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 artist…

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 …

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,…

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 c…

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…

In this episode, I speak with Matthew Nouriel (sometimes known as The Empress Mizrahi) an activist, content creator, and drag queen from the Persian Jewish diaspora. Matthew is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, Iranians, Jews and the state of Israel. Together we discuss the connections between a free Iran and the fight against Hamas/the Islamic Republ…

In this episode, Maxine (from episode 3 Ancestral Healing) returns to reflect on the lessons from the Book of Esther/Purim from the Torah, which revolves around a Jewish woman in Persia named Esther who becomes Queen in the Persian Empire (5th BCE) and hides her Jewishness in order to survive. When Esther's uncle Mordecai, discovers that an officia…

In this episode, Millie delves into the history of the Dardashti family with sisters Danielle and Galeet, the creators of the podcast documentary series, "The Nightingale of Iran." Unveiling the captivating saga of their grandfather, Younes Dardashti, a revered religious Jewish singer in 1950s Iran, who graced the Shah's Palace and radio with his m…

Archival episode from November 25, 2022 In an independent interview, Millie Efraim speaks with Zar Amir Ebrahimi, lead actress of Holy Spider (winner, Best Actress, Cannes)— the uncompromising film noir (dir. Ali Abbasi) painting the life of a serial killer targeting prostitutes in Mashhad, about how she built her character, Islamic fanaticism vis-…

In this episode, Maxine Divon shares her personal journey into the self and spirituality for a discussion about the way our ancestral history impacts us. Maxine shares from her personal experience - as a woman in the Persian Jewish community and in the business world - and from the fields she’s studied including Jungian Psychology, Ancestral Healin…

PGP hosts, Millie Efraim and Natalie Sanandaji, bring on historian Debbie Lechtman to discuss the history of Ancient Judea/the Kingdom of Israel, Jewish presence in the land for the last 3000+ years, the events leading up to 1948, and what is at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Debbie is a Jewish, Israeli, and Latina author, educator, con…

PGP returns after a 9 month hiatus (no, we did not have babies-sorry/motasefaneh). We discuss our time off the podcast and get into the unspoken, yet known standards of what is "appropriate" when attending a Persian wedding as someone who isn't yet married (so is technically single). We give our own thoughts and share what is normally expected from…

PGP returns for an episode where they're joined by Orna Simkhai and three other Persian mothers. They share the story of how they formed We Do Care: Iranian-American Parents of LGBTQ, a community formed in 2013. Orna and her friends also share advice and discuss their own experience with their children coming out. More info on We Do Care: https://w…

In this episode, Persian comic legend Maz Jobrani comes on PGP to discuss his path to standup and his early education and career experiences, and the ways in which it conflicted with his families expectations at the time. He also shares how he breaks the caricatures often imposed on Middle Eastern talent in Hollywood and gives insight to his approa…

In this episode, Millie, Natalie, and Adlee, a PGP favorite [brother of Millie], discuss the end of elitism, the demoralizing superbowl halftime show and the proliferation of mass culture, St. Valentine, and Persian swinger parties. Support the showעל ידי Persian Girl Podcast

PGP answers listener submissions related to interracial relationships and how to bounce back in a relationship when you've been kept a secret and their family dislikes/disapproves of you. They also answer some questions related to physical attributes Persian women are attracted to, what cars they like to drive, and if they bring their boyfriends to…

In this episode PGP interviews Leyla Shams from Chai & Conversation, a podcast for learning Persian she started in 2011. Together they discuss some prevalent themes and quirks in the Persian language, abolishing the Persian goodbye and adopting the Irish exit, what the proper word for "butt" is, and how Leyla is carrying on the Persian language and…

In this episode, Natalie visits Millie in Paris and they discuss their time there together; operating a two women brothel, having no internet, and being stuck at a rave until 6 am. In the second half of the episode they discuss the importance of solitary experiences and cultivating your own life before joining another's. Support the show…

PGP revisits the subject of cheshm (which they first talked about exactly two years prior to this episode, entitled "I don't dood esfand, I dood hookah"). In this new episode they discuss the more nuanced forms of the belief in cheshm (evil eye) and how it is ingrained in Persian society; from the way people deliver news and when they do, how they …

In this episode PGP features two voice submissions from their listeners regarding their experience dating outside their culture. One submission features a Persian girl's experience with dating someone not Persian and another submission features an Italian girl's experience dating a Persian guy. Intro song: Ahvaz - Makan Ashgvari Support the show…

Chekhabareh? Another episode with an unhinged anonymous Persian girl. Discussing the difference in sexual encounters with men from Iran vs western men, the millennial's frustration with the lack of effort in flirting these days and generally loss of intimacy, how the life of religious taliban members resembles the present day fuccboy, men who think…

Salut, salam. Cette semaine, een hafteh, PGP discusses wedding etiquette drama--ENCORE, and answers a listeners question regarding marrying outside of your religion. En particulier, they get into how one can be raised not by their parents values, but the values of the city/town in which they grew up (sounds like a classic case of ahberoo), reclaimi…

Natalie and Millie return with a special guest, Naomi Larbi, model and writer + childhood friend of Millie's, to answer some questions sent in by listeners during their hiatus. They discuss what is considered "normal" when dating a Persian girl, specifically when it comes to expectations of money, gifts, chivalry, dowry, etc. In this episode they g…

Do beaten horses in fact ever die? Millie and Natalie attempted to discuss their being uninvited from a comedy show for their Jewishness when Al Jazeera asked them to record comments for the news channel's documentary on comedian Noam Shuster (see S1 E13). They then follow how the media orchestrates the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflicts on…

PGP interviews rapper Shaheen Samadi and singer Arla Fandi to discuss their new music video "Atoosa" and the struggles of beauty standards for Persian women. https://www.instagram.com/shaheen.samadi/ https://www.instagram.com/arla.fandi/ Support the showעל ידי Persian Girl Podcast

PGP has an anonymous Persian Girl come on to discuss the experience of marrying an Indian man. "Niloofar" talks about how she met her fiance and the way her parents have received the Indian culture, getting complaints that she's "too into" the Indian culture, how it's easier as a Persian American to receive an American into their culture as opposed…

Millie's brother Adlee, professional gossip and aspirational vh1 commentator, returns on the podcast. They slander Bill and Melinda Gates and give a Persian take on their divorce. Later Adlee and PGP ponder what is contemporary Persian-ness; how each Persian family establishes their own set of laws of what Honor means to them and spill some tea. Th…

Na rumi-ye rum, na zangi-ye zang which literally translates to "neither a Roman of Byzantium nor a Black person of the Subsaharan region", means to say that some things cannot be black or white. In this episode, Millie and Natalie discuss the struggles specific to the dual identity of being Persian and Jewish, diving deeper into the nuances of Seph…

PGP hosts discuss behavior and etiquette at Persian weddings, Millie is reinvigorated by recent traumatic interactions with mega doodool tallahs, upper class Persians who define their worth based on how many lavish parties they go to, Persian men who use having a white girlfriend to flex on Persian girls, snobby Persians who think doing drugs makes…

​PGP interviews Mandana Salehi, founder of Zibahub, an inclusive beauty services app. They discuss how she got started with her company, beauty standards and how they're changing, how she met her husband and the response she got from the Persian community for marrying a Black man, ​dealing with being ostracized by your family for marrying outside y…

In this episode Dr Sherry Rostami comes on the podcast to share her life story: how her father making decisions for her changed the track of her life and how she's still picking up the pieces. We also discuss "ahberoo" (reputation/honor), what it was like being the daughter of a famous actor, being forced into marriage for the sake of ahberoo, rais…

Punk Elle Woods//Sahar Shiralian, returns to the podcast (previous episode Performative #Girlboss) to discuss how her outlook has changed since the last time she came on PGP from "man hating girlboss" to lovable lawyer. They talk about the temperament of Persian women, how Persian women are pigeon holed when dating a Persian man, the advantages of …

In this episode PGP interviews a 25 year old biomedical engineer based in nyc, who grew up in Tehran. They discuss her experience living in Calabasas and Los Angeles, the culture shock she experienced in America during high school at Calabasas High despite speaking English and visiting annually, her childhood in Tehran and education, and the "life …

In this episode Millie and Natalie discuss the guilt that Persian parents pass on to their children, running errands for the rest of their lives for their parents, absurd Persian grocery shopping habits, difference between brown parents vs. white parents, coddled vs. non coddled children, families who have live-in nannies, and more. They also discu…

In this episode Millie and Natalie discuss their experience with covid, why Persians dance/rave down the aisle at weddings, how bridal showers have basically become weddings, how proposal parties have basically become weddings, "suprise" proposals, and the engagement proposal video trend. They also talk about which Persian traditions they would kee…

In this episode PGP interview Sarvin Esmaeili a 21 year old Vancouver based/Tehran born actor and writer. They discuss her upbringing in Tehran, what school was like there, dress code and the "nomreyeh enzebat", fashions for women there and the different ways to style the headscarf, the obsession with plastic surgery and how women in Tehran stick o…

In this episode, Millie and Natalie interview Persian Jewish comedian Aaron Zarabi. Aaron is from New York and recently grew to prominence after being featured as the asshole of the week on antisemitism.org....The three discuss censorship in comedy, pushing boundaries with his humor, laughing at the truth, "fluffy" PG Persian comedians, Aaron's two…

In this episode, PGP interviews Cyrus Veyssi, an intersectional wellness/beauty advocate and non-binary model. They discuss what it means to be queer and non-binary, cyber bullying, Persian instagram accounts, transphobia and homophobia (within the gay community as well), the need for Iranian queer representation, the spectrum of privilege and bein…

PGP interviews Nicole Emrani Green, the CEO and co-founder of Givingli, a greeting card and gifting app. We discuss how she started Givingli, how she and her husband met, understanding why Persian-Americans are still holding on to certain values, dividing responsibilities equally with her husband at home and at work, and how their different cultura…

PGP interviews sister duo Pardiss and Saba Mehrzad who started the Iranian American Youth Group. They discuss how gen z Iranian Americans differ from the prior generation, what their intentions are for their youth group, what being Iranian means to them, how they're trying to improve the ways in which Iranians support each other and stepping away f…

In this episode, PGP interviews Sayé Yabandeh, an actress, polo player, and humanitarian. Sayé talks about her childhood in Iran and living in both Tehran and Shiraz after the revolution, what her experience of moving to America was like, how she got into acting, the inspiration for her first film and women's rights issues she focuses on, and sex t…

For the first episode of season 3, PGP interviews Doris Yadidi Micheletti, a certified sex coach and clinical sexologist. They discuss the emphasis of women's virginity in the Persian Jewish community, vaginal anatomy-like where is the choochooleh (clitoris) and g spot, old school customs of monitoring sex, how Doris educates her children about sex…

In this short episode, Millie and Natalie bid adieu to the second season. They reminisce on past episodes and memories, discuss potentially becoming divorce lawyers, why they're obsessed with post-breakup/divorce women, and what's to come in season 3. They also address their tiktok which sparked some controversy... Support the show…

In the final episode of Season Two, PGP interviews a second time guest, Dr. Ladan Hariri, to talk about her experience of pregnancy as a first-time mother. She discusses the expectations of mothers these days, working as a psychiatrist with no maternity leave, the tribulations of pregnancy and errors in the health system, the importance of finding …

In this episode, singer/songwriter Mami Moon (Arielle Lavian) comes on the podcast to discuss her new song "Kissing on me". They also talk about her experience at Beverly Hills High School, what precipitates clique-y Persians girls saying "we can't be friends with you", what it meant to be Persian at Beverly High and the different types of Persians…

In this episode, PGP interviews actress and comedian, Tara Grammy. Tara talks about her experience of the Persian community in Los Angeles compared to her hometown Toronto, being asked if she's Jewish repeatedly, the Persian fixation on class and religion, her upbringing, and more. Tara's alter ego Manijeh makes an appearance...The three also discu…

In this episode, Millie and Natalie compare stereotypes about people from the different cities in Iran with the men of the Tehran based podcast, Ask An Iranian. They discuss the Turks/Azeris, Esfahanis, Shirazis, Kashis, Hamedoonis, Qazvinis, Rashtis, Yazdis, and Tehroonis. Also shared are some explicit jokes about these peoples. Unfortunately, we …

In this episode Millie and Natalie invite previous guests, Millie's brother Adlee and Mohammad from Ask An Iranian Podcast, to discuss the Shah complex // doodool tallah upbringing, helicopter moms, difference of treatment from mothers towards their sons vs. daughters, and women's roles and value within the Persian/Iranian familial complex. Natalie…

In this episode, Millie and Natalie welcome back previous guest Kevin Nahai to have a conversation about dating during Covid-19. They discuss listener questions which include: when is moving too fast/when is it acceptable to go over each other’s places; when dates are at home, how to keep it from escalating too fast physically; how to you ask if th…

Millie and Natalie review the new Borat film. They also discuss halloween, hebrew school, and holocaust survivors. Support the showעל ידי Persian Girl Podcast