Danielle and Galeet speak with Drora and Dalya on this episode of the Reclaiming Identity podcast. They discuss growing up un-Persian, discovering their family’s story, and the personal impact of The Nightingale of Iran podcast.

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.

Thank you for listening to The Nightingale of Iran! All six episodes are out now. For those of you who have finished listening to our series, today we are sharing something a little different. This is an episode of History Daily, a podcast with new episodes every weekday. Each episode of History Daily focuses on a particular day in history and the human stories behind what happened. We’ve picked an episode about the day in 1979 when the Shah fled the Iranian Revolution. It’s 20 minutes long...

Growing up, Danielle didn’t know many families like hers in mainstream Jewish America. These days, there’s growing awareness about the diversity of the Jewish experience.

Houri Dardashti had long dreamed of moving to Israel from Iran. Eventually, she and her radio star husband Younes made the move. But Younes felt like an outsider in Israel. For a decade, he flew back to Iran to do concerts and sing on the radio. But when the Islamic Revolution happened, Younes could never return to Iran, and he was erased from Iranian history.

On his way from Iran to America for college, Farid spent the summer in Israel. A man recognized him from Iranian TV and invited him to sing at an event. A family of visiting Americans heard him sing, and it changed the course of his entire life.

Farid Dardashti, was born in Tehran in 1942. He had natural music talent and a gorgeous voice. He got offered a weekly show singing on Iranian TV. He was an instant hit and became a teen idol. But after six months, he left the country. This didn’t make sense to Danielle and Galeet. But they were missing an important piece of the story.

Younes Dardashti was an orphan in Tehran’s Jewish ghetto with a gorgeous singing voice. His abusive uncle forbade him from singing. But one day while singing in the dark, his whole life changed.

Danielle and Galeet grew up in a family band. They sang in 12 languages, but not Persian. This seems odd since their father and grandfather were famous Iranian singers. Then, they make a discovery.

Sisters Danielle Dardashti & Galeet Dardashti - a storyteller and an anthropologist - search for answers about their famous Persian Jewish family. Subscribe now to The Nightingale of Iran!