Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation

In this episode, Leyla sits down with Ali Banisadr, the Tehran-born, New York–based painter whose work hangs in museum collections around the world. His exhibition Temple of the Mind at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (on view through November 8, 2026) is the museum's first-ever artist intervention in its collection. Ali's paintings are hung throughout the galleries in conversation with Gorky, Rothko,...

In the fifth and final part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center for the poem's climax, as the thirty surviving birds finally reach the Simorgh and discover, through Attar's wordplay on see morgh and seemorgh, that the sovereign they sought all along was themselves. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian tex...

In the fourth part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center as the birds set out in dread on a road no one has ever returned from — and after a lifetime of travel, only one in a thousand arrives. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https://chaiandconversation.com/culture/...

In the third part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center as hundreds of thousands of birds set out on the road — only to falter at the edge of the wilderness — and the Hoopoe lays out the seven valleys that lie between them and the Simorgh. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version —...

In the second part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center as the Hoopoe finally names the king the birds have been seeking — the Simorgh, near to them though they are far from it — and warns them how long the road ahead will be. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https...

In this lesson, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center for an overview of Attar's Conference of the Birds. Working through selected verses from across the poem, they trace the birds' journey from their first gathering to the moment thirty birds discover what they have been seeking all along. For the full lesson — including Omid's complete verse-by-verse guide, the Persian text,...

In this final part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the end of the poem in detail.

In this fifth part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the second-to-last part of the poem in detail.

In this episode, Leyla sits down with Sasha von Oldershausen — an Iranian American journalist on the news and politics team at Texas Monthly, and soon to be the New York Times' first-ever Texas culture reporter. This conversation is a little different from most episodes of Growing Up Irooni: it centers on a single, remarkable story. In her Texas Monthly article "The West Texas Days of the Exiled P...

In this fourth part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the next six lines of the poem in detail.

In this episode, Leyla sits down with Yasmin Khan — the acclaimed British-Iranian-Pakistani food writer, activist, and author of *The Saffron Tales*, *Zaitoun*, *Ripe Figs*, and her newest cookbook, *Sabzi: The Beautiful World of Persian Vegetarian Cooking*. Yasmin takes us back to her childhood in Birmingham, where her mother — a Gilaki nutritionist from a small town near the Caspian Sea — organi...

In this third part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the next six lines of the poem in detail.

In this second part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the first six lines of the poem in detail.

In this introductory lesson to Simin Behbahani's beautiful, important, and timely poem, dobāré meesāzamet vatan , we're joined by Dr. Sahba Shayani to talk about the general theme and meaning behind this poem.

In this episode, Leyla sits down with Hamid Rahmanian — the Iranian-American artist, filmmaker, and visionary behind some of the most ambitious Shahnameh projects of our time, including the illustrated Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings , the touring live productions Feathers of Fire and Song of the North , and most recently Rostam: Tales from the Shahnameh , a beautifully illustrated editio...

In this episode, Leyla sits down with Danesh Nosirvan — the Iranian-American creator known online for identifying perpetrators of public harm and holding them accountable through the court of public opinion. What began as a comedy career took an unexpected turn in 2021, when a single video calling out a child abuser went viral and reshaped the trajectory of his work entirely. Danesh shares the sto...

In the fourth part of our discussion about the Tale of Zahhak, Leyla and Dr. Sahba Shayani introduce the story of Fereydoon, who, as we already know by now, eventually kills Zahhak and rules Iran in his place. Zahhak tries in vain to prevent fate, and Fereydoon, even as a child, survives all of Zahhak's attempts to kill him.

In this lesson, we learn from Leyla and Dr. Sahba Shayani about the nature of the evil king Zahhak's reign and the beginning of his downfall.

In this lesson, we continue our discussion of the famous Tale of Zahhak from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Sahba Shayani. Here, having covered the background that led to Zahhak's rise to power, we begin to delve into Zahhak's own story in earnest.

In this lesson, we begin our discussion of the famous Tale of Zahhak from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Sahba Shayani. We use the end of the story of Jamshid as a prelude and begin to learn of how Zahhak becomes an evil king.

In this thrilling conclusion to Hafez's poem yoosofé gom gashté , we cover the words and phrases in the last four lines of the poem. Hafez concludes by acknowledging the difficulties the reader may face and reiterating his encouragement and confidence that God will help the reader overcome them.

In this lesson, we cover the words and phrases in the next four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez. In this part of the poem, Hafez provides the reader encouragement and inspiration for overcoming any difficulties they may face.

In this lesson, we go over more words and phrases in the next four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez. Here, Hafez reassures the reader regarding forces that are beyond their control.

In this lesson, we go over the individual words and phrases in the next four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez, which refer broadly to the nature of the heavens and earth.

In this lesson, we go over the individual words and phrases in the first four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez.