Tommy and Ben talk with the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian about his book Prisoner, which details the 544 days he spent in an Iran’s notoriously brutal Evin Prison. Jason was held hostage by the Iranian regime and held as leverage in the nuclear negotiations. Jason details his experience while Ben explains what the negotiations were like from his perch in the White House. It is a hell of a good episode.

Show Notes:

• CNN: Trump chastises intel chiefs after they contradict him on Iran and claims of foreign policy success
• Vox: Trump’s foreign policy isn’t based in reality
• Al Jazeera: US warns Iran on space launches, Tehran rejects concerns
• Al Jazeera: In Cairo, Pompeo delivers Trump’s vision: Confrontation with Iran
• Al Jazeera: Tehran files protest against Poland hosting ‘anti-Iran’ summit
• New York Times: How Bitcoin Could Help Iran Undermine U.S. Sanctions
• Washington Post: Iran is at it again: Another American has been taken by the regime
• Washington Post: U.S. lawsuit by Post journalist seeks $1 billion in damages from Iran to deter taking of hostages
• Washington Post: Assad’s regime killed an American — and no one seems to care
• Washington Post: Iran’s regime is fighting a losing battle against science
• Washington Post: Trump should stop talking like a Middle Eastern despot
• Washington Post: Don’t Sanction Iran – Trade With It
• Face The Nation: Kirsten Gillibrand, Brett McGurk, Jason Rezaian
• CBS This Morning: Jason Rezaian hopes Trump will do “a lot more” to free Americans held in Iran