What does the Iranian presidents' death mean for the Middle East? | Reason Roundtable | May 20, 2024

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Published 2024-05-20
In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman consider U.S. foreign policy toward Iran in the wake of a helicopter crash that left Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian dead.

00:00 - Iranian president dies in helicopter crash

16:46 - Drug Enforcement Administration's proposal to reschedule marijuana

34:59 - Weekly Listener Question

45:54 - Reason Weekend 2024

56:09 - This week's cultural recommendations


Send your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

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Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

Producer: Hunt Beaty

All Comments (21)
  • @Pad2Paper
    Butcher of Tehran is now gone. Unfortunately, I doubt little will change in Iran since the theocracy has such a strong power hold.
  • His death means nothing, he was a figurehead of the ayatollah. Nothing more. Not that reason staff would recognize that.
  • @jbejaran
    Students ARE diverse. Never hang out at the top of the bell curve. Everyone there is mean.
  • @plowe6751
    It doesn't mean anything. There are plenty more Iranians in Iran.
  • @HVACSoldier
    Don’t forget the Libertarian Party National Convention, coming this weekend.
  • @johnbuckner2828
    56:24 that sounds like a good 📕. I think I’ll give that a read. Kind of made me think of ‘The Bobiverse’ by Dennis E. Taylor, which I enjoyed
  • @Rorschachqp
    Now the Iranians know that no one is safe…in their own helicopters, lol.
  • Here is the problem smoking weeds stinks. And while on the one hand I say you can live your life, but when my home gets filled with the stink of bad weed there we have a problem.
  • @tomlxyz
    I know people from Iran and they say the death means nothing. He was just pre picked anyway and another will follow
  • @abramgaller2037
    There are two problems with drugs there is government artifact with criminal law, and there is inebriation while driving and other sensitive operations. Inebriation while engaged in sensitive operations violates the non-aggression principle .
  • @MrKangdon
    Katherine: sanctions or no sanctions, anything can (and will) be blamed on the USA (... and the jews).
  • @woodchuck003
    I find the answer around "book bans" in elementary school to be rather disingenuous. I am not sure when the libertarian position became you must give Playboy to children under the age of 18. Nick suggestion about having parents write book reports suggest that he has not seen the numerous news articles and YouTube videos in which parents are reading excerpts from the books they want removed from school libraries. The parents are then asked to stop reading as it is too sexual for the school board meeting, in some cases they are banned and security/police is called.
  • Remind me 2020 started with a horrible event Kobe Bryant who's helicopter is probably way better but probably wasn't using the kind of radar that airplane came with anyway not sure if I want World War III start because some idiot ruler of a country decided he was going to build a fly in the fog and unfortunately he flew in the side of a Hill
  • Word was Raisi was in the running vs the supreme leader's son to succeed the ayatollah. There could be something there or maybe not..
  • @ejpoleii
    I as in "irrelevant". RA as in "rah". N as in "in". Just tack that in front of "ian" as in Indian.