This week we speak with Shirin Neshat, one of the most famous contemporary artists from Iran, about the protests in her home country. Shirin’s work focuses on the lives and struggles of Iranian women. The protests have been raging for a month, which, as Shirin says, makes them the longest-running demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution. We talk about what they mean, why this time they’re different, and her art, some of which has been recently projected on buildings in London and Los Angeles. Then, we hear about a new trend in drug research. Scientists can now grow entire human mini-organs in labs. Could that lead to a world without animal testing? The FT’s Clive Cookson and Hannah Kuchler join us to discuss.

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Links and mentions from the episode:

– Shirin Neshat is on Instagram at @shirin__neshat

– Shirin’s video installation Turbulent, 1998: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCAssCuOGls

– Some photos of Shirin’s Women of Allah series: https://www.matronsandmistresses.com/articles/2021/4/29/shirin-neshat

– Baraye, by Shervin Hajipour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPyHuCZzsVA

– An interview with Shirin in the FT from September 2021: https://on.ft.com/3zVaVk8

– How science is getting closer to a world without animal testing, by Clive, Hannah and Joe Miller: https://on.ft.com/3SPlFuA

– Hannah is on Twitter @hannahkuchler, and Clive is on Twitter @clivecookson

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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Artist Shirin Neshat on the women-led protests in Iran

Life and Art from FT Weekend