High-Key with CMT

About High-Key with CMT

Tune in to independent journalist Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani as she delivers her signature high-energy insights on the latest news, politics, and culture. caromt.substack.com (https://caromt.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

CMT

Category

news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 May 2025

Latest episode

3 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

7 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Apr 2026

   Documenting the war in Iran

   This week on the podcast I’m joined by Nilo Tabrizy, a Canadian-Iranian open source intelligence journalist, and one of the first to confirm the dreadful news that a U.S. missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Southern Iran, killing at least 160 people, many of whom were children. I was curious to ask Nilo about her approach to covering the Iran war; open source intelligence reporting (often just abbreviated to OSINT) requires Nilo to watch hours of footage, often of devastating harms against civilians, in order to hold authority figures accountable. Her work is laborious and painstaking, pouring over satellite imagery, combing metadata, cross-referencing social media posts and public records; it may sound overly technical, but it’s grounded in humanity. “ I can’t see or feel or put together the feelings of 90 million people, but I can verify a video of an airstrike at a school of Minab, or on an EMS base in Shiraz. I’m just trying to think how can I be the most additive in the most ethical way?” ~ Nilo Tabrizy, author and open-source intelligence journalist Thanks for reading High-Key with CMT! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. A lot of our conversation is about finding your place in the world. For Nilo, that started young when she arrived in Canada from Iran as a preschooler, and continued as she navigated often gatekept institutions like Columbia University, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Nilo was frequently called upon to report on painful events happening to her (and my) ancestral homeland, and we discuss that duality of being so close to the story but physically far from the events on the ground. Nilo has of course also covered atrocities perpetrated by the Islamic Republic, including the IRGC downing of flight PS752, a Ukrainian airlines passenger plane bound for Kiev from Tehran, which included many Canadian-American citizens. All 176 people on board the flight were killed. The work looking into who shot the plane down was particularly painful work for Nilo as she knew several people on the flight. We talk about how to process trauma when you’re witnessing it and living it in real time on the podcast. On a personal note: I’ve known Nilo for well over a decade (we’ve been friends since grad school) and in the episode we reflect on immigrant upbringings, the pain of covering a conflict when you’re so viscerally and emotionally connected, and the strength of Iranian women. During the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, Nilo and her collaborator Fatemeh Jamalpour would exchange updates on what was happening inside the country via Telegram, Signal and other encrypted channels; the result is a beautifully poignant book ‘For The Sun After Long Nights,’ (https://bookshop.org/p/books/for-the-sun-after-long-nights-the-story-of-iran-s-women-led-uprising-fatemeh-jamalpour/34e540255469fe02?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&utm_content={adgroupname}&utm_term=aud-2151538068632:dsa-19959388920&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12440232635&gbraid=0AAAAACfld430RQa1Mzw7gbMgXO8nyv5d1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyr3OBhD0ARIsALlo-Ol4OJj0LBC-KplQA35FNQNvFPmKV1e8WgPgprKo_3YYTub_us4z5pIaAl5KEALw_wcB) with first-hand accounts from many women who were on the front lines of that uprising peppered with personal reflections from both women. I highly recommend. “These grievances that people are taking to the streets for like women life freedom — it’s not as if something was solved and they kept going. That undercurrent of people calling for an end to the Islamic Republic remains, and remains in every protest movement that we’ve seen in the past decade.” ~ Nilo Tabrizy, Author ‘For The Sun After Long Nights’ On the pod, we talk about where the feminist movement inside Iran stands today, amidst the ongoing war being waged by Israel and the U.S. We also discuss the absurdity of often being asked to try and boil down the feelings of Iranians (90+million people of different ethnicities, religions, outlooks, etc!) on live television, and how best to amplify the situation inside Iran when reporting in-country is out of reach for many of us; our good friend Jason Rezaian is a cruel case in point, he was arrested while on assignment for a U.S. outlet, and jailed by the Islamic Republic for 544 days. A similarly grim fate is often levied against Iranian journalists who live inside the country. Their bravery is absolutely unmatched. My thanks to Nilo joon for her candor and thoughtful commentary. As always, you can reach out to me with thoughts, comments or suggestions. Thanks for listening, until next time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit caromt.substack.com (https://caromt.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   23 Mar 2026

   Israel is killing and wounding “one classroom of children every day” equivalent in Lebanon

   On this week’s podcast, I want to turn to another deadly war for children that Israel is also litigating right now: Lebanon. “Recent escalation has killed or wounded the equivalent of one classroom of children every day, [in Lebanon]” according to UNICEF (https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/03/1167175) deputy chief Ted Chaiban, who helps lead the UN organization that’s dedicated to safeguarding children. That grim statistic is on top of the more than 1 million people who have been displaced in Lebanon since the end of February, when Israel renewed with brio its mission to destroy Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militant group. In Lebanon, as with Iran, innocent civilians are stuck between Israeli bombings, and the hardship of living under a regime that professes to be fighting on behalf of the masses. We’re seeing a similar tactical manifesto unfold in Lebanon as we saw in Gaza, where Israel talked of surgical strikes against Hamas, another Iranian-backed group; in Lebanon civilian centers have been repeatedly and apparently remorselessly struck. Hospitals and ambulances have been attacked. Journalists have been targeted. And Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-22/ty-article/.premium/defense-minister-says-israel-will-flatten-homes-in-lebanese-border-villages/0000019d-1545-d362-a7fd-1dc74c660000) this past weekend that the IDF will accelerate the demolition of Lebanese homes in frontline villages along the border between the two countries, “in line with the model we applied in Gaza’s Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” which have been almost entirely wiped out. I wanted to talk to Dalal Mawad about what’s going on inside Lebanon. Dalal is a brilliant Lebanese journalist, now based in Paris, and the author of ‘All She Lost’ a truly moving book about the women of Lebanon who have been stuck in a cycle of violence for decades. “I was looking at this app that’s been circulating among Lebanese. It asks you, when were you born, and it tells you how many years of your life were spent in war. I got 52% and I got out five years ago. You are talking about these children? I think some of them, that’s all they’ve known. And so it feels like an, it’s never ending. It’s endless cycles of, of violence and the Lebanese are merely surviving.” Author and journalist Dalal Mawad, talking to me on High-Key with CMT this week We talk about the similarities between women inside Iran and women in Lebanon; while it would be reductive to suggest they face the same day-to-day, it is undeniable that women in both nations are subject to the whims and power of men. Many activists have tried to draw attention to these issues and, in Iran and Afghanistan in particular, call for this so-called gender apartheid (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/06/gender-apartheid-must-be-recognized-international-law/) to be formally criminalized. Do follow (https://www.instagram.com/dalalmawad/?hl=en) Dalal on social media and learn more about her poignant book here (https://dalal-mawad.com/book/) Thanks for reading High-Key with CMT! This post is public so feel free to share it. And turning once more to Iran: As the war in Iran enters its fourth week, civilians across the region continue to pay a price for the costly endeavor being waged by the U.S. and Israel; a military show of force that continues to have no consistently articulated goal. More than 3 million Iranians have been displaced since late February, and many more millions remain stuck between the destruction of the bombings, and the iron grip of the Islamic Republic’s theocratic regime which to-date shows no signs of relenting or retreating. There are scant cases of any defectors, and few signs that the Iranian people are able to mount any kind of uprising in the near-term. Human rights groups estimate that between 600 and 1,300 civilians have been killed; the latter tally from the Iranian Red Crescent. This of course includes the unlawful and deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, in Southern Iran, that left 168 children and educators dead (a strike that now seems almost certainly to have been perpetrated (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/us/politics/iran-school-missile-strike.html) by the U.S.). Iran’s children, Lebanon’s children, Israel’s children - so many innocents being lost as a result of these military assaults. There is no end in sight, despite assertions from the Trump administration that the war has already been won, or that things will be winding down soon. The latest late-night screed from President Trump on his social media platform this weekend was a threat to bomb Iran’s power plants (https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-22-26?post-id=cmn17ohsx001c3b6scj20cjme) if the regime doesn’t weaken its grip on the Strait of Hormuz; a move that would effectively plunge civilians into darkness. Millions of Iranians are already in an internet blackout, at the command of the regime, and this escalation from the Trump admin would pile on to the already challenging day-to-day for civilians. Not to mention, targeting civilian structures in this way is a war crime under international law. But what country is adhering to that anymore…? As always, reach out to me with comments or guest suggestions for future pod episodes. Thanks for reading High-Key with CMT! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit caromt.substack.com (https://caromt.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   3 Mar 2026

   Iran's Political Prisoners Are In Grave Danger

   In this week’s episode, I spoke with Hadi Ghaemi, founder of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) about something the world is not paying nearly enough attention to: The fate of Iran’s political prisoners. “I am really worried that the regime feeling the insecurity, and the existential threat it feels right now [that] it will turn to political prisoners and massacre them to make sure they’re not there to play a constructive role in the future of the country.”Hadi Ghaemi, founder Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) With internet access cut once again by the regime, and the city under siege by U.S. and Israeli bombing, direct communication with prisoners inside jails including the notorious Evin prison is nearly impossible. But Hadi tells me that what he’s been hearing through interlocutors on the ground is chilling. Both Evin and Greater Tehran prisons have reportedly been handed over to the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard’s special forces — units known for their brutality — with warnings that any unrest from the detainees will be met with lethal force. Shoot-to-kill orders aren’t just rumored on the streets; they may now define life behind bars for thousand. Inside those walls are not only well-known figures, like Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi, but what Hadi calls the country’s “Evin University;” academics, labor leaders, students, women’s rights activists, and thousands of young protesters swept up in January’s deadly crackdown. Hadi estimates that as many as 50,000 people were rounded up and imprisoned after the Islamic Republic regime conducted its mass killings of civilians back in January; the most violent attack on the population since the inception of the regime back in 1979. Many represent the intellectual and civic backbone of a future Iran. History makes the danger painfully clear — the regime has massacred political prisoners before when it felt existentially threatened. Meanwhile, U.S. and Israeli strikes have targeted the regime’s security infrastructure that often doubles as detention sites for people who have been arrested for peacefully protesting the government. In this episode, we also discussed dual nationals— long used as bargaining chips — who Hadi believes are now vulnerable to being moved, hidden, or worse. So what can people watching in horror at home do? “We should use our voice,” Ghaemi says. “I would hope that the people who care will use their social media presence and voice to bring up the issue of political prisoners.” Amplify their names. Raise the issue. Pressure foreign governments to prioritize civilian and prisoner protection. In moments like this, silence is not neutral. Thanks for reading High-Key with CMT! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit caromt.substack.com (https://caromt.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

4. 

   22 Aug 2025

   Will the Supreme Court gut same-sex marriage?

   Today on the pod we’re talking about the state of the U.S. Supreme Court, an institution that’s supposed to be a check on the executive branch, but one that’s taken a reputational battering in the past few years. It was once one of the most respected facets of American life. Not any longer, and not just according to liberals either; many (https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025/08/05/judiciary-judge-j-michael-luttig-trump) conservatives are increasingly dismayed by what they see as political pandering by the justices to President Trump. The court is polling at near historic public opinion lows. President Trump, of course, appointed the last three sitting court justices. The court is now a 6-3 three conservative majority, and has been under increased scrutiny for its handling of cases brought by the administration, and also its relationship towards longstanding legal precedent (most notably, of course, the court overturned Roe v Wade, which gutted 50-plus years of precedent enshrining abortion rights in the country, in 2022). Top of mind for many of you this week will likely be same-sex marriage: In a recent podcast interview, Hillary Clinton predicted (https://www.axios.com/2025/08/20/hillary-clinton-supreme-court-same-sex-marriage) the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually overturn same-sex marriage, and Clinton’s portend is obviously of deep concern for many Americans, not least because this current incarnation of the Supreme Court has recent form for overturning precedent. To get a handle on the likelihood of the court garroting LGBTQ rights (even further) and to understand what the court has been up to while we’ve all been swimming upstream against tidal waves of (mostly bad) news this summer, I called up my old colleague Cristian Farias. Cristian is a lawyer and a fantastic legal journalist who writes for The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, amongst others. Cristian and I go way back; we worked together at The Huffington Post during the heyday of new media, when the cold brew was in abundance, and there were Cliff bars in every office kitchen. (Hopefully no one is triggered by this!) Thanks for reading High-Key with CMT! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. I ask Cristian about the current panic around same-sex marriage and whether the court will actually attempt to gut the decade-old precedent set by the Obergefell decision ten years ago. There’s also been a lot of chatter about the overreach of the court, particularly in the way its been issuing rulings via the so-called “shadow docket,” which allows the court to intervene in emergency cases without offering a lengthy opinion offering its reasoning…something Cristian argues is borderline tyrannical. We dive into all this and more on the pod. As always, you can drop me a line hello@caromt.com. Or you can just comment under this episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit caromt.substack.com (https://caromt.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

5. 

   26 Jun 2025

   What's going on with vaccines in America?

   Host CMT interviews Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center, about the recent controversial changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the implications for public health, particularly regarding childhood vaccinations.

6. 

   29 May 2025

   A Dissident Wins Big At Cannes

   Host CMT interviews Iranian-American essayist Porochista Khakpour about Jafar Panahi's Cannes win and his activism against Iranian authorities, exploring themes of identity, politics, and cultural expression in the Iranian diaspora.

7. 

   22 May 2025

   The American Pope vs. America's President

   Christopher White, Vatican correspondent, discusses the new American Pope Leo XIV's first month, including political clashes and the schism within American Catholicism, in an interview with CMT.

Who has been a guest on High-Key with CMT

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Paul Offit
• Porochista Khakpour
• Christopher White

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 14 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

15

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact High-Key with CMT

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.