Webinar On-Demand: Iran in Context

In this conversation at Busboys and Poets in Washington D.C., journalists and Pulitzer Center grantees Scott Anderson and Reza Sayah offer perspectives on Iran, shaped by decades of reporting. Anderson reflects on the history behind his new book King of Kings and the 1978–79 Iranian Revolution, while Sayah draws on experience reporting from inside Iran to discuss the realities and complexities of life during the current war.

Moderated by Pulitzer Center CEO Lisa Gibbs, the conversation explores what history can teach us about the present, and the challenges journalists face in documenting conflict amid information warfare and growing risks to reporters on the ground. They also discuss the importance of firsthand reporting, building trust, and sharing human stories.

About the speakers:

• Scott Anderson is an award-winning journalist who has reported from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Northern Ireland, Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia, El Salvador, and many other strife-torn countries. He is the author of two novels and six works of nonfiction, including international bestseller Lawrence in Arabia; Fractured Lands, a collaboration with the Pulitzer Center and The New York Times; and most recently King of Kings, the story of the 1978-79 Iranian Revolution. Anderson won the 2025 Kirkus Prize for nonfiction.
   
• Reza Sayah is a journalist and filmmaker based in Tehran, Iran. He has reported for international news organizations including PBS NewsHour, CNN, Al Jazeera, and France 24. Most recently, he reported on the Iran war. Last month, he was the first Western journalist to interview an active senior officer of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
   
• Lisa Gibbs is President and CEO of the Pulitzer Center. She joined the Center in 2024 after serving as Vice President of Philanthropic Development at The Associated Press (AP).  Before that she was a reporter for Money magazine, executive business editor for The Miami Herald and global business editor at the AP, leading a team of 60 journalists around the world. She also co-founded the Xana Fund to support women business journalists interested in becoming industry leaders.