Iran Chat: An Interview Series from the American Iranian Council

American Iranian Council•americaniranian.libsyn.com

A new interview series from the American Iranian Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to improving relations between the US and Iran. This interview series covers all topics related to Iran, its culture and its people.

Last refreshed: July 6th, 2025 at 5:59 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Iran Chat: Interview with Jim Lobe about the Likelihood of War with Iran

After a long break, Iran Chat is back and we felt this year’s series should begin with a deep dive into the current state of US-Iran relations, focusing on the very real and growing possibility of war with Iran. To help sort through all the recent news and issues concerning US-Iran relations, we spoke with journalist Jim Lobe. He served as chief of the Washington DC bureau of Inter Press Service from 1980 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 2016. Currently he is an Associate Fellow at the Institute f...

Feb 15, 2019•1 hr 2 min

Iran Chat: Interview with Dr. James Miller about Health Diplomacy

Our latest Iran Chat is with Dr. James Miller, Managing Director of the Oxford International Development Group, a health research and project management consulting company in Oxford, Mississippi. Dr. Miller began working in the area of health diplomacy in 2004 while seeking ways to improve health outcomes and access to medical care for people in the impoverished rural Mississippi Delta region. For this, he turned to Iran’s primary health care model, which is known for its system of health houses...

Nov 19, 2017•1 hr 2 min

Iran Chat: Interview with Celebrity Chef Ariana Bundy

Our latest Iran Chat is with Iranian-American celebrity chef Ariana Bundy. Ariana is the award-winning author of two cookbooks, Pomegranates and Roses: My Persian Family Recipes and Sweet Alternative: More than 100 recipes without gluten, dairy and soy . She is also the writer, director and star of the 8-part television series Ariana's Persian Kitchen, which airs on NatGeo People. Ariana's work has been featured in a variety of magazines like Food & Travel, Harper's Bazaar and Food & Win...

Sep 23, 2017•45 min

Iran Chat: Interview with Ultra-Runner Kristina Paltén of "Alone Through Iran - 1144 Miles of Trust"

Our latest Iran Chat is with Swedish ultra-runner, coach and motivator, Kristina Paltén, who holds the World Record in 48 hour treadmill running, covering a distance of 322.93 kilometers. She is also the first woman to have run across Iran, and the star of a film that covers that journey called Alone Through Iran - 1144 Miles of Trust . We spoke with Paltén about her experience running across Iran, from Turkey to Turkmenistan, and how that experience, and now her film, are helping to challenge p...

Jun 07, 2017•44 min

Iran Chat: Interview with David Collier, Author of "Democracy and the Nature of American Influence in Iran, 1941-1979"

Our latest Iran Chat is with Dr. David Collier, author of the new book, Democracy and the Nature of American Influence in Iran: 1941-1979 . Dr. Collier is also a research consultant in Washington DC and teaches democracy and democratization in Boston University's Washington DC program. The first half of our conversation focuses on Dr. Collier's usage of linkage and leverage to analyze and better understand the history of the period; the second half addresses how his analysis of the history appli...

Apr 24, 2017•49 min

Iran Chat: Interview about President Trump's Immigration Ban with Harvard Law Lecturer, Ian Samuel

Less than one week after President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, our latest Iran Chat is with Ian Samuel, Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. Ian previously served in the United States Department of Justice in the Office of the Solicitor General and on the appellate staff of the Civil Division. Following his government service, Ian joined the appellate litigation practice at the law firm Jones Day. Our conversation covers the legal is...

Jan 31, 2017•42 min

Iran Chat: Interview with comedian Maz Jobrani

Our latest Iran Chat is with comedian and actor, Maz Jobrani. A founding member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, his comedy covers a wide-range of issues, but often focuses on race and the ways that Middle Easterners are misunderstood in the U.S. He performs stand-up live around the world and recently published a book about his experiences, I'm Not a Terrorist But I've Played One On TV. He also co-wrote, produced and starred as the title character in the award-winning indie comedy film, Jimmy Ve...

Oct 20, 2016•46 min

Iran Chat: Interview with Navid Khonsari about the video game, "1979 Revolution: Black Friday"

Our latest Iran Chat is with Navid Khonsari, video game creator and the founder of Ink Stories, the independent film and gaming studio responsible for the development of the fascinating video game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday , which puts players into the world of the revolution in Iran in 1979. While our conversation focused on this game about the Iranian revolution, Mr. Khonsari is also well known for his work developing the cinematic look and feel for video games like Grand Theft Auto, Max P...

Oct 02, 2016•45 min

Iran Chat: Interview with Sufi musician Amir Vahab

The American Iranian Council (AIC) is pleased to announce that we are bringing our interview series, Iran Chat , to audio format with a new podcast. Our first interview is with Sufi musician, Amir Vahab – one of New York’s most celebrated and distinguished composers and vocalists of Sufi and folk music. The interview includes a discussion of Mr. Vahab’s background, how he got interested in music, some advice for aspiring musicians, a description of Persian music, as well as a special demonstrati...

Sep 07, 2016•56 min

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