The CAPA Board and members of CAPA’s Foreign Policy Working Group believe that main stream media is doing a grave disservice to the public by parroting what the administration and the Pentagon are saying and not sharing other viewpoints. We have created and will continue to update a list of resources to allow for greater depth of understanding.

News: Outside Sources

• • Al Jazeera (Qatari state bias but very mideast-focused)
  • Electronic Intifada (Activist eye on Palestine)
  • Democracy Now! (Progressive news and daily interview show from NYC)
  • PressTV (English-language Iranian state media)
  • The Grayzone (Unacknowledged breaker of multiple major news stories)

Geopolitical Analysis 

• • Dialogue Works (Nima Akhorshid)
  • Greater Eurasia Podcast (Glenn Diesen) 
  • Judging Freedom (J. Andrew Napolitano)
  • Danny Haiphong
  • Daniel Davis Deep Dive
  • The Grayzone (Blumenthal, Maté et al)
  • The Duran (Mercouris & Christoforou)

Several of the following voices appear regularly on the programs above.

• • Phyllis Bennis
  • Nina Farnia
  • Larry Johnson
  • Col Douglas Macgregor
  • Mohammad Marandi
  • John Mearsheimer
  • Trita Parsi
  • Ian Proud
  • Jeffrey Sachs
  • Col Lawrence Wilkerson

Key Articles

• • “Iran Resists” by Ali Abutalebi.
  • “Neoliberalism Against Revolution: Iran’s Challenges for Resistance“ by Ali Abutalebi
  • “Revolution vs Integration: Iran’s Strategic Turning Points” by Ali Abutalebi
  • “‘We’re In It’: Democrats Won’t Rule Out Giving Trump More Money for Middle East War“ by Katherine Tully-McManus, Joe Gould and Jennifer Scholtes
  • “Western media whitewashes deadly riots in Iran, relying on US govt-funded regime change NGOs” by Max Blumenthal and Wyatt Reed

Documentaries

• • Coup 53 – great deep dive into the coup of 1953, how protesters in the streets were hired by CIA and MI6, how CIA churned out anti Mossadegh propaganda for Iranian press, and much more 

Books We’ve Read!
(many of the following are from the “Further reading” section of Medea Benjamin’s invaluable primer, “Inside Iran”.  We include her glosses where available).  

• • All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer. “Kinzer’s account of the CIA-orchestrated coup in 1953 makes vital reading for anyone interested in the roots of the revolution.”
  • The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran by Hooman Majd. “The grandson of an ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, Hooman Majd offers a unique perspective on Iran’s complex culture.”
  • America and Iran by John Ghazvinian. The author traces the complex story of the relations between these two nations back to the Persian Empire of the eighteenth century.
  • Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her work advocating for oppressed people. [Iran Awakening] is a powerful condemnation of the Islamic regime.”
  • Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran  by Medea Benjamin.
  • The Killing of Gaza by Gideon Levy. Levy brings together his on-the-ground perspectives of the events leading up to the 7th October and the ensuing devastation of Gaza.
  • Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy by Trita Parsi. “This book focuses on President Obama’s strategy toward Iran’s nuclear program and reveals how the historic agreement of 2015 broke the persistent stalemate in negotiations… ” 
  • The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran by Roy Mottahedeh  “A great read for anyone interested in an in-depth look at Ayatollah Khomeni, the roots of the revolution, and the origins of the Islamic Republic.”
  • The Plot to Attack Iran by Dan Kovalik. The author exposes how Americans’ perception of the Islamic Republic is largely based on propaganda.
  • Socialism’s Ignored Success: Iranian Islamic Socialism by Ramin Mazaheri. The author overturns perceptions about Iran, one of richest original cultures on Earth.
  • The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran, by Charles Kurzman. The author offers rare insight into the nature and evolution of the Iranian revolution and into the ultimate unpredictability of protest movements in general.