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This is an independent, non-partisan podcast for discussing Iran-related topics, hosted by Saman Askari, an Iranian-American professional from the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Listen to conversations with scientists, CEO's, comedians, entrepreneurs and others who are 'hyphenated' Americans. These are people who at some point in their lives immigrated to the United States in search of the American Dream and achieved it. The topics range from the guests' life stories to subjects within their fields of expertise. Being an immigrant himself, the host asks questions that are informed by his unique experiences. Subscribe now and be inspired by these truly American stories!
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In this episode, I speak with John Ghazvinian, an author, historian and a former journalist. He's considered a foremost expert on US-Iran relations and has written a comprehensive book about the subject. John and I start off by talking about his book and the relationship between the US and Iran, going all the way back to the 1720’s up until the cur…
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Another Conversation with Amir Afkhami - COVID-19 Edition
1:13:51
1:13:51
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In this episode, I speak again with a previous guest, Dr. Amir Afkhami, a health policy expert, historian and trained physician. This episode is all about COVID-19! Early in the episode, we discuss the nature of this coronavirus and how it affects the body. Then, we get into the subject of Iran and how the country became one of the epicenters of th…
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In this episode, I speak with Afshon Ostovar, a historian, author and a foremost expert on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Afshon and I cover a lot of ground. We start by talking about the historical context around the IRGC, when and how it was started, its role in the Iran-Iraq war, how the organization evolved through the years, how…
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In this episode, I speak with Naz Deravian, a cookbook author and Persian food expert. Naz and I discuss her background, her transition into the culinary world, the magic of tahdig and Iranian rice, regional varieties and diversity of Iranian cuisine, spiciness of Persian food or rather the lack thereof and of course kabab! As a warning, you’re goi…
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In this episode, I speak with Amir Akhami, a psychiatrist and a historian of medicine, about the history of cholera in Iran. We talk about his multi-disciplinary career and how his various areas of knowledge converge in his work. We discuss what Cholera is, its history starting in the 19th century and its role in the history of Iran in particular, …
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In this episode, I speak with Narges Bajoghli, an award-winning anthropologist, filmmaker, writer and an Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. We mostly talk about the topics in her upcoming book titled 'Iran Reframed,' which is about the state-controlled media in the Islami…
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In this episode, I speak with Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, a historian and a Senior Lecturer at King's College London. We talk about what he calls 'dislocative nationalism', a sort of Iranian nationalism that was deliberately devised and disseminated, starting in the 19th century. He outlines the founding of dislocative nationalism and how it aimed to cast I…
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I'm ending Season 1 of talk iran with this short update episode. Stay tuned for Season 2 starting in April!By Saman Askari
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In this episode, I speak with Lior Sternfeld, a social historian of the modern Middle East with a particular interest in the histories of the Jewish populations of the region. Lior and I talk about the 2,700-year history of the Iranian Jewish population focusing mostly on the 20th century and the misperceptions of the lives of Jews in Iran. We furt…
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In this episode, I speak with Bahman Kalbasi, the New York and United Nations Correspondent for BBC Persian. He and I talk about the recent US sanctions against Iran and the reports of related shortages in food and medicine coming out of that country, how the tension between the US and Iran may unfold, the various Iranian opposition movements in ex…
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In this episode, I speak with Florida State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, the first ever Iranian-American to be elected to the Florida legislature and one of only a handful of Iranian-Americans to ever be elected to public office in the US. She and I talk about her historic win, her family background and why she decided to run, why Iranian-Ameri…
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In this episode, I speak with Yara Elmjouie, an Iranian-American video producer and presenter at AJ+. He and I talk about his time in Iran as a freelance journalist, his background and how he became a video producer, the video making process, Iranian politics and the sanctions, the Iranian-American identity and whether to identify as Persian or Ira…
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In this episode, I speak with Armin Navabi, an Iranian-Canadian ex-Muslim atheist, secular activist, author and podcaster. Armin and I talk about his experience as a child growing up in Iran and becoming indoctrinated in the Shia Muslim faith, a fateful suicide attempt, how he left religion and started the Atheist Republic online community, the ope…
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A Conversation with Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi
1:19:55
1:19:55
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In this episode, I speak with Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi, a political and intellectual historian of modern Iran and the Middle East. My conversation with him mostly revolves around Iran’s post-revolutionary reform movement. We further discuss the ascent of Ayatollah Khamenei to become Iran’s Supreme Leader after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the presi…
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In this episode, I speak with Maral Karimi, the author of the book 'The Iranian Green Movement of 2009' and a PhD student at the University of Toronto. Besides the green movement and the concepts in her book, Maral and I discuss the overall state of the reform movement in Iran, the alternatives to reform, how the recent protests in that country com…
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In this episode, I speak with Neda Maghbouleh, the author of the 2017 book 'The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race' and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. She and I talk about her background, race within the Iranian and the Iranian-American contexts, the Aryan myth as it exists am…
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In this episode, I speak with Ervand Abrahamian, a world-renowned author and historian of Iran. We start our conversation talking about the reasons for the success of the clerical establishment in bringing about the Islamic revolution of 1979, and we also talk about the Persian identity versus the Shia identity, the similarities between Zoroastrian…
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In this episode, I speak with Trita Parsi, an award-winning author and the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). Trita and I talk about the founding of NIAC, his and NIAC’s involvement in the the Iran Nuclear Deal, the various pitfalls of the Deal and Trump’s withdrawal, whether the only alternative to diplom…
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In this episode, I speak with Anousheh Ansari, the first ever person of Iranian descent to travel to space and the first female self-funded space traveler of any nationality. Anousheh and I talk about her spaceflight experience, her background and how her Iranian identity has affected her life, the controversy around having an Iranian flag on her s…
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In this episode, I speak with Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American journalist and author. Hooman and I talk about the current level of support the Islamic Republic has inside Iran, the Iranian revolution and the current struggles of the Iranian people, democracy and secularism within the Iranian context, the role of the US and the Iranian diaspora in r…
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In this episode, I speak with Vahid Yücesoy, a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Montreal. Vahid and I talk about his background, how he became disillusioned with the Iranian reform movement, the intentions and the role of the US in regards to Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the validity and the results of various polls conducted in Iran,…
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In this episode, I speak with Eli Lake, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. Eli and I talk about the recent US sanctions on Iran, the general role of the US and other external forces in shaping Iran’s future, how various historical events in other countries can serve as a model for change in Iran, the possib…
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This is an update to let the listeners know about my new podcast "talk IRAN".By Saman Askari
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In this episode, I speak with Holly Dagres, an Iranian-American Middle East analyst. Holly and I talk about her background, her time in Cairo, the recent protests in Iran, Reza Pahlavi and other alternatives to the Islamic Republic, and of course the Trump administration.By Saman Askari
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In this episode, I speak with D. Parvaz, an Iranian-American journalist, who was wrongly imprisoned in Syria and Iran in 2011. We talk about her imprisonment, the potential of hardliners gaining more power in Iran, the approval of the release of 2009 opposition figures Mousavi and Karroubi, the possibility of future US-Iran negotiations, Iran’s pro…
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In this episode, I speak with Barbara Slavin, a journalist and foreign policy expert who focuses on Iran. We talk about how she became interested in Iran, the Trump administration’s approach to Iran and the Mike Pompeo event, the Iran nuclear deal, potential pathways for change in that country, and the possibility of a military dictatorship, as wel…
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In this episode, I speak with Borzou Daragahi, an award-winning journalist covering the Middle East and North Africa. We talk about the Trump administration and its recent war of words with Iran, Mike Pompeo addressing Iranian-Americans, the role of the Iranian diaspora in shaping the future of Iran, various pathways for change in Iran, the social …
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In this episode, I speak with Maz Jobrani, an Iranian-American comedian and actor. We talk about how he got his start in comedy, his getting typecast as a terrorist early in his career, and how he has tried to battle stereotypes all along. We also touch on dealing with loss, the Iranian-American experience, as well as politics in Iran and the US.…
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In this episode, I speak with Dr. Abbas Milani, a world-renowned expert on US-Iran relations and Iranian cultural and political issues. We talk about the current events in Iran including the unrest and the economic crisis. We also discuss the historical aspects that contributed to Iran’s standing in the world today, the women’s rights movement in t…
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In this episode, I speak with Dr. Ali Malekzadeh, the sixth President of Roosevelt University. We talk about his background, the history of Roosevelt University, the state of higher education in the U.S., and the student loan crisis. We also touch on the status of foreign students in the U.S. and his identity as an Iranian-American.…
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A Conversation with Dr. Afsaneh Nahavandi
58:25
58:25
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In this episode, I speak with Dr. Afsaneh Nahavandi, an expert in the field of leadership. We talk about her background before moving to the United States, the Iranian-American experience, various leadership concepts and Iranian leadership. I also ask her about her take on Donald Trump as a leader. We finally close on the topics of women in leaders…
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