Episode
When Shiraz calls
- Podcast
- The Documentary Podcast
- Published
- May 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1703
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0nmdh8d
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Summary
A personal account of day-to-day life in Iran told through the conversations of two Iranian sisters – one in the UK, the other in the Iranian city of Shiraz. Since the outbreak of war at the end of February, a near total internet blackout and a shutdown of international phone lines by the Iranian authorities has meant limited information has got out of the country. But the sisters have made recordings of their conversations which have been shared with the BBC. They discuss when the bombs land, the destruction of places they love and the realities of an economy that’s being brought to its knees. They struggle to sleep at night. Salaries don’t come through. It’s a roller coaster of emotions. But there are also moments of calm and comfort, a spot of dark humour and the scent of hyacinths.