Writer Dina Nayeri joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new nonfiction book, Who Gets Believed?: When the Truth Isn’t Enough, an examination of whose narratives are considered trustworthy and why, with a focus on refugees and asylum seekers. Nayeri, who was born in Iran and granted asylum to the U.S. when she was 10, talks about the case of a Sri Lankan Tamil man who sought asylum in the U.K. in 2011, and how British officials failed to believe his story of torture. She also describes her childhood feeling of performing a role in her new American home, as well as the origins of her own skepticism—and how a personal tragedy led her to reassess how much she could trust even herself. She reads from her new book.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Thomas White and Anne Kniggendorf.

Others:

The Iranian Revolution at 40: Jasmin Darznik and Dina Nayeri On the Anniversary of the Republic Fiction/Non/Fiction Podcast
The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi
“In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka
Freedom from Torture
Innocence Project
Fiction/Non/Fiction, Season 1 Episode 23: Jasmin Darznik and Dina Nayeri on the 40th Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution

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S6 Ep. 27: Manufacturing Lies: Dina Nayeri on How Our Cultural and Bureaucratic Norms Often Betray the Truth