WTI Magazine #77    2016 March 18
Author : Dolores Alfieri      Translation by:

November 2015 marked the launch of The Italian American Podcast – the first podcast dedicated to helping Italian Americans learn about and celebrate their brilliant heritage. Recent guest Lidia Bastianich, famed chef and host of "Lidia's Italy," said this on an episode that aired on Easter Day – "[Your heritage] is like a tree: If you have deep roots, if you know your roots, and a hurricane comes in your life, the tree with long roots will survive the hurricane.

Whereas, if you have short roots, chances are you'll be toppled by the hurricane"; it is with this understanding that The Italian American Podcast strives to help Italian Americans cultivate those deep roots through the richness of our culture and ancestry, so that we as individuals, and as a people, feel strong, grounded, and whole. Only four months into production, the show is playing a growing role in the Italian-American community.

I agreed to join my host, Anthony Fasano, without hesitation when he asked me to co-host The Italian American Podcast. There are times in life when we step into something we feel is cut to fit our frame exactly; this was one of those moments for me. Raised by Italian immigrants who came to New York in the late 1960s, my upbringing was steeped in Southern Italian culture, language, traditions, and codes of conduct. Living my Italian heritage was something I simply absorbed throughout childhood; it is, and has always been, central to my identity – what I am, who I am, and how I live in this world.

In contrast, Anthony's vision for the podcast originated from his realization, late in his 30s, that he possessed this rich cultural heritage, yet knew very little about it. Anthony began The Italian American Podcast as a heartfelt idea to simply have conversations with his 90-year old grandmother and to record the stories she told him. He wanted to preserve those stories for his own children, nieces, and nephews. This idea expanded to become a high-caliber, large-scale, professionally recorded and produced Internet show that explores and celebrates Italian-American heritage.

The two of us together embody and present both sides of the Italian-American experience: Anthony, a third-generation Italian American, seeking to connect with that lineage, and me, a first-generation American, seeking to honor the Italians who raised me and preserve the culture and traditions they raised me with.

On our podcast, we interview prominent Italian Americans like Bastianich; bestselling author and filmmaker Adriana Trigiani, author of the blockbuster novel "The Shoemaker's Wife"; and Mary Tedesco, host of PBS' "Genealogy Roadshow," among many others, including an upcoming show with Gay Talese, one of the most prominent names in the literary world.

But our show, which airs live on iTunes every other Sunday (an important day for the Italian American!), also features a focus on the ordinary, every day experience of being Italian American. Our Christmas episode, "Sounds of an Italian-American Kitchen at Christmas Time," captures the love, laughter, and warmth of an Italian-American family preparing for Natale. My mother, aunts, nieces, nephews, as well as Anthony and his son, spent a beautiful Sunday morning in my mother's kitchen, baking traditional Italian cookies in preparation for the holiday. The episode has been a favorite among listeners, and Anthony and I feel this is because it strikes a deep chord in their hearts, reminding them of their own families, or the way their families once were, or the way they would like their families to be. It is an episode bursting with the true essence of what it means to be Italian American.

A very important aspect of our show is the "Storytelling Segment" included at the end of each episode. This is where we air the recorded stories of our family members, telling about Italy or about being Italian American. It is also a place where we invite our listeners to share their own stories. Everyone, including readers of We the Italians, is invited to visit our website (italianamericanpodcast.com) and click the "Tell Your Story" button on the right-hand side of the page, and record a memory, a funny story, a sad story, any story that captures the Italian-American experience. All recorded stories will be considered for inclusion in our "Storytelling Segment." We do this because we know that stories, and the sharing of those stories, are what keep a culture alive, connected, and conscious of where it has been. Only this way can we know where we come from, and only this way will our descendants, in turn, know from where they come.

Anthony and I truly seek to create a large, expansive community of Italian Americans, joined under the banner of honoring our heritage, what it has given us, and how it contributes to who we are as individuals. You can subscribe to our podcast here - http://bit.ly/TIAPpodcast, and also join our mailing list, and we'll let you know each time we publish a new episode. We hope you will join us. Dai nostri cuori a vostri. From our hearts to yours.