The paradox that is Persia: Abbas Milani at TEDxStanford

Abbas Milani is the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford and a co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution. Until 1986, he taught at Tehran University’s Faculty of Law and Political Science. In his 12 years at Stanford, he has taught courses on modern Iranian politics, culture and religion, and has published more than 20 books and 200 articles and book reviews on these topics. His latest book is The Shah (Palgrave, 2011). He is a regular on major news and opinion programs around the world and a contributing editor to The New Republic. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)