Interview | Growing Up Irooni – Yassamin Ansari, Congresswoman from Arizona, on Politics, Protest, and Persian Identity
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Chai & Conversation
4.9 • 548 Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
In this episode of Growing Up Neem-Rooni, Leyla talks with Representative Yassamin Ansari, the youngest member of Congress and the first Iranian-American Democrat to be elected. From growing up in a mostly white Arizona suburb to representing her diverse district in Washington, D.C., Yassamin shares her story of identity, community, and public service.
We talk about her family's immigration journey, what it was like growing up Persian in Arizona, the political awakenings that shaped her career, and the urgent fights she’s now taking on—climate change, immigration justice, labor rights, and Iranian-American visibility. She also opens up about the personal weight of carrying a diaspora story into the halls of power, and why this moment in American politics requires all of us to show up, speak out, and organize.
🟢 Topics covered include:
- Her upbringing in Arizona and the influence of her Iranian family
- Why she got into politics, and how the first Trump presidency galvanized her
- Her work on Iranian-American Heritage Month and immigration reform
- The erosion of climate policy and the importance of mass mobilization
- What gives her hope—and why we need to fight harder than ever
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We need to strike. |
| 0:00.9 | We need to protest. |
| 0:02.1 | Like, people need to be on the streets. |
| 0:04.1 | Like, this to the program. |
| 0:38.2 | Thank you. Thanks for having me, Leila. |
| 0:40.6 | I'm so excited to talk to you. I have been following your journey for years and I just am in awe and I'm already getting chills in awe of what you have accomplished in such a little time. |
| 0:53.0 | And you're the youngest Congresswoman, |
| 0:56.1 | who's representative right now in Congress, and also the first Iranian American elected to Congress. |
| 1:01.9 | So congratulations on both fronts. Thank you. Thank you. First Iranian American Democrat. I will say |
| 1:06.9 | there is a woman who's half Iranian, who's a Republican. Who is that? |
| 1:11.6 | Her name is Stephanie Bice. |
| 1:13.7 | Well, first Iranian-American Democrat to be elected. |
| 1:18.3 | So congratulations on all of your success. |
| 1:21.0 | And I'm so excited, even though you're the youngest member of Congress right now, |
| 1:24.8 | seeing you and seeing the work that you do makes me feel like there's an adult in the room, honestly. Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah. So this interview series |
| 1:32.2 | is called Growing Up Idunis. So I wanted to start with that and ask you about your upbringing. |
| 1:36.2 | And you were born in Seattle, Washington. So what was your journey? What was your parents' journey to |
| 1:41.4 | America and this American dream that we have? |
| 1:44.6 | Absolutely. |
| 1:45.6 | So my parents have somewhat of a classic diaspora story, I would say. |
| 1:50.8 | My dad came to the United States early 70s to go to the University of Oregon, and he was studying civil engineering and always had the intention of going back to Iran |
| 2:03.2 | after he finished school. |
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