CBH Talks: Allies to Adversaries: The Fraught History of America and Iran

How did America and Iran, countries that once admired each other, become embroiled in such bitter relations today? What do their centuries-long, intertwined histories tell us about what 2021 will bring? Join expert John Ghazvinian, Executive Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the ambitious book America and Iran: A History 1720 to the Present for a conversation led by Hooman Majd, Iranian-American author of the bestseller The Ayatollah Begs to Differ and a regular contributor to NBC news. They’ll trace the evolution of U.S.-Iran relations from the eighteenth century Persian Empire to today, discuss the growing tensions and steep decline, and why it didn’t have to turn out this way.

John Ghazvinian was born in Iran and raised in London and Los Angeles. He has a doctorate in history from Oxford University. Ghazvinian's writing has appeared in Newsweek, the Sunday Times, The New Statesman, Slate, and The Nation. He is the Executive Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Philadelphia.

Hooman Majd is an Iranian-American writer, and the author of three books on Iran, including The New York Times bestseller The Ayatollah Begs to Differ. Majd has also written for The New Yorker, GQ, Newsweek, The New York Times, The New Republic, Time, Vanity Fair, The Financial Times, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Politico, and Interview Magazine, among others. He is a contributor to NBC News.