Kambiz Hosseini: Iran’s Jon Stewart on the Presidential Election

Last week, Iranians took to the polls to elect a president for the first time since 2009, when millions of protesters flooded the streets over Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection. The scene this year was dramatically different. In fact, it was almost celebratory as cleric Hassan Rouhani, a moderate reformist, was declared the commanding winner of the election. But Iranian-born comedian Kambiz Hosseini  is skeptical: "Becoming the President of Iran is like making a James Bond movie; the characters stay the same, but they just keep changing the actors." Hosseini has been called the Jon Stewart of Iran.  In his weekly persian-language podcast, "At  Five in the Afternoon," he satirizes the politics and culture of his home country, highlighting the often-tragic issues facing Iran with humor and brutally honest commentary. And Iranians are hungry for it. It's impossible to say how many can listen to the show because they must access it illegally, but fans in Tehran have told him it is being passed out on the streets. The podcast recently reached one million downloads.   Hosseini's new project is an online television show called "Poletk."