Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation
Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation teaches you conversational Persian in a fun and casual manner in weekly lessons of about 15-20 minutes each. Check out our website chaiandconversation.com for more information.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 24 minutes
- Episodes
- 198
- Years Active
- 2010 - 2025
Interview | Money, Iranian-American Identity, and Romance: Chelsea Fagan on Building a Business and Writing a Political Love Story
In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, Leyla sits down with Chelsea Fagan—founder of The Financial Diet and author of the new novel High Dive. Known for blending personal finance with cultural critiqu…
Culture | Attar's Parable of the Moths, Part 2
In this episode of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation, we continue to the second part of The Parable of the Moths by Attar, taken from his masterpiece Conference of the Birds.
I'm joined by the…
Culture | Attar's Parable of the Moths, Part 1
In this episode of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation, we begin a brand new series on one of the most powerful mystical stories in Persian literature: The Parable of the Moths by Attar, taken f…
Interview | Comedian Neema Naz on Iranian Parents, Comedic Hustle, and Finding His Voice
In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, I sit down with Neema Naz—comedian, content creator, and the internet’s favorite Persian son—to talk about his rise from Scarborough’s multicultural neighborhood…
Interview | Gissou Nia, Human Rights Lawyer, on Justice, Diaspora Identity, and the Power of Speaking Up
Growing Up Irooni - Gissou Nia, Human Rights Lawyer, on Justice, Diaspora Identity, and the Power of Speaking Up
In this episode, Leyla talks with Gissou Nia, a leading international human rights lawy…
Interview | Babak Tafreshi on the Magic of the Night Sky
Babak Tafreshi is an incredibly inspiring Iranian photographer, science journalist and amateur astronomer. He got his start photographing in Iran, but has since moved to the United States. He is the …
Interview | Naz Deravian on how she became the sabzé lady
In this episode, Leyla sits down with Naz Deravian, the wonderful author of the cookbook Bottom of the Pot, to discuss how she started the tradition of growing sabzé for Nowruz (the Perisan new year)…
Interview | Growing Up Irooni- Anna Eskamani and Doing The Good Work in the Face of Hostilities
In this episode, Leyla sits down with Florida Representative Anna Eskamani, the first Iranian-American to serve in the Florida Legislature, to discuss her immigrant Iranian parents and how her mother…
Interview | Growing Up Neem-Rooni - Jasmin Mozaffari, Director of Motherland, on Identity in a Problematic Time
In this episode, Leyla sits down with acclaimed filmmaker Jasmin Mozaffari to discuss her short film Motherland, a poignant exploration of cultural identity, family trauma, and resilience. Jasmin ref…
Poetry | Ibn Yamin's ān kas ké bedānad va bedānad ké bedānad, Introduction with Alan Eyre
In this lesson, we introduce the poem ān kas ké bedānad va bedānad ké bedānad by Ibn Yamin and discuss it with Alan Eyre.
Poetry | Hafez's barafshān, Part 5
In this discussion on Hafez's barafshān, we go over the last two lines of the poem.
Poetry | Hafez's barafshān, Part 4
In this discussion on Hafez's barafshān, we go over the fifth and sixth line of the poem.
Poetry | Hafez's barafshān, Part 3
In this discussion on Hafez's barafshān, we go over the third and fourth line of the poem.
Interview | Growing Up Neem-Rooni - Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr! On Martyr, Trauma, and Collateral Damage
Kaveh Akbar is the Iranian-American author of the critically acclaimed and heavily lauded novel Martyr! In our long-awaited conversation we dive deep into the themes of his powerful book, Martyr, whi…
Poetry | Hafez's barafshān, Part 2
In this second part of the discussion for Hafez's barafshān, we go over the first two lines of the poem in detail.
Poetry | Hafez's barafshān, Introduction with Fared Shafinury
In this introductory lesson on Hafez's poem barafshān, we're joined by musician Fared Shafinury to go over the overall meaning of the poem. You can hear Fared's version of this poem in this track fro…
Speak Lesson 76 | A Separation, Part 5
In this lesson, we watch a clip of a heated conversation between Nader and Simin, the title characters of the movie. This is a fast paced conversation, and gives us a glimpse at a type of conversatio…
Poetry | Omar Khayyam's rendee deedam, Part 2
In this follow up episode about Khayyam's poem rendee deedam, we go over the poem word by word, line by line, to understand each part individually. We'll also learn how to use the particular words an…
Speak Lesson 75 | A Separation, Part 4
In this lesson about clips from the movie A Separation by Asghar Farahadi, we watch a conversation between Nader and Hojjat, Razieh's husband, about potential work Hojjat will be doing for Nader. We'…
Poetry | Omar Khayyam's rendee deedam, Introduction with Alan Eyre
In this special shabé shehr episode, we are joined by Alan Eyre, the first (and last) ever Persian language spokesperson for the U.S. State Department. Alan has a little book with lines of his favori…