Hooman Majd

Journalist Hooman Majd's new book, The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay, was inspired by the year he and his young American family spent in Tehran, where Majd was born. He tells Fresh Air about the country's long-standing tradition of sulking, and what sets Tehran apart from most other Islamic metropolises.

When President Ahmadinejad of Iran spoke at the UN this week, his translator was Hooman Majd. But Majd isn't a professional translator. He's a writer, and his new book is called The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran.