Persian Girl Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Jonathan York, attorney and artist, at the Skirball center (apologies for any real life sound) to discuss The Sukkah Project, his exhibition at the Skirball Center in LA, opening October 8-November 3. The exhibition is the latest in a 6 year exploration, The Sukkah Project, where he has explored the Sukkah as an artistic medium. We also discuss his first film, Al Tira, which documents life in Israel post October 7th and the current climate for Jewish filmmakers a...

In this episode, I speak with food writer Tannaz Sassooni who is compiling recipes (one grandmother at a time) to create a cookbook of Jewish food from different cities in Iran. Tannaz sheds light on the history of Jewish-Iranian recipes, unique background behind Kashi dishes from her family's origins, and her family's migration story from Iran to America. Keep up with Tannaz's food journey on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tannazsassooni/ Intro music: Ghormeh Sabzi by Velshod...

In this episode, Danielle and Galeet Dardashti return to discuss the ending of their documentary podcast series the Nightingale of Iran, which explores and uncovers the life of their grandfather, Younes Dardashti, a famous Jewish singer in Iran. We discuss the tapes their family recorded starting from the 1950s that were used throughout the series, the reception of their podcast, their theory on the lasting effects of the "Motreb"/artist stigma in Jewish Persian communities, and why there are...

Alan Niku returns to the podcast to discuss another selection of Judeo-Persian writers, including poets, philosophers, and biblical commentators such as Emrānī, Baba'i ben Lotf, and Simantov Melamed. Their exploration of these writers raises questions about how Jews engaged with Sufism as Islamic rulership in Persia intensified, leading to forced conversions and massacres of minorities. They also delve into why poetic writings, such as these, remain undervalued and obscure within Western soci...

Judeo-Persian literature (Modern Persian written in Hebrew characters) is likely the largest untapped group within Jewish and Persian vernacular texts. Manuscripts are scattered worldwide, found in the bottoms of drawers in people's homes and some in libraries, yet they remain untranslated and largely inaccessible. Alan Niku, a filmmaker and writer who began researching Persian Jewish history around ten years ago in hopes of preserving it, joins Millie in discussing his findings on translati...