The Italian American Podcast

It's easy to make the argument that the annual feast is the soul of the Italian American neighborhood, and for the true feast aficionado, it's the music that is the soul of the feast! And no two people know this better than this week's guests, the talented musicians at the helm of two of Italian America's most renowned feast bands, Marty Caliendo and Joe Annecchino. Based in Chicago, Marty is the...

When we scored an interview with famed Italo-Australian comedian Joe Avati, we figured we would be lucky to get 45 minutes with the man many credit with creating a worldwide Italian comedy revolution. In fact, we ended up spending two hours in deep discussion with the man known around the world as the "Italian Seinfeld!" On this week's episode of the Italian American Podcast, we're bringing you Pa...

Until recently, Joe Avati never thought of himself as a "real comic."  This bout of self-deprecation probably comes as something of a surprise to the Italo-Australian's legion of devoted fans, who many years ago dubbed him the "Italian Seinfeld!" Avati's signature "clean style" of comedy and his laser-sharp insight into the minds of Italians around the world have made him a comedy superstar in his...

It's said that Heaven touches Brooklyn, New York, every July… and if you know Brooklyn like we do, then you know that celestial poke occurs at the famed Festa del Giglio at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, and you also know the passionate pastor there! This week we sit down with the one-and-only Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello who, beyond his job as the spiritual father of one of the nation's most imp...

Family is the cornerstone of our life as Italian Americans, but what happens when one member of the family is diagnosed with a serious illness? That's just one of the topics we cover with this week's guest, Dr. Benedict Albensi, Ph. D., BCMAS, CRQM. Dr. Albensi is a professor and chair of the department of pharmaceutical sciences at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Renowned...

Are you guilty of crimes against Italian food? A recent YouGov survey that polled 20,000 people across 17 different countries decided that Italian cuisine was the most beloved on earth… but also established a list of alleged "Italian Food Crimes" that might trip up even the most passionate Italian American, let alone the first-time visitor to "il Bel Paese." Some of the worst offenders list will r...

We're back for the second half of our incredible conversation with Ian MacAllen, the author of Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American , as we continue our quest to understand the evolution of "Red Sauce Italian," - that unique cuisine born of the melding of Southern Italian tastes and American abundance. This week, in Part 2, we'll take the conversation even deeper to explore everything from...

Once in a long while, a book comes along and immediately qualifies as a "must have" in the Italian American home library. In Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American , author Ian MacAllen has created one of those books! In this rollicking two-part episode, we're joined by this proud Italian American writer as he leads us in an exploration of the evolution of traditional Italian American cuisine...

For countless Italian Americans, many of the best-loved hallmarks of our distinct culture are intrinsically tied to Catholic tradition.  Even for those who have let their personal practice lapse, or for others who come from different religious backgrounds, recollections of a special feast day in the old neighborhood, or holiday traditions rooted in Catholic practice remain treasured touchstones of...

Of the more than 20 million Americans with Italian roots, approximately 87 percent are of Southern Italian origin.  This massive dispora from Italy's south has made southern Italian cuisine, culture and traditions into familiar aspects of Italian American life; yet the wealth of classical music originating in the Italian south has remained a mystery, even to the millions whose ancestors left her s...

With 20 titles to her credit, Adriana Trigiani is one of Italian America's most profound and authentic voices. This week, she joins us to celebrate the launch of her latest book, "The Good Left Undone," a generational story that will easily secure a place of honor in anyone's Italian American book collection upon its release on April 26. Adriana tells us about her process for writing her latest ep...

This week we're jumping back into the second part of our two-part episode exploring the 50-year relationship between the Italian American community and Francis Ford Coppola's " The Godfather ", with a commercial-free conclusion to this well-received conversation. Since its premiere in March of 1972, The Godfather has been considered one of the most influential and important films of all time, but...

It is considered one of the most influential films of all time, a critical and commercial success, the winner of the 1972 Academy Award for Best Picture, selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, and ranked as the second-greatest film in American cinematic history by the American Film Institute… and for 50 years it has aroused equal parts love and loa...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shocked and horrified onlookers around the world, and has brought us closer to the brink of a global conflagration than most observers ever imagined possible in an interconnected and globalized society. This week's guest is His Eminence Archbishop Lorenzo Casati, the archbishop of Palermo and All Italy and Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Chu...

Imagine Elizabeth Bettina Nicolosi's surprise when she discovered that her grandmother's Italian village had a secret: over a half century ago, in the southern Italian town of Campagna, countless residents defied the occupying Nazis and risked their lives to shelter and save hundreds of Jews from the Holocaust. What followed her discovery became an adventure as she uncovered fascinating untold sto...

Around here, we've become pretty adept at recognizing the symptoms of an Italian American obsession... and this week's guest can easily be diagnosed within a few moments of first meeting him! Ray Guarini is the founder and driving force behind Italian Enclaves , an immensely popular Italian American social media platform on which Ray has set out to identify and catalogue the countless Italian Amer...

We're kicking off the month of March, known as Women's History Month, by catching up with two very talented Italian American women behind a much anticipated event happening this weekend in honor of International Women's Day. This week's guests, Vanessa Racci and Lena Prima, are the producer and headliner of the fourth-annual "Festa della Donna," a variety show celebrating Italian American females...

Queen Maria Carolina of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies was one of the most fascinating, impactful and, unfortunately, forgotten women in the long story of Southern Italy. Thanks to the work of this week's guest, Her Royal Highness is about to reclaim her rightful place in history! Diana Giovinazzo is the author of "Antoinette's Sister," which tells the story of Queen Maria Carolina, the Queen Consort...

Sicily… for millennia, this island at the crossroads of the world has been drawing peoples from across the globe to its shores, and in the second part of this very special two-part episode, Melissa Muller, author of "Sicily: Recipes Rooted in Tradition," published by Rizzoli, shares with us some of the history behind Sicily's most famous dishes. Melissa describes how Sicily's position as the cross...

Sicily… for millennia, this island at the crossroads of the world has been drawing peoples from across the globe to its shores, and in this very special two-part episode, we're sitting down with Melissa Muller, author of " Sicily: Recipes Rooted in Tradition ," published by Rizzoli, as she shares how she too surrendered to the siren call of this unique island. We'll discover how this Italian Ameri...

"Vision" can mean different things to different people, but for this week's guest, his life's work has been inspired by a vision of sharing his Italian family's inspiring love with the visually impaired. This week, we're sitting down with Tony Cancelosi, the chief executive officer of Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind in Washington, D.C. Since 1900, Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind has been dedic...

It was called the "Economic Miracle," and Italy's economic expansion after World War II was so rapid -- and her climb from war and poverty to wealth and prosperity so drastic -- that one might be tempted to believe that God had in fact deigned to bless Italia with La Dolce Vita… the Sweet Life! But this "miracle" also triggered unprecedented social, cultural, and religious changes, so this week we...

It's sometimes the hidden stories that can tell us more about our history than we ever dreamed of. In this week's episode, Danielle Oteri of Feast on History talks to us about her latest project, a series of classes focusing exclusively on Southern Italy by Context Learning . These 90-minute courses are designed to take learners on a journey through the territory once occupied by the former Kingdo...

For many Italian American families, the story of an immigrant's sacrifice usually begins in the years between 1880 and 1920, known as the Great Wave of Italian Immigration to the United States. But for 2,800 unfortunate souls, immigration to the "Land of Opportunity" came earlier, and at a much greater cost. Between late 1872 and early 1873, thousands of unsuspecting Italian laborers were victims...

Another holiday season has come and gone here in Italian America. The fishes have been served, the champagne has been popped, and the lentils have been eaten, so we're kicking off the new year with the best thing we can think of to combat the post holiday blues… a collective therapy session! We're getting together to share our reflections on this year's Christmas and New Year's celebrations, with...