# 'Operation Ajax' in Iran: The CIA's Original Sin

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-socialist-program-with-brian-becker-3114087/operation-ajax-in-iran-the-cia-s-original-sin
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-socialist-program-with-brian-becker-3114087/operation-ajax-in-iran-the-cia-s-original-sin.md
Podcast: [The Socialist Program with Brian Becker](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-socialist-program-with-brian-becker-3114087)
Published: 2026-03-02T22:37:13+00:00
Episode link: https://soundcloud.com/thesocialistprogram/operation-ajax-in-iran-the
Audio file: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/2276457623-thesocialistprogram-operation-ajax-in-iran-the.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-socialist-program-with-brian-becker-3114087/episodes/operation-ajax-in-iran-the-cia-s-original-sin
Duration seconds: 3154

## Resource

In 1953 the CIA secretly organized a coup to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Iran. This was the CIA's first regime change operation — code-named 'Operation Ajax' — becoming the playbook for later CIA operations. Its consequences are still reverberating around the world. In this episode we take a deep dive into how Operation Ajax was planned and executed, it's motivations, the political context locally and globally, what happened in Iran after 1953, its impact on US-Iran relations up to today, and more. We've added many archival audio clips, including first-hand accounts on both sides, sound effects, music, and more. This is the first episode in our new series on The Socialist Program. In each episode we will unpack a different CIA/Pentagon operation, each which was given its own code-name as Operation Ajax was. Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get access to the next episodes in this series, more exclusive content, and help keep this show on the air. Credits: Brian Becker - writer, narrator Layan Fuleihan - writer, narrator John Prysner - audio engineer, producer Emily Brease - archival producer

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-socialist-program-with-brian-becker-3114087/episodes/operation-ajax-in-iran-the-cia-s-original-sin/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-socialist-program-with-brian-becker-3114087/operation-ajax-in-iran-the-cia-s-original-sin.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.