The Italian Escape Podcast

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The Italian Escape Podcast

A podcast where we make conversations on Italy less intimidating by mixing simple Italian with English

Learning Italian does not have to be this hard, or boring. With the Italian Escape Podcast, our English-Italian podcast will help you surpass the you encounter in your language learning journey, and make you feel more at ease with the language.

11/03/2024

Hi everyone,

So as you can tell, we did a big break from the podcast as we had other things going on from other aspects of our lives.

On that note, we'd like to have a fresh start on this podcast before the year ends.

Before the summer break starts, we'd like to organize a small group call with our superfans. To do that, we need a few details.

Fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/Xe1DyR5ZBwxjFb1YA

21/04/2023

Do I need to know Italian to work as a marketing expat in Italy?

Marketing in Europe can be challenging because of its multicultural environment.

Rather than seeing it as an obstacle, one can turn it into an opportunity.

This is what you will discover today through our conversation with Marta Romão.

For a Portuguese, Marta had a unique childhood. Having been born in Lisbon in the 90s, she lived in Belgium with her family until she was six.

This experience opened her world.

Instead of pursuing an average Portuguese lifestyle, she ventured out of her home country by working as a multilingual marketing professional in Spain, and in Italy.

In this episode, we chatted with Marta about her life, her experience in the Italian marketing scene, and working with Italian tech start-ups in Rome.

This episode will conclude our second season of the Italian Escape Podcast. We will take a break and launch our third season after the summer.

If you want us to cover any topic of interest, email us, and we’ll happily talk about it when we return.

In the meantime, support our podcast, leave us a review in Apple Podcast or a rating on Spotify, and join our Patreon community.

Listen NOW to our conversation with Marta.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/32

07/04/2023

Did you know that Ligurian cuisine is more than just pesto and focaccia?

It all started 6 years ago.

Having been a maritime lawyer for years, Enrica Monzani (A small kitchen in Genoa) pivoted into her career by becoming a food storyteller.

She recounts her personal journey – both in English and in Italian - through the culinary tradition and flavors of Liguria with her food blog, “A Small Kitchen in Genoa”.

If she’s not writing recipes and stories in her blog, she is offering private Ligurian cooking classes and food tours around Genoa.

This month, she is releasing her new cookbook, “Liguria in Cucina – the flavors of Liguria”. It’s a recipe book that’s written both in English and in Italian – perfect for our listeners who want to replicate Ligurian dishes while learning languages!

In this episode, we listen to the many stories behind some of Enrica’s favorite Ligurian dishes, and the particularities behind documenting food traditions across the region.

If you liked our conversation, check out the link in the show notes to order her latest cookbook.

In the meantime, support our podcast, leave us a review in Apple Podcast or a rating on Spotify, and join our Patreon community.

Listen NOW to our conversation and learn about Enrica and the underrated beauty of Ligurian cuisine.

Check it out: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/31

17/03/2023

How do you learn Italian with a language co-pilot?

Language learning can be daunting, especially if you seek perfection.
In today’s episode, we look at another way of learning Italian with the help of a language co-pilot.

That’s where Andre (Mo' parlo) comes in.

Born and raised in Chihuahua (yes, like the dog), Mexico, her love for music and singing led her to unknowingly teach herself English at the age of six and sparked her curiosity for other languages.

When she turned 18, she decided to do her first solo trip to Florence. Little did she expect that this will change her life in a massive way. Since then, she has met countless frustrated students who feel like they have no talent for learning languages.

Because of this, she created an easy, fun, and empowering method called, co-piloting.

But what’s co-piloting?

You’ll have to listen to find out.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/30

08/03/2023

Today we celebrate the fine, strong, brave and loving women all over the world.

By tradition, women are the foundations that keep families united here in Italy. We'd like to keep that fire burning through storytelling.

For the past year, we covered stories of women who either came to Italy, or were born and raised in Italy, and have changed the way we see the country today.

Today is your chance to re-discover our conversations in our vault, and share with us what YOU liked from these episodes.

Also, if you know any woman who has a story to share with us, tag them in the comments section!

Happy women's day to women, young and old. ❤️

03/03/2023

Welcome to the Italian Escape Podcast!

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the mythical posto fisso.

There’s a dream circulating in Italy about “posto fisso”, the jobs from which you cannot get fired easily while getting a lot of benefits from the government.

Because of these long-term unfirable jobs, Italian companies are struggling to keep innovating as quickly as other countries within and outside the EU.

In this episode, we discussed its cultural significance, its history, and its influence in Italy today.

Support our podcast and leave us a review in Apple Podcast or on Spotify and join our Patreon community.

Listen NOW to our conversation and learn how hard being a fair country is.

theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/29

17/02/2023

Is a native Italian the best choice for a teacher? Maybe not.

In our previous episode with Heidi Lovejoy (Ep. 25), she shares with us one of her secrets to learning Italian, which is by having two types of teachers – one who is native, and one who isn’t.

By having both native and foreign tutors, you get to have the best of both worlds – one who teaches you how Italians speak, and another who teaches you why Italians follow rules that do not match your native language’s rules.

In this episode, we sat down with Kenny, also known as Somethingpolyglot on the web. From his nickname, you can tell that his biggest passion is all about languages.

We learned about Kenny’s life story, we exchanged with him our thoughts on language learning, and explored the reasons why and when you should consider getting a non-native speaker as your language teacher.

Before we go any further, we'd like to share with you some news.

As you may have heard, many are struggling to get back on their feet after the earthquake in Turkey and in Syria. We asked our friend Oyku Dogan to share with us a link (https://ahbap.org/) where you can donate your money and help the victims.

If you like our podcast, leave us a review in Apple Podcast or on Spotify and join our Patreon community.

Listen NOW to our conversation and learn how to boost your Italian learning journey with a non-native speaker.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/28

03/02/2023

Do you know about the time when Italy tried to rebuild the Roman Empire?

Slowly but surely, more people are becoming more aware of the dark past of colonialism that was led by countries such as Spain, Portugal, the English, and the French, to name a few.

But what about the Italians?

In this episode, Gabriele recounts the highlights or milestones – be it the good and the bad - that took place during one of Italy’s almost forgotten chapters of its history – its colonialist history in Africa.

Sadly, many choose to neglect this part of history and associate it with fascism. It turned out that Italy started its colonial history by purchasing the Bay of Assab in 1869, 52 years before fascism started.

As an Italian, Gabriele believes that we should not recount these episodes because we are proud of having dominated and conquered other populations.

Disclaimer: Nothing to be proud of over there.

Instead, we must remember the strength we showed and the challenges we overcame as a reminder of what we can achieve in the future when fighting for a more fair and just goal.

If you liked our episode with Garibaldi, you should not miss out on this!

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/27

20/01/2023

How easy is it to go vegan in Italy?
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Happy New Year to our dear listeners.

Did you miss us?

Fear not as we start the podcast with a bang.

As many of you might know, every January, people all over the world participate in the Veganuary challenge to promote and educate everyone on the vegan lifestyle.

Because of this, we thought of sharing with you today our conversation with Alice Cosso and Giulia Cimarosti, world travelers and founders of the online vegan community in Genoa, called VEGenova.

If they’re not busy traveling across the globe, you’ll see them scouting for places that offer vegan treats here in Genoa, and the rest of the Ligurian coast.

Is it impossible to stay vegan when traveling to Italy?

Can someone manage to eat a yummy pizza while skipping the mozzarella?

Can we still eat authentic Italian food if we stay away from animal products?

How will you find Italian restaurants that accommodate this diet?

Surprisingly, Italians are not as close-minded as you think when it comes to adopting a vegan diet. Last year, Alice and Giulia launched the first vegan festival also known as VEGenova Vegan Festival, and it turned out to be a success.

Listen to our episode as we discuss the many misconceptions people have about maintaining a vegan diet here in Italy, as well as their journey to being one of the most popular online vegan communities in Italy.

So, if you’re thinking of organizing a trip to Italy and going plant-based or vegan, you should not miss this episode.

And, if you want to learn more about Vegenova’s recommendations, and science-backed information on going vegan, you should surely head to our show notes.

Listen now: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/26

16/12/2022

Would you like to find joy when learning languages?

Today you’re in for a treat. With Christmas fast approaching, we thought of sharing with you an episode that will give you hope and joy.

We’d like to share with you our conversation with Heidi Lovejoy, the creator of a language-learning podcast Love, Joy, and Languages. Born and raised in Kentucky (U.S.A.), she started her language-learning journey in 2017 when she first moved to Italy together with her husband and her two children.

Learning Italian, while being a parent to two young kids in a foreign country – how hard can it be?

Heidi shared with us her journey both as a language learner and as a parent. As you might have guessed, the path she chose was not easy. Rather than chasing after perfection, and getting stuck in her negative self-talk, she learned to let go and trust the process. And this was what she did when her family moved to Germany and had to start their life again from scratch.

If you’re seeking some joy in your language learning process, and feel hopeful this Christmas holiday, then this is the episode you should listen to.

This will be our last episode for 2022, as we’ll be taking a break and will be spending time with our loved ones in the weeks to come.

Tune in next month as we’ll release more episodes about Italy, and more!

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/25

02/12/2022

Have you ever watched an Italian “West Side Story”?

Today, we’d like to share with you our conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Turner, a third-generation Italian American who decided to pursue a professional musical career. She is now the Director of Vocal Arts at St. Thomas University.
Music has been a lifeline for Elizabeth. Nowadays, you will often find her busy teaching kids and young adults to learn how to sing.

We chatted with her about her Italian roots, Italian American culture, her love for music, and her Broadway musical called, “Ciao Bambino”.

It’s a story about a young Italian woman named Elizabetta who embarked on a journey of self-discovery as she chases the American dream right after WWII.

Will she make it?

You’ll have to find out by watching her musical next year.

Listen NOW and learn about what it means to be Italian American and how music can shape the way we perceive our cultural history.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/24

18/11/2022

Have you ever been to a mushroom festival in Italy?

Today we’d like to share with you a short discussion on the country fairs in Italy and our first-hand experience of a local mushroom festival.

Also called “le sagre”, the purpose of these festivals is to bring in people and celebrate the numerous local products they have before winter starts.

This September, we headed to a little town in Liguria called Bardineto, where we tried out their mushroom-based dishes.

In this episode, we will talk about: what a “sagra” is, what to expect when joining the country fair, mushrooms, and the other dishes we tried out while we were there, as well as our thoughts about being in a local countryside fair.

This episode will leave you hungry and motivated to visit Italy during the “sagra” period.

In the meantime, you can support us by leaving us a review in Apple Podcast and on Spotify, and joining our Patreon community.

Listen to our episode: https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/23

🍄

04/11/2022

For our second season, we’d like to kick off with a topic that’s being debated within Italy.

Followed by the elections a month ago, most of the Italians voted for Giorgia Meloni as their prime minister.

Recently, journalists and intellectuals criticized Giorgia Meloni’s decision to be called, “IL” Presidente del Consiglio in their future press briefings (in case you did not know, this is another way of saying prime minister in Italian).

According to Italian grammar, she should be called, “la presidente”, and yet, she insists on being called “il presidente”. Many speculate the motive for this decision to be political, yet some thought it to be a move related to gender equality.

---

Because of the latest headline, we thought of unearthing an interview we had with Alice De Ferrari.

Born and raised in Milan, Alice works as a project manager for numerous innovative European projects. Aside from being a proud mother of two kids and a minimalist, she is a strong advocate of women’s rights. Last year, she took a master’s degree in Gender Equality and Diversity Management provided by Fondazione Brodolini and was happy to share with us her insights on gender inequality here in Italy.

In this episode, we will first give you a short summary of what we discussed with Alice about the said topic, followed by a clip of our interview. Please note that our original interview lasted more than an hour and was conducted almost entirely in intermediate Italian, B2.

To skip our commentary, head to 20:00. In this clip, you will learn more about what gender inequality is about, and its status in Italy. Other than the language’s role in gender equality, we also talked about how this is strongly felt by young mothers, most especially during the pandemic, and the life of migrant women in Italy.

If you liked our cut interview with Alice, head to our Patreon and get the full version of this interview for free. In it, you will learn more about the solutions Alice proposes to make Italy a more gender-equal society.

And now, we present to you our conversation with Alice de Ferrari. Listen NOW and learn more about Italy’s take on gender equality.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/22

31/10/2022

Finally, we're back!

Hope you did not miss us too much.

We're kicking off the week with a few tips to get you going with your journey.

Let's face it—most of us have the tendency to push aside our language learning goals or be overwhelmed by them.

Both of us also face this issue, especially Angelique.

If you're one of those people who like to pile up textbooks, saving a lot of podcast episodes, and shows, welcome to the club!

What can we do to resolve this issue?

While we can "Marie Kondo" our way to fluency, we must first accept our limits, and that includes OURSELVES. This suggestion was highlighted by Heidi in her podcast, Love, Joy, and Languages. Listen to her episode as she tells you more about your most limited resource!

What if you're still stuck with your infinite list of content? Emily (Tea With Me) suggests, in her latest episode of The Language Confidence Podcast, that we push for ACTION rather than passively engulfing the content we have accumulated. Doing so will make our language learning or acquisition process more effective, therefore, making it easier to retain the grammar rules and new vocabulary words we learned during the week.

Check out their episodes to know more.

Any other tips you'd like to share with us?

Head out to the comments section, and of course, happy Monday to you all!

30/09/2022

Today, we just sent out our second newsletter!

In case you missed it, you can find it in our archive (link in our bio).

We recommended tons of stuff:

· Podcasts: Mind the Chat, The Language Confidence Podcast, Stivale Italiano, Non hanno un amico
· To read: La Salita by Andrea Venturini
· To watch: Scusate se esisto

Plus, we created a playlist for this month!

We included songs from Francesco De Gregori, Afterhours, Nu Genea, Rino Gaetano, Vasco Rossi, Thegionalisti, and more!

Do you want to join us?

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive it first-hand next month!

(Link also in our bio!)

We'll be back this November!

23/09/2022

Italian food – many of you love it. But do you really know the stories behind it?

Today we’d like to share with you our conversation with Martina Bartolozzi, an Italian American trained butcher and food expert, who was born and raised in Tuscany.

If she’s not busy sharing her anecdotes on the local food scene and food customs of Italy on Instagram, you can find her working on her personalized or ready-to-go interactive maps and writing stories of women in food.

We personally had a great time chatting with her about her life story, the struggle of Italian women in the food business, and the contrasting food culture between Italy and the United States.

This episode will conclude our first season of the Italian Escape Podcast. Next month we will disappear for a brief period as we take a break to recover and prepare for the next season. The format of our episode will be a bit different compared to the first episodes.
This episode will give you an idea of what you’d expect when we return this November.

In the meantime, if you love our podcast and would like to help us out, do leave us a review in Apple Podcast and on Spotify. You can also help us by joining our Patreon community, as we’ll be putting up more exciting stuff once the next season starts.

Listen NOW and learn about the importance of sharing stories of the food we produce, cook, and eat here in Italy.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/21

21/09/2022

Did you know that the Italians will hold a very important elections this coming weekend (September 25 to be exact)?

While the youth (under 35 years old) represents only 1/6th of the Italian population, they will still play a crucial role in choosing a future that they can live with here in Italy.

What are their priorities, and are the political parties seeking to address their demands?

Watch Will Media's video here: https://youtu.be/dUP_T99Rabs

Also, we highly recommend you to visit their YouTube channel as they analyze the parties' plans for Italy & its people.

*These videos are ideal for intermediate and advanced Italian learners

14/09/2022

Have you listened to our podcast?

Help us by

1. Spreading the word via your ratings (it's available from your phone via Spotify and Apple Podcast)

2. Making it better by filling up our survey (it's available in our bio).

12/09/2022

Ever wondered how to keep going in your journey?

Emily shared some tips in S2E1 of the Language Confidence Project Podcast.

To sum them up, the point of preserving your language learning fuel is to focus on the small steps and not get overwhelmed by the big goals.

Trust the process, and you'll eventually reach the goals you had in mind.

Listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fvjITJNuiR4nU7pitqjoK?si=8b1ff0ec19dc453e

09/09/2022

We have always talked about how wonderful Italy is, but what do you know about its dark sides, such as poverty?

Today we talk about Italy’s state of poverty. But what is poverty? Is it absolute? Is it relative?

In this episode, we will talk about the numerous questions related to poverty including:

• How bad is it right now compared to 20 years ago?
• Did COVID-19 cause it? And what about the war in Ukraine?
• Is there a way out of it?

As you will listen to our episode, you will realize that the poverty crisis is a complex matter. In Italy, it is part of a vicious cycle. People may end up being jobless and homeless for good. Once you’re in the system, you cannot get out of it.

Listen NOW to our conversation and learn more about Italy’s ongoing poverty crisis while enriching your Italian language learning experience.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/19

Did you like our episode? Rate us!

Fill up our survey and get a chance to have your idea featured!

https://forms.gle/c4rspjotirnivxmD9

05/09/2022

Is multilingualism here to stay?

Yesterday, Eleanor Morgan wrote a piece in The Guardian on Britain's multilingual children. It has been reported that around 6 million people in the U.K. are of non-British nationality. This formed a new landscape, one of which is based heavily on diversity. Indeed, around 20% of the pupils speak English as an additional language.

Experts are now seeing the benefits of fluidity or "code-switching" between languages.

Sadly, the educational system has yet to adapt to the changing landscape as they continue to discourage the use of other languages for fear of not having kids understand each other. This runs the risk of multilingual kids losing a part of their heritage.

Will language diversity be celebrated in the near future? We hope so!

Read the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/sep/04/britains-multilingual-children-we-speak-whatever-language-gets-the-job-done-

02/09/2022

As promised, to make up our episode that we did not record this week (due to COVID), we will share with you a podcast episode we like.

Have you ever eaten a frozen "cornetto"?

For Angelique, this is her go-to comfort food after a hard day.

This ice cream was first introduced by an Italian company called ALGIDA.

Today we're pleased to share with you a podcast episode from Storie di Brand, an Italian podcast that talks about the many brands all over the world, including Algida.

Enjoy this dramatic depiction of Algida's beginning here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3PGm6Ic61W42YByDKSgcBy?si=2e0fe3229c554808

31/08/2022

Announcement!

We won't be putting up a new episode this week as we're both sick with COVID-19. Apologies!

Not to worry though, we'll be back next week with a new episode. In the meantime, we will share with you one of our podcast faves this Friday for you to listen to.

Stay safe, and stay hydrated!

29/08/2022

Do you constantly compare yourself to the bilinguals who are fluent in your "target language"?

It's understandable to be frustrated - but you don't have to be.

Emily Richardson, the host of the Language Confidence Project talks about it in episode 24 (season 1). Her challenge: write down all the things you can do as a non-native speaker i.e. writing a thesis, buying a house, ordering at a restaurant.

Bilinguals might seem that they have the unfair advantage of speaking the language they wish to be fluent in, but your capabilities of living go far beyond your language proficiency level. You are more than the language you seek to master.

Listen to her words of encouragement as this podcast aims to make you more courageous in your language learning endeavor!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5yzKkskp4PjB7DOQpAtEzV?si=e9b4bf0e316d4aba

26/08/2022

August is fast approaching its closure. Do you know what that means?

Visiting the region where we call our home - Liguria!

As Enrica Monzani mentioned in her interview with Untold Italy, the best time to visit Liguria is in September.

To make the most out of the Ligurian experience, you must indulge in its cuisine. Apparently, Liguria has three "food ambassadors" that are often considered underrated compared to their famous counterparts. They are unique because of Liguria's unique soil composition, environment & sun exposure. Indeed, we cannot mass produce them because of the region's obvious limited space (look for a map for reference).

If you plan to visit Liguria, you might want to take out a pen and paper while listening to this podcast episode.

Listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/18w16ltqYwrLfRLuZK985D?si=653f4ddb6c7347c8

24/08/2022

Angelique Lusuan discovered a video from CNA Insider on Singapore's Mother Tongue Struggle: How Bilingual Are We?

This then made her ask the question, can bilinguals forget their mother tongue?

She must be joking right? Just like any other skill or knowledge, mother tongues can be forgotten as languages can also die over time.

How do we confront this issue? Read our journal and find out.

https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/learners-journal/blog-3-can-bilinguals-forget-mother-tongue

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Have you ever thought of working in Italy as a luxury brand strategist, while travelling and living la dolce vita? For this episode we talked to Elena Ciprietti, a New Yorker who decided to pack her bags and live her Italian dream over 10 years ago. She first lived in Milan, building her career in marketing. She then lived in Palermo, where she reconnected with the land of her great-grandparents. Now, she is in Modena and can often be found exploring tiny, wonderful Italian islands. Why did she come to Italy? How did she begin her career and worked her way up in the world of Italian luxury? Would you think that she is living the American dream of a new life in Italy? Would you like to follow her footsteps and visit the unconventional spots in Italy? Listen to this episode NOW and find out Elena’s story while learning Italian with the Italian Escape podcast. https://www.theitalianescapepodcast.com/episodes/15 If you’re interested in reaching out to Elena, you can find her in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenaciprietti/ #expatinitaly #expatlife #italianluxury #marketing #italianoperstranieri #interview #theitalianescapepodcast #podcastitalia #podcastitaly #languagelearning #italianculture #madeinitaly #italianlanguage #italytravel

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