Imagine a man who witnessed the 1979 Islamic Revolution from inside Iran, spent nearly 28 years advising multiple U.S. Secretaries of Defense, and later waded through chest-deep sewage in a bombed-out Baghdad basement to rescue the most important collection of Iraqi Jewish history in existence.

That man is Dr. Harold Rhode
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In this extraordinary episode, Ari interviews one of the most unique minds with a deep understanding of the Middle East from inside the system.
Drawing on decades of first-hand experience, Dr. Rhode offers a rare and unfiltered perspective on how Islam, culture, language, and history are consistently misunderstood in Western policymaking, with profound and lasting consequences.
The episode opens with Dr. Rhode’s breathtaking, step-by-step account of rescuing the Iraqi Jewish Archive under active war conditions.
From there, he explains why Western concepts of “Peace” fail when applied to Islamic political and strategic culture, and how linguistic and cultural blind spots have distorted decision-making for decades
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Dr. Rhode also shares his unique insights into Iran, past, present, and future. Grounded in his first-hand experience during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He assesses how that pivotal moment shaped the regime’s worldview and what it means for Iran, the region, and the West today.

Dr. Rhode holds a PhD in Islamic History from Columbia University and is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian (Farsi), and Turkish.

This is an episode not to be missed.