ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Join us for a timely conversation exploring the complex history and evolving relationship between the United States and Iran. John Ghazvinian, former head of University of Pennsylvania’s Middle East Center and author of America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present will examine how we arrived at this pivotal moment, the historical forces shaping U.S.-Iran relations, and what the future may hold.
Light refreshments will be provided.
About the Speaker
John Ghazvinian is an author, historian and former journalist, specializing in the history of US-Iran relations. His latest book, America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present (Knopf, 2021) — a comprehensive survey of the bilateral relationship, based on years of archival research in both countries — was named by the New York Times as one of “100 Notable Books of 2021”. He is also author of Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil (Harcourt, 2007), as well as coeditor of American and Muslim Worlds before 1900 (Bloomsbury, 2020). He has written for such publications as Newsweek, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, the Sunday Times and the Huffington Post, and has taught modern Middle East history at a number of colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area. He earned his doctorate in history at Oxford University, and was the recipient of a “Public Scholar” fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2016-2017, as well as a fellowship from the Carnegie Corporation’s special initiative on Islam in 2009-2010.
From 2018 to 2025, Ghazvinian served as Associate Director, Interim Director and Executive Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is also passionate about public scholarship, making expertise accessible and helping academics become more comfortable writing for general audiences. He is the founding director of Scholars to Storytellers — an initiative aimed at coaching senior scholars to reach wider readerships for their work.
About the Moderator
Lauren Mayk is a reporter for NBC10 News. You can watch her live reports weekdays during the 4, 5, and 6 p.m. newscasts.
Lauren covers a wide range of assignments for NBC10 but is most passionate about political reporting. Most recently, she covered the 2024 Presidential election, traveling throughout the Philadelphia region to report on the significance of Pennsylvania’s role in the race. One of the most memorable experiences of her career was covering the 2016 election season, during which Lauren interviewed all four major candidates for President and Vice President: Clinton, Kaine, Trump, and Pence. Bringing viewers an up-close look at the campaigns, reporting from the floors of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions and speaking with supporters at rallies about what inspired their support gave viewers is something she will never forget.
Lauren loves reporting and living in the Philadelphia region. “This region has special meaning to me and to my family,” said Mayk. “I was born here, while my father was working at WCAU as a reporter! I returned after college to work at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and was thrilled to return again to join the NBC10 team.”
Prior to joining NBC10, Lauren graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science, where she served as Editor in Chief of The Michigan Daily. After college, she began her journalism career at The Philadelphia Inquirer as a South Jersey correspondent, followed by working as a business reporter at The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. After spending time working on the newspaper side, Lauren transitioned to television news, anchoring morning and evening newscasts at cable station SNN in Sarasota, Florida. She later moved to Tampa to join WFLA, where she covered politics, consumer issues, and investigative stories.
Catering Partners
