Episode 1: Introduction

In this pilot episode, co-hosts Kimia Akbari, Azar Hatefi Graduate Fellow, and Jasmine Djavahery, UC Santa Cruz student and Center intern, share a little about this new podcast. The Del beh Del: Heart-to-Heart Conversations with the Iranian Diaspora podcast is hosted and presented by the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University. This unique podcast is aimed at telling stories, conversing with cultural trailblazers, and raising some of the issues that have been challenging for our global Iranian community to engage with in the past. Hosted by two students affiliated with the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, Del Beh Del will be a unique opportunity to engage listeners with those who live outside the boundaries of Iran and make their homes, communities, and livelihoods in countries like the US, Canada, as well as on the continents of Europe, Australia, and Asia. We seek to build community by sharing narratives and experiences that too often are less visible, and ones that focus on cultural warriors, thought leaders, and taboo-breakers who contribute to new iterations of "Iranianness." The podcast will feature 4-6 episodes per year. Special thank you to The Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, Persis Karim, Ariana Damavandi, Shahriyar Najafgholizadeh, Evette Darensbourg for the production of this podcast, and Ariana Boostani for the music.