![\"\"](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!bYoI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5bd18664-1954-4620-b78d-8cfc45752a62_1440x960.heic\")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/a> \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf7 “<\/span>7 facts about Iranians in the U.S.<\/a><\/strong>,” by <\/span>Pew Research Center<\/strong>. As the conflict in Iran continues, millions of Iranians around the globe will try to take a break this weekend by celebrating <\/span>Nowruz<\/a>, the Persian New Year. This includes approximately 750,000 who live in the U.S., such as TLP’s Michael Baharaeen and his family. Since the 1980s, Iranian immigrants and their children have become an integral part of America’s population. Among their many contributions to the country is their <\/span>cuisine<\/a>, which centers on rice, meat kebabs, and flavors like saffron and rosewater. (Michael\u2019s favorite dishes are the stews: ghormeh sabzi, gheymeh, and fesenjoon. The chicken or beef barg kebabs are also excellent.) Pew Research recently published an overview of the Iranian-American population that paints a clearer picture of who they are, where they live, and how they’ve made their home in America. <\/span><\/p>\n \ud83d\udcda \u201c<\/span>Understanding Iran: seven books that help explain the unrest<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d from the <\/span>Financial Times<\/strong><\/em>. Speaking of Iran, the <\/span>FT<\/em> put together an excellent list of books on the politics and history of the country\u2019s Islamic regime since the revolution and fall of the Shah in 1979. We haven\u2019t read all of these yet but strongly second their recommendation of <\/span>Black Wave<\/a><\/em> by Kim Ghattas. <\/span><\/p>\n Seamlessly weaving history, geopolitics, and intimate storytelling, Kim Ghattas tells the gripping and largely unexplored story of the rivalry between <\/span>Saudi Arabia<\/a> and <\/span>Iran<\/a>, a conflict born from the sparks of the 1979 Iranian revolution, fueled by American policy, and that, Ghattas argues, represents the true heart of the Middle East\u2019s bloody turmoil.<\/span><\/p>\n With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research, and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, now mortal enemies, were once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the Middle East. But all of that changed after 1979. Distorting and deploying religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics, each side proceeded to strategically feed intolerance, suppress cultural expression, and encourage sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan. This ongoing war for cultural supremacy has led to Iran\u2019s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, the assassination of countless intellectuals, the birth of groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the rise of ISIS.<\/p>\n Ghattas introduces us to a riveting cast of characters whose lives were upended by decades of geopolitical drama: from the Pakistani television anchor who defied her country\u2019s dictator, to the Egyptian novelist thrown in jail for indecent writings, to journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \ud83c\udfb6 <\/span>Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, by <\/span>Chris Dalla Riva<\/strong>. If you love music and you love numbers\u2014and who among us does not?\u2014<\/span>this<\/em> is the book for you. Absolutely fascinating analysis that is bound to chime with many of your musical memories.<\/span><\/p>\n Popular music history collides with data analytics, charts, and numbers in this insightful and surprising look at the greatest hits and musicians, fads, forgotten artists, and much more. Data analyst and musician Chris Dalla Riva reframes everything you thought you knew about music. Did you know that hit songs in the late 1950s were regularly about gruesome death? That a US vice president wrote a number one hit? That while TikTok has spawned countless hits, it\u2019s made artists more anonymous than ever before? That pop songs have shaped race relations in the United States? That the key change died around 2003? And that\u2019s just the beginning. Coupling hard data with engaging anecdotes, <\/span>Uncharted Territory<\/em> is both a takedown and celebration of popular music and provides new ways to think about your favorite songs, genres, and artists from the last 6 decades using unexpected statistics and playful visualizations. This entertaining history is filled with the most popular musicians of all time from The Beatles and The Bee Gees to Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and beyond. Whether you danced the twist or the dougie at your senior prom, you\u2019re sure to never listen to music again in the same way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We still miss the key change!<\/p>\n\n
\n