Podcast · Learning

Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation

by Chai & Conversation · English · Learning

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.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 22 min
Latest: 5 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026 · 1 hr

Interview | Ali Banisadr on Hearing Paintings: Synesthesia, Memory & the Temple of the Mind

In this episode, Leyla sits down with Ali Banisadr, the Tehran-born, New York–based painter whose work hangs in museum collections around the world. His exhibition Temple of the Mind at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (on view through November 8, 2026) is the museum's first-ever artist intervention in its collection. Ali's paintings are hung throughout the galleries in conversation with Gorky, Rothko, Bacon, Max Ernst, Chadwick and Giacometti, and the show ends with his largest painting, Return to Mother , beside a Rothko. Ali explains how the show came about. He talks about the Hemicycle Gallery…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E236 · 23 Sep 2026 · 22 min
Culture | Attar's Conference of the Birds, Part 5
In the fifth and final part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center for the poem's climax, as the thirty surviving birds finally reach the Simorgh and discover, through Attar's wordplay on see morgh and seemorgh, that the sovereign they sought all along was themselves. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https://chaiandconversation.com/culture/attars-conference-of-the-birds-part-5
E235 · 16 Sep 2026 · 19 min
Culture | Attar's Conference of the Birds, Part 4
In the fourth part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center as the birds set out in dread on a road no one has ever returned from — and after a lifetime of travel, only one in a thousand arrives. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https://chaiandconversation.com/culture/attars-conference-of-the-birds-part-4
E234 · 9 Sep 2026 · 24 min
Culture | Attar's Conference of the Birds, Part 3
In the third part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center as hundreds of thousands of birds set out on the road — only to falter at the edge of the wilderness — and the Hoopoe lays out the seven valleys that lie between them and the Simorgh. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https://chaiandconversation.com/culture/attars-conference-of-the-birds-part-3
E233 · 2 Sep 2026 · 19 min
Culture | Attar's Conference of the Birds, Part 2
In the second part of our discussion of Attar's Conference of the Birds, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center as the Hoopoe finally names the king the birds have been seeking — the Simorgh, near to them though they are far from it — and warns them how long the road ahead will be. For the full lesson — including the guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https://chaiandconversation.com/culture/attars-conference-of-the-birds-part-2
E232 · 27 Aug 2026 · 30 min
Culture | Attar's Conference of the Birds, Part 1
In this lesson, Leyla is joined by Omid Arabian of the YOUniversal Center for an overview of Attar's Conference of the Birds. Working through selected verses from across the poem, they trace the birds' journey from their first gathering to the moment thirty birds discover what they have been seeking all along. For the full lesson — including Omid's complete verse-by-verse guide, the Persian text, and a printable version — visit https://chaiandconversation.com/culture/attars-conference-of-the-birds-part-1
E231 · 2 Aug 2026 · 21 min
Poetry | Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamet vatan, Part 6
In this final part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the end of the poem in detail.
E230 · 29 Jul 2026 · 17 min
Poetry | Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamet vatan, Part 5
In this fifth part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the second-to-last part of the poem in detail.
E229 · 29 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
Interview | Sasha von Oldershausen on the Crown Prince of Lubbock, Texas
In this episode, Leyla sits down with Sasha von Oldershausen — an Iranian American journalist on the news and politics team at Texas Monthly, and soon to be the New York Times' first-ever Texas culture reporter. This conversation is a little different from most episodes of Growing Up Irooni: it centers on a single, remarkable story. In her Texas Monthly article "The West Texas Days of the Exiled Prince Who Wants to Lead Iran," Sasha uncovered a nearly forgotten chapter of history — the year that Reza Pahlavi, then seventeen and heir to the Iranian throne, lived in Lubbock, Texas, training as…
E228 · 20 Jul 2026 · 19 min
Poetry | Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamet vatan, Part 4
In this fourth part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the next six lines of the poem in detail.
E227 · 13 Jul 2026 · 59 min
Interview | Yasmin Khan on Food, Culture & Compassion Across Borders
In this episode, Leyla sits down with Yasmin Khan — the acclaimed British-Iranian-Pakistani food writer, activist, and author of *The Saffron Tales*, *Zaitoun*, *Ripe Figs*, and her newest cookbook, *Sabzi: The Beautiful World of Persian Vegetarian Cooking*. Yasmin takes us back to her childhood in Birmingham, where her mother — a Gilaki nutritionist from a small town near the Caspian Sea — organized an Iranian community association so her kids would grow up with Nowruz, Shab-e Yalda, and Farsi language school. She shares the story of her grandfather driving hours to find the perfect…
E226 · 12 Jul 2026 · 13 min
Poetry | Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamet vatan, Part 3
In this third part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the next six lines of the poem in detail.
E225 · 5 Jul 2026 · 18 min
Poetry | Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamet vatan, Part 2
In this second part of the discussion of Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamat vatan , we go over the first six lines of the poem in detail.
E224 · 28 Jun 2026 · 54 min
Poetry | Simin Behbahani's dobāré meesāzamet vatan, Introduction with Sahba Shayani
In this introductory lesson to Simin Behbahani's beautiful, important, and timely poem, dobāré meesāzamet vatan , we're joined by Dr. Sahba Shayani to talk about the general theme and meaning behind this poem.
E223 · 13 May 2026 · 1 hr 30 min
Interview | Hamid Rahmanian on Building Persian Culture, One Story at a Time
In this episode, Leyla sits down with Hamid Rahmanian — the Iranian-American artist, filmmaker, and visionary behind some of the most ambitious Shahnameh projects of our time, including the illustrated Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings , the touring live productions Feathers of Fire and Song of the North , and most recently Rostam: Tales from the Shahnameh , a beautifully illustrated edition for younger readers. Hamid takes us back to his childhood in Tehran, where he grew up in a traditional family with no exposure to the arts — not knowing that art school even existed until he was…
E222 · 7 May 2026 · 1 hr 18 min
Interview | Danesh Nosirvan on Speaking Up When Our Parents Couldn't
In this episode, Leyla sits down with Danesh Nosirvan — the Iranian-American creator known online for identifying perpetrators of public harm and holding them accountable through the court of public opinion. What began as a comedy career took an unexpected turn in 2021, when a single video calling out a child abuser went viral and reshaped the trajectory of his work entirely. Danesh shares the story of his family's arrival in the U.S. after the revolution, growing up as one of the only Iranian kids in his Southern California school, and the quiet weight of watching his immigrant parents…
E221 · 20 Apr 2026 · 22 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, The Story of Zahhak, Part 4
In the fourth part of our discussion about the Tale of Zahhak, Leyla and Dr. Sahba Shayani introduce the story of Fereydoon, who, as we already know by now, eventually kills Zahhak and rules Iran in his place. Zahhak tries in vain to prevent fate, and Fereydoon, even as a child, survives all of Zahhak's attempts to kill him.
E220 · 11 Apr 2026 · 31 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, The Story of Zahhak, Part 3
In this lesson, we learn from Leyla and Dr. Sahba Shayani about the nature of the evil king Zahhak's reign and the beginning of his downfall.
E219 · 23 Mar 2026 · 23 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, The Story of Zahhak, Part 2
In this lesson, we continue our discussion of the famous Tale of Zahhak from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Sahba Shayani. Here, having covered the background that led to Zahhak's rise to power, we begin to delve into Zahhak's own story in earnest.
E218 · 4 Mar 2026 · 29 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, The Story of Zahhak, Part 1
In this lesson, we begin our discussion of the famous Tale of Zahhak from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Sahba Shayani. We use the end of the story of Jamshid as a prelude and begin to learn of how Zahhak becomes an evil king.
E217 · 9 Feb 2026 · 20 min
Poetry | Hafez's yoosofé gom gashté, Part 6
In this thrilling conclusion to Hafez's poem yoosofé gom gashté , we cover the words and phrases in the last four lines of the poem. Hafez concludes by acknowledging the difficulties the reader may face and reiterating his encouragement and confidence that God will help the reader overcome them.
E216 · 1 Feb 2026 · 22 min
Poetry | Hafez's yoosofé gom gashté, Part 5
In this lesson, we cover the words and phrases in the next four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez. In this part of the poem, Hafez provides the reader encouragement and inspiration for overcoming any difficulties they may face.
E215 · 26 Jan 2026 · 18 min
Poetry | Hafez's yoosofé gom gashté, Part 4
In this lesson, we go over more words and phrases in the next four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez. Here, Hafez reassures the reader regarding forces that are beyond their control.
E214 · 18 Jan 2026 · 16 min
Poetry | Hafez's yoosofé gom gashté, Part 3
In this lesson, we go over the individual words and phrases in the next four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez, which refer broadly to the nature of the heavens and earth.
E213 · 12 Jan 2026 · 19 min
Poetry | Hafez's yoosofé gom gashté, Part 2
In this lesson, we go over the individual words and phrases in the first four lines of the poem yoosofé gom gashté by Hafez.
E211 · 5 Jan 2026 · 22 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 6
In this lesson, we conclude our discussion of the section “On the Creation of the World” from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and reflect on its implications with Dr. Omid Arabian. In this last part, Ferdowsi explains the origins and significance of human beings in more detail.
E212 · 4 Jan 2026 · 54 min
Poetry | Hafez's yoosofé gom gashté, Introduction with Sahba Shayani
In this introductory lesson to Hafez's poem yoosofé gom gashté , we're joined by Prof. Sahba Shayani to talk about the general theme and meaning behind this poem.
E210 · 15 Dec 2025 · 21 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 5
In this lesson, we proceed to the fifth part of our discussion of the section “On the Creation of the World” from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Omid Arabian. In this part of the epic poem, Ferdowsi briefly concludes his discussion of the origins of plants and animals and begins explaining the origins of human beings.
E209 · 8 Dec 2025 · 18 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 4
In this lesson, we proceed to the fourth part of our discussion of the section “On the Creation of the World” from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Omid Arabian. This part of the epic poem explains Ferdowsi's account of the origins of plants and animals.
E208 · 1 Dec 2025 · 19 min
Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 3
In this lesson, we proceed to the third part of our discussion of the section “On the Creation of the World” from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Omid Arabian. This part of the epic poem discusses the formation of the Earth.

About Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation

Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation is a English learning podcast from Chai & Conversation. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Chai & Conversation
Language: English
Category: Learning
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 22 min
Latest episode: 5 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id409050115

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