Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation

Hollay Ghadery is is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and m…

From the very beginning of this current stage of the conflict, after the horrific events of October 7th, the first person I turned to for an understanding of what was happening was Noam Shuster-Elias…

In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, host Leyla interviews Farnoosh Torabi, renowned podcast host and author of the book "A Healthy State of Panic." Leyla and Farnoosh delve into the world of financ…

I’m so excited to share with you my interview with Arya Shahi, author of the fantastic new debut novel, An Impossible Thing to Say. It’s coming out this week, September 26th 2023, so no matter when y…

So excited to share that Navied Mahdavian's incredible debut graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America is NOW OUT and available for purchase! And to celebrate, I’m so e…

In this episode, we dive into an enriching conversation with Samira Mohieddin, discussing her experiences growing up in a Persian family that migrated to Canada. We unpack the challenges and dynamics…

In the latest episode of the "Growing Up Irooni" podcast series, I had the unique privilege of sitting down with the iconic Gisue Hariri, one half of the brilliant duo behind Hariri & Hariri Architec…

"Finding Joonam: A Dialogue with Filmmaker Sierra Urrich" - Immerse yourself in a candid and emotive conversation with Sierra Urrich, the talented director behind the striking documentary, 'Joonam'. …

Host: Leyla Shams

Guest: Marjan Kamali

Introduction:

• Leyla Shams, host of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation, introduces her guest Marjan Kamali, the award-winning author of the Stationary Shop.

To…

In this intro lesson for Rumi's deevāné shō, we go over the full poem with musician Fared Shafinury.

In addition, we learn about Fared and his project "Radif Retreat". In this particular lesson, we al…

Kayvon Zand is a nightlife personality and musician living in New York City, and goes by the pronouns he or they. I’ve been a fan for years, and love their extravagant and very extra style. In the pa…

Nixta Taqueria is an award winning taqueria in Austin coowned by today's Growing Up Irooni guest Sara Mardanbigi. She owns it together with her husband Edgar Rico, who she recently took on a month lo…

I’m so excited to share with you today my interview with Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny in Farsi. Funny in Farsi came out when I was in college, and it’s almost hard to remember what a huge huge dea…

This interview with Moj is the first I've done for the Growing Up Irooni series since the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16th. So much has changed since then for Iran and especially for the Irania…