to talk to you about. Okay. My late friend and ally Boris Nemtsov—former deputy prime minister of Russia, at one point considered to be [Boris] Yeltsin’s successor, when we worked in the opposition trying to stop [Vladimir] Putin’s dictatorship—he used to say that in the absence of democratic procedures, when you live in the authoritarian regime, the only way to measure the effectiveness of your work is how the regime responds to it. And judging by the response of the Iranian dictatorship, religious dictatorship to you—assassination attempts, kidnapping attempt—it seems you are No. 1 on their hit list, enemy No. 1 of Iranian mullahs. So how come the regime that every day, every hour demonstrates contempt for women is so afraid of you?
Alinejad: To be honest, it’s a badge of honor. Garry, I was on the phone with you when actually the guy with the AK-47 came in front of my house in Brooklyn. We were on a Zoom meeting with our friend Leopoldo López, and it was a very tense meeting, if you remember. So I didn’t open the door. So basically, you saved my life. I could have been dead. The regime, whatever I do, it made them mad and very angry with me, and they hate me so much that they really wanna get rid of me.
Sometimes I say to myself: Is it worse? Like, first kidnapping plot, and then the guy got arrested with AK-47. I thought, It’s done. That’s it. And then two more men, a few days after a presidential election here in the United States of America, got arrested. So, but, but think about it.
Kasparov: I’m just, I’m thinking about it. But you know, it’s just, our listeners should understand, so. Why so serious? Why you? Why these dictators are so scared of dissidents that have nothing but Instagram, Twitter, X, and just the power of words?
Alinejad: That’s a very good question, but I think we should not downplay the power of women in Iran. Yes, of course. There are three pillars that the Islamic Republic, based on three pillars: death to America, death to Israel. And the third pillar is women. So I strongly believe the reason that they really hate me and they want to kill me, it’s because I know how to mobilize women. So I remember the day when I started my campaign against compulsory veiling, I was myself shocked how I got bombarded by women: young women inside Iran sending me videos of themselves walking unveiled, which is a punishable crime. Garry, it’s like if you walk unveiled, you get fined, you get lashes, you get killed. But women were practicing their civil disobedience. So it was not just about a small piece of cloth. When women can say no to those who control their body, these women can say no to dictators. And that scares the regime, because right after the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic actually forced the whole, you know, half of the population to cover themselves. Why? Because compulsive veiling is the main symbol of a religious dictatorship. It’s their, you know—we women are forced to carry their ideology. If we say No, no longer are we gonna carry your ideology, of course they hate us.
Kasparov: Okay. Let’s go a bit deeper in history. So let’s start with you in Iran. You had been working in Iran, and you were critical of the regime.
Alinejad: I was a parliamentary journalist.
Kasparov: You are the parliamentary journalist.
Alinejad: I got kicked out from the Iranian parliament just because of exposing their payslips.
Kasparov: Oh, okay. Fine. So, when did you leave Iran?
Alinejad: In 2009. The presidential election happened, controversial presidential election. They stole the—
Kasparov: You call it controversial.
Alinejad: It was—actually, I call it selection, Garry. We don’t have elections in any authoritarian regimes at all.
Kasparov: I do know that.
Alinejad: It was a selection, but at the same time I had hope. I have to confess that. I had hope that this regime can be reformed. So millions of Iranians, they had hope that we can reform the regime. So we try—
Kasparov: By voting?
Alinejad: By voting.
Kasparov: By voting for so-called reformers?
Alinejad: So-called reformers. We tried that; we tried that many times. It didn’t work, and that’s why, I mean, me and many people who believed in reform, Green Movement, they left Iran.
Kasparov: So there was the election.
Alinejad: They stole the election.
Kasparov: It seemed that the reformer won. And then it was, they call it the Green Revolution, but the world ignored it. President [Barack] Obama turned a blind eye on it.
Alinejad: Not only that, President Obama found an opportunity that, Wow, the regime is weak. So then he could get a deal from the ayatollahs, and guess what? I’d never forget the time when people were chanting Obama, Obama. You either with us or with them. You know why, Garry? Because Obama in Persian means “he is with us*.*” Oo means “he”; ba means “with”; ma means “us.”
Kasparov: Wow. I know. So you left Iran, because I always remember when I left Russia, so, and decided not to come back because I was already part of this ongoing criminal investigation about political activities. What happened with you, 2009? Any specific, you know, reason? Of course you were treated with at least suspicion by the mullahs and by their henchmen. But anything else happened in 2009 so that you sensed it’s time to leave?
Alinejad: In 2009, Garry, I didn’t, I didn’t make the decision to leave my country. I came here because I was invited by Obama’s administration to do an interview with President Obama. When I came here, the Green Movement happened, and the administration got cold feet. Because they told me if they give the interview to me—I was working for the reformist newspaper, which was, which belonged to one of the presidential challengers—so they thought that because we are supporting the Green Movement, if they give me the interview, the U.S. will send the signal to the regime in Iran that the United States of America is supporting the Green Movement. You tell me: What is wrong if a democratic country supports a pro-democracy movement?
Kasparov: It’s amazing. It’s such an easy way to send a subtle signal without a direct offer of support to the movement by just giving an interview. And they just turn you down?
Alinejad: Basically, Obama ruined my life, because I was here, I couldn’t get the interview, and I didn’t know what to do.
Kasparov: And what did come next?
Alinejad: Nothing. I couldn’t go back, because the Iranian regime shut down the newspaper that I worked for; they arrested thousands of innocent protestors. They killed more than 100 innocent people in the Green Movement. And I was telling President Obama: If I get the interview, I’m gonna go back. Because they’re not gonna touch me, because the U.S. government is going to actually put pressure on them. But I didn’t get the interview. And, I mean, my heart was broken. Because I think there was nothing wrong by sending a signal to the regime by giving an interview to a pro-democracy journalist and saying that, “Yes, we proudly support the Green Movement. We proudly support the innocent people of Iran.”
After, uh, I think eight years, I saw—six years?—I saw Hillary Clinton in a party, and I kind of grilled her. I said, I’m here because Obama’s administration never accepted to give me the interview. Now I lost my country. I am stuck here in America. And I said that basically, I don’t want you to help us or to save Iranians. I want you to at least stop saving the Islamic Republic. That was my point. And what happened? Hillary Clinton, I have to give her the credit. She actually went public. After that, she said that big regret, the Obama administration should have supported the [movement]. Obama, recently, after, you know, the 2022 uprising—woman, life, freedom—President Obama himself said big regret. But at what cost? A lot of people got killed. After 10 years, President Obama said Yes, we should have supported the Green Movement. It is, it is beyond sad that leaders of the free world do not understand that they have to stick with their principle. Instead of just empty condemnations or empty words of solidarity or supporting, they have to put principle into actions.
Kasparov: I’m a bit hesitant asking you this very tough question, because, you know, it’s, also yes, very close to my heart. When I left, I was, I just decided not to come back to Russia to face imminent arrest. So I didn’t think that it would be for such a long period, and maybe again, it’s now, it’s indefinite. I’m not sure I ever would be able to come back. I still hope that, you know, I’m young enough, you know, just to see the change in Russia. About you. It’s not, it’s not 12 years; it’s 16 years. So when did you leave, or when you decided not to come back, when you realized that, you know, this return to Iran would be—
Alinejad: A dream.
**Kasparov: —**just an instant arrest or worse? So what did you feel?
Alinejad: Sometimes I really feel miserable, Garry. I have to—you, you are my brother, and I have to admit that. I’m an emotional person.
Kasparov: I know that. You are in good company.
Alinejad: Yeah, and sometimes I think that just because having a different opinion—wanting democracy, dignity, freedom—I have to pay such huge price of not hugging my mother.
Kasparov: You still have family there?
Alinejad: Yeah. My mom lives in a small village. She doesn’t even know how to use social media. So, when my brothers, or you know, my family, when they go there to visit her, this is just an opportunity I can talk to her. But guess what? Now, talking to me is a crime. The Iranian regime created a law under my name. If anyone sends videos to Masih Alinejad, or talks to Masih Alinejad, will be charged up to 10 years in prison. So they implicated my mother for the crime of sharing her love with me.
And now my mom cannot talk to me. And now my brother—like, my family, should be careful. If they talk to me, they have to pay a huge price. You see, I have family. But it’s like I don’t have them. Why? Because I want freedom, because I want democracy, and that’s my crime. Sometimes I think that I won’t be even able to hug my mother. I forget their faces, I wanna hug them. I wanna touch my mom’s face, my father’s face. And guess what, Garry? Because of all these traumas, because of all these, it’s not easy to handle them. So I planted trees in my Brooklyn garden to honor my mother, to honor my father. So I named a tree, cherry blossom tree, after my mom’s name in my Brooklyn garden.
And now I’m not even able to see those cherry blossom trees, because I had to move. I mean, in three years, the FBI moved me more than 21 times. Dictators first forced me to leave my mom, and now being away from my cherry-blossom mother. It was a beautiful tree. My father, so, because he, you know, he disagreed with my ideas, I planted a peach tree, and I put it in the backyard garden. I don’t wanna see you, but be there, because I love you.
Kasparov: You just said that your father disagreed with you. So you have your family not on one side. It’s split.
Alinejad: Yeah. It’s like Iran. You know, on the map we have one country: Islamic Republic of Iran. But in reality, we really have two Irans. It’s like we are banned from going to stadium. Women are banned from dancing. Women are banned from singing, Garry. From singing. So women and men are banned from having a mixed party. So we are banned from a lot of things by the ayatollahs. Yeah. So, but Iranians are brave enough to practice their civil disobedience, to create their own Iran. So I try to give voice to the real Iran, trying to show the rest of the world that this is a barbaric regime.
When you go to my social media, you see the true face of Iranian women, brave people of Iran. You see the face of mothers whose children got killed, but they bravely shared their stories. I never forget the day when the head of the Revolutionary Court created a law saying that anyone sent videos to Masih would be charged up to 10 years in prison.
So I shared this video, because I wanted to let my people know about the risk. Guess what, Garry? I was bombarded by videos. This time, from mothers whose children got killed by the regime walking on the same street that their children got killed. Holding their picture and saying, Hi, Masih. This is the picture of my son, and I am in the street where my son got killed. I rather go to prison, but not be quiet. Be my voice. This is the Iran that I’m proud of. So these women are like women of suffrage, like, you know—like women, like Rosa Parks of my country. So that’s why I use my social media. To echo their voices, to continue my fight against the Islamic Republic. As I told you, they kicked me out from Iran, but they couldn’t kick me out—like my, my mind, my heart, my soul, my thoughts are there. And I’m still fighting with them.
Kasparov: We’ll be right back.
[Midroll]
Kasparov: You mentioned Rosa Parks. One of the heroes of human-rights movements. All Americans who wanted to fight for equal rights for their compatriots, no matter the religious, racial, or ethnic differences. But that’s, I think where, you know, we can lose our audience here. And Americans, because they always try to see that it’s through the same lens. Yes, yes. It’s heroic. Yes. It’s difficult. And look what we did. We should explain to them that it’s not the same, because all levels of power that are on the other side. We have no—no courts can actually save us in Russia or in Iran, or in Venezuela. So facing the obstacles in our part of the world is very different that, of course, facing the obstacles in the free world, whether it’s 60 years ago or now, but you know, this kind of hypocrisy, you know, I think it’s just, it’s—yeah. Yeah.
Alinejad: It breaks my, yeah.
Kasparov: I look, yes, I look at, at the smile on your face. Yes, of course, you know that. But I think it’s very important for people to understand, while, you know, we all can appreciate the activities of Me Too—yes, there are many things that, words you can, you can, right the wrongs. But this is not the same as as women’s situation in Iran, or even worse in Afghanistan. So let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about, you know—this is very different treatment of human rights in the United States or European democracies versus the rest of the world, where somehow we hear even from those who are fighting for, you know, publicly here for the values of equality—just the racial equality, gender equality, whatever. But somehow they become very shy talking about Iran, Afghanistan, or other dictatorships. And they even talk about some kind of, Oh, it’s, just their culture. Answer them.
Alinejad: You called it hypocrisy. Garry—
Kasparov: I’m trying to be diplomatic. I’m the host of the show.
Alinejad: I call it—absolutely betrayal. Not only to human rights and women’s rights, values. But also, it’s a betrayal to their own sisters in Afghanistan, in Iran. Let me just tell you why I call that the biggest enemy of the women in Iran and Afghanistan, unfortunately, are the Western feminists. And I’m telling you why. I’m telling you why.
When I was fighting against compulsory veiling, in America, when I launched my campaign against compulsory hijab, when I came to America, I saw the Women’s March taking place in America. I was so excited when people here were chanting My body, my choice. And I was marching with them. Oh, Garry, you have to see my video. I was, like, so excited, putting a headscarf on a stick and chanting My body, my choice. People were replying Her body, her choice. And I thought, This is the America. I called my friend in Iran, and I said, “This is the first time I’m demonstrating, I’m protesting—no one killing me, no one arresting me.” It was shocking for me that like, looking around, the police—
Kasparov: Police protecting you.
Alinejad: —protecting me to chant My body, my choice. I got arrested by morality police in my country. I was imprisoned by police in my country. I was beaten up by morality police in my country. When I was pregnant, I got arrested, and I was in prison. So when seeing the police in America, protecting me chanting My body, my choice, I was crying out of joy.
I reach out to the same Women’s March people. And I said to them, Now it’s time to support the women of Iran, to fight against the Islamic Republic, the ayatollahs. Iranian women say no to forced hijab. They all were like, Shhhh. I was being labeled that I cause Islamophobia. Why? Because they always say that, Um, that’s your culture. You know, cultural relativism became a tool: an excuse in their hand to support the ayatollahs to oppress women more. I’m saying that. Using all these narratives to actually send a signal to Islamic Republic that whatever you do, we don’t care. So what breaks my heart. When Boko Haram, actually—
Kasparov: Let’s clarify. Boko Haram—Islamist terrorist organization in Nigeria that had a very bloody record of prosecuting Christians in the country. And of course, their first target is girls.
Alinejad: Exactly. What happened? Michelle Obama, and Oprah [Winfrey], Hillary Clinton, a lot of Western feminists, they supported a campaign: Bring Our Girls Back. Beautiful. Where are they? Where are the Western feminists? Why there is no Women’s March for women of Afghanistan? The situation of women in Afghanistan is exactly like The Handmaid’s Tale, which is a fiction. People in the west, buying popcorn, sitting in their sofa, watching The Handmaid’s Tale—fiction. Your fiction is our reality. It is happening right now. The apartheid against women is happening, but when this is in The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s bunch of like white women, so being denied their rights, being raped, forced to bring children, all wearing same dress code. This is the situation in Iran. This is the situation in Afghanistan.
So for me, when I don’t see women marching in university campuses here, college campus here. I’m like, This is hypocrisy. And when it comes to having policy against terrorism, one day Obama’s administration comes and goes, and then [Joe] Biden administration comes and goes. [Donald] Trump administration comes and goes. And they undo all the policy of the other president. They don’t understand that when it comes to terrorism, America should have only one policy. Believe me, the Islamic Republic—they don’t care whether Trump is in power or Biden is in power. They don’t care about left and right wing. They hate America. They hate American values, and that is what is missing. The American government does not understand that they don’t have one policy to end terrorism. That’s why, Garry, I think Americans should understand when it comes to end terrorism, it’s like: Islamic Republic is like a cancer. If you don’t end cancer, cancer will end you.
Kasparov: You don’t, you don’t negotiate with cancer. You cut it off. Yes.
Alinejad: You cut it off.
Kasparov: I agree. That’s what I’ve been saying about Putin. You enjoy the certain protection offered by American law. And those who tried to kill you and to kidnap you, they faced American law, and they have been convicted. America defended you. Yeah. And America forced them, you know, just to receive the prize they deserved.
Alinejad: Mm-hmm.
Kasparov: So you were on the court, in the courtroom?
Alinejad: Oh yes.
Kasparov: You looked, you looked straight in the eyes.
Alinejad: I faced my would-be assassins. I looked into their eyes. I’m not saying that it was not scary, Garry. I was bombarded by different feelings, different emotional, looking into their eyes.
Kasparov: You were trembling.
Alinejad: I was like crying, back door, in the arms of the FBI agents who were protecting me. But immediately when I walk into the room, when I saw there was a female judge, I was like, This is what we are fighting in—I’m emotional—this is what we are fighting in Iran. Having a female judge in America, having the law enforcement sitting there, supporting me. I saw my friends, human-rights activists. I saw my neighbors, Garry, my neighbors from Brooklyn, and I was like, How lucky I am. This is what the Iranian people want to have. Justice. This is, this is like, this is the beauty of America. And I was like—felt the power. To look into their eyes and testify against the killers.
Kasparov: Now, having all these experiences, do you think that America is in any danger of sliding into the authoritarian direction? Do you think that Americans take this freedom for granted? Because you have plenty of experience, you know, both as an American citizen, as one of the leaders of the global dissident movement. Is America facing the real challenge of fundamental freedoms that Americans enjoyed over generations, for 250 years—they could be somehow in jeopardy?
Alinejad: Of course, democracy is fragile. I want Americans to understand that when you take freedom for granted, democracy for granted, when you take like, you know, everything for granted—think about it, that the authoritarian regimes are not gonna just stay there. They’re coming from different geography, different ideology, from communism to Islamism. But they have one thing in common: crushing democracy, hating America. And all the authoritarian regimes, Garry, you know better than me: They work together. They cooperate together. Why? Because they know how to support each other. They know how to back each other. But here in America, Republican and Democrats, when it comes to supporting the national security of America in the face of terrorism, they’re not together. So when they are not united, believe me, dictators will get united, and they will end democracy.
Kasparov: Now it’s time to talk about, you know, our joint efforts to create a global dissident organization. And now it’s the World Liberty Congress. And you are the president, the elected president, by the way.
Alinejad: As a woman, I cannot even choose my dress code in Iran, but I was elected!
Kasparov: Exactly. Let’s talk about it, about the concept, because we talked about human-rights abuses in Iran, Afghanistan. Briefly mentioned Russia and other places. So you talked very passionately about the dictators working together. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea. They worked together, not just in the United Nations.
Talk to our Ukrainian friends. And they tell you: They are working together, helping Putin to conduct this criminal, genocidal war in Ukraine. The free world is, I wouldn’t say disunited, but definitely is not united as it had to be. So we try to bring together dissidents who saw it just with their own eyes, who suffered from these power abuses. Whether it’s in Africa, it’s Middle East, in Latin America, it’s in Asia, it’s Eastern Europe, Russia, Belarus, central Asia. Unfortunately, there are too many countries that just now are living now under some kind of authoritarian or totalitarian rule. So we created this organization, and we want to have a powerful message of these combined forces of people who otherwise, you know, had little in common. But recognizing that it’s time for us to have a dissident international—to do what?
Alinejad: I’m sure you’re not gonna like that, but the only thing that we should learn from dictators is unity. Because you said that: They are united. So our organization is trying to actually teach the leaders of democracies that they have to be as united as dictators. And work together when it comes to end authoritarianism—which is, as you said, increasing every year. And we had our first general assembly in Lithuania. These are the true dissidents, who survived assassination plots, leading movements within their own country in Africa, all over the authoritarian regimes. So we need to get together and bring the wall of dictatorship down. Otherwise, democracy is going to go in recession forever. So I wanna invite everyone to actually learn about the World Liberty Congress and our joint efforts—and understand that this is the time to support the dissidents who are warning the rest of the world that dictators are expanding their ideology everywhere. In democracies as well.
Kasparov: Yes. So, of course I have to mention Anne Applebaum, who started this concept, Autocracy in America. She talked about it in a very scientific way. So obviously you are, you are offering more emotional—actually firsthand experience.
Alinejad: Firsthand experience, not emotional, Garry. Let me tell you something. The guy who was trying to kill me was from Russia. A Russian mobster, yeah? And the kidnapping plot as the FBI, you know, foiled it—
Kasparov: Revealed it.
Alinejad: Yes, exactly. When you read the indictment, they say that they were trying to take me from Brooklyn to Venezuela. Why Venezuela?
Kasparov: It’s a part of the same network.
Alinejad: Exactly. Yes. So that actually shows you this network: from Russia, Iran, Venezuela, China, North Korea. They’re not only supporting each other—like sharing technology, surveillance within their own authoritarian regime to oppress and suppress uprising. They are also using this for transnational repression beyond their own borders, in democratic countries. In 40 years, more than 500 non-Iranians were the target of the Islamic Republic, either kidnapping or assassination plots. More than 500—beyond their own borders in Western countries. That should be an alarm for everyone.
Kasparov: But, we can hardly expect Western democracies, especially the United States now and Donald Trump’s leadership, to incorporate dissidents’ concerns, human-rights issues, into any negotiations. He spoke to Vladimir Putin just a number of times. I never heard them talking about human rights.
Alinejad: So if they don’t care about human rights, I think national security is important for them, no? National security is under threat. Serious threats. I am talking about real assassination plots taking place on U.S. soil. If anyone can come to America and target me, next can be anyone who is now listening to me.
Kasparov: Let’s summarize. In the era of globalization, democracy cannot survive somewhere without being protected elsewhere. So everything is interdependent. It’s all connected, correct? So, what is our message? The World Liberty Congress brought together hundreds and hundreds of dissidents, because we understand that the world now, it’s now on one of the most critical stages of the never-ending war between forces of freedom and tyranny. And this war, of course it has front lines, like in Ukraine, for instance. But it goes across the globe. And this war also has its invisible borders inside the United States, inside Europe: so inside democratic countries. And here, our experience, our understanding of the nature of this war, is invaluable. People should listen to us. And eliminating human rights—or accepting the equality of people from every region of the planet, for just that they’re entitled for the same rights as Americans or Canadians or Brits or French or Germans—is going to harm democratic institutions in these very countries. Your last word?
Alinejad: My last word.
Kasparov: Your last word today, of course. Because we will hear a lot from you.
Alinejad: Yes. Some people in America are allergic to regime change.
Kasparov: To the word of regime change.
Alinejad: To the expression of regime change. I’m only allergic to dictators, and that’s how it should be. Don’t give diplomatic titles to terrorists. Let’s call them who they are. Don’t give diplomatic titles to dictators. They are dictators. So that’s my message. Very simple. Hashtag diplomacy is not going to save the lives of women in Iran, in Afghanistan. The lives of those people living on their authoritarian regimes in Africa, in Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe.
No; we need actions. We need the real solidarity, and don’t abandon those who are protecting democracy, who are fighting for freedom, who are trying to guarantee global security across the globe. I love America. I love Iran. And I’ve been given a second life, by the law enforcement. Garry, this is very ironic—a girl who was forced to shout “Death to America.” The country that I wish death for, the United States of America, gave me a second life. And that’s why I love America, and I wanna dedicate my life to fight for America as well: to protect America from terrorists, from authoritarianism. And that’s why I am full of hope and energy.
[Music]
Kasparov: When Masih and I spoke, it was before the United States and Israel attacked Iran. So we followed with Masih: to ask her what she made of the strikes, and what they might mean in the battle against the Iranian regime and the broader fight against autocracy. Here is what she had to say:
Alinejad: To be honest, I am in touch with many Iranians, and they are happy when it comes to see the end of their killers, the commanders, the Revolutionary Guard members. So that made Iranian people happy. But at the same time, ordinary people got killed. And that’s the people of Iran paying a huge price. And what breaks my heart more—that now people are being left alone with a wounded regime, which is trying to get revenge on its own people.
So yes, I kept hearing in the west, Let’s end the war. Anti-war activists took to the streets, and I was like, It is not that difficult for you to say that. And when now I see that all those anti-war activists, you know, they just finished their job. No more talking about another war being waged on Iranian innocent women. People facing executions right now. It is beyond sad.
[Music]
That’s all I can say. That we only see peace and security in the region, across the globe, if we really say no to Islamic Republic. If you ask Iranians, they have only one message to you: The real warmongers are the Islamic Republic officials inside the country. And that’s why when we say no to war, we really mean no to the Islamic Republic.
Kasparov: This episode of Autocracy in America was produced by Arlene Arevalo and Natalie Brennan. Our editor is Dave Shaw. Original music and mix by Rob Smierciak. Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado. Special thanks to Polina Kasparova and Mig Greengard. Claudine Ebeid is the executive producer of Atlantic audio. Andrea Valdez is our managing editor. Next time on Autocracy in America:
John Bolton: This virus of isolationism—which isn’t a coherent ideology itself; it’s a knee-jerk reaction to the external world—can go through a long period of being irrelevant and then suddenly reappear. And I attribute this, in part, to a failure in both political parties ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Kasparov: I’m Garry Kasparov. See you back here next week.
[Music out]
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Vladimir Voronin / APA participant in the Gallops 2025 performs a fire stunt during the competition, near the alpine Song-Kol Lake, in Kyrgyzstan, on July 21, 2025.
Marco di Marco / APAt the base of a crater, a lava flow is still very active after a volcanic eruption about 6 kilometers north of Grindavík, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, on July 23, 2025.
Fadel Senna / AFP / GettyThe tallest solar-power tower in the world, some 260 meters tall, stands at the concentrated-solar-thermal power Noor Energy 1 complex, at Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park, about 50 kilometers south of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on July 19, 2025.
Arne Dedert / DPA / GettyThe Hardtberg Tower rises out of the forest like a crown, near Königstein, Germany, on July 22, 2025.
David Hammersen / DPA / GettyLaura Morschett, initiator of the cow cuddle, leans against a brown cow and strokes it at the Lüttje Drööm farm, in Jevenstedt, Germany, on July 22, 2025. Visitors are invited to cuddle with the cows to relax.
David Dee Delgado / ReutersA child embraces her father after a hearing at a U.S. immigration court in Manhattan, New York City, on July 22, 2025.
Ina Fassbender / AFP / GettyThe head of a sunflower shows a heart shape, in a field near Dortmund, Germany, on July 20, 2025.
Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / GettyNew Indonesian police officers perform during a commissioning ceremony for about 2,000 graduates from military and police academies, at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 23, 2025.
Hollie Adams / ReutersTeam Neutral athletes perform during the team free final in artistic swimming at the World Aquatics Championships, in Singapore, on July 20, 2025.
Angelika Warmuth / ReutersA man sends his opponent into the water as they take part in a Fischerstechen (“fishermen's joust”), on Lake Starnberg, in Seeshaupt, Germany, on July 19, 2025.
Ozan Kose / AFP / GettyA tourist looks out toward the Bosphorus Strait while posing for a photo on an open-air studio terrace, in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 21, 2025.
Kevin Carter / GettyA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a payload of 24 Starlink internet satellites soars into space after it launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, in a view from Santee, California, on July 18, 2025.
Lindsey Wasson / APThe Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh breaks his bat on a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, in Seattle, on July 20, 2025.
Matt Rourke / APThe Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith catches a ball during practice at the team’s training camp, in Philadelphia, on July 23, 2025.
Justin Tallis / AFP / GettyFlowers, candles, and drawings are left at a makeshift memorial near a mural that depicts the late British singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne, in Birmingham, England, on July 23, 2025, a day after his death.
Zhang Chang / China News Service / VCG / GettyTourists watch a laser show at Wuhan Jiufeng Forest Zoo, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on July 19, 2025.
Kim Hong-Ji / ReutersHouses are submerged during flooding caused by torrential rain, in Yesan, South Korea, on July 18, 2025.
Reuters TVA girl runs away after Israeli strikes hit a school sheltering displaced people at the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on July 17, 2025, in this screen grab from video obtained by Reuters.
Aaron Favila / APA man wades through waist-deep water in a residential area after Tropical Storm Wipha caused intense monsoon rains that bought flooding, in Quezon City, Philippines, on July 21, 2025.
Watsamon Tri-Yasakda / AFP / GettyThe giant Buddha statue at the Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen Buddhist temple complex, in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 18, 2025.
Tim de Waele / GettyFelix Gall of Austria competes in the chase group while fans cheer during Stage 14 of the Tour de France 2025, in Luchon-Superbagnères, France, on July 19, 2025.
Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / DPA / GettyMembers of the Via Salina Euregio alphorn group make music, on the Fellhorn, at Schlappoldsee Station, Germany, on July 20, 2025. They were playing at a mountain church service in honor of St. James, the patron saint of Alpine shepherds.
Hector Quintanar / GettyGroups of traditional dancers perform in the streets as part of the Santa Maria Magdalena Patron Feast, in Xico, Veracruz, Mexico, on July 20, 2025.
Geng Yuhe / VCG / GettyAn unusual cloud appears in the sky above Lianyungang, in China’s Jiangsu province, on July 22, 2025.
Thomas Warnack / DPA / GettyThe sun rises in the morning behind barley that has dewdrops hanging from its awns, in Unlingen, Germany, on July 20, 2025.
Sergen Sezgin / Anadolu / GettyEfforts to extinguish a fire that broke out in a forested area in Geyve continue, as the fire spread to Bilecik, Turkey, on July 21, 2025.
Maddie Meyer / GettyTianchen Lan of Team China competes in the mixed 4x1,500-meter open-water final on Day 10 of the World Aquatics Championships, in Singapore, on July 20, 2025.
Fernando Vergara / APNathali Barrios embraces Zeus at an animal shelter at Delia Zapata Olivella High School, where students care for abandoned animals and help them find adoptive homes, in Bogotá, Colombia, on July 17, 2025.
Illustration by Brian Scagnelli
A24
Screenshot from Lila ShroffChatGPT gave me step-by-step instructions on cutting my own wrist.
Screenshot from Adrienne LaFranceChatGPT advises on what to do and say when you're killing someone.
Screenshot from Adrienne LaFranceChatGPT advises on ritualistic bloodletting.
Alex Peña / GettyA soldier stands guard along the perimeter at CECOT.
Fabiola Ferrero for The AtlanticA bracelet Keider made during his time in CECOT. It’s the only thing he kept from the prison after his release.
Diana Walker
Bob Miller / GettyEd Sykes, 77, visits the National Memorial For Peace And Justice on April 26, 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Bob Miller / GettyMarkers display the names and locations of individuals killed by lynching at the National Memorial For Peace And Justice on April 26, 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Jack Whitten. *Atopolis: For Édouard Glissant, 2014. (*Jonathan Muzikar / The Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Black Sabbath perform live at Paradiso in Amsterdam on December 4, 1971. (Gijsbert Hanekroot / Redferns / Getty)
Flowers are left at a makeshift memorial at Osbourne’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 22 in Los Angeles. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty)
Patrick J. Krug