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Climbing Gold

Nasim Eshqi: The Fighter

3/6/202649 min

When protests erupted in Iran in fall of 2022, human rights activist and professional climber Nasim Eshqi was climbing in France. As she watched the uprising back home unfold, Nasim knew that returning home at that moment would mean arrest and imprisonment at the hands of the government. She doubled down on her criticism of Iran’s repressive regime and used her climbing to bring the struggle to the international climbing community.

The episode originally in November 2023

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Clips

Dropping A Sponsor Over Silence
Walking Away At The Top
Move Forward Like A Project
Climbing Without A Scarf
Curtains On The Crag
Why She Stayed In Iran
Choosing Exile To Be Useful
When The Mountains Speak
Unlearning Brainwashing Abroad

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Fitz Cahall· Host0:00

    I loved your quip at the start of Taipei 101. You're like, "Be bold, start cold." Is that the standard for you?

  2. Alex Honnold· Host0:06

    Did, did I actually... Did I say that at the bottom of Taipei 101?

  3. Fitz Cahall· Host0:08

    I think so. [laughs] Yeah, that's what- Like, on the broadcast? Yeah. [laughs] Yeah.

  4. Alex Honnold· Host0:11

    Oh, that's so funny. I say that all the time, 'cause, I mean, that's, like, every time I leave the car, like, start hiking to the crag, you're like, "Be bold, start cold."

  5. Fitz Cahall· Host0:17

    I'm the opposite. [laughs] I'm such a weenie. I'm like, "I'll just stop five minutes in and change." But it's kinda hard to do when you're still in a skyscraper.

  6. Alex Honnold· Host0:24

    And that's why you don't set as many speed records.

  7. Fitz Cahall· Host0:26

    [laughs] Yeah, it's true. It's... So is the choice often the black technical pants and the red tee?

  8. Alex Honnold· Host0:31

    Yeah. I mean, starting in a T-shirt when you're slightly chilly is... I mean, that's boldness. [laughs] You just go for it. Honestly, at the bottom of Taipei 101, I was quite conflicted. I'm like, "Do I wear my fleece? Do I wear a layer on top? Even though I'm in the sun, and it is kinda warm, but it's windy, it's gonna be cold." But you're going 1,700 feet up this building. [laughs] You're like, "I don't know."

  9. Fitz Cahall· Host0:51

    So you went with what you knew.

  10. Alex Honnold· Host0:52

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  11. Fitz Cahall· Host0:59

    Hey, Fitz here. Today's show, The Fighter, originally aired back in 2023. Nasim Eshghi is an Iranian climber and activist now living in exile after she used climbing as a vehicle for speaking out against Iran's repressive regime. This winter, massacres of protesters continued, with 3,100 citizens killed by their own government. Some estimate that that number is much, much higher, more like 30,000. Now we're in the midst of a conflict, and while the world has been in an uproar,

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