| Episode | First Broadcast | Repeated | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20060917 | 20060922 | Is it possible to explain the apparent paradox at the heart of this ancient society, whose frequent struggles for freedom and democracy seem to be continually thwarted? |
| 02 | 20060924 | 20060929 | The oil crisis of the 1950s saw Iran go head to head with the British over oil nationalisation. The resulting overthrow of a democratically elected government, and its replacement by dictatorship, was to change relations between Iran and the West forever. |
| 03 LAST | 20061001 | 20061006 | John charts the fall of the last Shah of Iran and the unstoppable rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, bringing with him the first ever Islamic republic. How has the nation adjusted now the country is ruled by clerics? |