Skip to content
When Shiraz calls episode artwork

May 21, 2026 28 min

When Shiraz calls

from The Documentary Podcast Hosted by BBC World Service

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.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

When Shiraz calls

0:00 28:23

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of The Documentary Podcast?

This episode is 28 minutes long.

When was this The Documentary Podcast episode published?

This episode was published on May 21, 2026.

Can I download this The Documentary Podcast episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.