The Italian American Podcast

Please listen to this Special Announcement from The Italian American Podcast concerning our upcoming episodes entitled "Conversations on Columbus."

I scream, you scream, we all scream for… gelato? Or is it ice cream? And what's the difference anyway? How about we find out? In this week's episode, we're celebrating "National Ice Cream Day" with a look at how Italians all over the world have influenced that frozen treat we all know and love. From Ancient Rome to Marco Polo, from Sicily, to England, to Hoboken, New Jersey, our team gives you the...

For millions of Americans, hope springs eternal every April when baseball returns!  In this craziest of years, fans of the national pastime are gearing up for the first-ever July opening in baseball history. We're so excited to have baseball back that in this week's episode our entire team is taking YOU "out to the ballgame" with our special guest, Lawrence Baldassaro, author of "Beyond DiMaggio:...

We have all learned about America's Founding Fathers… but what about our "Founding Padres?" In celebration of Independence Day, we're taking a look at Philip Mazzei, the Italian physician, winemaker, and philosopher whose close friendship with Thomas Jefferson inspired the phrase "all men are created equal" and other doctrines he added into the Declaration of Independence. For a contribution of su...

In this final installment of "Updates from Italy," host Patrick O'Boyle tries to find out what's next for the Bel Paese as it continues to recover from COVID-19 for the rest of 2020 and beyond. This week, Pat is joined by Antonio Amendola of Agropoli, Campania, who has lived in four countries, including the United States. Pat and Antonio talk about the differences between European Union nations as...

Buona Festa del Papà, Paesani! A Happy Father's Day to every Dad, Papà, Nonno, Father-in-Law, and any special guy out there! There's no blessing like having an Italian American father -- this week our moderator, John M. Viola, is turning his microphone on his very own Italian American dad, Vincent, when he sits down with him for a special Father's Day interview. Vinnie Viola, as he's known to thos...

What is it like to be a resident of a popular Italian tourist destination as Italy reopens? That's the question Pat O'Boyle asks Silvia Giagheddu, who resides in Northern Sardegna, in this week's episode of Reopening Italy. Pat and Silvia discuss what it's like to witness people coming back to the island after time in quarantine and how this is affecting post-COVID-19 life. While Sardegna wasn't a...

Almost 900 years ago, there existed a land where peoples of all cultures, creeds and colors lent their talents to the building of a nation at the forefront of science, art and civic life.  It was a kingdom in the sun… an island at the center of the world.  That nation was the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and in this week's episode, renowned historian and medievalist Lou Mendola joins us from Sicily's...

In our latest episode of "Updates from Italy," Prof. Patrick O'Boyle sits down with Giovanni Trotta, an Italian young professional who witnessed first-hand the changing dynamics of the European workforce as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Giovanni works for Amazon's offices in Luxembourg, but returned home to his village of Laurino, Campania, for quarantine. Giovanni tells us how other young Ital...

Mary, Mary... How does your garden grow? If you're an Italian American, Mary Menniti is the person to answer this question—and many more—in this week's episode of the Italian American Podcast. We're sitting down with Italian America's Number 1 Green Thumb to discuss her groundbreaking Italian Garden Project . Mary will share her appreciation for the centuries-old Italian American connection to the...

For many months, Italy and her healthcare system have been at the epicenter of the most significant global health crisis in modern history.  But, now that the crisis is beginning to ebb, how has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of medicine in Italy? That's the question Prof. Patrick O'Boyle poses in this week's episode of "Updates From Italy," where he interviews Rome-based physician Dr. Giu...

For many Italian Americans, the start of summer means the start of "Feast Season," but the summer of social distancing looks like it's also destined to be the "summer of no feasts"… or is it? In this week's episode, our team discusses how the current COVID-19 crisis has affected the most tangible representation of the Italian American community at large—our feasts. Yet, while most feasts have alre...

In this week's episode of Updates from Italy with Patrick O'Boyle, we talk to Giuseppe Aloi of SIT Italy , the travel company he founded in 1999 that focuses in particular on the beauties and treasures that Southern Italy has to offer, focusing on art, culture, and special events. Giuseppe tells listeners about what he thinks the future will hold for the post-COVID-19 Italian tourism industry, inc...

What have you been doing doing your time in "lockdown"? We here at the Italian American Podcast have been doing what we do best-- working on being as unabashedly Italian American as possible!  Seeing as a big part of the Italian American identity is drawing from the interactions we have with friends, family and fellow paesani , more than two months in isolation have forced us to find some pretty i...

As Italy reopens its doors, we at The Italian American Podcast wanted to showcase just how much our Madre Patria has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, in this new bonus segment of the Podcast, our co-host—and walking encyclopedia of Italian Americana—Professor Patrick O'Boyle is taking a deeper look into how life has changed in Italy and what that means for all of us as a result. I...

In this week's episode, we're wrapping up our two-part look at the Northern Italian impact on Italian American life by Italy by criss-crossing these great United States to discover Northern Italian enclaves from California to Idaho and everywhere in between! Our special guest, and Northern Italy expert, Robert Allegrini, takes us on a tour across the country, stopping in various Northern Italian c...

We tend to focus a lot on our Southern Italian roots here at the Italian American Podcast, but today we're asking..."What's up North?" This week's episode is the first in a two-part series featuring special guest and Northern Italy expert Robert Allegrini, the honorary consul of San Marino in Chicago, where we will dig into a history of the contributions, communities and characters of the Italian...

What are the ties that bind us together? In this week's episode, we celebrate the launch of IAP co-host Dolores Alfieri Taranto's new Podcast, "Bella Figura—The Tradition of Living Beautifully." "Bella Figura" is the tradition of presenting oneself well to the world and, as Dolores explains, this concept doesn't just speak to Italian Americans, but to everyone of any ethnic and cultural background...

What listeners can expect as we move to a new podcast platform! You should not notice a difference in your experience, except there might be more ads. 

In times like these, our rituals are what keep us connected to "normal" life. In this week's episode, Elisabeth Cardiello of Caffè Unimatic and Brave Conversations Over Coffee shows us how this ubiquitous beverage can have rippling effects in our homes and in our communities. Elisabeth shares her trade secrets on what kinds of coffee to try and the different types of brewing that will make a world...

Tired of scraping the bottom of the streaming barrel for something to take your mind off of weeks stuck in the house? Well… SNAP OUT OF IT, because the Italian American Podcast is bringing you our inaugural "Italian American Podcast Movie Watch-Along!" We'll be sitting down to watch the classics of Italian American film, and we're inviting you to watch along with us!  Just pop in your DVD or fire...

Have the weeks of quarantine got you a little stir crazy?  Well, it's time to… SNAP OUT OF IT, because the Italian American Podcast is bringing you a little something extra this week! Welcome to our inaugural Italian American Podcast Movie Watch-Along! In this new offering, we'll take the classics of Italian American film and present them to you with our own running commentary. To celebrate the la...

Buona Pasquetta Everybody!!!  Today is Easter Monday or "Little Easter"... a day that, in Italy, represents a chance to celebrate the arrival of the Easter Season with friends and family, picnics and parties, and a second go at the leftover delicacies that every Italian family makes with pride in preparation for Easter Sunday.   And speaking of those countless confections, in this week's episode,...

How are all our Paesani out there holding up in quarantine?  Is everyone keeping busy? Got enough to eat?  What's in your stockpile?  If you're Italian, you've probably been preparing for a quarantine your whole life without even knowing it!  In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, this week's episode will introduce the new normal here at the Italian American Podcast... a remote recording that wi...

Discovering your past lays out a road map for your future! In this week's episode, we'll prove that while reconstructing your family history might take effort, the rewards are priceless!  Podcast co-host Anthony Fasano asked the gang to get together to share their first-hand experiences discovering family history, and how seeking out and finding his own Italian relatives changed his life, as well...