Anthony bourdain interview with jason rezaian biography
•
Iran
Bourdain’s Field Notes
Words matter. Especially in Iran, where what is permissible — to say, to do, to be seen to say or do — is an ever changing thing.
It took us many years of trying before we were finally allowed into Iran, the country with which we probably have the most contentious relationship on Earth. At the time, we thought that perhaps our welcome was an indicator of a new attitude, an opening of a window. But as it turned out, that is probably not the case. The window appeared to slam shut in particularly ugly fashion shortly after our departure.
What we saw, what we came back with, is a deeply confusing story. Because the Iran you see from the inside, once you walk the streets of Tehran, once you meet Iranians, is a very different place than the Iran you know from the news. Nowhere else I’ve been has the disconnect been so extreme between what one sees and feels from the people and what one se
•
‘Tony’s wanderlust had more to do with people than with food’
I almost didn’t meet Anthony Bourdain.
My husband, Jason Rezaian, and I had just returned from a trip for my 30th birthday, and during those few days away I had hurt my foot and was having a hard time walking.
We were supposed to meet Bourdain in Darband, a popular hilltop area in Tehran that has a handful of restaurants with spectacular views of the capital. Getting there requires a short climb, by foot, on a muddy trail.
Jason convinced me that while my injury would heal, I might never get another chance to have lunch with Anthony Bourdain in my hometown. I trusted him, reluctantly, knowing he was right but doubtful about how much time this superstar would actually spend with us.
I thought to myself, This is a show about food. The people who appear in it are just there to talk about food.
How wrong I was!
We drove to the foot of Darband, walk
•
Jason Rezaian
Jason Rezaian writes for the Washington Post’s Global Opinions section. Previously he was the Post’s Tehran bureau chief from 2012 to 2016. In July 2014, he was arrested bygd Iranian authorities and imprisoned for 544 days until his release in January 2016. Before joining the Washington Post he wrote for many U.S.-based and international publications including TIME, Foreign Policy, the San Francisco Chronicle, Slate, GlobalPost, and Monocle. Rezaian’s memoir, Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison, was published in January 2019 by Anthony Bourdain Books, an imprint of Ecco Books. In collaboration with Crooked Media, Gimlet Media, and A24, he adapted it as a nine-episode narrative audio series, which is available as a Spotify original podcast. Since 2018 Rezaian has been a CNN Global Affairs contributor. Among his other television credits are appearances on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Face the Nation, CBS Morning News, Amanpour,