Iran, protests, and sanctions

Podcast: Planet Money (LS 83 · TOP 0.01% what is this?)
Episode: Iran, protests, and sanctions
Pub date: 2026-02-07

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The recent protests in Iran are about so many things. Human rights, corruption, freedom. But this time – they are also motivated by economic hardship. Hardship caused, in part, by US sanctions. 


The US has been sanctioning Iran in one way or another for 47 years. But sanctions, as a tool, only work some of the time, and US sanctions on Iran have not always conformed to what experts consider best practices.


On today’s episode: What did US sanctions do to Iran's economy? How did they feed into the latest protests and crackdown in Iran? Sanctions are supposed to avert war, but how different from war are they?


To learn more about the protests in Iran and the country’s history, check out our great friends at Throughline:

Iran Protests Explained

Iran and the U.S., Part One: Four Days In August

Iran and the U.S., Part Two: Rules of Engagement

Iran and the U.S., Part Three: Soleimani’s Iran

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This episode was hosted by Mary Childs and Nick Fountain. It was produced by James Sneed with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Jimmy Keeley. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark. 

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