The Nightingale of Iran Danielle Dardashti, Galeet Dardashti

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

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

Danielle and Galeet’s father, Farid Dardashti, was born in Tehran in 1942, the oldest of Houri and Younes Dardashti’s five children, all of whom had natural musical talent. Farid’s gorgeous voice kept earning him invitations to perform, but his parents didn’t want him to pursue music. To make them proud, he applied to study architecture in America. While waiting for his visa and acceptance to college, he got offered his own weekly show singing on Iranian TV. He quickly became a teen idol. But when his visa came through, he left the country as planned – and never once considered staying to grow his fame as a singer. This didn’t make any sense to Danielle and Galeet. But that’s because they were missing an important piece of the story.Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet DardashtiThe Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.comPresented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces MediaHost - Danielle DardashtiWriter / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle DardashtiProducer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet DardashtiAudio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel & Zachary GoldbergStory Editor - Rider AlsopStory Consultant - Asal EhsanipourComposer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)In Episode 3, The Tehran Teen Idol, you heard our conversations with: Farid Dardashti, Yadid Dardashti, Hamid Dardashti, Jina Aziz-Zadeh, Houman Sarshar, Homa Sarshar, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Lili Keypour, Haideh Herbert, and Mohsen Mohammadi.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!!!! xoxWe 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, Louise Motevassel, David Dardashti, Oren Motevassel, Niloo Dardashti, Schelly Dardashti, 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, Edwin Seroussi, Manucher Bibiyan, Shahla Javdan, Nahid Pirnazar, Tarlan Rabizadeh, Evan Mateen, Hasan Sarbakhshian, Sierra Ulrich, David Shofet, Sarah Benor and Hadas Bram.Intro credits read by: Michelle DardashtiCover art design: Ghulam NabiAssistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeeseMarketing / PR:  TinkDistributed by PRX, the Public Media Exchange

On his way from Iran to America, where he planned to study architecture in college, Danielle and Galeet’s father Farid spent the summer in Israel. While walking down a Tel Aviv street one day, a man recognized him from Iranian TV and invited him to sing at an event that week. The night Farid sang, a family of visiting Americans heard him, and it changed the course of his entire life. Once he arrived in the United States, a new pursuit pulled Farid further and further away from his 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 4, Ashkenormalization, we had conversations with: Sheila Dardashti, Farid Dardashti, and Ruth Abusch-Magder.


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, 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

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

When people asked “Where are you from?” Danielle was never sure if they wanted to know the places she’d lived or whether they just thought she looked foreign. She didn’t know many families like hers in mainstream Jewish America. These days, there’s growing awareness about the diversity of the Jewish experience.


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 6, Where I am From, you heard our conversations with: Farid Dardashti, Michelle Dardashti, Roni Sarig, Raquel Sarig, Evan Mateen, Tarlan Rabizadeh, and Lior Sternfeld.


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, 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, Houman Sarshar, Edwin Seroussi, Laura Younai, Rachel Nazarian Ehsagpour, Mohsen Mohammadi, Manucher Bibiyan, Haideh Herbert, Homa Sarshar, Shahla Javdan, Lili Keypour, Nahid Pirnazar, 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