How a Kickstarter got me thrown in an Iranian prison

Regular listeners have heard Jason talk about his imprisonment in Iran. He chronicled his entire ordeal in the podcast “544 Days.” Today, we’re presenting the first episode of that series.

For 544 days, Jason Rezaian was held hostage in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. Interrogated. Sealed off from the outside world. He was accused of being an American spy, though his formal title was Washington Post Tehran correspondent. This is a story about government and family and journalism, and what it took to free an innocent man … all while navigating the high-stakes world of nuclear diplomacy.

00:00 Jason’s introduction to 544 Days
00:30 Disclaimer
00:47 “Solitary confinement wasn’t something I was ever gonna get used to”
02:52 544 Days intro
04:43 Jason in Tehran in 2009
05:58 Meeting Yegi for the first time
07:11 Growing up in California, taking avocados for granted
07:55 Starting the avocado Kickstarter
11:53 Interviewed on CNN by Anthony Bourdain
12:52 Just before getting arrested in Iran
13:54 Yegi knows something strange is happening
14:19 Government agents confront them, point gun at Jason
15:10 Yegi realizes she has a key room containing illegal alcohol
16:50 Putting Jason in Yegi in an unmarked van
17:34 Arriving at Evin Prison in Tehran
18:15 Taking Yegi to women’s section of Evin Prison
19:12 Jason meets the “Great Judge,” who “knows” Jason is a CIA spy
19:36 Jason, blindfolded, talks to Yegi (for what turns out to be the last time until much later)
20:40 Yegi is asked about the “Avocado Revolution”
21:42 Confusion with secret U.S. government program code-named “Avocado”
23:08 Nobody on the outside knew why Jason and Yegi were being held
24:08 Jason couldn’t sleep his first night in Evin Prison
24:33 The beginning of months of behind-the-scenes maneuvers
25:00 President Obama calling for Jason’s release
25:30 President Trump, Fox News and “pallets of cash”
26:22 How The Washington Post advocated for Jason