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In a post that I wrote at the beginning of the year, one of my stated \u201cresolutions\u201d for 2015 was to start an Italy podcast. It has taken me a little longer than expected, but at last I\u2019ve fought my way through the learning curve and have created an audio version of my silly blog.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say that I\u2019m done writing\u2014far from it; the written word will always be my preferred method of communication. But I\u2019ve discovered that this podcasting thing might be kind of fun once you get the hang of it. (Not that fun yet\u2014I\u2019ll let you all know once I get the hang of it.)<\/p>\n
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In this first episode, I mostly just introduce myself, and I explain the title that I\u2019ve chosen for my little show. It\u2019s called, \u201cThe Fatal Charm of Italy,\u201d and it\u2019s borrowed from a quote by Erica Jong who asks the questions, “What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find here that can be found nowhere else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she answers her own question by offering, \u201cI believe it is a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago.”<\/p>\n
I like it, because it sort of describes what foreigners find appealing about Italy without pandering to worn out sentimentality and overly romantic clich\u00e9s, which, quite frankly, get tiresome in a hurry.<\/p>\n
In the following episodes of my Italy podcast, I\u2019ll be talking to folks who are experts in various\u00a0facets of Italian culture\u2014usually from the expat perspective, but sometimes from the Italian perspective, as well. Language, food, history, politics, art\u2026it\u2019s all fair game.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll also be soliciting inquiries from readers and podcast listeners, and I\u2019ll use them for topics of future episodes. I\u2019m installing a widget called \u201cSpeakPipe\u201d that will allow anybody to leave me a voicemail question to be answered via podcast. Go ahead, give it a try below!<\/p>\n
So please bear with me while I work this all out. At the very least, you might get a good laugh at my expense.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, check out the introductory episode (and see if you catch my “Freudian Slip,” when I meant to say that Italians are very “fashion” conscious).<\/p>\n
Then I\u2019ll be back in a couple of days for my conversation with Maria Pasquale from \u201cHeart Rome\u201d and \u201cEating Italy\u201d about traditional Roman cuisine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Until then, \u00a0Ciao!<\/p>\n (And click the link to check out other episodes and see my list of the <\/span>best podcasts about Italy<\/b><\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n