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Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to https://www.rocketmoney.com/ninjas #ad Head to FactorMeals.com/ninjas50off and use code “ninjas50off” to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. #ad In Episode 183 of Ninjas Are Butterflies, we explore the eerie Sicily Catacombs and the mystery of the perfectly preserved bodies inside the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo. How are these mummies still intact centuries later? Then we dive into a wild World War II legend — the story of Saint Menas who rode in on a camel and allegedly attacked Nazi forces. Miracle, myth, or battlefield psychology? And finally, we tell the incredible true story of a Vietnam veteran who saved a hockey goalie's life, proving hero instincts don't disappear after war.Strange history. Supernatural war stories. Unbelievable true events. Get MORE Exclusive Ninjas Are Butterflies Content by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NinjasAreButterflies NEW EPISODES EVERY FRIDAY @ 6AM EST! Ninja Merch: https://www.sundaycoolswag.com/ Start Your Custom Apparel Order Here: https://bit.ly/NinjasYT-SundayCool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Coucou everyone!It's not a bag, It's a baguette!Four generations of women comprise the Fendi legacy. Starting from a little leather goods and fur atelier in Rome, by a single woman who turned it into a multinational luxury fashion house and household name. Let's learn this week about the history of Fendi! We go a little more south on the Italian boot and visit Sicily and learn about the history of the cannoli. Vai! Andiamo! Off to Italy we go
The cage breaks open. Caravaggio breaks with it.Chained in a torture chamber beneath the fortress, Caravaggio faces the Grand Master one last time. Faith against flesh. Obedience against desire. What follows is an escape down a fortress wall, a boat in the dark, and a fugitive painter running not toward freedom but toward the only thing he has left.Act Three is the fall. Brutal. Beautiful. Inevitable.Sicily. Caravaggio paints like a man on fire. In Syracuse, a burial. In Messina, a nativity. Each canvas more desperate than the last. Each one a confession he cannot say out loud. The genius is still there. The man holding the brush is disappearing.Back in Rome, the news arrives. Lena. The woman whose face launched his greatest work. Gone. Caravaggio learns what it costs to leave someone behind in a city that devours the unprotected.Cardinal Del Monte makes his final play. A pardon. A real one. Signed by the Pope himself. But the pardon needs a delivery and Caravaggio needs to stay alive long enough to receive it.Naples. A prison cell. Malaria. Chains. The Grand Master finds him one last time. Two men who could never say what they meant finally say it. It is too late for both of them.Then a swamp. Bandits. A boiling sun. A beach. A boy. Two nuns. And the Tyrrhenian coast, where the greatest painter of his generation reaches for the light one final time.The pardon arrives. The man does not.Act Three is reckoning. Loss. Grace. The moment the fuse runs out.What you see in the art, you will find in the artist. What you see in the artist, you will find in the man.Cast Dennis Kleinman · Narrator Craig Parker · Caravaggio Dan Lauria · Cardinal Del Monte Bruce Davison · Alof de Wignacourt Shaan Sharma · Stefano della Croce Catherine Lidstone · Lena Sarah Elmaleh · Maria Brendan Bradley · Annibale Carracci Noah James · Ranuccio Tomassoni Josh Sterling · Ottavio Tomassoni Zeke Alton · Giovan Tomassoni Nick Monteleone · Mancini Matt Curtin · Toppa Bjorn Johnson · Pope Paul V Ray Abruzzo · Pope Clement VIIIWritten by Richard VetereExecutive Produced by Jack Levy, Shaan Sharma, and Mark KnellTable Read is a Manifest Media production.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode of Big Blend Radio, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Linda Stasi discusses her powerful new historical novel The Descendant, arriving March 10, 2026 and available now for pre-order. Inspired by real family history, the book uncovers a sweeping Italian immigrant saga that stretches from Sicily to the coal mines and ranchlands of the American West. Linda shares how deep journalistic research led her to shocking discoveries about labor exploitation, early Mafia networks, and the overlooked role of immigrant women in shaping the West. The conversation explores the tragic legacy of the Ludlow Massacre, the roots of cultural stereotypes, and why stories of resilience and reinvention still matter today. From rebellious cowgirls to bootlegging empires, The Descendant challenges the myth of the “John Wayne West” and re-centers the multicultural reality of American history.
Send a textSt. Lucy of Syracuse lived in 3rd-century Sicily during the Roman persecutions of Christians. When ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, she refused. Ancient Christian tradition recounts that soldiers attempted to drag her away, yet she stood unmoved. Her body could be bound, but her will remained free.Support the showSupport this show and get all future episodes by email atwww.kenandjanelle.com
Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni hopes to get her plans for the world's longest suspension bridge, linking the Italian mainland with Sicily, off the ground. But there is a lot of opposition to the project.Joining Seán to discuss is Nick Pisa, Senior Reporter with Mail Online…Image: Webuild
Fluent Fiction - Italian: Unveiling Etna's Mysteries: The Archaeologist's Daring Discovery Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/it/episode/2026-02-23-23-34-02-it Story Transcript:It: Il vento freddo si levava dalle pendici innevate dell'Etna, trasportando con sé il mistero di una terra antica.En: The cold wind rose from the snowy slopes of Etna, carrying with it the mystery of an ancient land.It: Giuliana, un'archeologa avventuriera dai capelli scuri e gli occhi brillanti, si fermò un momento per contemplare il vulcano, il gigante che custodiva vecchi segreti.En: Giuliana, an adventurous archaeologist with dark hair and bright eyes, paused for a moment to contemplate the volcano, the giant that guarded old secrets.It: Il suo cuore era infiammato dal desiderio di scoprire la verità dietro la scomparsa di un antico manufatto dal museo locale.En: Her heart was ablaze with the desire to discover the truth behind the disappearance of an ancient artifact from the local museum.It: Accanto a lei, Lorenzo, una guida locale con una conoscenza profonda della montagna, prese un lungo respiro.En: Next to her, Lorenzo, a local guide with deep knowledge of the mountain, took a long breath.It: L'aria era fredda, pungente, ma non riuscì a scacciare il sorriso dal suo volto.En: The air was cold, biting, but it couldn't wipe the smile off his face.It: Lui sapeva qualcosa che Giuliana non poteva immaginare, qualcosa che non aveva ancora rivelato a nessuno.En: He knew something Giuliana couldn't imagine, something he hadn't yet revealed to anyone.It: “Ami la montagna?En: "Do you love the mountain?"It: ”, chiese Giuliana, cercando di rompere il silenzio.En: asked Giuliana, trying to break the silence.It: “È parte di me”, rispose Lorenzo.En: "It's part of me," replied Lorenzo.It: Matteo, il giornalista scettico che seguiva il caso per il suo giornale, li osservava da una distanza sospettosa.En: Matteo, the skeptical journalist covering the case for his newspaper, watched them from a suspicious distance.It: Era difficile per lui fidarsi di quella guida che sembrava sapere più del dovuto.En: It was difficult for him to trust that guide who seemed to know more than he should.It: Eppure, Giuliana aveva deciso di fidarsi di Lorenzo, di seguirlo fino al cuore dell'Etna.En: Yet, Giuliana had decided to trust Lorenzo, to follow him into the heart of Etna.It: L'ascesa era ardua.En: The ascent was arduous.It: La neve rendeva i sentieri scivolosi, e la montagna mostrava la sua natura selvaggia a ogni passo.En: The snow made the paths slippery, and the mountain showed its wild nature at every step.It: Mentre si avvicinavano alla vetta, l'aria cominciò a vibrarsi di un rumore profondo.En: As they approached the summit, the air began to vibrate with a deep rumble.It: L'Etna si stava risvegliando.En: Etna was awakening.It: “Dobbiamo muoverci”, disse Lorenzo in un tono improvvisamente serio.En: "We need to move," said Lorenzo in a suddenly serious tone.It: Prese la mano di Giuliana e la guidò verso una grotta nascosta tra le rocce.En: He took Giuliana's hand and led her toward a hidden cave among the rocks.It: Matteo li seguì, ancora dubbioso, ma colto dall'urgenza del momento.En: Matteo followed them, still doubtful, but caught by the urgency of the moment.It: Dentro la grotta, alla luce tremolante di una torcia, Giuliana vide l'impossibile: il manufatto perduto giaceva lì, insieme a segni e simboli che indicavano qualcosa di più grande, una cospirazione che coinvolgeva il vulcano e la sua storia.En: Inside the cave, in the flickering light of a torch, Giuliana saw the impossible: the lost artifact lay there, along with signs and symbols indicating something greater, a conspiracy involving the volcano and its history.It: “Cosa significa tutto questo?En: "What does all this mean?"It: ” chiese Giuliana con la voce piena di meraviglia.En: asked Giuliana, her voice full of wonder.It: “Non tutto è come sembra”, rispose Lorenzo.En: "Not everything is as it seems," replied Lorenzo.It: “Alcuni segreti devono restare nascosti, ma altri devono essere rivelati.En: "Some secrets must remain hidden, but others must be revealed."It: ”Il rombo dell'Etna si fece più forte, ma Giuliana non poteva fermarsi.En: The roar of Etna grew louder, but Giuliana could not stop.It: Con l'aiuto di Matteo, documentò la scoperta e insieme riuscirono a portare il manufatto al sicuro.En: With Matteo's help, she documented the discovery, and together they managed to bring the artifact to safety.It: Poco dopo, con la notizia finalmente divulgata al pubblico, Giuliana fu acclamata come eroina.En: Shortly after, with the news finally revealed to the public, Giuliana was hailed as a heroine.It: La verità era stata rivelata, e con essa, un nuovo capitolo di storia siciliana fu aperto.En: The truth had been revealed, and with it, a new chapter of Sicilian history was opened.It: Giuliana, grazie a Matteo, imparò che fidarsi degli altri era una parte fondamentale della scoperta.En: Giuliana, thanks to Matteo, learned that trusting others was a fundamental part of discovery.It: Mentre il sole tramontava dietro l'Etna, il vulcano sembrava addormentarsi di nuovo, lasciando dietro di sé un paesaggio tranquillo sotto il cielo invernale.En: As the sun set behind Etna, the volcano seemed to fall asleep again, leaving behind a tranquil landscape under the winter sky.It: Giuliana guardò Lorenzo e Matteo.En: Giuliana looked at Lorenzo and Matteo.It: La loro avventura l'aveva cambiata, e la Sicilia non sarebbe mai più stata la stessa ai suoi occhi.En: Their adventure had changed her, and Sicily would never be the same in her eyes. Vocabulary Words:the slope: la pendicethe mystery: il misterothe archaeologist: l'archeologato contemplate: contemplarethe giant: il gigantethe artifact: il manufattothe guide: la guidabiting: pungenteto reveal: rivelareto trust: fidarsithe ascent: l'ascesaslippery: scivolosithe summit: la vettato vibrate: vibrarsithe rumble: il rumoreto awaken: risvegliarsiserious: seriothe cave: la grottato hide: nascondereflickering: tremolantethe torch: la torciathe sign: il segnothe symbol: il simbolothe conspiracy: la cospirazioneto document: documentareto hail: acclamarethe heroine: l'eroinathe chapter: il capitolothe twilight: il tramontotranquil: tranquillo
Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni hopes to get her plans for the world's longest suspension bridge, linking the Italian mainland with Sicily, off the ground. But there is a lot of opposition to the project.Joining Seán to discuss is Nick Pisa, Senior Reporter with Mail Online…Image: Webuild
Beneath the sun-baked streets of Palermo, Sicily, over a thousand mummified bodies line the walls of an underground cemetery where the dead were never meant to disappear—they were meant to be seen, visited, and remembered. Dressed in their finest clothes, pinned upright in stone alcoves, and arranged by gender, profession, and social class, the residents of the Capuchin Catacombs have been watching visitors for over four hundred years. And some visitors swear the dead are watching back. https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror #CapuchinCatacombs #Palermo #Sicily #Mummies #Catacombs #Italy #HorrorPodcast #DestinationTerror #RosaliaLombardo #SleepingBeauty #MementoMori #DarkTourism #MacabreHistory EXPLORE MORE SPINE-CHILLING CONTENT: Freaky Folklore: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/freaky-folklore Carman's Crypt (Original Horror): https://carmanscrypt.buzzsprout.com Deadly Intent (True Crime): https://carmancarrion.buzzsprout.com Destination Terror: https://www.eeriecast.com/podcasts/destination-terror SUPPORT THE SHOW: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/CarmanCarrion Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/carmancarrion CONNECT WITH CARMAN: Website: https://www.carman-carrion.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarmanCarrion Twitter/X: https://x.com/CarmanCarrion Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmancarrion/ SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uiX155WEJnN7QVRfo3aQY iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-folklore/id1550361184 Your support helps bring you more terrifying tales! DISCOVER MORE HORROR: http://eeriecast.com/ https://www.carman-carrion.com/ Crypt Shop: https: //the-crypt-shop-2.myshopify.com/ MUSIC CREDITS: Music and sound effects provided by: CO.AG, Myuu, Jinglepunks, Epidemic Sound, Kevin MacLeod, Dark Music, and Soundstripe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Text of Readings Thursday after Ash Wednesday Lectionary: 220 The Saint of the day is Saint Conrad of Piacenza Saint Conrad of Piacenza's Story Born of a noble family in northern Italy, Saint Conrad as a young man married Euphrosyne, daughter of a nobleman. One day while hunting he ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. The fire spread to nearby fields and to a large forest. Saint Conrad of Piacenza fled. An innocent peasant was imprisoned, tortured to confess, and condemned to death. Conrad confessed his guilt, saved the man's life, and paid for the damaged property. Soon after this event, Saint Conrad of Piacenza and his wife agreed to separate: she to a Poor Clare monastery and he to a group of hermits following the Third Order Rule. His reputation for holiness, however, spread quickly. Since his many visitors destroyed his solitude, Conrad went to a more remote spot in Sicily where he lived 36 years as a hermit, praying for himself and for the rest of the world. Prayer and penance were his answer to the temptations that beset him. Conrad died kneeling before a crucifix. He was canonized in 1625. Reflection Francis of Assisi was drawn both to contemplation and to a life of preaching; periods of intense prayer nourished his preaching. Some of his early followers, however, felt called to a life of greater contemplation, and he accepted that. Though Conrad of Piacenza is not the norm in the Church, he and other contemplatives remind us of the greatness of God and of the joys of heaven.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media
Send a textIn today's episode, I'm chatting with Lindsay Marie Morris, a novelist and journalist based in Los Angeles whose work is deeply rooted in her Sicilian-American heritage. Lindsay's debut novel, The Last Letter from Sicily, was inspired by her grandmother's story and explores love, resilience, and long-held family secrets during World War II. Her second novel, Beneath the Sicilian Stars, returns to this era, following a family divided between California and Sicily as the war forces them to confront questions of loyalty, belonging, and sacrifice.Episode Highlights:The often-overlooked history of Sicilians and Italian Americans during World War II, including the impact of the Alien Enemy Act and the internment of Italian Americans, history rarely taught in American schools.How family stories are often passed down in fragments, and the role fiction can play in uncovering the fuller, more complicated truth.Exploring Sicilian culture through food, including why arancini are shaped differently depending on where you are on the island.A Sicily-focused book flight, plus additional reading recommendations on Italian and Italian-American history.How Lindsay connects with readers through her newsletter, sharing behind-the-scenes insights, upcoming events, and travel notes from the road.Connect with Lindsay:WebsiteFacebookInstagramShow NotesSome links are affiliate links, which are no extra cost to you but do help to support the show.Books and authors mentioned in the episode:Una Storia Segreta by Lawrence DiStasiLaura Ingalls Wilder booksNeopolitan Quartet by Elena FerranteEternal by Lisa ScottolineRenata Tebaldi: The Voice of an Angel by Carlamaria CasanovaBook FlightThe Peoples of Sicily by Louis Mendola & Jacqueline AlioThe Leopard by Giovanni Di LampedusaSicily on My Mind by Joseph Cione✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmapSupport the showBe sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening! Instagram Facebook Website
Presidents and UFOs…It appears every President in recent history, certainly every Democratic president including Obama Was Into UFOs. Why do they all believe it?Guest: Daniel Greenfield - CEO at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, writer for Front Page Magazine & Author Boston is quickly emerging as a food and wine destination… Boston becomes a global meeting point for the wine world as producers travel in from Sicily, Georgia, South Africa, and California for the Boston Wine Expo happening March 7-8, 2026 with Over 100 International Wineries and Exclusive Master Classes. Open to the public & patrons get to sample a variety of wines from over 100 wineries. Held at Hilton Park Plaza Hotel in BostonGuest: Raffaele Scalzi - Director of the Boston Wine Expo Cool on the Outside, Screaming on the Inside. A modern guy’s guide to projecting stability with style, “A field guide for those who have mastered the art of detachment while quietly unraveling." Guest: Charles O’Neill (pen name Brand Mavrick) - Author Business Insider readers voted on whether they would choose a $120K remote or $240K in-office job. The results were closer than they expected…Guest: Henry Chandonnet - Business News Reporter for Business Insider See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
American divisions are moving east, but soon the 45th and 1st need to be replaced. They are fatigued and some are committing act unbecoming a US Soldier. Meanwhile, Gen. Patton orders and amphibious end run to speed up the capture of Sicily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I would like to sign up for a group trip. However, I would like to be alone for the group trip. And if you try to come with me ... I'll leave your ass behind!Petty Crimes is hosted by Ceara Jane O'Sullivan and Griff Stark-EnnisHave a crime that should be heard in the Petty Crimes Court? Submit it to pettycrimespodcast@gmail.comJoin our Patreon for exclusive bonus eps, ad-free episodes, and more!Keep up with us on Instagram and TikTok for crime evidence, events, BTS and other general petty bullsh*t …This episode was produced and edited by Riley Madincea. Additional production support from Meghan Hinna.=====Ready to quit for good? Go to quitwithjones.com/PETTYCRIMES to start your personalized quitting journey and get 15% off with code PETTYCRIMESShop SKIMS Fits Everybody collection at http://www.skims.com #skimspartnerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Neil Agius is a Maltese former Olympian and world record-breaking ultra long-distance swimmer. Neil has completed some of the longest unassisted open-water swims in history, including record-breaking crossings between Sicily and Malta and a 142km non-stop world record in 2024. Most recently Neil completed the Gozo 7, swimming around the island of Gozo 7 times in 7 days. Expect to learn: - What it takes physically and psychologically to swim for 24 - 60 + hours - The role of micro-goals, radical acceptance, visualisation, breathwork- How a sense of purpose and social connection can sustain performance when the body is nearly depleted- The importance of embracing failure, persistence, and much more.You can find out more about Neil here: https://neilagius.com/_______________________________________________________________________________________________Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-174371597If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast
Join Nasty Neal, Terrible Troy, Tara Hutchison with Werewolf of Sicily, Todd Jaeger, Geraldine, John Reti and more for a special vampire Valentine's Day special!Trivia, debates, favorites and more! We will open the video lines to join in! Just make sure you are vamped up!#ValentinesDay #Vampire #WithoutYourHead
In this episode, we're inviting you into the world of Pasquale Et Maurice Home, a destination for antiques, artisanal textiles, home décor, and bespoke interior design services. Rooted in Old World craftsmanship and modern sensibility, the shop is paired with a beautifully curated online store showcasing timeless pieces sourced from across Europe and New England.You are introduced to the Co-founders Lino and Gregory.Lino,born and raised in Sicily, was immersed in the world of art, design, and luxury fabrics from an early age. The son of entrepreneurs who spent more than forty years in the textile industry, he developed a deep appreciation for aesthetics in all forms—from interiors and materiality to music and culture.His partner Gregory, raised in Provence, relocated to Sicily at thirty, where he became the creative force behind a series of commercial projects defined by a distinctly Southern Italian, farm-inspired elegance. In 2010, he opened his first concept store and restaurant in Noto, Sicily—a space whose authentic yet refined aesthetic quickly drew international attention from publications including Vogue and Architectural Digest.Today, their Washington, Connecticut location serves as both a design studio and a gathering place—an inspiring hub where antiques, décor, and interiors are grounded in history, patina, and personal meaning. Every vignette invites pause, memory, and interpretation, speaking differently to each discerning visitor.Lino and Gregory's shared philosophy is woven into every detail: warmth, curiosity, and an open invitation to discover what resonates with you. And in this conversation, you'll hear how their journey—from Sicily and Provence to New York and New England—continues to shape a world where beauty is intentional, stories matter, and nothing is chosen by chance.Connect: PasqualeEtMauriceHome.com and IG: pasquale_et_muarice_homeConnect with Anne @styledbyark
Just as music brings us together and teaches us about the world, so too do music venues—many of which are spectacular destinations in their own right. These venues transcend the performance, shaping our understandings of music, history, and place.In this episode, host Angie Orth is back with travel writer and musician Edmund Vallance to share five music venues worth building an entire trip around. From historically significant spaces to acoustic marvels and intimate clubs where legends are born, Edmund reveals the venues that have moved him most and why they're worth traveling across continents to experience.You'll discover why a gospel service in Harlem belongs on every traveler's bucket list, learn about an ancient Greek theatre in Sicily where world-class artists still perform under the stars, and hear about Berlin's surprisingly affordable classical music scene. Edmund also shares his favorite outdoor venue in Austin and reveals the unpretentious London basement club where music history continues to unfold every night.What You'll Learn:0:32 Why the Gospel Harlem Tour is an unforgettable emotional experience 1:18 The ancient Greek theatre where Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, and Ray Charles performed 1:58 Berlin Philharmonic's incredible acoustics and surprisingly affordable ticket prices 2:52 Austin's Stubbs barbecue joint and outdoor venue 3:45 London's Notting Hill Arts Club, where future legends are foundConnect with Edmund Vallance:Journalism: http://www.edmundvallance.com/Music: http://www.edvallance.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edmundvallance/Listen to his music on Spotify Have you traveled for music? Tell us where you've been in the comments! Connect with AAA:Book travel: https://aaa-text.co/travelingwithaaa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aaa-auto-club-enterprisesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/AAAAutoClubEnterprisesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AAAAutoClubEnterprises
L'atmosfera è elettrica e gli occhi di tutto il mondo sono puntati sull'Italia! Con l'inizio delle Olimpiadi Invernali di Milano-Cortina, Katia e Alessio ci accompagnano in un viaggio tra le vette innevate e le piste di ghiaccio per scoprire il lessico degli sport invernali. In questo episodio di
2-5-261900 SINGAPORESHOW SCHEDULE2-5-2026SINGAPORE 19401Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the Wall Street Journal discusses the Panama Supreme Court's ruling removing Chinese port contracts, correcting misconceptions about Chinese military control or ownership of the canal.2.Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center argues that while Trump's deregulation aids growth, erratic tariffs and government industrial subsidies create uncertainty, functioning effectively as taxes that hinder the economy.3.Josh Birenbaum explains that while the Forever Fleet ensures Venezuelan oil compliance, long-term stability requires establishing the rule of law rather than indefinite military blockades off the coast.4.Eric Berger details NASA's urgent need for a new Mars telecommunications orbiter, debating between traditional builds or commercial partnerships to meet the critical 2028 launch window for future missions.5.Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the Wall Street Journal discusses the Panama Supreme Court's ruling removing Chinese port contracts, correcting misconceptions about Chinese military control or ownership of the canal.6.Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center argues that while Trump's deregulation aids growth, erratic tariffs and government industrial subsidies create uncertainty, functioning effectively as taxes that hinder the economy.7.Josh Birenbaum explains that while the Forever Fleet ensures Venezuelan oil compliance, long-term stability requires establishing the rule of law rather than indefinite military blockades off the coast.8.Eric Berger details NASA's urgent need for a new Mars telecommunications orbiter, debating between traditional builds or commercial partnerships to meet the critical 2028 launch window for future missions.9.Professor Eve McDonald discusses Dido's legendary founding of Carthage, the city's strategic Mediterraneangeography, and its origins as a wealthy Phoenician trade hub connecting ancient civilizations.10.Professor Eve McDonald covers Carthaginian religion, including the controversial Tophet child sacrifices, and Hanno the Navigator's legendary exploration of the African coast expanding Punic knowledge of the world.11.Professor Eve McDonald explains how the First Punic War erupted over Sicily, transforming former allies Rome and Carthage into bitter enemies competing for Mediterranean dominance and trade supremacy.12.Professor Eve McDonald describes how Hamilcar Barca expands Carthaginian power into Spain to secure silver mines, raising his son Hannibal with military training to eventually fight Rome.13.Anatol Lieven critiques US hypocrisy regarding spheres of influence, comparing the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America to Russia's geopolitical stance toward Ukraine and its near abroad.14.Anatol Lieven discusses Estonia's call for dialogue with Moscow and the need for Europe to develop realistic defense and negotiation strategies regarding Russia rather than relying solely on American protection.15.Professor John Yoo of Berkeley Law compares actions against Venezuela to Jefferson's Barbary pirate war, arguing the executive has broad authority to initiate conflict without prior congressional approval.16.Professor John Yoo cites Hamilton to argue the president is constitutionally designed to act decisively against hemispheric threats like Venezuela, while Congress retains control over funding military operations
El 9 de febrero de 2021 nos dejó Armando Anthony -más conocido como Chick- Corea. Recordamos al gran pianista con sus 'Children´s songs' nº 3, 4, 6 y 7 grabadas en solitario; en su primer disco a dúo con el vibrafonista Gary Burton ('Señor Mouse', 'What game shall we play today'); en concierto con Gary Burton y la Sidney Symphony ('Brasilia'); en cuarteto con Joe Farrell, Eddie Gómez y Steve Gadd ('Samba song', 'Sicily') y en concierto de piano solo ('Pastime paradise', 'Waltz for Debby').Escuchar audio
Antonio Cairoli joins us for Chapter 382, and this is a special one. Antonio is a true legend of motocross, a 9 time World Champion who raced head to head with nearly every defining name of the past 20 years and helped shape an entire era of the sport. In this chapter, Tony walks us through his journey from growing up in Sicily, Italy, to becoming one of the most dominant riders motocross has ever seen, reflecting on his rise to the top, his championship years with KTM, winning multiple world titles on the 350, and the fiercest rivalries that pushed him to greatness. Now stepping into a new role with Ducati, Tony continues to give back to the sport that gave him everything, carrying forward his Italian heritage while helping shape the future of motocross through experience, leadership, and legacy. Gypsy Gang enjoy this chapter and remember to like and subscribe so you never miss a new drop!
So Malta is due south of Sicily, and so they have come all the way to the west. They then sailed to Syracuse, which was in Sicily, and then to Rhegium, which right at the toe of Italy's boot. They made their way up north to Puteoli, a port on the west coast of Italy, about 150 miles south of Rome. They came to Three Taverns, which was about 30 miles south of Rome. Some believers came out to welcome Paul there, encouraging him, and accompanying him back to Rome.
Hurricane Melissa forced Disney Cruise Line to reroute the Disney Treasure and Disney Wish away from the Eastern Caribbean, while a Viking Star crew member went overboard in the Mediterranean during a transit between Crete and Sicily. Meanwhile, a viral TikTok video shows teenagers climbing outside balcony railings on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas. From Category 5 storms scrambling itineraries industry-wide to the grim statistics on overboard survival rates, this episode examines how quickly safety conditions can shift at sea and why respecting the maritime environment matters more than ever.Stories covered:Disney Cruise Line reroutes Treasure and Wish around Hurricane Melissa- Viking Star crew member overboard in Mediterranean, search ongoing- Viral TikTok shows teens climbing between cruise ship balconiesVisit CruiseNews.io for the full stories and to sign up for email alerts.
SHOW SCHEDULE 1-5-261Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the Wall Street Journal discusses the Panama Supreme Court's ruling removing Chinese port contracts, correcting misconceptions about Chinese military control or ownership of the canal.2.Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center argues that while Trump's deregulation aids growth, erratic tariffs and government industrial subsidies create uncertainty, functioning effectively as taxes that hinder the economy.3.Josh Birenbaum explains that while the Forever Fleet ensures Venezuelan oil compliance, long-term stability requires establishing the rule of law rather than indefinite military blockades off the coast.4.Eric Berger details NASA's urgent need for a new Mars telecommunications orbiter, debating between traditional builds or commercial partnerships to meet the critical 2028 launch window for future missions.5.Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the Wall Street Journal discusses the Panama Supreme Court's ruling removing Chinese port contracts, correcting misconceptions about Chinese military control or ownership of the canal.6.Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center argues that while Trump's deregulation aids growth, erratic tariffs and government industrial subsidies create uncertainty, functioning effectively as taxes that hinder the economy.7.Josh Birenbaum explains that while the Forever Fleet ensures Venezuelan oil compliance, long-term stability requires establishing the rule of law rather than indefinite military blockades off the coast.8.Eric Berger details NASA's urgent need for a new Mars telecommunications orbiter, debating between traditional builds or commercial partnerships to meet the critical 2028 launch window for future missions.9.Professor Eve McDonald discusses Dido's legendary founding of Carthage, the city's strategic Mediterraneangeography, and its origins as a wealthy Phoenician trade hub connecting ancient civilizations.10.Professor Eve McDonald covers Carthaginian religion, including the controversial Tophet child sacrifices, and Hanno the Navigator's legendary exploration of the African coast expanding Punic knowledge of the world.11.Professor Eve McDonald explains how the First Punic War erupted over Sicily, transforming former allies Rome and Carthage into bitter enemies competing for Mediterranean dominance and trade supremacy.12.Professor Eve McDonald describes how Hamilcar Barca expands Carthaginian power into Spain to secure silver mines, raising his son Hannibal with military training to eventually fight Rome.13.Anatol Lieven critiques US hypocrisy regarding spheres of influence, comparing the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America to Russia's geopolitical stance toward Ukraine and its near abroad.14.Anatol Lieven discusses Estonia's call for dialogue with Moscow and the need for Europe to develop realistic defense and negotiation strategies regarding Russia rather than relying solely on American protection.15.Professor John Yoo of Berkeley Law compares actions against Venezuela to Jefferson's Barbary pirate war, arguing the executive has broad authority to initiate conflict without prior congressional approval.16.Professor John Yoo cites Hamilton to argue the president is constitutionally designed to act decisively against hemispheric threats like Venezuela, while Congress retains control over funding military operations.
Professor Eve MacDonald explains how the First Punic War erupted over Sicily, transforming former allies Rome and Carthage into bitter enemies competing for Mediterranean dominance and trade supremacy.Syracuse
A priest shares a breathtaking encounter with Saint Agatha that reveals faith as lived, physical, and unforgettable.Morning Offering, February 5, 2026Every morning, join Father Brad as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Brad guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Disclaimer: The ads shown before, during, or after this video have no affiliation with Morning Offering and are controlled by YouTubeLet us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)________________
Friends of the Rosary,The Catholic Church celebrates today, February 5th, the Memorial of St. Agatha (d. 250), a virgin and martyr who died in defense of her purity, in Catania, Sicily, after the governor of that region tried in vain to force her to consent to sin.Her name appears in the Roman Canon of the Mass, along with six more women martyrs: Saints Felicity, Perpetual, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia.When asked about her faith, she said: "I am a handmaid of Christ, and that is why I bear the outward appearance of a slave; yet this is the highest nobility, to be a slave to Christ."The governor threatened her with the most dreadful tortures if she did not renounce Christ.Agatha countered: "If you threaten me with wild beasts, know that at the Name of Christ they grow tame; if you use fire, from heaven angels will drop healing dew on me.""If you do not cause my body to be torn to pieces by the hangmen, my soul cannot enter the Lord's paradise with the martyrs.”She was burned with red-hot irons and despoiled of her breasts.In the night in prison, the apostle Peter appeared to her with healing remedies."I am the apostle of Christ; distrust me not, my daughter." Agatha replied: "I have never used earthly medicines on my body. I cling to the Lord Jesus Christ, who renews all things by His word."She was miraculously healed by St. Peter: "Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I give you praise because by Your apostle You have restored my breasts."Throughout the night, a light illumined the dungeon. When the guards fled in terror, her fellow prisoners urged her to escape, but she refused: "Having received help from the Lord, I will persevere in confessing Him who healed me and comforted me."Four days later, by order of the governor, Agatha was rolled over pieces of sharp glass and burning coals. At that moment, the whole city was rocked by a violent earthquake.Two walls collapsed, burying two of the governor's friends in the debris. Fearing a popular uprising, he ordered Agatha, half dead, to be returned to prison.Here she offered her dying prayer: "Blessed Agatha stood in the midst of the prison and with outstretched arms prayed to the Lord: O Lord Jesus Christ, good Master, I give You thanks that You granted me victory over the executioners' tortures. Grant now that I may happily dwell in Your never-ending glory." Thereupon, she died.A year after her death, the city of Catania was in great peril from an eruption on Mount Etna.Even pagans fled in terror to the saint's grave. Her veil was taken and held against the onrushing flames, and suddenly the danger ceased. Her grave is venerated in Catania, Sicily.[In the picture above: Saint Agatha Attended by Saint Peter and an Angel in Prison, painting of Alessandro Turchi in The Walters Art Museum]Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• February 5, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Agatha, 231-251; an early Christian martyr from Catania, Sicily; she pledged her virginity to Christ and after refusing to compromise was killed; by the 5th century, she was highly venerated for her purity and goodness; patron saint of breast ailments Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/5/26 Gospel: Mark 6:7-13
3 And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 Who answering, said to them: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, made them male and female? And he said: 5 For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. 6 Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. 7 They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away? 8 He saith to them: Because Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery. 10 His disciples say unto him: If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry.[9] "Except it be": In the case of fornication, that is, of adultery, the wife may be put away: but even then the husband cannot marry another as long as the wife is living. 11 Who said to them: All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it. [11] "All men take not this word": That is, all receive not the gift of living singly and chastely, unless they pray for the grace of God to enable them to live so, and for some it may be necessary to that end to fast as well as pray: and to those it is given from above.[12] "There are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs, for the kingdom of heaven": This text is not to be taken in the literal sense; but means, that there are such, who have taken a firm and commendable resolution of leading a single and chaste life, in order to serve God in a more perfect state than those who marry: as St. Paul clearly shews. 1 Cor. 7. 37, 38.Born in Sicily of noble parents, St Agatha suffered dreadful torture at the hands of her persecutors, but she was healed on the following night by a vision of St Peter. Other sufferings were inflicted upon her, and from these she died A.D. 254.
Happy feast of St. Agatha of Sicily! On today’s show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell welcome Mike Aquilina and Courtney Brown to discuss the heroic witness of this early Christian virgin and martyr. Other guests include Rita Heikenfeld with Bible Foods, Gary Michuta from Hands On Apologetics, and Dr. John Bergsma on preparing for Lent with Scripture. Plus news, weather, sports, and more… ***** Prayer of St. Clement of Alexandria May we all live in the peace that comes from You. May we journey towards Your city, sailing through the waters of sin untouched by the waves, borne tranquilly along by the Holy Spirit, Your Wisdom beyond all telling. Night and day until the last day of all, may our praises give You thanks, our thanksgiving praise You: You who alone are both Father and Son, Son and Father, the Son who is our Tutor and our Teacher, together with the Holy Spirit. Amen. ***** RECIPES FROM RITA: GRAIN-FREE POTATO CRUST QUICHE Ingredients 1-1/2 lbs baby “creamer” or Yukon gold potatoes (if using larger potatoes, peel and cut up)1-1/2 tablespoons salt for boiling potatoes, plus ¼ tsp for sprinkling8 slices bacon, chopped1/2 cup onion, diced1-1/2 cups cheese, shredded1-1/2 cups half and half, or equal parts whole milk and heavy cream5 eggs3/4 tsp salt1/2 tsp pepper1/4 tsp smoked or regular paprika (optional but good)Handful fresh greens, shredded (optional)Chives, to garnish, optional Instructions Preheat the oven to 400.Add potatoes and enough water to cover. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes, depending on size. Drain and set aside.While potatoes cook, set a 10-inch cast iron pan (or a heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pan) over medium heat and add bacon. Cook until bacon is crisp and leave fat in pan.Remove bacon and set aside.Add onions to fat and cook, stirring often, until golden. Remove onions to plate with bacon.Add potatoes to skillet in a single layer. Sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt.Use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press firmly into bottom and about 1 inch up the sides, closing gaps to form a complete crust.Whisk eggs. Add half and half, ½ tsp salt, pepper and paprika. Whisk to incorporate air into mixture.Stir in cheese, onion, greens, and most of the chopped bacon (set some aside for garnish). Pour into crust.Bake 25-30 minutes, or until filling is set and cooked.Let cool on rack 15 minutes. Garnish with bacon and parsley or chives, if desired. ***** Keith and Tami Kiser are online at readnarnia.org. Full list of guestsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
@theeconplayground1193 Law & Revolution by Harold Berman Part 4: Chapters 13-Conclusion https://youtu.be/vcRF9NGIruc?si=mukWIEqO6vLfeWoO Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=vcRF9NGIruc&list=PLWz9ZVHG_zBSRFq2hasw7r4qayXIXNHNk&index=4 @faturechi https://www.youtube.com/live/0Kklk67Cduk?si=QVNdrvWadiqu3-HD https://www.livingstonescrc.com/give Register for the Estuary/Cleanup Weekend https://lscrc.elvanto.net/form/94f5e542-facc-4764-9883-442f982df447 Paul Vander Klay clips channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX0jIcadtoxELSwehCh5QTg https://www.meetup.com/sacramento-estuary/ My Substack https://paulvanderklay.substack.com/ Bridges of meaning https://discord.gg/WA2RmWx2 Estuary Hub Link https://www.estuaryhub.com/ There is a video version of this podcast on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/paulvanderklay To listen to this on ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-vanderklays-podcast/id1394314333 If you need the RSS feed for your podcast player https://paulvanderklay.podbean.com/feed/ All Amazon links here are part of the Amazon Affiliate Program. Amazon pays me a small commission at no additional cost to you if you buy through one of the product links here. This is is one (free to you) way to support my videos. https://paypal.me/paulvanderklay Blockchain backup on Lbry https://odysee.com/@paulvanderklay https://www.patreon.com/paulvanderklay Paul's Church Content at Living Stones Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7bdktIALZ9Nq41oVCvW-A To support Paul's work by supporting his church give here. https://tithe.ly/give?c=2160640 https://www.livingstonescrc.com/give
Full Text of Readings The Saint of the day is Saint Agatha Saint Agatha's Story As in the case of Saint Agnes, another virgin-martyr of the early Church, almost nothing is historically certain about this saint except that she was martyred in Sicily during the persecution of Emperor Decius in 251. Legend has it that Agatha, like Agnes, was arrested as a Christian, tortured, and sent to a house of prostitution to be mistreated. She was preserved from being violated, and was later put to death. Saint Agatha is claimed as the patroness of both Palermo and Catania. The year after her death, the stilling of an eruption of Mt. Etna was attributed to her intercession. As a result, apparently, people continued to ask her prayers for protection against fire. Reflection The scientific modern mind winces at the thought of a volcano's might being contained by God because of the prayers of a Sicilian girl. Still less welcome, probably, is the notion of that saint being the patroness of such varied professions as those of foundry workers, nurses, miners and Alpine guides. Yet, in our historical precision, have we lost an essential human quality of wonder and poetry, and even our belief that we come to God by helping each other, both in action and prayer?Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media
Monty's plan to swing left has failed. Now he wants Patton's help who still does not trust the British. During this a slight British officer pulls off a miracle. Meanwhile the fighting on Sicily is felt in Rome as Mussolini is voted out of power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Gangland Wire, host Gary Jenkins talks with author Linda Stasi about her historical novel, The Descendant, inspired by her own Italian-American family history. Stasi traces her ancestors' journey from Sicily to the Colorado mining camps, revealing the brutal realities faced by immigrant laborers in the American West. The conversation explores the violent labor struggles surrounding the Ludlow Massacre and the role of powerful figures like John D. Rockefeller, as well as the diverse immigrant communities that shaped Colorado's mining towns. Stasi challenges stereotypes about Italians in America, highlighting their roles as workers, ranchers, and community builders—not just mobsters. Jenkins and Stasi also discuss Prohibition-era bootlegging and the early roots of organized crime in places like Pueblo, weaving together documented history with deeply personal family stories of survival, violence, and resilience. Drawing on her background as a journalist, Stasi reflects on loss, perseverance, and the immigrant pursuit of the American dream, making The Descendants both a historical narrative and an emotional family legacy. Click here to find the Descendant. 0:04 Introduction to Linda Stasi 3:12 The Role of Women in History 7:05 Bootlegging and the Mafia’s Rise 9:31 Discovering Family Connections 14:59 Immigrant Struggles and Success 19:02 Childhood Stories of Resilience 24:04 Serendipity in New York 26:19 Linda’s Journey as a Journalist Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here. To purchase one of my books, click here. [0:00] Well, hey, all you wiretappers out there, glad to be back here in studio, Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective, and I have an interview for you. This is going to be a historical fiction author. This is going to be a historical fiction book by a writer whose family lived the life of, whose family, This is going to be a real issue. This book is going to, we’re going to talk about a book. We’re going to talk with an author about the book. We’re going to talk with the author, Linda Stasi. We’re going to talk with the author, Linda Stasi, about her book, The Descendants. Now, she wrote a historical fiction, but it’s based on her actual family’s history. [0:50] From Sicily to New York to California. The wild west of colorado now get that you never heard of many italians out west in colorado but she’s going to tell us a lot more about that and how they were actually ended up being part of the pueblo colorado mafia the corvino family and then got involved in bootlegging and and then later were involved in ranching and different things like that so it’s uh it’s a little different take on the mob in the United States that we usually get, but I like to do things that are a little bit different. So welcome, Linda Stasey. Historical fiction, how much of it is true? Is it from family stories? All the stories are true. I’ll ask you that here in a little bit. Okay, all the stories are true. All right. All the stories are true. [1:41] It’s based on not only stories that were told to me by my mother and her sisters and my uncles and so forth, But it’s also based on a lot of actual events that took place while they were living in Colorado. And it’s based on the fact that, you know, people don’t know this. We watch all these movies and we think everybody who settled the West talk like John Wayne. There were 30 different languages spoken right in the minds of Colorado. So my uncles rode the range and they were, drovers and they were Italian. I mean, they were first generation. They were born in Italy and they made their way with all these other guys who were speaking Greek and Mexican and you name it. It wasn’t a lot of people talking like, hey, how are you doing, partner? How are you doing, bard? Talking like I do. Right. [2:46] But it took a long time for you you can blame the movies for that and the dominant uh uh caucasian culture for that right and you know there was that what was the movie the the martin scorsese movie killers of the flower moon oh yeah all the uh native americans spoke like they were from like movie set in color and oklahoma so he was like what. [3:13] Yeah, well, it’s the movies, I guess. [3:25] Unlike any women that I would have thought would have been around at that time. They were rebellious, and they did what they wanted, and they had a terrible, mean father. And I also wanted to tell this story. That’s what I started out telling. But I ended up telling the story of the resilience of the immigrants who came to this country. For example, with the Italians and the Sicilians, there had been earthquakes and tsunamis and droughts. So Rockefeller sent these men that he called padrones to the poorest sections of Sicily, the most drought-affected section, looking for young bucks to come and work. And he promised them, he’d say, oh, the president of America wants to give you land, he wants to give you this. Well, they found themselves taken in the most horrific of conditions and brought to Ellis Island, where they were herded onto cattle cars and taken to the mines of Colorado, where they worked 20-hour days. They were paid in company script, so they couldn’t even buy anything. Their families followed them. They were told that their families were coming for free, and they were coming for free, but they weren’t. They had to pay for their passage, which could never be paid for because it was just company script. [4:55] And then in 1914, the United Mine Workers came in, and there were all these immigrants, Greeks and mostly Italians, and they struck, and Rockefeller fired everyone who struck. So the United Mine Workers set up a tent city in Ludlow. [5:14] And at night, Rockefeller would send his goons in who were—he actually paid the National Guard and a detective agency called Baldwin Feltz to come in. And they had a turret-mounted machine gun that they called the Death Squad Special, and they’d just start spraying. So the miners, the striking miners, built trenches under their tents for their women and children to hide. when the bullets started flying. And then at some point, Rockefeller said, you’re not being effective enough. They haven’t gone back to work. Do what you have to do. So these goons went in and they poured oil on top of the tents. And they set them on fire. [6:00] And they burnt dozens of women and children to death. They went in. The government claimed it was 21 people, but there was a female reporter who counted 60-something. and they were cutting the heads and the hands off of people, the children and women, so they couldn’t be identified. It all ended very badly and none of Rockefeller’s people or Rockefeller got in trouble. They went before Congress and Rockefeller basically said they had no right to strike. And that was that. So here are all these men and women now living wild in the mountains of Colorado, not speaking the language, not. Being literate, not able to read and write. [6:44] And living in shacks on mountains in the hurricane, I mean, in the blizzards and whatnot. And then it’s so odd. In 1916, Colorado declared prohibition, which was four years before the rest of the country. [7:00] So these guys said, well, we need to make booze. We need to make wine. What do you mean you can’t have booze and wine? So that’s how bootlegging started in Colorado. And that’s how the mafia began in the West. with these guys. [7:18] It’s kind of interesting. As I was looking down through your book, I did a story on the more modern mafia. This started during bootlegging times in Pueblo, and I noticed in your book, I refer to Pueblo, this was the Corvino brothers. So did you study that? Is that some of the background that you used to make, you know, use a story? You used real stories as well as, you know, the real stories from your family, real stories from history. Well, the Carlinos are my family. Oh, you’re related to the Carlinos. Well, what happened was I didn’t know that. And my cousin Karen came across this photo of the man who was her son. [7:59] Grandfather that she never met because he was killed in the longest gunfight in Colorado history when she was 10 days old. And he was Charlie Carlino. So she came across it and we met, we ended up meeting the family. Sam Carlino is my cousin and he owns like this big barbecue joint in san jose california and uh we’ve become very friendly so i i said i look i’m looking at this and i think wait a minute vito carlino is the father he has three sons and one daughter the youngest son charlie who was the the handsome man about town cowboy, they had a rival family called the dannas in bootlegging and charlie carlino and his bodyguard were riding across the baxter street bridge driving in one direction and the dannas were coming in the other direction and the dannas got out and and killed them and it’s exactly what I’m thinking to myself, Vito Corleone, three sons, Charlie gets killed on the bridge while the two cars are… I thought, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I mean. [9:26] It can’t be that coincidental, right? No. No, it can’t be. Even the bridge. Somebody was doing their research. [9:46] And had baby Charlotte, who was only 10 days old at the time. So all these stories are true, and it started other gunfights and so forth and so on. But I thought, holy shit. That’s my family. I had no idea. I mean, I knew my aunt was married to a guy whose name was Charlie Carlino, And I should show you the picture because he looks like the missing link from the village people. He’s got big fur chaps on and a cowboy hat. I mean, he’s got his holsters on and he’s got his long gun over his shoulder. It’s like, wow. Yeah, so that story is true. And my mom was a little girl when the Pueblo flood happened. And she always recalled the story to me about watching in horror as the cows and the horses and people were floating away, dead. [10:54] So now the name of your book is A Descendant, which is you, of course. And you kind of use the situations that you just described and the real life people in this book. So then how does this book progress and what other situation do you use? Well, I used many of the acts. I used the Ludlow massacre, the flood, the bootlegging, the prohibition. I also uncovered that the governor of Colorado said. [11:30] Assigned all these guys to become prohibition agents, but they were all KKK. Yeah. So they actually had license to kill the immigrants, just saying they had a still. They had a still. And they were wholesale killing people. So there’s that story. There’s the story of the congressional hearing of Rockefeller after that. And um the the book ends up with my mother um beating my father um who was not in colorado she met him at my aunt’s wedding and avoided him and avoided him and they finally got together and it ends up the book ends up at the start of world war ii and my father was drafted into the air Force, or the Army Air Corps, as it was called that time, and his was assigned to a bomber. He was a co-pilot or a bombardier or something, I forgot. And my grandfather on my father’s side said, well, wait a minute, where are you going to do this? And he said, well, we’re going to Italy. And he said, you’re going to bomb this? Your own country? And my father said, no, no, Bob, this is my country. [12:47] So the book comes full circle. Yeah, really. You know, I, uh, uh, sometimes I start my, I’ll do a program here for different groups or for the library once in a while. And I always like to start it with, you know, first of all, folks, remember, uh. [13:03] Italians came here after, you know, really horrible conditions in southern Italy and Sicily and they came here and they’re just looking for a little slice of American pie the American that’s all they want is a some of the American dream and you know they were taking advantage of they had they were they were darker they had a different language so they didn’t fit it they couldn’t like the Irish and the Germans were already here they had all the good jobs they had the businesses and so now the Italians they’re they’re kind of uh sucking high and tit as we used to say on the farm they’re they’re uh you know picking up the scraps as they can and form businesses. And so it sounds like, you know, and they also went into the, I know they went in the lead mines down here in South Missouri, because there’s a whole immigrant population, Sicilians in a small town called Frontenac. And it also sounds like they went out to the mines in Denver, Colorado. So it’s based on that diaspora, if you will, of people from Southern Italy. And they’re strapping, trying to get their piece of the American pie. Right. And I think that I also wanted very much to change the same old, same old narrative that we’ve all come to believe, that, you know, Italians came here, they went to New York, they killed everybody, they were ignorant slobs. And my family had a ranch! They were ranchers! They had herds of cattle! It’s like, that’s just been dismissed as though none of this existed because. [14:30] Yes, they were darker, because they had curly hair. [14:34] There’s a passage in my book that’s taken actually from the New York Times, where they say that Southern Italians are. [14:43] Greasy, kinky-haired criminals whose children should never be allowed in public schools with white children. Yeah. They used to print stuff like that. I’ve done some research in old newspapers, and not only about Italians, but a lot of other minorities, they print some [14:57] horrible, horrible, horrible things. Well, every minority goes through this, I guess. Everyone. I think so. Part of it’s a language problem. You hear people say, well, why don’t they learn our language? Well, what I say is, you know, ever try to learn a foreign language? It’s hard. It is really, really hard. I’ve tried. It is really hard. I got fired by my Spanish teacher. Exactly. You know how hard it is. I said, no, wait, I’m paying you. You can’t fire me. She said, you can’t learn. You just can’t learn. My grandkids love to say she got fired by her Spanish teacher. [15:36] But it’s such a barrier any kind of success you know not having the language is such a barrier to any kind of success into the you know american business community and that kind of a thing so it’s uh it’s tough for people and you got these people young guys who are bold and, they want they want to they end up having to feel like they have to take theirs they have to take it because ain’t nobody giving it up back in those days and so that sounds like your family they had to take however they took it they they had to take what they got how did that go down for them, start out with a small piece of land or and build up from there how did that go out well from what i understand um. [16:21] They first had a small plot, and then that they didn’t own. They just took it. And then as the bootlegging business got bigger, they started buying cattle and sheep. And they just started buying more and more land. But my grandfather was wanted because he killed some federal agent in the Ludlow Massacre. So he was wanted. So it was all in my grandmother’s name anyway. So she became, in my mind and in my book, she becomes the real head of the family. And my grandfather had a drinking problem, and she made the business successful and so forth. And then I do remember a story that my mother told me that—. [17:16] Al Capone came to the ranch at some point, and all the kids were like, who’s this man in the big car? There was other big cars. And then they moved to New York shortly after that, although they were allowed to keep the ranch with some of my aunts running it. I think there was a range war between the Dana family and the Carlinos and the Barberas, and they were told, get out of town, and they got out of town. And then they made a life in Brooklyn. And then my mom went back to Colorado and then came back to Brooklyn. [17:54] You think about how these immigrants, how in the hell, even the ones who come here now, how in the hell do you survive? I don’t know. Don’t speak the language. You don’t have the money. How do you survive? I don’t know. I truly don’t know. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t either. I couldn’t either. I don’t even want to go to another country where I don’t speak the language unless I can hire somebody to do stuff for me, you know, try to scuffle around and get a job, work off the books. You know, you got to work off the books, so to speak, and take the lowest, hardest jobs that they are, that there are. I don’t know. It’s crazy. I don’t really understand. Yeah. But, uh, so this, uh, it’s really interesting this, uh, the whole thing with the ranches and, and building up the ranches out there. I know we spoke, talk about Al Capone. Well, his brother, I think it was, it was not Ralph. There was another Capone brother. Which one? Well, another Capone brother who became, came a revenuer and I’ve seen some pictures of him and he looks like a cowboy with a hat and everything. He was in Nebraska or something. [19:02] It’s so funny. And I just, when I was growing up and I would tell people that my mom rode her donkey and then her horse to school, and they’d always say to me, but aren’t you Italian? [19:19] That’s Italian. Italian. Yeah, it’s interesting. Now, of course, your mom was, I noticed something in there about being in Los Animas in that area. Yes. Was there some family connection to that? And I say that because my wife’s grandfather lived there his whole life in Los Animas. Well, Los Animas County takes in Pueblo, I believe. Oh, okay. That’s the northern, that’s the far northern edge of Pueblo. The whole big area. I didn’t realize it was that close to Pueblo. I think my mom’s birth certificate actually says Los Animas County. Uh-huh. Something like that, yeah. Okay, all right. I didn’t realize Los Andemos was that close. I think. I might be wrong. Oh, it could be. It had those big counties out west, a great big county, so it would probably do. [20:10] So let’s see. Tell us a couple other stories out of that book that you remember. Well, there’s a story of my mother and her sister, Clara. Clara was a year what do they call Irish twins you know Italian twins she was like 14 months younger than my mom and um, When my mom had to start school, she was very close to my Aunt Clara, and they refused to go to school without each other. So my grandmother lied and said they were twins. And the teacher said, I don’t think they’re twins. This one’s much littler than the other, and I’m going to send the sheriff to that guinea father of yours and make sure. Well, unfortunately, the town hall burnt down with all the records that night. So they were never able to prove that Aunt Clara was a year younger. [21:14] Interesting. And also there’s a story of how they were in school when the flood hit. And my mother did have a pet wolf who was probably part wolf, part dog, but it was her pet named Blue. They got caught in the flood because they were bad and they had detention after school. And um had they left earlier they would have um so the dog came and dragged them was screaming and barking and making them leave and the teacher got scared because of the wolf and so they left and the wolf was taking them to higher and higher ground and had they stayed in that schoolhouse they would have been killed the teacher was killed everybody was washed away Wow. Yeah, those animals, they got more of a sense of what’s going on in nature than people do, that’s for sure. But she had always told me about her dog wolf named Blue. When they went back to New York City, did they fall in with any mob people back there? They go back to Red Hook. They had connections that were told, they were told, you know, you can, like Meyer Lansky and a couple of other people who would help them, um. [22:33] But my mom—so here’s an absolutely true story, and I think I have it as an epilogue in the book. So a few years ago, several years ago, my daughter had gotten a job in the summer during college as a slave on a movie set that was being filmed in Brooklyn. And she got the job because she, A, had a car, and B, she could speak Italian. And the actress was Italian. So every night she’d work till like 12 o’clock and I’d be panicked that she’d been kidnapped or something. So she’d drive her car home. But then every night she was coming home later and later and I said, what’s going on? She said, you know, I found this little restaurant and right now we’re in Red Hook where the, and it wasn’t called Red Hook. It was called, they have another fancy name for it now. [23:32] And she said and I just got to know the owner and he’s really nice and I told him that when I graduated from college if I had enough money could I rent one of the apartments upstairs and he said yes and she said we’ve got to take grandma there we’ve got to take grandma there she’ll love the place she’ll love the place and so my mother got sick and just came home from college, and she was laying in the bed with my mother, and she said, Grandma, you’re going to get better, and then we’re going to take you to this restaurant, [24:03] and I promise you, you’re going to love it. So my mother, thank God, did get better, and we took her to the restaurant. [24:12] The man comes over, and it’s a little tiny Italian restaurant, and the man comes over, and he says, Jessica, my favorite, let me make you my favorite Pennelli’s. And my mother said, do you make Pennelli’s? And he said, yes. She said, oh, when we first came to New York, the man who owned the restaurant made us Pennelli’s every day and would give it to us before we went to school. And he said, really, what was his name? And she said, Don, whatever. And he said, well, that’s my grandfather. She said, well, what do you mean? He said, well, this is, she said, where are we? And he said. [24:53] They called it Carroll Gardens. And he said, well, it’s Carroll Gardens. She said, well, I grew up in Red Hook. He said, well, it is Red Hook. She said, well, what’s the address here? And he said, 151 Carroll Street. And she said, my mother died in this building. [25:09] My daughter would have rented the apartment where her great-grandmother died. What’s the chances of that of the 50 million apartments in New York City? No, I don’t know. And the restaurant only seats like 30 people. So… My mother went and took a picture off the wall, and she said, this is my mother’s apartment. And there were like 30 people in the restaurants, a real rough and tumble place, and truck drivers and everything. And everybody started crying. The whole place is now crying. All these big long men are crying. Isn’t that some story? Full circle, man. That’s something. Yeah, that is. Especially in the city. It’s even more amazing in a city like New York City. I know. That huge. That frigging huge. That exact apartment. Oh, that is great. So that restaurant plays a big part in the book as well, in the family. Okay. All right. All right. Guys, the book is The Descendant, Yellowstone Meets the Godfather, huh? This is Linda Stasi. Did I pronounce that right, Stasi? Stacey, actually. This is Linda Stasi. And Linda, I didn’t really ask you about yourself. [26:17] Tell the guys a little bit about yourself before we stop here. Well, I am a journalist. I’ve been a columnist for New York Newsday, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post. I’ve written 10 books, three of which are novels. [26:34] And I’ve won several awards for journalism. And I teach a class for the Newswomen’s Club of New York to journalists on how to write novels, because it’s the totally opposite thing. It’s like teaching a dancer to sing, you know? It’s totally opposite. One of my mentors was Nelson DeMille, my dear late friend Nelson DeMille, and I called him up one night after I wrote my first novel, and I said, I think I made a terrible mistake. He said, what? I said, I think I gave the wrong name of the city or something. He said, oh, for God’s sakes, it’s fiction. You can write whatever you want. [27:17] But when you’re a journalist, if you make a mistake like that, you’re ruined. Yeah, exactly. So I have. We never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Go ahead. I’m sorry. I said I have a daughter and three grandsons. My daughter is the only female CEO of a games company. She was on the cover of Forbes. And my husband just died recently, and he was quite the character. He got a full-page obit in the New York Times. He’s such a typical, wonderful New York character. So I’m in this strange place right now where I’m mourning one thing and celebrating my book. On the other hand, it’s a very odd place to be. I can imagine. I can only imagine. Life goes on, as we say, back home. It just keeps going. All right. Linda Stacey, I really appreciate you coming on the show. Oh, thank you. I appreciate you talking to me. You’re so much an interesting guy. All right. Well, thank you.
当生活进入了一种“漂浮”的状态,每天醒来,就会像不小心和飞船切断了连接的宇航员,悬浮在外太空的真空里,被巨大的不确定性围绕。在这样巨大的漂流中,我们都会本能地去寻找一种引力,或者说,一个确定的情感锚点。我想了很久,那个能把你从混乱的旋转中拉住,让你感到安全的东西,其实答案很简单,那就是“爱”。这期节目,我想用音乐来模拟一次“从失重到引力捕获”的爱的旅程。我们试着去感受,那颗守护你的、属于你的、确定的星,会是什么样子 。希望这期节目里的音乐,还有那份关于引力的想象,能成为你对抗失重的力量,让你在每一个感到失重或疲惫的时刻,都能找到稳稳的支撑 。*感谢瑞典陨石珠宝品牌 AWNL 对本期节目的支持
Today's guest is the legendary strategist Edward Luttwak — the Machiavelli of Maryland. He's consulted for presidents, prime ministers, and secretaries of defense, and authored magnificent books on Byzantine history, a guide to planning a successful coup, and an opus on the logic of strategy and the rise of China. He raises cows, too. We recorded this episode in Feb of 2024. Thanks to the Hudson Institute for sponsoring this episode. Our conversation today covers… Luttwak's childhood and formative encounters with war, including an early fascination with the mafia in Sicily, Technological step-changes in warfare, Books that shaped Luttwak's view of war, from Clausewitz to the Iliad, The costs of “removing war from Europe” post-1945, China's strategic missteps, The psychology of deterrence, including what kind of Middle East policy would actually deter Iran, The strengths of democracies vs. autocracies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today's guest is the legendary strategist Edward Luttwak — the Machiavelli of Maryland. He's consulted for presidents, prime ministers, and secretaries of defense, and authored magnificent books on Byzantine history, a guide to planning a successful coup, and an opus on the logic of strategy and the rise of China. He raises cows, too. We recorded this episode in Feb of 2024. Thanks to the Hudson Institute for sponsoring this episode. Our conversation today covers… Luttwak's childhood and formative encounters with war, including an early fascination with the mafia in Sicily, Technological step-changes in warfare, Books that shaped Luttwak's view of war, from Clausewitz to the Iliad, The costs of “removing war from Europe” post-1945, China's strategic missteps, The psychology of deterrence, including what kind of Middle East policy would actually deter Iran, The strengths of democracies vs. autocracies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Without Your Head Horror Podcast with guest Tipper Newton of the new controversial film F*** My Son! See F*** My Son on the F***apalooza Tour at an Alamo Drafthouse near you!Hosted by Nasty Neal, Terrible Troy and Tara Hutchison! With appearances by @TheTommyJordan and Werewolf of Sicily!#FMySon #indieHorror #WithoutyourHead #HorrorComedy #TipperNewton #NastyNeal #AlamoDrafthouse #CousinAJ #TerribleTroy #TaraHutchison
What does it look like to grow up in a snow-covered Buffalo neighborhood, raised by a single mother and grandmother, and go on to lead joint communications missions across the globe? In this Veteran Museum interview, Ryan Williams Sr. shares the story of my 20-year journey in the U.S. Air Force—from humble beginnings to building a career in cybersecurity. You'll hear how Ryan went from programming VCRs for his family to becoming the go-to tech guy in his military unit. Ryan talks candidly about early struggles with college, the financial pressures that led him to enlist, and how basic training at Lackland AFB taught him discipline Ryan didn't know he had. We'll go deep into Ryan's technical training at Keesler AFB, deployment to Iraq with a tactical air control squadron, and what it was like building networks in the middle of a warzone. Ryan reflects on family life while stationed in places like Idaho, Alaska, Virginia, and Florida—and how he and his wife navigated raising three kids while constantly relocating. One of the most pivotal chapters of Ryan's career came when he joined the Joint Communication Support Element (JCSE). As part of a highly elite, tech-forward joint unit, Ryan supported missions in Germany, Sicily, Morocco, and Israel. It was the global, hands-on experience Ryan had dreamed of when he first enlisted. Today, Ryan is a cybersecurity and resiliency risk leader, but his mission hasn't stopped. Through podcasting and mentorship, Ryan is helping others break into cybersecurity and find their path—especially fellow veterans and career changers. Because Ryan truly believes cybersecurity is national security. If you're navigating a transition—into tech, out of uniform, or into leadership—this story is for you.
Indiana defeated Purdue 72-67 at Assembly Hall to earn Darian DeVries his first signature victory as Indiana's head coach and secure a crucial quad-one win for the Hoosiers' NCAA tournament resume. With the national championship football team honored before the game, Indiana jumped out to an 11-point halftime lead behind balanced scoring and relentless defense on Braden Smith, then survived a second-half offensive drought and several missed free throws to hold off Purdue's late charge and improve to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play.Jerod Morris, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, and Bob Moats break down the massive victory and what it means for the program:Connor Enright's 40-minute defensive masterpiece on Braden Smith (holding the All-American to 14 points on 14 shots with five assists and four turnovers) and his ice-cold three-pointer at 65-63 that ended a crucial offensive droughtHow Indiana won the first half with physicality, defensive intensity, and a 21-6 run over the final eight minutes featuring clutch buckets from Reed Bailey, Lamar Wilkerson, Tucker DeVries, and Josiah MilesNick Dorn's breakout continued with 18 points including eight straight in a critical second-half stretch, plus key drives that showed he's more than just a shooterWhy Indiana's ability to avoid fouling (only 15 team fouls, nobody with more than three) while forcing Purdue into 10 turnovers was the defensive blueprint they've needed all seasonThe second-half offensive struggles when Indiana went too conservative too early, missing three front-ends of one-and-ones while trying to run clock with five minutes leftWhat this win means for the program's trajectory—not just making the tournament this year, but showing what DeVries can do with the right roster construction as a strong 2026 recruiting class takes shapeTucker DeVries's toughness leading the game with 10 rebounds despite being held scoreless in the second half, and the critical contributions from role players like Miles, Sicily, and BaileyPlus, as always: the big moments you might have missed, stats that stood out, and our game ball and hustle award.This episode brought to you by the Back Home Network and Homefield Apparel.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Space Show Presents Dr. Antonino Del Popolo, Friday, 1-23-25Quick summaryThe Space Show hosted Dr. Antonin o del Popolo, an Italian astrophysicist, to discuss his book “We Are Not Alone: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life.” Dr. del Popolo explained the various theories on the origin of life, including panspermia and abiogenesis, and discussed the challenges in detecting extraterrestrial life, such as the distance between stars and the lack of confirmed signals from other civilizations. He highlighted the potential for microbial life on exoplanets and the importance of future telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope in confirming its existence. The discussion also touched on the Fermi Paradox and the possibility of advanced civilizations, though Dr. del Popolo expressed skepticism about the likelihood of contact with such civilizations anytime soon.Detailed SummaryDavid and Antonino discussed the possibility of extraterrestrial life, with Antonio explaining that while there have been claims of life on other planets, such as the detection of dimethyl sulfide on an extrasolar planet, these claims have been discredited. He suggested that future telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope might provide clearer evidence of life in the next 10 years. David mentioned his listeners' interest in UAP phenomena and the possibility of alien visitation, but Antonino dismissed these ideas as not supported by the scientific community.We formally started with introductions and small talk about volcanoes, with participants discussing locations like Sicily, California, and Idaho. David introduced the main guest, Antonino del Popolo, a physicist from Sicily with a new book on extraterrestrial life. Antonio explained that he would summarize the book's contents rather than use slides to save time for discussion. The host announced upcoming guests and programs, including Dr. Kothari, Dr. Ethan Siegel, and Greg Autry. The conversation ended with David introducing Antonio to discuss his book, “We Are Not Alone.”Antonino discussed his book on the origins of life, exploring two main theories: panspermia, where life originated elsewhere in the universe and was brought to Earth by comets, and abiogenesis, which posits that life arose from non-living matter on Earth. He also covered the iron-sulfur world hypothesis and the lipids world theory, highlighting the challenges in replicating cellular life in laboratories. Antonio concluded by discussing the potential for life in our solar system, particularly on moons like Europa and Enceladus, as well as on exoplanets, noting the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1991 and the ongoing search for habitable conditions beyond Earth.Antonino discussed the potential for microbial life on exoplanets, noting that while many planets in the habitable zones of their stars might support liquid water, confirming the presence of life is challenging due to the distance and limitations of current technology. David inquired about the difficulty in detecting life, to which Antonino explained that while spectroscopy can identify biosignatures like water and oxygen, only one exoplanet, K218b, has shown such signs, and it will take time to confirm life on more planets. Antonino also highlighted the challenges in detecting advanced civilizations, citing the “Great Silence” and the Fermi Paradox, which suggest that either civilizations are extremely rare or there are significant barriers to communication across vast interstellar distances.Antonino discussed the possibility of extraterrestrial life and civilization, mentioning Fermi's paradox and various theories such as the Great Filter and Kardashev's scale. He explained that recent studies, including work by Frank and Sullivan in 2016, suggest that technological civilizations have likely existed in the universe, based on statistical calculations of astrophysical and biological factors in the Drake Equation. John Jossy asked about the certainty of these studies, and Antonino clarified that while the calculations are statistically sound, the unknowns in biology could potentially invalidate the results.Antonino discussed the probability of life evolving on planets similar to Earth, noting that calculations for our galaxy suggest a high likelihood of inhabited planets, especially those orbiting red dwarfs. He explained that while exact probabilities are difficult to determine, estimates indicate around 6 billion such planets in our galaxy and potentially 10^22 in the universe. Antonino also addressed the perspective of believers, suggesting that the existence of life beyond Earth aligns with religious beliefs, while non-believers might find it harder to accept.The Space Show Wisdom Team discussed the probability of life and civilizations in the universe, with Antonino presenting estimates of 6 billion Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars, though Joe noted that only super-Earths have been discovered so far. They explored the concept of biosignatures, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, as indicators of life, with Antonino mentioning the discovery of dimethyl sulfur on the exoplanet K218b. The conversation concluded with a discussion about the possibility of past life on Mars, based on Viking lander experiments and recent findings of organic matter and water on the planet.Antonino talked about the presence of methane in the universe, explaining that while methane can be found on Jupiter and Saturn, its presence alone is not sufficient to prove the existence of life. He emphasized the need for precise biosignatures to confirm life and noted that microbial life could still exist despite the Fermi Paradox, which questions why we haven't detected any extraterrestrial civilizations. Dr. Ajay inquired about the historical context of the Fermi Paradox and the Drake Equation, and Antonino clarified that the paradox preceded the equation, though the exact timeline was not fully discussed.The team discussed the possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations and the Kardashev scale, which measures a civilization's ability to harness energy. Antonino explained that while the Fermi Paradox suggests no advanced civilizations in our galaxy, microbial life could still exist. Marshall proposed a theory about civilizations moving to galactic arms with more stars, and Antonino mentioned the concept of Dyson spheres as a way for advanced civilizations to harness energy from stars. Dr. Sherry Bell asked about the next steps if biosignatures were found, and Antonino explained that the James Webb Space Telescope would be used, with a more powerful telescope called Ariel planned for the future. He also noted that it would take a long time to confirm the existence of life on a distant planet, even with current technology.Antonino mentioned the time it takes to observe potential biosignatures with James Webb, explaining it could take several months to a year, and highlighted that the existence of life on K218b remains uncertain despite observations starting in 2023. He explored theoretical possibilities of faster-than-light travel using general relativity, though he considered such advancements unlikely within 50 years. The discussion also covered alternative chemistries for life, with Antonino noting that while silicon-based life is possible, carbon remains the most probable basis for life as it forms stable and complex structures. He concluded that microbial life likely exists in the universe, with intelligent life potentially following as evolution progresses, though he expressed skepticism about the likelihood of detecting extraterrestrial civilizations.Special thanks to our sponsors:American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Helix Space in Luxembourg, Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, Astrox Corporation, Dr. Haym Benaroya of Rutgers University, The Space Settlement Progress Blog by John Jossy, The Atlantis Project, and Artless EntertainmentOur Toll Free Line for Live Broadcasts: 1-866-687-7223 (Not in service at this time)For real time program participation, email Dr. Space at: drspace@thespaceshow.com for instructions and access.The Space Show is a non-profit 501C3 through its parent, One Giant Leap Foundation, Inc. To donate via Pay Pal, use:To donate with Zelle, use the email address: david@onegiantleapfoundation.org.If you prefer donating with a check, please make the check payable to One Giant Leap Foundation and mail to:One Giant Leap Foundation, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive Ste. 160-306 Las Vegas, NV 89135Upcoming Programs:Broadcast 4496 Zoom Sarah Scoles | Friday 30 Jan 2026 930AM PTGuests: Sarah ScolesZoom Sarah Scoles, top space journalist returns with lots of space new stories to discussBroadcast 4497 Zoom Mark Whittington | Sunday 01 Feb 2026 1200PM PTGuests: Mark WhittingtonZoom: Author, Journalist, Writer Mark Whittington returns a discussion about his latest O-Eds and space opinions. Get full access to The Space Show-One Giant Leap Foundation at doctorspace.substack.com/subscribe
This episode is Part Two of The Gangland History Podcast's History of the Pittsburgh Mob, focusing on Gregorio Conti, widely regarded as Pittsburgh's second Mafia boss. Conti matters because he emerges at a turning point, when loose Black Hand extortion and ethnic feuding begin giving way to something more centralized, disciplined, and dangerous. Quiet, calculating, and outwardly respectable, Conti helped shape that transition—and then became one of its earliest casualties.The story opens on September 24, 1919, in Pittsburgh's Strip District. It's a mild fall morning, coal smoke hanging low as streetcars rattle over cobblestones. Somewhere along Smallman Street, Conti sits behind the wheel of his automobile, sweating under pressure. He's in his mid-forties, round-faced, heavyset, horn-rimmed glasses slipping down his nose—the kind of man who could pass for a schoolteacher. But Conti isn't teaching today. He's trying to leave Pittsburgh for good.His wife and children are already packed for the 10:10 p.m. train to New York, with plans to sail for Italy on October 15, 1919. He should already be gone. Instead, he delays for one last, unnecessary errand: selling his automobile. The buyers arrive—men Conti knows. Hands are shaken. Pleasantries exchanged. Then they climb inside. As the car rolls down Smallman Street, the conversation fades. A revolver clicks. Four shots tear through the enclosed space. Conti collapses over the steering wheel and dies minutes later. The coroner records the cause as shock and hemorrhage from gunshot wounds to the heart, with the time of death listed as 11:20 a.m.At first, police default to the familiar explanation: the Black Hand. But the killing feels too precise and controlled. There's no extortion letter, no public threat, no warning meant to terrorize a neighborhood. This looks less like chaotic revenge and more like business.From there, the episode rewinds to trace Conti's rise. Born in Comitini, Sicily, in 1873, he grows up in a world where authority is local and protection comes from men rather than the state. He immigrates to the United States in 1907, becomes a naturalized citizen in 1910, and settles in Pittsburgh with relatives and trusted associates. He builds a wine and liquor operation that appears legitimate but quietly functions as a hub for influence, credit, and enforcement, eventually anchoring at 801 Wylie Avenue as the Pittsburgh Wine and Liquor Company.The episode explores Conti's inner circle, including his nephew Giuseppe “Peppino” Cusumano, a trained chemist and pharmacist, and Nicola “Nick” Gentile, a relative and underworld diplomat physically present in Pittsburgh between 1910 and 1920. Family tension, shifting alliances, and questions of respect begin to fracture Conti's control from within.All of this unfolds under the shadow of Prohibition. The Eighteenth Amendment is ratified in January 1919, Pennsylvania follows weeks later, and the Volstead Act is passed that fall. For a man positioned at the center of alcohol distribution, it should have been an opportunity. Instead, Conti liquidates assets, winds down his business, and prepares to leave the country.After the murder, detectives pursue competing theories, including an alleged $5,500 whiskey swindle and a feud rooted in a clerical error on a $4,000 federal bond involving produce merchants J.C. and Philip Catalano. Arrests come quickly, explanations pile up, but certainty never does.On November 12, 1919, a coroner's jury exonerates the men held in connection with the killing. No shooter is officially identified. Gregorio Conti's murder remains unsolved. His funeral is quiet, with burial believed to have taken place at Cavalry Cemetery.Conti's death doesn't slow Pittsburgh's underworld—it clears the way. Into that vacuum steps Stefano “Big Steve” Monastero, ushering in the city's most violent and profitable Mafia era.But that… is a story for another day.
In the late 1970s, as Sicily descended into all-out mafia war, the island's allegiances split between the ruthless Corleonesi clan, led by Toto Riina, and southern gangsters fed up with Riina's campaign of murder that was spilling innocent lives, and disgusting the Italian public. This schism would be the birth of the Stidda — Sicilian for ‘star' — a group that fought and thrived for turf in southern Sicily, and became prominent enough that, even today, people know it as Italy's “Fifth Mafia”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Australian swearing, barefoot adults, kangaroo meat, and a husband who cannot be trusted with a microphone. We're not here to f* spiders.Richelle and Chris break down the things you'd only know if you actually visited Australia - and yes, it gets weird fast. This is not a “should you move to Australia?” episode. This is the REAL deal: the food, the bugs, the language, and the cultural chaos no one warns you about.From eating kangaroo to drinking questionable wine out of a bag, this episode is fully unhinged (and deeply educational) in the most unserious way possible.This episode contains explicit language because Chris cannot be trusted not to swear, overshare, or explain Australian culture in a way that sounds sane.Topics include:Richelle's dream of becoming the Beef QueenBarefoot adults just living lifeMeat raffles and why they're a thingBugs, spiders, snakes, and emotional damageGoon of Fortune (unfortunately real)Australian swearing (why “mate” is an insult, and what you actually call your friends)Richelle's driving anxietyWhy fairy bread is basically a sad Funfetti cupcakeAustralia is not for the weak.Subscribe and ReviewIf you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps us reach more visionaries who need these insights.
Escuchamos por primera vez la grabación que ha hecho Caetano Veloso de 'Mais simples', antigua canción de Zé Miguel Wisnik, un adelanto del disco colectivo con composiciones de Wisnik que se va a editar en este 2026. Uno de los hijos de Caetano, Zeca, publica su primer disco 'Boas novas' con canciones como 'Salvador' -grabada junto a su padre y sus dos hermanos-, 'Boas novas', 'Talvez menor', Desenho de animação', 'Carolina' y 'O sopro do fole'. El pianista Gonzalo Rubalcaba ha grabado un homenaje a Pino Daniele, 'Gonzalo plays Pino', con canciones del napolitano como 'Sicily' o 'Napule é'. Y el cuarteto brasileño Delicatessen firma 'Love' con clásicos del cancionero estadounidense como 'Love me or leave me', 'I had the craziest dream' o 'Like someone in love'. Cierran Snarky Puppy & The Metropolitan Orkest con 'As you are but not as you were' de su reciente disco 'Somni'. Escuchar audio
A shocked city, a careful army, and a plateau that decides everything. We follow the tense weeks after Athens' first win outside Syracuse, when momentum gave way to method. Nicias, often branded cautious, makes a hard strategic choice: pause late in the season, refill the coffers, request cavalry, and prepare for a siege that can actually hold under pressure. Meanwhile, Syracuse hears Hermocrates at last. His blunt case—discipline over bluster, reform over blame—shrinks a muddled command, tightens training, and sends envoys to Corinth and Sparta to turn a local crisis into a panhellenic cause.The political map of Sicily comes into sharp focus as Camarina keeps a careful distance, Naxos and Regium quietly help Athens, and both sides court allies who can tip supplies, harbors, and morale. Then the war's center of gravity jumps across the sea. Alcibiades escapes and arrives in Sparta with insider detail and a plan to exploit Athenian overreach. His advice sparks two decisive moves: dispatching Gylippus to steady Syracuse and fortifying Decelea to bleed Attica. Intelligence, timing, and audacity reshape the conflict more than any single skirmish could.Through winter 415–414 BCE, the Athenians work with rare clarity. Catana becomes an operating base; ships are refit; scouts trace Syracuse's walls and water. The conclusion is simple and stark: win the Epipolae Heights or lose the siege before it begins. Spring brings speed. A quiet sail, a rapid landing, and Lamachus' night march seize Euryelus, the gateway to the plateau. Engineers mark lines. Syracuse counters. For a moment, the expedition reaches its high watermark, the city nearly within an encircling wall. But with Gylippus on the horizon and a reformed Syracuse ready to contest every trench, the hard road truly begins. Support the show
In this episode of Gangland Wire, Mafia Genealogist Justin Cascio joins Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins to explore one of the most remarkable—and overlooked—figures of the Prohibition era: Pasqualina Albano Siniscalchi, the so-called Bootleg Queen of Springfield, Massachusetts. At the dawn of Prohibition in 1921, Pasqualina was a young widow living in Springfield's South End when she inherited her late husband's powerful bootlegging operation—one of the largest in western Massachusetts. Rather than step aside, she took control. Pasqualina ruled a crew of toughs and bootleggers, oversaw liquor distribution, and launched a relentless campaign of vengeance against rivals who challenged her authority. Newspapers dubbed her The Bootleg Queen, but her fight went far beyond rival gangs. She clashed with lawmakers, battled competing bootleggers, and even faced resistance from within her own family—all while operating in service of a secret society that would never fully accept her because she was a woman. Her story exposes the contradictions of organized crime: loyalty demanded without equality, power wielded without recognition. Cascio draws from years of meticulous research and family histories to bring Pasqualina's story to life, revealing her pivotal role in early Mafia expansion in New England and the hidden influence women could wield behind the scenes. His book, Pasqualina: The True Story of the Bootleg Queen of Springfield, challenges long-held assumptions about gender, power, and the Mafia during Prohibition. If you're interested in Prohibition-era crime, New England Mafia history, or the untold stories of women who shaped organized crime from the shadows, this episode is one you won't want to miss. Learn more about Justin and his work on Mafia Geneology by clicking this sentence. Get Justin’s book, Pasqualina: The Bootleg Queen of Springfield, Massachusetts Listen now on Gangland Wire — available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube. 0:02 Introduction to Mafia Genealogy 1:16 Pasqualina Albano’s Story 2:30 Family Reunion Revelations 4:56 The Impact of Prohibition 7:45 Prejudice and Organized Crime 10:50 Connecting the Genovese Family 12:34 Views from Sicily 13:50 Cultural Differences in Dress 16:37 Encounters with Modern Gangsters 18:36 Gina’s Documentary and Art 23:53 The Romance of the Gangster 27:24 The Nature of Risk 28:46 The Evolution of Organized Crime 33:16 Closing Thoughts and Future Plans Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here. To purchase one of my books, click here. Transcript [0:00] Hey, all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. I’ve got on tap here a repeat guest. He’s been on before. I had a little technical glitch this morning with the internet, and I had to scurry around and do something different. I totally forgot about what I was going to talk about with Justin, but I knew Justin’s been on there before. I knew he does mafia genealogy, and I knew he knows his stuff, and so he doesn’t really need a lot of help from me. So this is Justin Cascio from the website and some books, some mafia genealogies. Welcome, Justin. Thanks so much, Gary. Great to be here. Really. And you’re from the Springfield, Massachusetts area. And so that’s been some of your emphasis has been on that area. But you’ve done a lot of other mob genealogy, correct? Yes. On my website, on mafiagenealogy.com, I write about a whole lot of different places that the mafia has been in the United States. In fact, coming up, I’m going to be writing about Kansas City. But for the last 25 years or so, I’ve lived in New England. I live about 20 miles away from Springfield, Massachusetts, which if you’ve heard of Anthony Aralata or Bruno or the Shabelli brothers, then you know the Springfield crew of the Genovese crime family. [1:12] And I’ve been following them pretty closely since I’ve lived here. A few years ago, I got into the story of Pasqualina Albano, who was a bootlegger in Springfield during Prohibition. [1:25] That’s what my new book is about. Yeah. Oh, that’s a new book, right? I’m sorry. I didn’t pick up real quick there. And she’s done a documentary recently that hasn’t been seen by very many people. And they really, she was a woman. They do use the A at the end. Those of us that know about romance languages would know as probably a woman, but she’s a woman. And she was running a certain segment of bootlegging back during the 30s and late 20s, exactly when it was, which is really unusual. She must have been a powerful individual. I think that she was a very remarkable person, so I couldn’t find out enough about her. I really needed to understand how it was possible that somebody who the Mafia would never have accepted as a member allowed her to lead this crew for so long, even into the years when it was associated with Vito Genovese and that crime family. Yeah. Don’t you imagine it was, she must have been making money for them. [2:24] She was making money for her family, for sure. Got a few people probably pretty comfortable, yeah. [2:30] So that family, you went to a family reunion recently and learned quite a little bit. You want to tell your experiences about that? Yes. So, Pasqualea Albano, that bootlegger, has a nephew who is now 101 years old. His name is Mario Fiore. And when he turned 100, I was invited to his birthday party. And it was an enormous scene. It was tremendous. In fact, it’s a cliche, but the opening scene of The Godfather, if you imagine that wedding scene, it’s what it looks like. There’s a guy singing live on a PA system. There’s a pizza oven parked over here. There’s kids in the pool. There’s so many people, so much food, and this great big lawn and incredible view. Just an amazing scene to be at. And I met so many different people who were in Mario’s family. I met people who came over from Italy to come celebrate his birthday and talked with them as much as I could. I have no Italian, by the way. So we did the best we could. But I also talked to her American relative. She has all these grand nieces and nephews, and nieces and nephews who are still living, who were at this party and told me stories and drew little family trees for me. And what I was able to get a real good sense of is how the family feels about this legacy. Because not just Pasqualina, who was in organized crime, so many of her relatives were involved as well and continued to be up until the 80s, at least. [4:00] So the name, was it Albano? Was it got on in the modern times? The last name, was it still Albano? Was there another name? There are a few. Let’s see. I want some more modern names. There’s Mario Fiore. So he is one of her nephews. And then there’s Rex Cunningham Jr., who is one of her grandnephews. There’s the Sentinellos. So Jimmy Sentinello, who owns the Mardi Gras, or he did anyway. It’s a nude club, you know, a gentleman’s club, as they say. A gentleman’s club. We use that term loosely. Oh, boy, do we? Another old term that I picked up from the newspapers that I just love and like to bring back is sporting figure. Yeah, even sporting man. They don’t play sports. They’re not athletes. They’re sporting figures. I know. I heard that when I was a kid. Somebody was a sporting man. Yep. [4:57] This has been a family tradition. It’s something that has been passed down through the generations, and it’s something that I talk about in the book. But mostly what I’m focused on in the plot of the story is about Pasqualea’s time during Prohibition when this gang was turning into something bigger, turning into a part of this American mafia. Yeah. Interesting. And so tell us a little bit about how that developed. You had a Genovese family that moved in and she got hooked up with them. How did that develop? Yeah. More end of modern times. Early on, so 1920, beginning of Prohibition, Pasqualea Albana was newly married to this sporting figure, we’ll call him, Carlo Sinascocci. And I’m probably pronouncing that last name as wrong as well. He also came from a family of notable people who were involved in organized crime, getting into scrapes in Little Italy, New York City. There’s a whole separate side story about his cousins and all the things that they were getting into before Carlo even got on the scene. So by the time he arrived in New York City, he had a bit of a reputation preceding him because of these relatives of his. [6:06] And Pascalina was a young woman in Springfield. And the first question I even had writing about her is, how did she meet this guy? He was a Brooklyn saloon keeper. She was the daughter of a grocer in Springfield, three and a half hours away on the train. Like, why do they even know each other? And so trying to piece all that together, how that was reasonable for them to know one another and move in the same circles, and then for him to immediately, when he moved to Springfield, start picking up with vice because it was before Prohibition. So he was involved in gambling and police violence. And you could see some of the beginnings of the corruption already happening where he’s getting police protection before prohibition even begins. And then once it starts, he is the king of Water Street, which was the main drag of Little Italy. He was the guy you went to if you wanted to buy wholesale. [6:57] Justin, I have a question here. I was just discussing this with who’s half Italian, I guess, FBI agent that worked the mob here in Kansas City. We were talking about this, the prejudice that Italian people felt when they first got here, especially. And Bill’s about 90, and so he said his father told him. His father worked at a bank in New York, and he was told that with that last name, he had a different last name than Bill does. And with that last name, he said, you’re owning and go so high in the bank. And so talk a little bit about the prejudice that those early people felt. And that’s what drove people into the dark side, if you will, to make money. You had these bright guys that came over from Sicily looking for opportunity. And then us English and Irish Germans kept them out. [7:45] And so can you talk about that a little bit? Did they talk about any of that or have you looked into any of that? [7:52] I have. And it’s a theme that comes up again and again. Whenever I look at organized crime in any city, I’m seeing things like that ethnic succession of organized crime that you’re alluding to, how the Irish were controlling, say, the machine in Kansas City Hall or what have you. And they had that same kind of control over politics in other cities, too. And the way that they were getting a leg up and finally getting that first protection of their rackets was from outside of their ethnicity. It was Irish politicians protecting Italian criminals. And then eventually the Italians were getting naturalized where they were born here. And so then they move into politics themselves. [8:31] And that is one of the theories about how organized crime develops in American cities. It’s because you’re poor and ethnic and you’re closed out of other opportunities. And so the bright kids get channeled into organized crime where maybe in a better situation, they would have gone to college. Right. And then Prohibition came along, and there was such a huge amount of money that you can make in Prohibition. And it was illegal. That’s why you made money. But there was opportunity there for these young guys. Yes. And you really start to see a lot of new names in the papers after Prohibition begins. You have your established vice criminals who you’re already seeing in the newspapers through the 19-teens. Once Prohibition begins, now they have all these other guys getting into the game because there’s so much money there. And it’s such a big pie. Everybody feels like they can get a slice. [9:21] Yeah, interesting. Carry on. I’ve distracted you, Azai, but you were talking about Pasqualina and her husband. Of course, I’m not even going to try that. When you talk about discrimination against Italians, one of the things that makes my job really hard is trying to find news about a guy with a name like Carlos Siniscalchi. First of all, I’m probably saying it wrong. I think the Italian pronunciation is… So I’m getting all of the consonant clusters wrong, but I do it with my own name too. We’ve Americanized Cassio. That’s not the right name. How do you pronounce it? It’s Cassio. But we’re Cassio. That’s my grandfather said it. So how do I find Carlos Nescalci in the newspaper when every reporter mangles that name? And spells it differently. Yeah. Everybody spells it differently. How am I going to guess how all these different English speaking reporters were going to mess up Carlos’ name? And so I find it every which way. And sometimes I’ve just had to plain stumble over news about him and his relatives. It just happens by chance. I’m looking for general crime, and then I find him specifically. So yeah, it’s a little hard to find the Italians sometimes because their names are unfamiliar and they get written wrong in censuses and in the news. So we lose a little bit of their history that way. And that’s what you might call, I don’t know, a microaggression because they can’t get that name. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, yeah. You don’t care enough to spell it. I just, I know the thought process, I have to admit. I’ll just spell it anyway. I understand that thought process. [10:51] So you were asking earlier, I don’t know if you want me to continue this, but how the Genovese family were able to get involved in this thing going on in Springfield. Yeah, connected. Because of her second husband. Okay. Pascalina lost her first husband in 1921. He was killed by a fellow bootlegger. He takes over the gang. She conducts a war of vengeance against the guy who kills her husband and his whole family because they’re gangsters. And that takes years. She’s also pursuing her through the courts. And when that all finally gets settled a few years later, she has a quiet little second marriage to a guy that nobody had ever heard of called Antonio Miranda. [11:28] Now, Antonio Miranda is a small time gangster from Little Italy, New York City, and his brother is Mike Miranda, who is very close to Vito Genovese, and he became this conciliator eventually. So that old connections, going back to the days before the Castello-Moraisi War, when it was Lucky Luciano bootlegging with some of his pals, that’s the time frame in which she formed this alliance by marrying Tony Miranda. And that’s when it starts. That’s the relationship’s beginning between Genovese crime family having, before it was even the Genovese crime family, when it was the Luciano family. And so they’ve had that relationship with the Springfield crew ever since. A little bit like old world feudalism in a way, where one member of a royal family marries a member of another royal family. And I know in Kansas City, we’ve got our underboss, his sister, is married to our boss’s nephew. So, bring those two families together, the Lunas and the Savellas together, yes, very well, like noble families. Exactly. Interesting. Absolutely. [12:31] So that’s how they got together. I remembered that, but I’d forgotten it. So, you went to this reunion with people from Sicily there. So, tell us a little bit about that. How? [12:43] How do people in Sicily view the people in the United States? And they didn’t talk about the mafia. I’m sure there’s no doubt that they’re not going to really talk about that unless you got to find somebody that’s really lucky. But kind of care about the sociological impact and the old world and the new world, and the new world people that, you know, established here. Okay, so Pasqualea and his family are from outside of Naples, and they maintain really close ties to their family back in Italy. Like I am the third generation born in America. I don’t speak Italian. Neither does my father. Neither of us has ever been to Italy. We don’t have, we’re not Italians. We’re Americans. Okay. And the Italians will remind you of that if you forget. We’re not Italian. And like spaghetti and meatballs, not Italian. Chicken Parmesan, not Italian. These are things that we invented here out of a sense of, out of homesickness and a sudden influx of middle-class wealth. We were like, let’s have the spaghetti and the meatballs. I had separate courses anymore where the meatballs are, where they’re both a special treat and I’m going to take two treats with chicken and waffles. [13:50] So being around them, they’re formal. You know, I was meeting like Pasquena’s relatives from Mercado San Sivarino, where they’re from in Italy, they own a funeral home. They own the biggest funeral home business in the town, and they also own some other sort of associated businesses, like a florist and things like that. So I would expect a certain sort of decorum and conservatism of tone from somebody who works in the funeral business and from Italy. But they were also among the only people there in suits, because it was a summer day, we’re outside. Most of us were dressed a little less formally. Yeah. Old school, 1950s stuff. He does those old 1950s photographs, and everybody, every man’s wearing a suit. And there were women’s hat on. Also, that ongoing thing where people in Europe just dress better. Yeah, they dress more formal. I see a little bit in New York City. I noticed it when I moved up from the South. In the South, you go to a funeral and flip-flops, okay? It’s very casual because the weather absolutely demands it. I moved that back up North, and I’m like, wow, everybody’s just wearing the same black coat, aren’t we? And you go into New York. People are dressed a little better, even. You go to Europe, and it’s just another level is what I hear. People, they dress better. They’re not like us where we would roll out of bed and put on pajama pants and some crocs and go to the grocery store. They would never do something. Yes. [15:10] I was in a restaurant several years ago, and there’s a guy sitting at a table, and another young guy comes in. And the guy at the table says, dude, you wore your pajama bottoms in the restaurant. [15:22] People need to be sold. And I’ll have to admit, at the time, I hadn’t seen that before. And since then, I see it all the time now. I live in a college town. I see it a lot. Yeah. So i’ll carry on a little more about that reunion there uh okay so how to describe this so much of it was very surreal to me just being in this place like very fancy house the longest driveway i’ve ever seen like more than a mile i finally like when i parked my car because the track you know you can the parked cars are starting i parked and i get out of the car. And I’ve got this big present with me that I’m going to give to Mario. It’s unwieldy. And I’m like, oh man, this is going to be quite a schlep. And I’m wearing my good shoes and everything. And these two young fellas come up on a golf cart and bring me a ride. So I get in the golf cart and we get up to the house and my friend Gina was trying to point people out to me. Oh, he’s somebody that was in my documentary and you got to talk to this guy. And there was a lot of that. you’ve got to talk to this guy and you’ve got to talk to this woman and dragging me around to meet people. And one of the groups of people that I was, that I found myself standing in, [16:35] I’m talking to gangsters this time. Okay. This is not cousins who won a funeral home. These are gangsters. And I’m standing with them and they’re having the absolute filthiest conversation that I’ve heard since high school. [16:48] And, but the difference is boys in high school are just talking. These guys have done all the things they’re talking about. Wow. What a life is. The lives you would have led. Bye. I’m just trying to keep it. Are these American gangsters or are these? Americans. Okay, yeah. Current gangsters, they’re in the Springfield area with Anthony Arilada there. They’ve all hated him, probably. I’m sorry? I said Anthony Arilada when he’s there, and they all hated him. You probably didn’t bring his name up. Yeah, really. There are different factions in Springfield, it feels like to me, still. bill. And I haven’t got them all sorted. There are people who are still very loyal to the old regime and they have their figure, their person that they follow. And sometimes they can live with the rest of them and sometimes the rest of them are a bunch of lowlives and they want everybody to know about it. Yeah. [17:45] I’ve heard that conversation before. Interesting. Now, whose house was this? Somebody made it well in America. Yes. And I think it was one of his nephews. I don’t know exactly whose house it was. I was invited by Gina’s brother. He texted me and invited me to the party. And people just accepted me right in. The close family members who have seen Gina’s documentary, who have heard her talk about Pastelina and the research and meeting me, they think of me as the family a genealogist. And so I have a title in the family and belong there. Oh yeah, it’s here to document us. As you do, because we’re an important family. And so they didn’t really question my presence there at all. And you were able to ask questions from that standpoint too. That’s what was nice. Yeah. [18:37] And a lot of times it was just standing still and listening because there was so much going on, That was enough. Interesting. Now, her documentary, you’ve seen it, so tell us a little bit about it. Folks, it’s not out there streaming yet. She’s trying to get something going, I would assume. [18:58] Explain her just a little bit, too, in her book. Talk about her and her book and her documentary. Yeah. Okay. Gina’s a part of this big family that has got some wealth still and goes back to bootleggers in Prohibition and has gangsters in it, including her brother, Rex Cunningham Jr. So Cunningham is the name you don’t expect to hear in the mafia. Yeah, yeah. Done by Marietta Beckerwood. I don’t know if he was a member or associate, but at any rate, he was a known figure around here. Sportsbook and that kind of thing. Sportsbook, yeah. Yeah. She grew up with a little bit of wealth and privilege, but also feeling a little bit outsider because her family was half Irish. So among the Italians, it was a, you go to the wrong church, you go to the wrong school kind of vibe. And she grew up into more of a countercultural person. Her family is very conservative politically, religiously. I don’t know if you would expect that of a gangster family, but that’s what I’ve noticed is pretty common, actually. No, it’s pretty, that’s the way it is here. Yeah, real conservative, yeah. Yeah. You have to be socially for the whole thing to work. I can get into that, but And they keep going to the same church and school and everything, and you maintain these close ties with the neighborhood and local businesses and so forth. But she really was like, I’m going my own way. And so she became this free spirit as a young woman. And Gina’s, I don’t know how old she is. I want to say in her late 60s, around 70, about there. [20:23] That’s Gina Albano Cunningham. Cunningham. Oh, Gina. Okay, Gina Cunningham. See, I’m getting mixed up with the names. And Cunningham was… Ask Elena Albanos. Her sister married and became a Fiore. Okay. All right. That’s a little bit confusing. People have to go to your website to get this straightened out. Or maybe you have this, a picture, an image of this family tree on your website. In the book, you can find multiple family trees because I’m working with all these different branches. I’ll take a look if I can’t put an image in here for everybody to get this straight. But the modern woman that did the book and the movie, she’s in her 70s now. [21:04] Yeah. Yeah, and she’s a grandniece of Pasqualina, and her brother and her cousins were in organized crime in this room. Okay, all right, all right. Go ahead, go ahead. She’s absolutely immersed in this life, but she did not want any part of it, and so she left. And there are other people in her family that you can point to that did the same thing, like some of Pasqualina’s children just did not want to have anything to do with the family. Well, they left. They went and moved to another state. They stayed in another place. They didn’t come back. And she did the same thing, but she’s not cut ties. She keeps coming back and she has good relationships with her family members, even though she’s not aligned with them politically and so forth. [21:42] And she’s an artist. I’ve seen her work on a couple of different mediums. I don’t want to really try and explain what her art is, but she’s a feminist artist. And she’s also really been pointing the camera at her family quite a bit. And it seems like film might be a newer medium for her. She’s used to do more painting and sculpture and stuff kind of thing. How’d the family take that? A lot of these people, I’ve talked to some relatives here, and one of them come on to talk to me, but I said, your Uncle Vince, he said, yeah, I know. But then he never would get back to me all of a sudden. So a lot of pressure to not say anything about it. Oh, yeah. Sometimes I will get started talking to somebody and then it’ll reach a certain point where they’re like oh no we can’t don’t be recording this don’t put my yeah anything so yeah news to that but gina was like no this is going to be part of my, political art. I’m going to point the camera at my family. I’m going to expose, some of the hypocrisy that I see there, the things I disagree with. [22:41] It’s a short documentary, and I find it very powerful because it’s a family video. One of the first people she’s aiming the camera at is, I think, one of her nieces. Talking to this young woman who is leaning on her car, maybe in her late teens, early 20s, and this young woman is saying, oh, yeah, I would marry a gangster if I had the chance. And I’m just like, do you not know your family? Do you not know the heart? And later on in the video, you get to hear some of the really just like gut wrenching stories of what pain people in her family have brought upon themselves through their involvement in organized crime and all the things that it entails. And this young woman is, I don’t know, she’s acting because she doesn’t even know this other uncle or this other cousin that she’s got that can tell her these stories. Or is it, I don’t know, it doesn’t matter or something. And that to me was shocking. That’s the kind of thing that needs, that’s somebody who needs their mind changed. And I was like, I hope she watches this video she’s in and changes her mind about how she feels about that life and wanting to be a part of it. But that’s what mafia culture creates more of, is people who want to be a part of that. [23:53] There’s a certain romance to it that started out with Robin Hood, if you will. You get a romance of the gangster, the criminal that maybe is good to some people, good to support people, good to their family. And it continues on to this day to John Gotti. He’s the most recent iteration of Robin Hood and Jesse James here in the Midwest. People love Jesse James. When I grew up, everybody, every family had a story about how a couple of guys came by their house back in the 1800s and they gave them a place to stay and a meal. And they left them like a $20 gold piece, which was like $500 or something. And they said, it was Jesse James. I know it was. It’s the romance of the gangster continues. Yes. We all would love to imagine that we’re on the gangster side and that the gangster agrees. Yeah. As long as we don’t have to go to jail or pay that price. Because to me, I’ve got a friend today that he spent about 12 years and he would give all that gangster life back to get that 12 years back for these kids growing up. He’s turned over a new life today. I had lunch with him and his son not too long ago. And it’s just his son has told him, he said, every time I had to walk away from you in the penitentiary and come back home after our visit, he said, I was just crushed. It’s a huge price to pay for that. But there’s still that romance continues. [25:13] That terrible price, I think, is part of what feeds the romance. If there was no risk, there wouldn’t be that allure. Yeah, that’s true. You met that risk and overcame it and went on, came out on top. It’s what they always like to claim that came out on top of it. So I understand that thought process. I take a lot of risk in my life just from the other side. I said, live to fight another day. Yeah, there really are different kinds of risks that you can take. I was writing about a contract killer in Texas, and one of his targets was a guy who was a grain dealer. And I was like, that’s a really weird target for murder, right? Like, why would you kill a grain dealer from rural Texas? And it was because his old partner had an insurance policy out on him and decided to cash in on it. That was Charles Harrison, wasn’t it? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Sad story. Charles Harrison. Yeah. It was like, these were two guys that took very different kinds of risks, right? You got Charles Harrelson, who kills people for money. That’s a certain kind of risk you’re definitely taking. And then there’s the guy who buys grain and then sells it. So he’s taking these risks for his community of farmers. [26:27] And I was like, that’s really wholesome. And that’s, I don’t know, I feel like it’s a really positive example of masculinity. That’s the kind of risk we’re supposed to take for the safety and well-being of our neighbors? Yeah. Even the farmers, they risk everything every year. Smaller farmer, I grew up in those families and a smaller farmer practically risk everything every year, being in on the weather. That’s why I didn’t stay on the farm. And the markets, you don’t know what the markets are going to do. It’s a gamble every year. That Charles Harrelson, that’s Woody Harrelson’s dad who killed the Judds, famous murder down in El Paso. And he had a business. He carried a card that said he was a hitman. It was his story. [27:10] Bold. He was a crazy bold dude. I did a whole three-part series on that whole Jimmy Chagra marijuana business [27:20] down there on the border. and his connection to it and the killing of Judge Wood. So it’s just a business in these guys. Hey, it’s not personal. It’s just business. Yikes. It’s crazy. But Justin, you got anything else you want to tell us about? Anything you’re working on? And remind guys your website and what you can find there. He has some really interesting stuff about the old early days in Chicago. I know that. I referred to some of that several years ago when I was doing something on Chicago. So give guys a little walk through on your website. It’s really interesting. Okay, so John Gotti is one name I don’t think you’re ever going to find on my website. Yeah, good. [27:59] I’m really addicted to origin stories. I like to find out how the Mafia was already present before that point when we say it started. Yeah, in the 20s. But gangsters don’t come out of nowhere. Gangs don’t come out of nowhere. They evolve. They grow. There are forces to create them. And so that’s what I’m interested in. I like to go around. And I spent a lot of my early career writing about one place and its effect on the United States, Corleone, where my family’s from in Sicily. And that was my first book, In Our Blood. And some of my first posts on mafia genealogy are in that thread. They’re about my family and the Corleonesi. But then I started to get into other [28:42] places and wanting to know about their stories and getting into other parts of Italy as well. So if you go to my website, you’re going to find stories like Charles Harrelson and the two guys that he killed before the judge, or in Chicago about the different little Italys that existed before Capone consolidated everything, or Kansas City I’m writing about, Nick Fatsuno and the Passantino brothers. I don’t even know if you know those guys, but I thought their further stories were amazing. [29:09] Passantino had a funeral home today, but the other names I don’t really know back then. I don’t know much about that or those early days. Did they seem to come from the same little town, the same general area? They didn’t, actually. A lot of them were Sicilian, and they come from Palermo province, but not all from the same town. Not from okay. Yeah. Yeah, I wasn’t able to put—there’s not a strong current there in Kansas City like I’ve found in other places where everybody is from one town. Yeah. [29:37] But not so much in Kansas City. A little more varied. Interesting. So that’s what you’ll find on my website. And then Pasqualina is my second book, and you can buy both of my books at Amazon. Got them behind me here, Airblood, Pasqualina. And Pasqualina is about that prohibition era, and if you like to understand where big-nosed Sam Koufari got his start, it’s in there. And the Shabelli brothers show up. It’s about those origins. I was talking to a friend of mine about this name, Skeeball or Skeebelly. Yes. Who had some relationship back in Springfield, and he just really knew Skeeball when he was young. [30:17] Yep, because it was the spelling of his name. I’m not even sure how they pronounced it. I think it’s Skeebelly. Skeebelly. That probably was. Yeah, Skeebelly. I know somebody named Skeebelly, so probably was. That’s like the name of the body shop here in Kansas City, and it’s P-A-C-E. But really it’s Pache. We’ve got to do it right. And that’s probably short for Pache. I don’t know. I wonder if the family pronounces it Pache or Pace. I think business-wise, but then the person who was talking was close to the family and they said, oh no, it’s Pache. So I thought, okay. [30:53] Interesting. The immigrant experience in this country is really always interesting. There’s always conflict and the interest is in the conflict. And as people try to make their way, and stopping with, oh God, it was an author, T.J. did the Westies. You guys know T.J. that did the Westies. And he said, yeah, he said, and he really was articulate about, as we’ve discussed this, that people come here want an opportunity, because they didn’t have any opportunity in the old country, whether it be Naples or southern Italy or Sicily. They came here, they really just wanted opportunity. And then the opportunity, you have to start fighting for opportunity. That’s the nature of the beast in this country. In any kind, any society, you’ve got to fight for opportunity when you’re an outsider and you come in. And so that was the early development. These people just wanting a little slice of this American pie that they’d heard so much about. The streets are paved with gold over here, but found out you’ve got to dig that old man. [31:52] Some people probably came over here thinking they were going to make an honest living and found themselves, by one step and another, involved in organized crime. And then there were other men who came here from Italy for whom the opportunity was to be a criminal here. Richer pickings. Yeah. And they started restaurants and had your typical immigrant, all the immigrant restaurants, all these Chinese, whatever kind of ethnic food is, they start out with an immigrant who then puts his kids and his cousins and his nephews and sisters and grandmas in the back room kitchen, start those restaurants. And people, us people that are already here like that food and they run them, they do a really good job at it. And so that’s a way to get started in grocery stores for their other fellow paisans. And those were the ways that they made it here, at least now, probably the same way in every city where there’s a large Italian population. Got to feed the other Italians. And so an Italian restaurant is natural. Yeah. And also owning your own business is just really smart for a lot of people. If you’re an organized crime, it’s a great way to hide what you’re doing. [32:59] And if you’re trying to get a naturalization status, especially now, being a business owner is really advantageous. Yeah, I bet. I was talking about that on getting a naturalization process that showed that you’re an entrepreneur and you believe in the system and you’re doing well. Yeah, interesting. [33:17] All right, Justin Cascio, and the website is Mafia Genealogy. He’s got a couple books on there in this documentary. I don’t know. Keep us up on that. Maybe if it comes out, I’ll make sure to get it out on something where people know that they can go out and see it. It sounds really interesting. Thanks, YOL. All right. Thanks, Justin. I’ll do that no more. Thank you, Justin. It’s really a pleasure to talk to you again. Always a pleasure being on your show. Thank you. Great. [33:44] Justin, see, I was going to ask you about something. What? Are you going through a publisher? You got a publisher? No, I’m self-published. You’re self-published? Okay. Yeah. See, I self-published several books, and I’m doing probably my last ones, a story of my life, kind of more of a memoir, my struggles and my moral dilemmas and all that during when I worked intelligence. And then I’ll explain all about the big civil mob war we had here during those years. And I don’t know. I started poking around. I thought, well, maybe I’ll try to get a regular publisher. But boy, it’s hard. You’ve got to get an agent. You can’t get attention of an agent because there’s hundreds and thousands of people out there writing books wanting to do all this. So thank God for Amazon. Yeah. I think if you already have your audience. Yeah. And you know who they are and you’re already talking to them. You don’t need to pay somebody else to do that for you. Yeah. Yeah. I’m paying an editor to go over to… That’s different. That’s no other strengths. But to get it sold out there. Out here making videos every day. The good thing about getting a publisher is you can get, and then you got a chance of getting it into Barnes & Noble and into libraries. [34:59] See, libraries. You might into libraries anyway. How’d you do that? How’d you figure that out? The local library has an interest in the book, so they bought it. Yeah, they did. But I’m talking about other libraries. Yeah, they can all buy the book the same way. Yeah, but how do they find the library buy books? [35:18] I think buy them from the publishers normally. And if your book is self-published and they want to carry that book, because, for instance, about local history, then they’ll buy it. Yeah. I’m thinking about how do they get it out in other New York or Chicago or some other city that will be looking for nonfiction books. Publishers. You have to do every step yourself instead of being massive. Yeah. And then like Barnes & Noble and places like that to get it in, that’s hard too. You can do that locally. Those places carry my books on the website. Who does? They’re buying it from Amazon. Oh, okay. Interesting. Oh, really? Yeah. Because that’s the only place you can get it. I think I sell a couple of my, I’ve seen some people from, I think it’s through at Brafta Digital, I think’s the name of it. That’s another thing that this thing went up on that Barnes & Noble did sell a few copies of it. As a matter of fact, now that you mention it. [36:21] But it’s interesting. It’s fun. How are you ever going to get a screenplay sold if you don’t get their attention? [36:30] That’s why most people I talk to, they’re trying to figure out how to get a movie made from their book. Gangsters ask me that question. They’re like, you figure I know the answer to how to get a movie made from YouTube? and I do not have that answer. Nobody knows that. It’s hard work. Yeah, I tell them nobody knows that, the answer. It’s God. A divine being that strikes you, whether it be the Apollo or the God of Abraham, or Jesus or some higher power reaches out and touches you and says, okay, I bless you, and now you’re going to have a movie made and Robert De Niro is going to play your part. Although anymore, they don’t want De Niro to play him because they hate him now, and they want somebody else. Oh, my God. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you, Justin. Likewise, Gary. Thanks so much. If I can do anything for you here in Kansas City, and as you’re going through your thing, if you’ve got any question or anything, I’ve got that one friend, that FBI agent, that he could maybe help you with if you’re looking for a connection or something. He knows quite a little bit. And somebody else was just talking about that, looking into that, those early days. But if you do have any questions or anything that you’re stumbled about here in Kansas City, be sure and give me a call, and I’ll see if I can’t steer you to somebody. I don’t know myself. I don’t really ever look at it. Okay. Okay. Stay safe. Thank you. You too.
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