Freedom Desk with Jason Rezaian

Press freedom faces new threats here in the United States and abroad in Iran.
Host Jason Rezaian leads with the latest news on the White House ban of media outlets CNN, Politico and MS NOW. Then, Jason and Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Arizona) discuss the fight for freedom of expression that Iranians face abroad. Ansari, the first Iranian American Democrat elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, explains what motivated her political career, why she deeply opposes the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and her hopes and dreams for Iran even as war ravages the country.
Today’s show was produced by Josh Carroll and Layli Nazarova. It was edited by Ted Muldoon.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

Roger Carstens spent nearly five years leading hostage negotiations for the United States. He joins Jason to discuss the high-stakes work of bringing wrongfully detained Americans home—negotiating, at times, with people he fought against during his prior service in U.S. special operations.

Carstens explains the role humor, humility and empathy play in negotiations and why authoritarian governments increasingly use detained journalists as political leverage. The conversation turns personal as Jason reflects on his own experiences after being released from captivity in Iran and how they have affected his understanding of freedom.

Today’s show was produced by Josh Carroll and Layli Nazarova. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and Reena Flores.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward has spent more than two decades reporting from war zones. She joins Jason Rezaian to explain why firsthand reporting matters—and what the public loses when journalists cannot reach the people living through a conflict.

They discuss the threats facing local journalists in Gaza, why Ward has remained committed to journalism despite many harrowing close calls in the field, and the fractured nature of truth in the age of social media.

Today’s show was produced by Josh Carroll and Layli Nazarova. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and Reena Flores.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. And watch us on YouTube here.

Jason Rezaian knows the cost of free speech. He spent 544 days in an Iranian prison for simply being a journalist.

The world is witnessing the erosion of democratic values. The Freedom Desk video podcast is about what comes next in the global fight for free expression.

Every week, Jason talks to one leading voice about freedoms gained, freedoms lost, who's trying to take it from us, and how we take it back.

First episode drops September 9th.

The "Freedom Desk" video podcast is a new project from Jason Rezaian, Director of Press Freedom Initiatives at The Washington Post.