Reporting the Region: Inside Iran & Afghanistan | Gelareh Kiazand | SSHQ

For more than a decade, Gelareh Kiazand reported from some of the world's most complicated and misunderstood places.

From covering life under the Taliban in Afghanistan to documenting everyday life inside Iran, her work focused on telling stories from the ground — often in places where politics, war, and international headlines rarely capture the full picture.

In this conversation, Shane Smith sits down with Gelareh to reflect on years of reporting across Iran and Afghanistan, the realities of covering conflict, and what journalists can learn by spending time with the people who actually live through these events.

Featuring archival VICE reporting and footage from recent reporting in Tehran, they discuss war, sanctions, media narratives, daily life, and the challenge of understanding countries that are often reduced to headlines and geopolitics.

After decades covering the region, one thing remains true:Showing up still matters.

In this episode:

• Reporting from Afghanistan during the war
• Life under the Taliban and what changed after the withdrawal
• What everyday life in Iran looks like beyond the headlines
• The challenges of reporting from conflict zones
• Journalism, propaganda, and competing narratives
• Sanctions, politics, and ordinary people
• How VICE reported from places few Western outlets could access
• Why being there still matters

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