Everyone's asking if the election will be "stolen." Niaz argues that's the wrong question; the real story is legal, structural, and has been building for years: gerrymandering and mail-ballot restrictions rigging outcomes before a single vote is cast. In minutes, Niaz breaks down what's actually happening on both fronts, including a Supreme Court fight over mail-in voting, and gives you concrete steps to actually protect your vote. Recorded 8/26/2026.

A viral photo. A war that's killed a head of state. A regime that has oppressed its own people for almost five decades. Niaz refuses to pick a side and argues that this refusal is the point. This episode breaks down what's really happened in the war on Iran this year, argues that opposing the war and condemning the regime aren't contradictory positions, and explains why she believes both the U.S./Israel and Iran's government have blood on their hands. Drawing on her own childhood in Iran and years of human rights work, she makes the case for centering the Iranian people themselves, not either side's political narrative.

A letter published in The Guardian in late August sparked a firestorm and forced an uncomfortable question on people on every side of the Iran debate. Niaz breaks down the controversy, then turns her sharpest critique on her own side: the progressive left. Is it possible to oppose an illegal war on Iran and refuse to stay silent about the Iranian regime's brutality toward its own people? Niaz argues yes and pushes back just as hard against the right's blanket condemnations. The real question isn't which team an argument comes from. It's whether it's true.

What if love isn’t just something we feel—but the truth of who we are?

In this episode, Cynthia Marks explores the idea that beneath trauma, conditioning, and societal pressure, every human being is rooted in love. Through deeply personal stories and powerful reflections, she challenges the systems and beliefs that disconnect us from that truth.

From the role of women in shaping future generations to the consequences of emotional suppression, this conversation connects inner healing with the future of society itself. Cynthia shares insights on trauma, identity, relationships, and the unseen patterns that keep us repeating cycles—personally and collectively.

This episode is an invitation to look inward, reclaim what has been buried, and recognize that healing the individual is the foundation for healing the world.

In this episode of Reset Critical, Niaz sits down with Marcie Gilbert and Marcos L. Vann of Calibrate, a Los Angeles nonprofit that helps young people and communities heal through a powerful practice called Connections. They explain how creating safe, structured spaces for people to speak from the heart and listen without interruption can build resilience, strengthen communication, and foster genuine human connection across differences. The conversation explores trauma, shared humanity, emotional safety, and why so many people live in a constant state of vigilance, with far too few spaces where they can truly exhale. Marcie and Vann also reflect on the long-term impact of this work, from students who carry these skills into adulthood, college, marriage, and leadership, to communities learning to move beyond tribalism and toward deeper empathy. They discuss the challenges of doing healing work amid political attacks on mental health, equity, and community support, and explain why demand for this work continues to grow. Along the way, Niaz shares her own experience participating in a Connections circle and why it felt so unexpectedly powerful. This is a moving conversation about healing, listening, community, and what it means to become human again in a world that often pulls us apart.

In this episode of Reset Critical, Niaz sits down with scholar and filmmaker Rudy Mondragón to explore boxing as far more than sport. They discuss how boxing has long been a site of political struggle, self-expression, and resistance — especially for people from marginalized communities. Rudy explains how ring entrances can function as powerful acts of identity, solidarity, and advocacy, from Indigenous representation to statements on Palestine and immigration. The conversation also traces the racial history of boxing, including Jack Johnson, the “Great White Hope,” and the ways whiteness still shapes the sport today. Beyond symbolism, they examine the brutal economics of boxing and why so many fighters are treated as exploited laborers with few protections. Rudy breaks down how matchmaking, pay structures, and the independent contractor model keep most boxers underpaid and vulnerable, even while the sport generates major profit. At the same time, he makes the case that boxing is also a deeply human community, full of stories of dignity, agency, and survival. This is a rich conversation about sports, race, labor, power, and why athletes should never be told to “shut up and dribble”.

Can policy wins and “reforms” actually make us safer, or do they just shrink our demands until nothing meaningful changes? In this episode of Reset Critical with Niaz Kasravi, featuring guest Lex Steppling, a seasoned organizer with the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) and a founding member of the All People's Health Collective, Lex and Niaz discuss how today’s political climate feels unprecedented in its brazen cruelty, while the underlying tactics of state violence are not new. They explore why justice advocacy often gets trapped in corporate-style metrics, how “wins” can be toothless, and why both major parties have supported policies like the 1994 Crime Bill, welfare reform, and the 1996 immigration bill. Lex breaks down what organizing is (and isn’t), why electoral and policy victories should be byproducts rather than destinations, and how representative democracy can function as a filter that chips away at transformative demands. The conversation connects ICE practices to policing, critiques common reform approaches like training and body cams as funding expansions, and outlines an abolitionist framework rooted in impact and safety, not moral superiority. Lex also describes the threat of California’s CARE Court as a pathway to mass confinement through mental health/conservatorship systems, and shares the All People's Health Collective’s focus on getting resources to people, including an economic justice model that includes UBI. 🎙️ Full Podcast: Reset Critical with Niaz Kasravi 👤 Guest: Lex Steppling 📍 Topics include organizing vs lobbying, abolition, state violence, Skid Row, Care Court, and UBI

What happens to truth, solidarity, and our humanity when war, trauma, and ideology collide? In this episode of Reset Critical, Niaz is joined by Dr. Annahita Mahdavi West and Dr. Cornel West to discuss the war in Iran, the intense trauma of living under bombardment and repression, and how diaspora PTSD and divisions fuel anger, infighting, and political labels. They explore the idea of a just war, criticize Trump’s initiation of war as illegal and immoral, and affirm people’s right to resist oppression. They also critique the tendency on both the right and the left to justify violence for strategic goals. The conversation broadens to racial justice in America, themes from Cornell West’s books Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and Truth Matters, the need for moral truth-telling across disagreements, and building cross-racial solidarity based on love, hope, and dignity.