The Italian American Podcast

In the last United States Census, 18.25 million people self identified as Italian or Italian American. Demographers believe there are more than 21 million Americans of Italian descent spread throughout the nation.  By some calculations, we are the fifth-largest ancestry group in the United States… but when it comes to making our voice heard in the halls of power, Italian Americans often seem far l...

Wine is one of the oldest and most familiar pleasures on earth, but this potent potion still has the power to intimidate even her most ardent admirers!  Fear not, there is an Italian American coming to the rescue to return the joys of understanding wine to the masses! Gianluca Rottura, the proprietor of "In Vino Veritas," New York City's landmark wine store, is here to discuss his book, Wine Made...

If you were to ask those of us behind the Italian American Podcast what it is that drives us or what keeps us coming back to create a new show week in and week out, it's a safe bet that you'd get a unanimous answer… Passione!   That borderline-obsessive passion that we share for what we do is a familiar feeling to Italians of all stripes, and best-selling author Dianne Hales thinks La Passione mig...

Italian enclaves around the country pride themselves on carrying the title of "Little Italy," but one young Italian American from St. Louis, Missouri, believes his community is the last true Little Italy -- and he's made an incredible film to prove it! In this week's episode, we'll visit "The Hill," the famed St. Louis enclave that has been a thriving pocket of Italian culture in the Gateway City...

Have you ever thought about dropping everything and moving to Italy? If you're like us, chances are you've thought about it at least once this week, and probably more than most people! Maybe you're not ready for a full relocation... Can you picture yourself in a charming vacation home in your favorite spot in the Bel Paese? In this week's episode, we meet two women who might just be the friends yo...

On December 11, 2020, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the outgoing Archbishop of Naples, Italy, announced that he was opening a case on the beatification of King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.  If approved, the Vatican will begin an investigation into the "heroic virtues" of the King, which is the first step towards canonization;  His Majesty will then be proclaimed a Servant of God and join his moth...

Since this is the final episode before the Feast of the Seven Fishes and Christmas arrive in earnest, we're sending you into the holiday in style with our Italian American Christmas Musical Revue! As many of us will be celebrating a more sedate version of our favorite holiday this year because many families are kept apart in these unprecedented circumstances, we thought we would help fill the volu...

It's Christmas time in Italian America, and with many of us hunkered down in the house this year, there's a good chance you're burning through your favorite holiday movies at a faster pace than normal. What if there was a Christmas movie out there made by and for Italian Americans?  Well, look no further, because in this episode we're sitting down with Jeffery and Robert Tinnell, the Italian Ameri...

Italian American identity means different things to different people, and the "Italian American Experience" is oftentimes a very personal definition for each individual.  At one point or another, it's safe to say most of us have felt a certain "otherness" setting us apart from the mainstream.  If you have felt this more frequently than others, we've got the Paesana for you! On this week's episode,...

For many of us, looking ahead to the year 2021 represents a possible return to "normal"… but in the heart of one of Chicago's Little Italy neighborhoods, a more than 40 year-old Italian American institution is gearing up to reclaim its rightful spot on the Italian American map! This week, host John Viola is sitting down with longtime friend, and newly-appointed president of the National Italian Am...

Shop small and #SupportItalianAmerican Small Business! With Thanksgiving arriving this week, the unofficial start of the 2020 Holiday Shopping Season has arrived, and it's sure to be one unlike anything we've seen before. With another lockdown seemingly looming on the horizon, and online shopping set to claim an even greater share of holiday spending, we at the Italian American Podcast wanted to b...

The Mal'Occhio… the Evil Eye… It's a concept that lives deep in the collective psychology of Italian America, but is it science or superstition? The answer depends on what you believe, as you'll hear in this week's episode when we sit down with Italo-Canadian filmmaker and author Agata De Santis, whose documentary film and follow-up book "Mal'occhio: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Ev...

This week we're bringing you Part Two of our first ever "Live" question-and-answer episode direct from our "New Neighborhood" online membership group! The New Neighborhood is a place for all Italian Americans… a vibrant, close-knit community centered around our private Facebook group, where our most passionate listeners and supporters gather together each day to maintain and deepen their sense of...

With Election Day tomorrow, it's a star-spangled celebration on this week's episode as we're joined by special guest Thom Woodley of the "Fail to the Chief" podcast to discuss the Italian American "Almost-Weres" of United States Presidential history. Sure, we have yet to see a Paesano or a Paesana take up residence in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but there have been more than a few who have tossed th...

As Italian American Heritage Month draws to a close, we're presenting our first ever "Live" question-and-answer episode direct from our "New Neighborhood" online membership group! The New Neighborhood is a Place for all Italian Americans … a vibrant, close-knit community centered around our private Facebook group where our most passionate listeners and supporters gather together each day to mainta...

For young Taylor Taglianetti, founder of the National Organization of Italian Americans in Film and Television (NOIAFT), her many encounters with the generosity of the Italian American community have made her life's work about paying it forward. This week, we sit down with Taylor to discover how this philosophy drove her to found a new, booming organization for professional Italian Americans in th...

Happy Columbus Day, everybody!  That is, if you're one of the folks who still celebrates Columbus Day because, appropriate to today's often contentious designation, we're presenting the sixth and final segment of our "Conversations on Columbus" series exploring the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus! This week is our attempt to tie a nice big red-white-and-green ribbon around this complex dis...

Happy Italian American Heritage Month, Paesani !  We're kicking off our favorite month of the year by bringing you Part Five of our "Conversations on Columbus" series exploring the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus.  This week we're presenting the voices who've set out to defend the legacy of this complex Italian figure. We'll begin by running down the charges established in Part Three of ou...

As October approaches, we're returning for part four of our "Conversations on Columbus" series exploring the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus, and this week we're examining the long and complex relationship between the Italian American community and the Genovese navigator who has become a symbol of Italian American pride. We'll begin with an exploration of the history of Columbus Day in the...

As the air begins to chill, and the days grow shorter and shorter, it's the perfect time of year to snuggle up with a good book— and if you love to read about your Italian American heritage and culture, Nicola Orichuia of Boston's I AM Books is the man to help you pick the perfect page-turner! I AM Books is Boston's first—and only—bookstore created specifically for the nation's 25 million Italian...

Well Podcast fans, its time once again to turn our eyes to our beloved Motherland for the continuing drama that is Italian politics, as our cousins across the Atlantic are gearing up for the latest constitutional referendum facing voters in the Italian Republic --including those living abroad like the many Italian American dual citizens here in the United States.  On September 20-21, Italians will...

As August begins to creep into September, families everywhere are preparing for winter by gathering together to partake in a much-loved Italian American tradition… gather the whole famiglia as we take your through the history and how-tos of the art of tomato jarring! This New World fruit has become the staple of Italian and Italian American cuisine and now with the tomato harvest happening, our te...

In this week's episode of the Italian American Podcast, we're presenting part three of our "Conversations on Columbus" series exploring the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus, and this week we're examining the major accusations which Columbus' critics charge him with. We'll begin with an examination of when and how Columbus' reputation began to suffer, and just what caused a figure that was o...

In this week's episode of the Italian American Podcast, we're picking up with Part Two of our "Conversations on Columbus" series exploring the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus and we're starting right from the beginning! As we set out to find truth in the current debates around the famed Genovese navigator, we're seeking to understand just what primary historical documentation exists to pro...

In this week's episode of the Italian American Podcast, we're setting out to tackle an issue that has been at the forefront of conversations surrounding the Italian American identity in the 21st Century. This issue is one that hits at the heart of our national mythology for Americans of all ethnicities -- the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus. Many of our listeners have called for us to weig...