1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,519 Speaker 1: You're listening to part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. Hey there, Joe, Hello Mango. So I know 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: that you like canoli's. You've been making them for all 4 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: the people who come to your book launch parties at 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: various bookstores across the country for your wonderful book, The 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: Sicilian Inheritance, which is honestly the greatest thing ever. I mean, 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: coming to hear an author talk while they make canoli's 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: for you is pretty great. But then I saw this 9 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: fact this week about Canoli's and I had to tell 10 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: you about it. So did you know that a canole 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: has actually gone into space? 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 2: I did not know that, but I'm also not surprised. 13 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 2: I mean, I can only can really do anything. It's 14 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 2: an intensely versatile dessert. But how did it get there? 15 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 2: Did NASA take it there? 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: So the story is a little more low than that. Apparently, 17 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: these three young scientists decide that they wanted to do 18 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: something joyful for Sicily, so they started what they called 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: the Sicilian Space Program. 20 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 3: Wow, do they have T shirts? Because I want one? 21 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: I know I want a tea shirt too. But these 22 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: three scientists, with no real money, decided to send a 23 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: canoli into space, and because a real canoli would actually disintegrate, 24 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: they fabricated this delicious looking canoli or canolo because I 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: guess one canoli is called canolo, yes, And they made 26 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: it out of lightweight polymers, and then they modeled a 27 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: path and attached it to a little helium balloon craft 28 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: which they called the Canolo Transporter, and along with it 29 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: they sent a thermometer, a parachute, a GPS device, and 30 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: a camera, which is so great because the shots of 31 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: space from this like Canol helium spacecraft looking down on 32 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: Earth are absolutely amazing. 33 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 2: Wait, no, no, sorry, Okay, So I am imagining it 34 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 2: with a face to be honest, because I so when 35 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 2: I sign the Sicilian Inheritance. And I'm now coming up 36 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 2: on my one hundredth event for this book in three months, 37 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 2: because I've been doing bookstores and I zoom into book 38 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 2: clubs for it for a while. I've been trying to 39 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 2: draw canoli in the books, but they never look like canoli. 40 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 2: They look like something else. 41 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 3: Okay, I'm not going to say what they look like. 42 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 2: And then I draw a little happy face on them, 43 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 2: which makes it even worse. So I'm picturing I'm picturing 44 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 2: this space cannoli with a little happy face smiling down 45 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 2: on the Earth, which is a really wonderful thing. 46 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 4: But did they actually get it to space. They did 47 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 4: get it to space, no smiley face. They got it 48 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 4: to thirty thousand meters into the air, so into the stratosphere, 49 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 4: and I guess the thermometer recorded a temperature of negative 50 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 4: fifty degrees celsius before it started crashing to Earth, so 51 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 4: that's pretty amazing. And then the scientists chase it down 52 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 4: through this field of sheep to find their space canolo. 53 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 4: But what's really sweet about the whole thing is that 54 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 4: they just want to change the perception of Sicily a little, 55 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 4: from this land of mafioso and economic struggles to something 56 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 4: really delightful. And according to one of the scientists, this 57 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 4: is what he said, our Sicilian space program was a 58 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 4: gift meant for all Sicilians and a way to make 59 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 4: them smile. For us, this great little gesture is a 60 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 4: gift to the Cosmos, a technological right, and even just 61 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 4: a simple gesture to lift up Sicily in our own way, 62 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 4: which I just think is really sweet. 63 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: I love you. That's the first of a whole bunch 64 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: of facts we have about Sicily today, So why don't 65 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: we dive in. 66 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 5: Let's do it. 67 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to part time genius. I'm youngish articular. My good 68 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: pal Will Pearson is off on a business trip this week. 69 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: But that's great because I pulled in author, journalist, podcaster 70 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: and one of the most remarkable people I know, Joe Piazza, 71 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: to sit in his chair. Joe, thank you for being here. 72 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 3: Oh thanks for having me. I'll fill in for Will anytime. 73 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: And of course leaning back in the studio, feet on 74 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: his desk, cracking open Sicilian pistaches and just tossing them 75 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 1: on the floor without a care. 76 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 2: Oh yes, of course that is our wonderful Dylan Fagan, 77 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 2: just scarfing away on pistachios back there, but just just 78 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 2: snack and just snack. And you know I should have 79 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 2: made you guys, can only you know? 80 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: Joe? I always tell people I don't know anyone who's 81 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: as insanely productive as your. You've got three kids, a 82 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: wonderful marriage, You're always writing at least two books at 83 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: any one time, and you also seem to prioritize reading 84 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: and sleep, and you travel. So I am curious, how 85 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: do you get it all done. 86 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 2: I don't actually I don't actually know how I do it. 87 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 2: I have to say. I think it's I just don't 88 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 2: f around anymore, like I'm insanely efficient, Like I don't 89 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 2: have I don't actually scroll Instagram even though I report 90 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 2: on Instagram. And yeah, I'm an efficient Virgo. 91 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 3: I grew up. 92 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 2: You'll appreciate this as a person who loves astrology as 93 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 2: much as I do. I grew up rejecting like all 94 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 2: of the traits of a Virgo, like super organized, super efficient, 95 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 2: love security, much in the way that I grew up 96 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 2: reading The Babysitters Club and thinking I was a Stacy 97 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 2: because she was cool and from New York City, and 98 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 2: you know, as I'm an adult, I'm like, oh, yeah, 99 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 2: I'm a freaking Virgo. 100 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 3: And I'm not Stacey. I'm totally Christy. 101 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: So yeah, I asked Ruby what they thought they were 102 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: in terms of the Babysitters Club, because of course, you know, 103 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: obsessed with it. And Ruby's like, well, I'm organized like 104 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: a Christie, but I like to hide candy all over 105 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: my room like like a Claudia. Like a Claudia. 106 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 3: That's fair. 107 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: So I've got your best seller right here. The Sicilian inheritance. 108 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: Can you tell me a little bit about how you 109 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: came up with the story of this book. 110 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 2: Oh, I sure can, Yeah, I mean it started out 111 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 2: I wanted to write a delicious adventure to Sicily, and 112 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 2: I loosely based it on the murder of my own 113 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 2: great great grandmother, Lorenza Marsala. My family's been passing on 114 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 2: this story as like a piece of family lore for 115 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 2: as long as I can remember, but they don't know 116 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 2: many details. In fact, most of them don't know any details. 117 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 2: A lot of them didn't even know what her name was. 118 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 2: It was just, oh, our family matriarch was murdered in Sicily. 119 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 2: The men thought she was murdered by the mafia because 120 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 2: they all think they're Tony Soprano. 121 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 3: And the women. 122 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 2: Thought that she was murdered because she was a Sicilian 123 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 2: witch or a healer, because they all believe they're Sicilian witches, 124 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 2: and frankly, they probably are. And I took that little 125 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 2: nugget and I just went with it. I tried to 126 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 2: imagine what it would be like to be a woman 127 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,160 Speaker 2: in Sicily one hundred years ago, when your husband leaves 128 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,159 Speaker 2: for twelve years at a time and you're left alone. 129 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 2: The women in these Sicilian villages, they took the men's jobs. 130 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 2: They started lending money and buying land, and they had 131 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 2: autonomy and agency for the first time in a really 132 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 2: cool way. And then I had a modern day woman 133 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 2: in the book go back to Sicily and try to 134 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 2: claim her family inheritance and solve this murder. So it's 135 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 2: just it's a delicious adventure and romp through Sicily with 136 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 2: the right amount of taking down the patriarchy. 137 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: So obviously you mentioned this. The story is based on 138 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: this real story in your family of your great great 139 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: grandmother Lorenzo, getting murdered, and your dad was obsessed with 140 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: this and spending all this extra time trying to solve 141 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: the story. But to tell me a little bit about 142 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: you know, the podcast and how that came together. 143 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, my dad spent so much time and so much 144 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 2: money actually before before he passed away, trying to figure 145 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 2: this mystery out. And you know, now it's been seven years. 146 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 2: And when I started writing the book, like I said, 147 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 2: I wanted it to be fiction, straight up fiction. But 148 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 2: then and once I finished the book, because I'm an 149 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 2: intensely productive content creator, I decided, oh, now I have 150 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 2: to solve this mystery in real life, and I started 151 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 2: making a podcast about it, a true crime podcast also 152 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 2: called The Sicilian Inheritance to make things very Easy, where 153 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 2: where I go back to Sicily on a mixture of 154 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 2: fact finding mission and family summer vacation to solve the 155 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 2: actual mystery, digging through archives, digging through court records, interviewing 156 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 2: people in the town where Lorenzo Marsala is from. And 157 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,839 Speaker 2: it's become this wonderful podcast. When I describe it to 158 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 2: people on tour, sometimes I call it white Lotus meets 159 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 2: only murders in the building because it is me, in 160 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 2: many ways, bumbling my way through Sicily trying to solve 161 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 2: this murder. But from the very start last summer when 162 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 2: we were there, we did discover some really crazy bombshells 163 00:08:58,880 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 2: that come. 164 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 3: Out in episode two. 165 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 2: And yeah, I mean, people are binging this podcast like crazy. 166 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,319 Speaker 2: So many people are telling me that Sicilian Inheritance is 167 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,959 Speaker 2: their new favorite true crime podcast, and it's been. 168 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 3: It's been a lot of fun. 169 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: It's a it's a really sweet tone, and it's you know, 170 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 1: I got to work on it a little bit, but 171 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: to me, it just feels like this lovely driving to 172 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: the Beach Summer podcast that you know is delightful and 173 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: not gory, but still a true crime. You know, there's 174 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: something really wonderful about the tone totally. But you know, 175 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: I was looking into this and one of the things 176 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: that's amazing to me is that, like how many Italian 177 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: Americans are Sicilian, you know, Scorsese, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, 178 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, Steve Shechemi. 179 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: I mean, the list just goes on and on, and 180 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: I had no idea that, like Sicily was that big 181 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,079 Speaker 1: a part of the US. But then you talk a 182 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,319 Speaker 1: little bit about the immigration experience in the podcast. Can 183 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: you talk a little bit about what it meant to 184 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: go to Ellis Island to do research? Yeah? 185 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 2: Absolutely, I mean there are so many Italian Americans who 186 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 2: are Sicilian, because you know, Sicily was very impoverished one 187 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty one hundred years ago, and so it 188 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 2: was mainly Southern Italians and Sicilians who were immigrating to 189 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,719 Speaker 2: the US to make a better life for themselves and 190 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 2: for their family. And one of my first stops for 191 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 2: research was to work with Ellis Island and their researchers 192 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 2: and historians are incredible. They don't just pullship manifests for you. 193 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 2: They help you research all different kinds of government records. 194 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 2: But what they were able to find for me is 195 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 2: the immigration documents for all of Lorenza's children and her 196 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 2: husband who came to the United States, which listed just 197 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 2: so much personal information and also information about Lorenzo because 198 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 2: they had to write about who they left behind. And 199 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 2: some of these children that immigrated were kids, they were teenagers, 200 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,559 Speaker 2: they were, you know, thirteen, fourteen years old, and they 201 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 2: wrote on their document, I left my mom behind, and 202 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 2: that just got under my skin. And that one child, 203 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 2: that one son, he was almost sent back because they 204 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 2: were worried that he wouldn't have enough support here in 205 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 2: America without his without his mother here, even though you know, 206 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 2: other family members were here at the time. The government 207 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 2: was very very nervous about having anyone here that they 208 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,679 Speaker 2: would have to take care of, and so he nearly 209 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 2: got sent back, and he did and he made it 210 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,199 Speaker 2: to Scratton with his other brothers. But yeah, I mean, 211 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 2: it's a really intense emotional journey to hear these stories 212 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 2: and learn more about the people who came before you. 213 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 2: And the kinds of things that they went through and 214 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 2: what they achieved, and you know, it just it puts 215 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 2: so much in perspective today that we can do hard things, 216 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 2: we can do difficult things, and that we have this 217 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 2: actually in our blood and in our DNA. 218 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, that really is remarkable and obviously so meaningful for 219 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: your family to discover all this stuff through you. But 220 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: I think what I love so much about the podcast is, 221 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 1: you know, I have no envy for all the struggles 222 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: with bureaucracy and the digging through records in Italy and 223 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: all that, but you know, like those bits about you 224 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 1: traveling around Sicily and Calta Balota and these like fields 225 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,679 Speaker 1: of lemon trees and olive trees and old world towns 226 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: and gorgeous beaches and you do that beautiful, beautiful food 227 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: scene there. It all just makes me want to go 228 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: to Sicily so badly. Yeah, And that's why I thought 229 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: it'd be really fun to do at nine Things episode 230 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: with you to learn a little bit more about like 231 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: the surprising things people don't know about Sicily. So why 232 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: don't we get to some facts. 233 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 3: Let's do some facts. I love a fact, you know that. 234 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: So actually, if you don't mind. One of the things 235 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: that really stunned me about the podcast was like some 236 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: of Greece's influence on Sicily, and you talk about it 237 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: in terms of the Virgin Mary kind of being bigger 238 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 1: than Jesus and Sicily. Would you do that as your 239 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: first fact on the show. 240 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, no, absolutely absolutely, And you know it makes sense, 241 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 2: like Sicily was indeed part of ancient Greece, part of 242 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 2: that ancient world. And one of the things I discovered 243 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 2: is that Sicilian women have just carried on so many 244 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 2: traditions of different goddesses from Greek mythology, from Roman mythology, 245 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 2: from Northern African mythology, and you know, put a lot 246 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 2: of those attributes onto Mary. You know, Mary is a 247 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: real presence in Sicily. She's she's not a meek woman 248 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 2: at all. She's not just the mother of the Savior. 249 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,200 Speaker 2: In Sicily. The statues of her present like a powerful goddess. 250 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 2: I mean, they just radiate strength. They're big, she's big, 251 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 2: she takes up space, and they treat her kind of 252 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 2: like a Greek superhero. She's often in a massive white 253 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 2: and gold cape that flares out around her body like 254 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 2: a mountain. She doesn't have a tiny halo. Instead, she's 255 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 2: wearing something that feels and looks a lot more like 256 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 2: a craft. I mean, almost like the moon, because it 257 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 2: resembles the goddess Diana, the moon goddess, and it is because, 258 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 2: like I said, Mary is just a bit of a 259 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:14,199 Speaker 2: collection of different goddesses. The Sicilians took all of these 260 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 2: old Greek myths and the myths from the Carthaginians, like 261 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 2: Diana and Aphrodite, and they combined all of those into 262 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 2: the Virgin Mary. It made it a lot easier to 263 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 2: accept Christianity, and like they're fine, They're fine with Jesus, Okay, 264 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 2: But Sicily is a place where magic definitely still exists, 265 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 2: and so you can believe in the Virgin Mary but 266 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 2: also in the Evil Eye. And Mary can be a 267 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 2: mashup of all of these strong, capable women. She's a 268 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 2: little bit Greek myth, she's a little bit of Christian belief, 269 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 2: and in Sicily she's a healer and a mother, but 270 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 2: also kind of this wonderful, witchy goddess. 271 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: I really love that so much. But I also love 272 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: that you talk about her kind of like a witch, 273 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: Like could you talk about like Sicilian culture and witches 274 00:14:58,280 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: and strength as. 275 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 2: Straight I guess, yeah, I mean, as there was this 276 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 2: idea that Lorenzo Marsala, my great great grandmother, was possibly 277 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 2: a witch and a healer, and it's one of the 278 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 2: things that we're trying to prove in the Sicilian Inheritance podcast. 279 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 2: But of course, you know, there's no legal you know, 280 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 2: tax documents to be like, oh yeah, I'm just writing 281 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 2: off my expenses from being a peasant witch, sadly, sadly. 282 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 2: But there's ways, there's other ways that we try to 283 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 2: go about it. And you know, the idea of the 284 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 2: witch and the healer, it just has such deep roots 285 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 2: in Sicily for so long, and in fact, the straga 286 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 2: the witches were often known as the dona ayetane the 287 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 2: women who help, because they did help. They took on 288 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 2: all the attributes of doctors, healers, also social connectors in 289 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 2: a way, you know, they did a lot of the matchmaking. Yes, 290 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 2: they had the evil eye, but the evil eye was 291 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 2: to you know, not to vex your neighbor necessarily, but 292 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 2: to keep away dark forces from other towns, I mean, 293 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 2: from other islands. Things like that. They were really they 294 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 2: were the protectors and caregivers of Sicilian society for a 295 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 2: long time. And I do believe that that that is 296 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 2: part of what Lorenza did. And you know, we have 297 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 2: we have a very big witchy thread in the Sicilian 298 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 2: Inheritance novel as well. 299 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: And there were midwives and ob GYNs too, kind of. 300 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 2: Absolutely, yes, there are midwives obgyns. They deliver babies, they 301 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 2: help women prevent pregnancy, you know, which was was a 302 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 2: was a very big deal. I mean, so many of 303 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 2: these women were constantly pregnant or constantly breastfeeding, and it's 304 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 2: an exhausting life and so these were these were the 305 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 2: women that really kind of held the fabric of society 306 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 2: together by by caring for everyone. 307 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: So I mean, I love that bit. There's there's like 308 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: so much of this that like I either kind of 309 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: knew little bit about or like had no idea about. 310 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: And I think just learning about the land and the 311 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,879 Speaker 1: feeling of really how transportive. I know I used that 312 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: word before, but like how transport of the podcast is 313 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 1: like can't be underscored. But one of the things I 314 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 1: wanted to do was talk about like a few things 315 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,360 Speaker 1: that people might not know about from Sicily. And I'm 316 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: guessing you know all about Sicilian ice creams. 317 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 2: Right, I know a lot. I know a lot about 318 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,440 Speaker 2: Sicilian ice cream. So I took the kids there and 319 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 2: you will hear them on the podcast, and they're little. 320 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 2: I took three children under the age of six to 321 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 2: solve a Sicilian murder mystery, which is what they get 322 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,880 Speaker 2: to talk about in therapy in about twenty years and 323 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 2: so we had Sicilian ice cream about twice a day. 324 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: One of the things I really love is that Sicily 325 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 1: apparently is the first place where brain freeze is documented. 326 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,920 Speaker 3: Freeze shut your mouth. I didn't know that. I didn't know. 327 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: It's from this book called Frostbite, How ref Changed Our Food, 328 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 1: our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilly, and it has 329 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: all these great documented examples, because eating something that cold 330 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: was unusual in the eighteen hundred and seventeen hundreds. But 331 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: she talks about this description of brain freeze from the 332 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: seventeen seventies, and it's an account of a British naval 333 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: officer taking his first bite of ice cream at this 334 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: formal dinner and this is what it says after he 335 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: took his first bite. Quote, at first, he only looked 336 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 1: grave and blew up his cheeks to give it more room, 337 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: but then quote the violence of the cold. Soon getting 338 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: the better of his patients, he began to tumble it 339 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: about from side to side in his mouth, his eyes 340 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,679 Speaker 1: rushing out water. Shortly thereafter, he spat it out with 341 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: a horrid oath meaning I guess he was swearing, and 342 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: in his outrage, had to be restrained from beating the 343 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:59,400 Speaker 1: nearest servant. Wow, that description is so insane. 344 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,919 Speaker 3: Wow. Oh wow, that's great. Yeah, I love that. 345 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:03,919 Speaker 2: Well, you know, I've heard I've heard a lot of 346 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 2: descriptions about cold things in Sicily, you know, Mount Etna, 347 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 2: because the grenita is the other big dessert in Sicily, 348 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 2: which is shaved ice. Okay, and you walk through the 349 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 2: streets of Palermo and literally men make you a greanita 350 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 2: by hacking away at ice with a machete. It's so 351 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 2: violent and so delightful. But grenda originated from the snow 352 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 2: and ice on the top of Mount Etna. They're volcano. 353 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 3: That's very cool, Pretty cool, right, yeah, So well, fact 354 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:32,360 Speaker 3: you have next Well, you know. 355 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 2: Since Dylan got his hands on those special Sicilian pistachios, 356 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 2: I do think it's worth talking about them a little. 357 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 2: Sicilians use pistachios in everything, and I mean, this is 358 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 2: a good time to point out we talk about this 359 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 2: in the podcast and in the book. Sicilian food is 360 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 2: very different from Italian food. Okay, there's no heavy red sauces. 361 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 2: It's a lot of influences from North Africa, from other 362 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 2: parts of the Mediterranean, and from the French, you know, 363 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 2: because the were indeed conquerors of Sicily for quite some times. 364 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 2: So you do see pistachios and crushed pistachios in lots 365 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 2: and lots of dishes, I mean almost every dish, and 366 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 2: so Sicilian pistachios or bronte pistachios are often referred to 367 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 2: as green gold because of their delicious and intense flavor. Now, 368 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 2: pistachios obviously grow in Iran, California, lots of other places, 369 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,919 Speaker 2: but the reason that the nuts taste so intensely sweet 370 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 2: and meaty is because, of course, the soil from Mount 371 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:35,199 Speaker 2: Etna is just so so nutritious and delicious, and that 372 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 2: soil gives a lot of Sicilian foods their distinct flavor, 373 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 2: from Sicilian wines and liquors to the local honey and 374 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 2: the strawberries the rich volcanic soil is not only super fertile, 375 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 2: but it also imbused foods with a complex earthy goodness. 376 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 2: And actually, just as an aside, I gotta say, Mount 377 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 2: Etna also plays a role in Greek mythology. 378 00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 3: Did you know this? 379 00:20:58,520 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 1: I did not. 380 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 2: The green thought that it was where Hephestus, the god 381 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 2: of blacksmiths, had his workshop and his forges, which is 382 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 2: why you can almost always see the smoke billowing out 383 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 2: of it like a chimney. But back to the pistachios. 384 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,600 Speaker 2: The Romans originally brought pistachios back from the Middle East, 385 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 2: but they were mostly forgotten. And then when the Arabs 386 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 2: came to Sicily in the ninth century, they could not 387 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 2: help but notice the incredible flavor of the nuts, and 388 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 2: they kicked the cultivation up into high gear. And today 389 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 2: the Sicilian pistachios are still harvested entirely by hand, which 390 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 2: you know, oh wow, which sounds beautiful, right, I mean, 391 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 2: we love thinking about things that are done with our 392 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:49,640 Speaker 2: actual hands and not machines. But it is intensely labor heavy, 393 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 2: intensely labor heavy. And then they spread out these big 394 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 2: cloth canopies when they collect them and shell and chop 395 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 2: them by hand, or sometimes they send them to the 396 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 2: factories to be turned into paste. 397 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 3: But because it does take. 398 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,159 Speaker 2: So much labor, and because it's intense on the land, 399 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 2: it only happens every two years to protect the trees 400 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,199 Speaker 2: and improve the flavors. And this is why Sicilian pistachios 401 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 2: are a little bit pricier. 402 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: That's funny, I didn't realize. So they're kind of expensive. 403 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 2: They are, they are, and they're too expensive to use 404 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 2: in things like cannoli, even though I do it, or 405 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 2: or or ice cream over here, unless you're paying like 406 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 2: high end luxury prices. And The Times has an article 407 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 2: where they point out one businessman actually compared the price 408 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 2: of pistachios to find jewelry, which makes sense because, as 409 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 2: the Times rites in their very timesy and way, the 410 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:44,919 Speaker 2: beautiful little nutmeats grown around Bronte a variety called smeraldo, 411 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,400 Speaker 2: meaning emerald, So. 412 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,640 Speaker 1: The jewels of the jewel nut kingdom. 413 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,159 Speaker 3: They are truly the jewels of the nut Kingdom. 414 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: I also like the word nutmeats. 415 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 3: The nutmeats, my friends. 416 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: So I'm gonna skip forward to a fact that makes 417 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,120 Speaker 1: me think of your uncle Joe from the show and 418 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 1: how he talks about how maybe there's a vendetta against 419 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: your family and this long held grudge against your great grandmother, 420 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: and this fact is about revenge. So apparently Cicily is 421 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: home to one of the narrowest houses in the world. 422 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: The house is only about three feet wide from the outside, 423 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: and it's two stories high. I'm sure you've seen it 424 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 1: or been there, but I have. Indeed, yes, I wanted 425 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: our listeners to hear this because it is so incredibly 426 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,960 Speaker 1: narrow that two people can't walk through it, and there's 427 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: nothing in it except a staircase and some windows. So 428 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: you might ask why did you build a place? The 429 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: name will tell you. The house in Sicilian is called 430 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,919 Speaker 1: Casa du Karivo, or House of Spite. And this is 431 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,640 Speaker 1: the story I got from this site. I like Audity Central. 432 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,920 Speaker 1: The owner of the house in the nineteen fifties want 433 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: to expand his place to a second story, but per 434 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: the village rules, you had to get permission from your 435 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: neighbor to build upwards. But the neighbors did not get along. 436 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 1: The neighbor obviously said no. But there's a loophole that 437 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 1: if you build something a certain distance from your neighbor's property. 438 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: You don't need permission. So the owner basically built out 439 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,760 Speaker 1: despite this narrow three foot side extension on the side 440 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,639 Speaker 1: of his house two stories high, just to block the 441 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:26,120 Speaker 1: view of the village below. And he painted the back 442 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,360 Speaker 1: of the extension totally black, so when the neighbor looked 443 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: out their window, that's all they could see. It is 444 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: so horrible and wonderful. 445 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 2: I mean, it's horrible if you don't think grudges are 446 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:38,919 Speaker 2: you know a thing that we should do. 447 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: I a the most beautiful grudge possible. 448 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,879 Speaker 3: It's the most beautiful grudge I've ever heard. And you 449 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 3: know I talk about that. 450 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 2: I have this line in the Sicilian Inheritance book that 451 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 2: grudges are our national pastime. In Sicily, grudges are our golf. 452 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 3: So I love this fact that brings me so much sjoy. 453 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,640 Speaker 1: That's really funny. It also reminds me of that Larry 454 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:04,879 Speaker 1: David in Career Enthusiasm starts that Spike coffee. I just 455 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: love the idea of like spike businesses. 456 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:08,199 Speaker 3: I love business. 457 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,800 Speaker 2: You know, I've recently started a war with Philadelphia Magazine 458 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 2: and I because they didn't get the Sicilian Inheritance in 459 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 2: like a book list that they were doing. And I'm Sicilian, 460 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:19,959 Speaker 2: I hold grudges, right, and so I started a war. 461 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,120 Speaker 2: I started my private war with them. I don't even 462 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 2: know if they know where it or And I'm like, 463 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 2: I'm just going to launch a Spike magazine in Philadelphia, 464 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 2: a whole Spike magazine of my own. I will launch 465 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 2: a competitor magazine just to just to hold this grudge 466 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 2: against you. 467 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: Will writing two books and parenting. 468 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 2: Three absolutely whatever, I can do it. All right, let's 469 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 2: move away from something spiteful to something something really cute, 470 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 2: which is do you know about Sicily's dwarf elephants. 471 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 3: I do not dwarf elephants, my friend. 472 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 2: Just think, just just picture this, okay, teeny tiny elephants. 473 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 2: According to the Smithsonian, the elephants were the size of 474 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 2: Shetland ponies. Oh it is a really small quite quit dwarfs, Okay, 475 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,440 Speaker 2: dwarf elephants. And they once roamed all over the islands. 476 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 2: But you know, eventually they did, they did indeed go extinct. 477 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: So was this like fairly recently, like in the last 478 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: hundred years or two hundred years? 479 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,679 Speaker 2: Is something No, No, this isn't like the thylacine, of 480 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 2: which you know obviously the Tasmanian tiger. The thylacine last 481 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,359 Speaker 2: died out. This was at least fifty thousand years. 482 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 3: Ago, which is, you know, quite some time. 483 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 2: And it wasn't like sure the Sicilians kept them around 484 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 2: the house like pot pelly pigs, but I would I 485 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:32,439 Speaker 2: mean if I would keep. 486 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: The dwarf, course, a dwarf elephant. 487 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 2: But what is fascinating is that scientists have clearly wondered 488 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,200 Speaker 2: how did these elephants get so small? And in twenty 489 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,800 Speaker 2: twenty one, they analyzed a tiny elephant's skull found in 490 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 2: the Pentali Caves and discovered that the dwarf elephants evolved 491 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 2: from one of the largest elephants ever, straight tusk elephants, 492 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 2: which were freaking massive, thirty thousand pound creatures. And what 493 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 2: the DNA showed was that the animals which either crossed 494 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 2: land bridges to Sicily or swam there, they went from 495 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 2: being thirty thousand pounds to these tiny two thousand pounds 496 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:10,240 Speaker 2: elephants and about forty generations. And for scientists it's just 497 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,160 Speaker 2: this mind blowing example of how quickly animals can change 498 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 2: shape entirely and evolve. 499 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: Oh that's really fascinating and so cute. So I like, 500 00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: that's so cute. So, you know, I didn't think we'd 501 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 1: be speaking about evolution on this episode exactly. But I 502 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 1: know what you're gonna get. I found this fact about 503 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,880 Speaker 1: eels that I'm gonna read to you because it's scribbled here. 504 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: This is from the Margin Ilion, which is a great site. 505 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 1: But apparently eels have baffled civilizations forever. They are super 506 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: shy creatures. They're really hard to observe. Also, obviously they 507 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: can be dangerous and they look kind of serpent like. 508 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,680 Speaker 1: So there's always been this like lore and myth and 509 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,719 Speaker 1: you know, dangerous feeling around them. Aristotle thought they emerged 510 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: from mud, as did Egyptians. But as science evolved, one 511 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: of the big questions became how to eel spawn because 512 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: they have no visible genitalia. People have spotted eels with roe, 513 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: but male eels hadn't been very present, and it became 514 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: this big mystery in science. And then in eighteen seventy six, 515 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 1: this young brilliant scientist, a med student named Sigmund Freud, 516 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: decides to take up the case. He's only nineteen years old. 517 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: He just becomes obsessed. He starts trying to figure it out. 518 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,640 Speaker 1: He moves to Triesta in Italy to do more study. 519 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: He starts his days gathering eels from local fishermen. Every morning, 520 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: at dusk, he takes them to a shack. He studies 521 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: them in bulls and on counters and dissects them and 522 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,200 Speaker 1: observes them. Then he takes a one hour lunch break 523 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: and studies for another five hours every day. Like he's 524 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: devoted to figuring out do mail eels exist? And he 525 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: just can't crack the case. And there's this writer, Patrick Spenson, 526 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: who wrote this book, the Book of Eels, And this 527 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: is from Marginal Elliot. This is what he says. What 528 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 1: neither Freud nor other scientists at this time knew was, 529 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: of course, eels have no visible sex organs until they 530 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: need them. Metamorphosis is not just superficial adaptations to new 531 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: life conditions. They're existential, and eel becomes what it needs 532 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: to be when the time is right. And twenty years 533 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: after Freud's failed effort, a sexually mature male silver eel 534 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: was finally found off the coast of Messina in Sicily, 535 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: and thus the eel had finally become a fish, a 536 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: creature not so dissimilar from others, and I don't know, 537 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 1: I know it's like a kind of a gross creature, 538 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: but I think there's something wonderful and fitting about the 539 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: fact that, like Sicily is this land of myths and magic. 540 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 1: And also the fact that the answer to why an 541 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,480 Speaker 1: eel isn't just a monster that comes from Sicily is 542 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: kind of wonderful. 543 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 3: I love that, I really do. 544 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 5: You know. 545 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 3: I talk about this in the podcast. 546 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 5: I talk about it in the book. 547 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:50,760 Speaker 2: You know, Medusa is on the Sicilian flag, and I 548 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 2: love the idea of turning around the Medusa myth to 549 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 2: be like was she a monster or was she a 550 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 2: woman who wasn't going to let people mess with her? 551 00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 3: And you know she has the snakes in her hair, 552 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 3: but some Sicili and think that they may be eels. 553 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: Oh that's really interesting. I had no idea. So I 554 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: know We've got a few more facts before we close 555 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: this out, but let's take a. 556 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 6: Quick break first. 557 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 5: It sounds good. 558 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,480 Speaker 1: Welcome back to part time Genius, where I'm talking about 559 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: things you definitely don't know about Sicily with my pal author, journalist, 560 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: podcast or influencer Joe piazza. So, Joe, We've talked pistachios, 561 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: We've talked tiny adorable elephants, we've talked Canoli's in space. 562 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: So what fact do you want to end on? 563 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 2: This is hard, This is really hard because I mean 564 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 2: there's just there's so many wonderful things about Sicily to 565 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 2: talk about. But we haven't talked about the Sicilian Arches 566 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,960 Speaker 2: of Bread festival yet, have we. 567 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 3: No, Well, you need to know this. 568 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 2: The Sicilian Arches of Bread festival is very similar to 569 00:30:58,480 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 2: you know what. 570 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:00,320 Speaker 3: It sounds like. 571 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 2: It's where the local people construct large structures out of 572 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 2: bread and make chandeliers out of dates. Yeah, I mean, 573 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 2: it's kind of like the American county fairs where you 574 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,240 Speaker 2: make stuff out of butter, but with bread. So you know, 575 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,280 Speaker 2: love that one. And then of course there's the the 576 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 2: Icarus myth. 577 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 3: You know that one. 578 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 2: I mean, it's really about Sicily because you know, Icarus 579 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 2: got burned by the sun, his wings melted, he fell 580 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 2: into the ocean and perished, but his dad, Datalus, allegedly 581 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,880 Speaker 2: landed in Sicily, frankly, in Culta Balota, the town where 582 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 2: my family is from my town, and the legend is 583 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,960 Speaker 2: that he built the town of Caltablota to be amazed, 584 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 2: much like the labyrinth that he constructed. 585 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 3: There's a lot we can talk about, but give me, 586 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 3: give me a b you go first, you tell me 587 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 3: what you want to talk about. 588 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,840 Speaker 1: Those are two great facts already, but I like that 589 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: you've got a bigger one coming out were I do so. 590 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 1: I know, we didn't really want to talk too much 591 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: about the mafia, because you know, there's some more stuff 592 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 1: out there. But I thought this was kind of funny. 593 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,000 Speaker 1: Apparently in the two thousands, the FBI realized that the 594 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 1: American mob was sending their men to study abroad in Sicily. 595 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: According to one source high up in the Sicilian mafia quote, 596 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: they send them here to make them become men of honor, 597 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: to make them practice because in America there's not that 598 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 1: feel for values and there is no more respect, which 599 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:36,959 Speaker 1: I love that American mafia are traveling for these like 600 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: master classes in Europe to become more honorable in their 601 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: chosen line of work. 602 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, yes, my friend. 603 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 2: I mean those original rules that the mafia had with 604 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 2: regards to honor and respect were you didn't look at 605 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 2: the wives of friends. You treat your wives and all 606 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 2: women with respect, you answer questions truthfully, never be late 607 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 2: for appointments. 608 00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: There was there was really punctuality. 609 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,200 Speaker 3: Punctuality was very important. 610 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 2: There was honor baked into it, you know, also extortion, 611 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 2: racketeering and murder. Actually, I do need to tell you. 612 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:12,840 Speaker 2: There's two main no mafia museums in Sicily. And you 613 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,360 Speaker 2: walk into the one in Corleone, which is the town 614 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 2: where the Godfather allegedly from, and the first room you 615 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 2: walk into is pictures of all of the natural beauty 616 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 2: of Corleone, to try to say, this is what we're about. 617 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 2: We're about these beautiful cathedrals. Where about these rolling hills 618 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,480 Speaker 2: and these vineyards. And then you walk into the second 619 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,880 Speaker 2: room and there's pictures of Francis Ford, Coppola and Mario 620 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 2: Puzo on. 621 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 3: A wall of shame, an actual wall of shame. 622 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, that is amazing. So tell me, how how do 623 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: you want to end this? 624 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 2: You know, like I said, there's a lot of ways 625 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:53,000 Speaker 2: that we could go. How about talking about one of 626 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:56,760 Speaker 2: the world's greatest scientists, a Sicilian you might know as Archimedes. 627 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 6: I like that. 628 00:33:58,440 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 3: It's funny because obviously the. 629 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 2: Is one aspect of Sicily, and it's prominently known from 630 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 2: movies like The Godfather. And I've got to say I 631 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 2: was actually reading this site called Cecilia Anita, and the 632 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:13,799 Speaker 2: writer writes, quote, think of Sicily as a place that 633 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 2: gave Europe a taste for sanguinelli, the blood oranges that 634 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,839 Speaker 2: grow only there, a place that made things sweet when 635 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,399 Speaker 2: the Arabs began to cultivate on its soil, that made 636 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,719 Speaker 2: it possible for Europeans to wrap their bodies in the 637 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 2: luxurious feel of silk. Think of Sicily as the place 638 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,319 Speaker 2: where spring is born when Pluto releases Persephone from her 639 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:37,839 Speaker 2: infernal captivity. Yes, also also Persephone, the whole Persephone myth 640 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 2: that takes place in Sicily too. And so the author 641 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,680 Speaker 2: goes on to point out that Sicily was first at 642 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 2: a lot of things. The first volcano, scientists, the first 643 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 2: solar clock, the first census, the first map of the world, 644 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 2: the first labor union, the first cookbook. All of these 645 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 2: things come from Sicily. And of course, as she pointed out, 646 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,800 Speaker 2: the ice cream. And then there is Archimedes of sarah Cusa. 647 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 2: I mean, this guy figured out Pia. Okay, he figured 648 00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:10,319 Speaker 2: out how to burn Roman ships by using metal to 649 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:15,279 Speaker 2: redirect the sun's rays. He discovered pulleys and levers and 650 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,839 Speaker 2: the idea of water displacement. And did you know that, 651 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 2: like when he figured out water displacement, that is when 652 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 2: this man ran through the streets naked after hopping out 653 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 2: of his bath, shouting eureka. 654 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:28,760 Speaker 6: Yeah. 655 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:31,640 Speaker 2: And according to the legend, even though Roman soldiers were 656 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 2: given orders not to kill him, when one did approach him, 657 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,719 Speaker 2: he was so deep in thought with calculations that he 658 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 2: didn't see the assassin coming. 659 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:40,600 Speaker 6: That is so crazy. 660 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:42,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we're like first and everything. 661 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:46,120 Speaker 2: Okay, So even though you can think of Sicily as 662 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,799 Speaker 2: this great tourist attraction and land of incredible food and 663 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,600 Speaker 2: history and beaches and Greek ruins like it would just 664 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 2: be nice if people remembered it as the land of 665 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 2: math and science. 666 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 1: That's really wonderful. I like that. And we started and 667 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 1: ended on a science fact, so that's pretty great to 668 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,560 Speaker 1: that end. But I am, of course going to have 669 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,879 Speaker 1: to give you this week's trophy, Joe. Thank you so 670 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,160 Speaker 1: much for being here. It's really a pleasure to have 671 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 1: you on. 672 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:11,719 Speaker 3: Thank you for having me. I love it. I can 673 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:13,800 Speaker 3: talk about Sicily forever, my friend. 674 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:16,840 Speaker 1: Well, we can take that offline. But for those of 675 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,120 Speaker 1: you looking for a terrific beat read this summer, go 676 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:22,279 Speaker 1: out and buy The Sicilian Inheritance. I'm going to put 677 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 1: the first episode of the podcast Joe made in our 678 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,239 Speaker 1: feed as well. And if you want to tell me 679 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,360 Speaker 1: something about your Sicilian heritage, things you learned on a 680 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,399 Speaker 1: trip to Sicily, or anything else, don't forget We get 681 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,160 Speaker 1: our emails sent to our moms at pet Genius moms 682 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 1: at gmail dot com. They want to hear from you, 683 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: and we want to hear from you from Will, Dylan, 684 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,560 Speaker 1: Joe and Me. We'll be back next week with a 685 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:46,360 Speaker 1: new episode. 686 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:59,880 Speaker 6: Thank you so much for listening. 687 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,400 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 688 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,240 Speaker 1: This show is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongas 689 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:13,240 Speaker 1: Chatikler and research by our goodpal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's 690 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:16,640 Speaker 1: episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan 691 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:17,560 Speaker 1: with support. 692 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:18,280 Speaker 6: From Tyler Klang. 693 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:22,120 Speaker 1: The show is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvel 694 00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:25,279 Speaker 1: and Ali Perry, with social media support from Sasha Gay 695 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:29,960 Speaker 1: Trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey For more podcasts from 696 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:35,000 Speaker 1: Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or 697 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:56,080 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.