When Anthony Fasano and Dolores Alfieri Taranto created The Italian American Podcast in 2015, little did they know that they were setting out to produce the first and most engaging podcast dedicated to helping Italian Americans learn about and celebrate their brilliant heritage.

Their vision was simple—to chronicle the traditions and stories of the heritage they both cared so deeply about.

With that shared passion at its foundation, what began as a friendly project quickly grew into something greater, and with each new episode the audience grew. Italian Americans were hungry for the honest and thoughtful conversations that became the show’s calling card. A lineup of high profile guests like blockbuster “Avengers” directors Joe and Anthony Russo; MLB Hall of Famer Mike Piazza; literary icon Gay Talese; and famed chef and restauranteur Lidia Bastianich helped to solidify the show’s reputation for deep, intellectual exploration of Italian American identity—all the while maintaining a natural warmth that makes listeners feel like they’re with family at the Sunday dinner table.

Like every good Italian family, the podcast team began to grow in 2018, when The Italian American Power Hour was born, complete with a cast of characters that round out the family-dinner-table feel.

John M. Viola, Rossella Rago, and Patrick O’Boyle were joined by Dolores and Anthony in exploring an all-new style of show—unfiltered, raucous, round-table conversations digging deep into the “hows and whys” of who we are. A communal therapist couch for the Italian American psyche!

The audience loved the new format as a complement to Anthony and Dolores’ one-on-one journalistic style of episodes, and what started out as two sides of the same coin quickly began to mature into a new phase in the young history of The Italian American Podcast.

Now, the original Italian American Podcast is heading into the future with an enlarged team, a new style, and an ever-deepening commitment to bringing the heart of the Italian American experience to the 25 million Americans of Italian descent who are lucky enough to have been born Italian.