In literature, narratives are often fiction. In both the mainstream media and politics, narratives exhibit the same fictitious nature. In this week's boralogue, John gives several examples of how the media and politicos have failed to tell the truth lately, including with the gun rights rally in Virginia, with anthropogenic global warming, and with Attorney General William Barr. It turns out you can make this stuff up – and it shows us their true intentions.

Iran is a hot topic in the news but one aspect not covered by the media is how women have been treated there. Manda Zand Ervin (www.allianceofiranianwomen.org), Founder and President of the Alliance of Iranian Women, joins us to recount how Iranian women, who were being oppressed by the mullahs, established a secret underground network in order to survive. Much of this information can be found in her new book, The Ladies' Secret Society of Iran.

It's time for a Middle East geopolitical update so we welcome an expert on the subject, Seth Frantzman (www.sethfrantzman.com), Middle East Affairs Analyst at the Jerusalem Post. He examines a deal between Turkey and Russia to partition Libya, an oil pipeline from the region to Eastern Europe, and the interactions between Turkey, Syria, and the Kurds.

John and Producer Steve spend a few moments dissecting an opinion piece from the Harvard Law Review that advocates for end-running the Constitution in an attempt to add amendments that would not only give permanent legislative power to liberals but would also ultimately endanger the Republic itself.

John finishes out the show this week with a news story roundup, relating stories from around the world. Included are the impending Brexit, a disastrous new economic plan in Spain, trouble in China regarding the Catholic Church, and several examples of Christian persecution.

On this week's extra segment, it's a quadruple feature as we play four interviews from 2014, 2015, and 2016 with Iraqi Christian Relief Council President Juliana Taimoorazy. She recounts the problems and tragedies involving Christians in Iraq from ISIS's persecution to their troubles with the UN regarding refugee status. With Iraq in the news lately, it's important to remember those who are suffering for their faith there (and around the world).



01/25/2020 Realpolitik: Middle East Edition
Podcast Episode Chapters - (Segment start time)

1 - Boralogue - Media Bias (2:12 )
2 - Manda Zand Ervin - History of Women in Iran (13:29 )
3 - Manda Zand Ervin - Current Climate of Iran (26:24 )
4 - John Loeffler - Iran's Treatment of Homosexuals (39:16 )
    Seth Frantzman - Middle East Geopolitics: Turkey, Israel, Libya, Russia (40:33 )
5 - John & Producer Steve - End-Running the Constitution (52:10 )
6 - John Loeffler - Several News Stories from Around the World (1:05:33 )
7 - Extras Segment - Four Interviews from Juliana Taimoorazy: 2014-2016 (1:18:27 )

    End of Show (1:48:57 )


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