Fourteen months ago, President Obama authorized a top-secret, second diplomatic channel with Tehran to negotiate freedom for Americans who had disappeared or been imprisoned in Iran. It was a high-risk diplomatic gamble.

Guest host Susan Page speaks with Iran analyst Robin Wright about the secret negotiations between the U.S. and Iran and the latest on the freed Americans.

The next test of Iran’s real intentions—the peace talks in Syria, due to begin this month—carries no financial reward. That will be the better test of Iran’s willingness to deal with the rest of the world.

Ostracized as a pariah for almost four decades, Iran is back in business in a mere ten days—and with both East and West. On Saturday, the Islamic Republic welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping—and a delegation of three deputy premiers, six cabinet ministers, and a planeload of business executives—with much pomp and publicity.

The United Nations disclosed a stunning figure this month: The number of females whose genitals have been scraped, pricked, or sliced off their young bodies has been underestimated—by seventy million.

In recent years, the human quest to project ourselves onto the animal world has spawned subcultures—like the “furry” movement and animal tweeters—that cross an identity threshold.

When the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini died abruptly, from heart failure after surgery, in 1989, he left behind fifteen grandchildren. The fate of his heirs reflects the depth of tensions within the Islamic Republic as it marks the thirty-seventh anniversary of the Imam’s triumphant return from exile—and prepares for twin elections, on February 26th.

The United States and Russia have announced plans for a cessation of hostilities in Syria, which have resulted in at least a quarter of a million deaths since 2011. ​