Podcast 63: Ramin Jahanbegloo on a Culture of Nonviolence

“Capital punishment itself is a form of premeditated murder,” Ramin Jahanbegloo tells us in today’s podcast. Today we discuss a culture of violence that’s become deeply entrenched in Iranian society. State violence in the form of inhumane executions, cruel and unusual punishments, brutality in response to public dissent, and ill treatment and torture throughout the judicial system, is pervasive, and some argue that Iran’s citizens have become acclimated and desensitized to this violence.

Ramin Jahanbegloo is an Iranian philosopher, academic, and scholar on nonviolence. In April 2006, he was arrested at Tehran’s airport and charged with preparing a velvet revolution in Iran. He was placed in solitary confinement for four months and later released on bail. He’s now based in Canada, where he teaches political science at York University in Toronto. He’s most widely known for his work promoting dialogue between cultures and his advocacy for non-violence.