You have lots of questions about Iran, we know! One of which—maybe the third—is likely to be, “Is it safe to visit Iran?”. If you ask us, we’d say yes. If you ask your Home Office, they’d say no. Sure, it’s complicated, and if you’re reading this any time between 1979 and 2029, it’s even more complicated. Disclaimer about whether it’s safe to visit Iran: We do not, and will never, advocate any travel that contravenes the travel advice provided by your nation’s Home Office. Information about travelling to Iran is constantly changing, so always consult with the relevant authorities before making ..read more

We put it out to our Iranian audience. We asked them if they prefer their men cut, i.e. circumcised. They mostly preferred it. We also asked them if they think being cut is a good idea. They mostly thought it was a good idea. Lastly, we asked them if they would have their next male child cut. They were kinda 50/50 on this. Where did the enthusiasm for circumcision in Iran go?! The practice of circumcision goes way back — like 15,000 years back. Yes, apparently Egyptians are depicted as performing circumcision before Judaism and Islam adopted it into their rituals. Fast forward to the mode ..read more

In this episode, we try to equip you with the knowledge needed to help you understand whether you're talking to an Iranian or not. Iranians may hide among you, they may appear wearing your national dress, but in many cases, they will struggle to hide it when they talk. So, listen in and we'll help you know how you can spot the Iranians in the room. Questions that we get answers to during this episode... How will Iranians try to disguise or "visually look" while in other nations? Which English language sounds are Iranians unable to pronounce? Why can't the Azari/Tork Iranians say the word "cat ..read more

In this episode, we are joined by the proprietor of one of Iran's long-standing cultural hotspots, deep in the heart of Tehran's flourishing downtown district. During it, we'll also be chatting about where to go on a first date in Iran. Café 78's owner, Mehrva, sat with us to discuss how Iran's café culture has come to dominate the social spheres, and how it has evolved throughout her 18-years of business. We also chat about the challenges of running a café in Iran and learn about why Iranian cafés often get temporarily shut down. During our discussion with Mehrva, we talk about how her café h ..read more

In this episode, we discuss the many peculiar Persian expressions using the word 'dad'. Listen in to learn how to express frustration, how to be sarcastic and how to tell someone where to go when they've ticked you off. So, do Iranians have daddy issues or not, listen to find out. A question that we'll only half-answer We have Tyrel to thank for this question. He asks, "I don't speak Farsi [Persian], but I know that "baba" is dad. And I see my Persian [Iranian] friends say that word a lot in their conversations with anyone, male or female. Do Persians have daddy issues?". In a sense, there are ..read more

In this episode, we are joined by an Iranian chef, Shahriar of Shahriar's Kitchen. He helps us answer a question from one of our listeners, Susie. She wants to know why it is that all Iranian bread is flat. Our guest, Shahriar, has worked as a chef around the world, and although he has a wealth of experience with Iranian and international cuisine, for his first appearance on Ask An Iranian we asked him to help get you familiar with one of Iran's staples, Iranian flatbread. Questions we also get answers to in this episode What is Iran's national bread? Can you chip a tooth or burn your tongue ..read more

In our second episode, we answer a question submitted by James — who we imagine knows exactly how the door stand-off goes between Iranians. James is referring to the Iranian social protocol known as "tarof". Listen to this episode to learn more about this complex Iranian form of politeness and to learn about Iranian "tarof", in general. In this episode we also tackle the following questions How many times should you offer an Iranian to pass through the door? What physical contact should and shouldn't be used between genders while going through doors in Iran? Do women or men go first through d ..read more

Even the world's fastest-growing religion occasionally needs to take a break. Yes, each year it takes a month-long break and fills it with lots of breakier brakes. Call it a celebration; call it an endurance test — either way, you'll be calling it Ramadan. Although the fundamentals are the same, there are many ways in which different nations go about it. Iran is different, and for many differing reasons, so we wanted to point those differences out. So, until the day that the world's fastest religion becomes the world's only religion, there will still be folks out there that are ignorant of Ram ..read more

There are languages you know you speak, and there are bits of other languages that you don't know you speak. New concepts arrive; those concepts get coined, and as and when they get used elsewhere, we see languages evolve. To give yourself an example, simply try speaking English, without using Latin, Greek or, heaven forbid, French. The embryonic stages of this phenomena can be referred to as code-switching. This is the term used to describe somebody alternating between languages among other similarly speaking polyglots. Adding new concepts is just one of many reasons for code-switching, howev ..read more

You're a curious one, aren't you! You're not alone though, you are most likely a human, which means you think things like, "what happens if I put an effervescent tablet in sparkling water?". There are some things that you think about but never act on, such as pushing that man in front of that bus. You don't do it, because you're most likely a human. There are some things you stop yourself from doing, but at times, there are some things others stop you from doing. We had Shanay (most likely a human) join us to discuss how living in Iran affects the choices made by you and others in restricting ..read more