The Nightingale of Iran

Sisters Danielle and Galeet Dardashti grew up in a Jewish American family band: The Dardashti Family. They sang international folk music in 12 languages – English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Greek, Spanish, French, Japanese and more – but never any songs in Persian. This seems odd to them since both their father and grandfather were famous Iranian singers during the “Golden Age” for Jews in Iran, before the Islamic Revolution. Danielle and Galeet make a discovery that takes them back in time, and helps them find answers to their questions about why their family left Iran and abandoned their Iranian identity.

Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet Dardashti

The Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.com

Presented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces Media

Host - Danielle Dardashti

Writer / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle Dardashti

Producer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet Dardashti

Audio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary Goldberg

Story Editor - Rider Alsop

Story Consultant - Asal Ehsanipour

Composer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)

In Episode 1, The Time Machine, you heard our conversations with: Farid and Sheila Dardashti, Shahla Javdan, Homa Sarshar, Lili Keypour, and Nahid Pirnazar.

Thank you to our sponsors:

-Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund

-Common Era

-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation

-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust

-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music

-Be’chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)

Dedication: This is for you Dadders!!! We love you (and Mommy) so much!!!! xox

We are so grateful for: our extraordinary husbands, Roni Sarig and Mason Weisz, who have contributed in countless ways big and small; Danielle’s amazing kids, Uri Dardashti Sarig and Raquel Dardashti Sarig, who have lent their talents in story editing, sound capture, episode cover art design, and more; and Galeet’s kids -Yaniv and Adin–for being such incredible humans.

There are so many people we want to thank for their love, guidance, support, and inspiration on this project: Houri & Younes Dardashti, Millie & Louie Heifetz, Michelle Dardashti, Yadid Dardashti, Shahnaze Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, Louise Motevassel, David Dardashti, Oren Motevassel, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, Dawne Bear Novicoff, Vicki Compter Lefkowitz, Jeni Friedman, Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Guber, Debbie Kolben, Ami Eden, Caleb Guedes Reed, Sharon Nazarian, Jessamyn Rodriguez, Yonah Schiller, Richard Kay, Mark Kligman, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Arielle Nissenblatt, Ilana Nevins, Lauren Passell, Habib Partow, Alan Niku, Ruth Abusch-Magder, Julian Voloj, Melina Rosenberg, Lior Sternfeld, Houman Sarshar, Edwin Seroussi, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Mohsen Mohammadi, Manucher Bibiyan, Haideh Herbert, Homa Sarshar, Shahla Javdan, Lili Keypour, Nahid Pirnazar, Tarlan Rabizadeh, Evan Mateen, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.

Intro credits read by: Michelle Dardashti

Cover art design: Ghulam Nabi

Assistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeese

Marketing / PR: Tink

Distributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange

Their grandfather was a famous singer known as The Nightingale of Iran. Their father was a Tehran teen idol. It’s always been a mystery to our host Danielle Dardashti (storyteller / documentarian) and her sister Galeet Dardashti (anthropologist / musician) : What drove their Persian Jewish family to leave Iran during a golden age for Jews, so long before the Islamic revolution? The Nightingale of Iran – a new audio documentary about identity, belonging, and music – reveals painful secrets unspoken for generations. The series will resonate with outsiders everywhere. Now available wherever you get your podcasts.

Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet Dardashti

The Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.com

Presented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces Media

Host - Danielle Dardashti

Writer / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle Dardashti

Producer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet Dardashti

Audio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary Goldberg

Story Editor - Rider Alsop

Story Consultant - Asal Ehsanipour

Composer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)

Thank you to our sponsors:

-Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund

-Common Era

-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation

-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust

-Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music

-Be’chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)

Dedication: This is for you Dadders!!! We love you (and Mommy) so much!!!! xox

We are so grateful for: our extraordinary husbands, Roni Sarig and Mason Weisz, who have contributed in countless ways big and small; Danielle’s amazing kids, Uri Dardashti Sarig and Raquel Dardashti Sarig, who have lent their talents in story editing, sound capture, episode cover art design, and more; and Galeet’s kids -Yaniv and Adin–for being such incredible humans.

There are so many people we want to thank for their love, guidance, support, and inspiration on this project: Houri & Younes Dardashti, Millie & Louie Heifetz, Michelle Dardashti, Yadid Dardashti, Shahnaze Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, Louise Motevassel, David Dardashti, Oren Motevassel, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, Dawne Bear Novicoff, Vicki Compter Lefkowitz, Jeni Friedman, Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Guber, Debbie Kolben, Ami Eden, Caleb Guedes Reed, Sharon Nazarian, Jessamyn Rodriguez, Yonah Schiller, Richard Kay, Mark Kligman, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Arielle Nissenblatt, Ilana Nevins, Lauren Passell, Habib Partow, Alan Niku, Ruth Abusch-Magder, Julian Voloj, Melina Rosenberg, Lior Sternfeld, Houman Sarshar, Edwin Seroussi, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Mohsen Mohammadi, Manucher Bibiyan, Haideh Herbert, Homa Sarshar, Shahla Javdan, Lili Keypour, Nahid Pirnazar, Tarlan Rabizadeh, Evan Mateen, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.

Intro credits read by: Michelle Dardashti

Cover art design: Ghulam Nabi

Assistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeese

Marketing / PR: Tink

Distributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange

Danielle and Galeet were recently interviewed on Can We Talk?, the podcast of the Jewish Women’s Archive. We loved our conversation with Nahanni Rous and so we are sharing it with you here today.

Houri Dardashti, Danielle and Galeet’s grandmother, had long dreamed of moving to Israel from Iran. But life was improving for Jews in Iran, and her husband Younes had become a famous radio star there. So it seemed to her that the dream of moving to Israel wasn’t going to happen. But after Farid left Iran for college in America, one by one his siblings started leaving Iran for Israel. And eventually, Houri and Younes moved to Israel, too. But Younes, the Iranian star, felt like an outsider in Israel.

Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet Dardashti

The Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.com

Presented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces Media

Host - Danielle Dardashti

Writer / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle Dardashti

Producer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet Dardashti

Audio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary Goldberg

Story Editor - Rider Alsop

Story Consultants - Asal Ehsanipour & Uri Sarig

Composer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)

In Episode 5, Savta’s Dream, Galeet and I had conversations with: Farid Dardashti, Louise Motevassel, Yadid Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, and Lior Sternfeld. Thank you for clips provided: Homa Sarshar and the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History; Hadas Bram and the National Library of Israel.

Thank you to our sponsors:

-Jewish Writers’ Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund

-Common Era

-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation

-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust

-Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music

-Be’chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)

Dedication: This is for you Dadders!!! We love you (and Mommy) so much!!!! xox

We are so grateful for: our extraordinary husbands, Roni Sarig and Mason Weisz, who have contributed in countless ways big and small; Danielle’s amazing kids, Uri Dardashti Sarig and Raquel Dardashti Sarig, who lent their talents in story editing, sound capture, episode cover art design, and more; and Galeet’s kids -Yaniv and Adin–for being such incredible humans.

There are so many people we want to thank for their love, guidance, support, and inspiration on this project: Houri & Younes Dardashti, Millie & Louie Heifetz, Michelle Dardashti, Shahnaze Dardashti, David Dardashti, Oren Motevassel, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, Dawne Bear Novicoff, Vicki Compter Lefkowitz, Jeni Friedman, Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Guber, Debbie Kolben, Ami Eden, Caleb Guedes Reed, Sharon Nazarian, Jessamyn Rodriguez, Yonah Schiller, Richard Kay, Mark Kligman, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Arielle Nissenblatt, Ilana Nevins, Lauren Passell, Habib Partow, Alan Niku, Ruth Abusch-Magder, Julian Voloj, Melina Rosenberg, Houman Sarshar, Edwin Seroussi, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Mohsen Mohammadi, Manucher Bibiyan, Haideh Herbert, Homa Sarshar, Shahla Javdan, Lili Keypour, Nahid Pirnazar, Tarlan Rabizadeh, Evan Mateen, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.

Intro credits read by: Michelle Dardashti

Cover art design: Ghulam Nabi

Assistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeese

Marketing / PR: Tink

Distributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange

Danielle and Galeet's grandfather Younes Dardashti grew up an orphan in Tehran's Jewish ghetto. He was gifted with a gorgeous voice, but had a difficult childhood. He lived with an abusive uncle who forbade him from singing. In his late teens, he left his uncle's house, got a job with the Iranian Railroad and, years later, he married Houri Aziz-Zadeh. In the 1940s, life changed rapidly for the Jews of Iran - a new Shah granted equal rights to Jews, women, and other marginalized groups. Jews could move out of the ghetto into neighborhoods integrated with Muslims. One night, Younes found himself at a party attended by Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri, a famous female Muslim singer. Suddenly, the power went out. And in the dark and quiet, Younes started to sing. This was the moment that everything changed, and he became The Nightingale of Iran.

Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet Dardashti

The Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.com

Presented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces Media

Host - Danielle Dardashti

Writer / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle Dardashti

Producer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet Dardashti

Audio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary Goldberg

Story Editor - Rider Alsop

Story Consultant - Asal Ehsanipour

Composer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: "Melekh" from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)

In Episode 2, Singing in The Dark, you heard our conversations with: Farid Dardashti, Habib Partow, Schelly Dardashti, Houman Sarshar, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Haideh Herbert. Alan Niku interviewed Manucher Bibiyan.

Thank you to our sponsors:

-Jewish Writers' Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund

-Common Era

-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation

-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust

-Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music

-Be'chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)

Dedication: This is for you Dadders!!! We love you (and Mommy) so much!!!! xox

We are so grateful for: our extraordinary husbands, Roni Sarig and Mason Weisz, who have contributed in countless ways big and small; Danielle's amazing kids, Uri Dardashti Sarig and Raquel Dardashti Sarig, who lent their talents in story editing, sound capture, episode cover art design, and more; and Galeet's kids -Yaniv and Adin- for being such incredible humans.

There are so many people we want to thank for their love, guidance, support, and inspiration on this project: Houri & Younes Dardashti, Millie & Louie Heifetz, Michelle Dardashti, Yadid Dardashti, Shahnaze Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, Louise Motevassel, David Dardashti, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Dawne Bear Novicoff, Vicki Compter Lefkowitz, Jeni Friedman, Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Guber, Debbie Kolben, Ami Eden, Caleb Guedes Reed, Sharon Nazarian, Jessamyn Rodriguez, Yonah Schiller, Richard Kay, Mark Klingman, Sarah Lefton, Janine Okmin, Arielle Nissenblatt, Ilana Nevins, Lior Sternfeld, Edwin Seroussi, Mohsen Mohammadi, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.

Intro credits read by: Michelle Dardashti

Cover art design: Ghulam Nabi

Assistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeese

Marketing / PR: Tink

Distributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange