544 Days: An inside look at U.S. foreign relations through one reporter’s time in an Iranian prison

MIA YOUNG: What happens when a civilian reporter’s life gets wrapped up in bilateral nuclear power negotiations? To what extent does valuing an individual’s survival compare with the impending threat of violent conflict? For Jason Rezaian, these questions were not hypotheticals to be debated among international relations scholars or on the nightly news. Rather, the answers to them were the only bridge between a life trapped inside an eight-by-four foot cell and freedom. 

In July 2014, Rezaian and his wife Yegi Salehi were on their way to a surprise party when they were arrested in Tehran, where they had both been living and working as foreign correspondents. At the time, Rezaian was the Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post. Without any knowledge of what they were being accused of, Rezaian and Salehi were put in solitary confinement at Evin Prison while their apartment was raided. They were denied any contact with the outside world and were repeatedly interrogated, eventually piecing together that they were being accused of espionage despite a glaring lack of any evidence. In 544 Days, a new Spotify original podcast, Rezaian tells the story of his arrest and the ensuing 544 days he spent trapped in Evin Prison with insights from those on the outside who were working for his release.

In the first episode of 544 Days, Rezaian details his life leading up to his wrongful imprisonment. An Iranian American with dual citizenship, Rezaian always wanted to be a journalist working to bridge the divide between America and Iran. His work focused on stories of Iranian culture and the young people working to change the country for the better. He moved to Tehran to begin his freelance career, where he quickly  met and fell in love with his wife Yegi Salehi. He eventually landed his job at The Washington Post, where he worked until his arrest. In the following episodes, Rezaian talks about his experience in prison and interviews family members, friends, colleagues, and government officials about their efforts to get him out. Negotiations for Rezaian’s release were made complicated by a variety of political factors and weapons containment efforts. His arrest coincided with the beginnings of negotiations between Iran and the Obama administration over sanctions and Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities.

Rezaian’s gift in telling his story is his ability to blend candor about the bleakness of his circumstances with the humor and levity that kept him going. The conversational nature of the podcast lends itself well to Rezaian’s knack for storytelling, managing to make it simultaneously gut-wrenching, thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. He makes fun of his interrogators, jokes about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard being no match for the power of Diet Coke in his brother’s efforts to get him released and relays his mom’s embodiment of Turkish soap opera characters in her meeting with the judge presiding over his case. Yet even with this humour, Rezaian never overshadows or makes light of the heinous psychological abuse he endured in prison. Rezaian spent over six weeks in solitary confinement, being repeatedly interrogated and told that his family thought he was dead and that no one was doing anything to get him out. He was only able to see Salehi a couple of times before she was released in October 2014, but not without strict conditions and supervision from their captors His only other contact with outside people throughout his entire imprisonment was two phone calls with his mother, both of which were made possible through high-level negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials. 

The podcast includes many interviews, which add an essential dimension that shows the ripple effects of Rezaian’s imprisonment on both the lives of his loved ones and on U.S. foreign policy. Navigating trying to get Rezaian and Salehi out of prison proved to be a complex endeavor, with a variety of clashing forces and interests . Rezaian’s mother features heavily in the first several episodes discussing her feelings of concern, anger and fierce maternal protectiveness over Rezaian. Salehi also gives voice to her own experience being captured and detained, the horrific conditions she endured in solitary confinement, and the bitterness, heartbreak, and anger she felt upon her own release knowing that her husband was still inside. Rezaian also speaks to the government officials who were responsible for negotiating his release including John Kerry, Secretary of State during the Obama administration, and Ben Rhodes, a close advisor of President Obama and a lead negotiator on the Iran nuclear deal. Each interviewee gives voice to the tense and complex nature of working for Rezaian’s release under the fragility of the impending nuclear deal with Iran. Rezaian’s release ended up not being specifically included in the nuclear deal, but the success of each endeavor was deeply tied to the success of the other. 

Rezaian's experience gives insight into ethical diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, and wielding power at the international level. It is a fascinating look at how one person’s story was intertwined with a long history of complex relations between the United States and Iran, and the fight to uphold American ideals for Americans living under oppositional regimes. All nine episodes of 544 Days are out now on Spotify. The podcast is heartfelt, insightful, and certainly worth the listen.

Mia Young is a junior in the School of Nursing and Health Studies studying global health with a minor in government. She is from Washington, DC.