• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

The Italian American Podcast

Inspiring Italian Americans to deepen their heritage

  • About
    • Your Hosts
  • Episodes
    • Episode Archive
    • Bonus Segments
      • Conversations on Columbus
      • Updates from Italy
  • Membership
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Italian America TV
  • Contact

IAP 53 : Helene Stapinski on the Murder in Matera

November 12, 2017 By Italian American Podcast 2 Comments

(ref: http://deystreet.harpercollins.com/murderinmatera)

In this episode of The Italian American Podcast episode, I have two guests. Firstly I speak with Helene Stapinski, author of the wonderful book Murder in Matera, a true story of passion, family, and forgiveness in Southern Italy.

In the stories segment, I speak with Danielle Oteri from Feast on History where she hosts Arthur Avenue Food Tours, and she will be hosting one for our listener on December 9th. It will be focused on the Christmas Seven fishes meal (click for details).

Episode Quote

“Vita had the same crooked smile I had, and that many of the women in my family had, what we called our Mona Lisa smile, a hesitant smirk that didn’t give much away. You didn’t get the full-on smile until we knew you better, and then we would bend over backward for you, cook you elaborate meals, and do anything you asked. Well, almost anything. Vita” ― Helene Stapinski, Murder In Matera: A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy

Tweetables

  • ”Try to do as much research as you can before doing research in your ancestral villages in Italy.” – Helene Stapinski
  • ”Be open to people and don’t be stubborn.” – Helene Stapinski
  • ”It might take you a few visits to Italy, but you will find what you are looking for in time.” – Helene Stapinski
  • ”The whole immigrant experience is so crucial to the Italian American experience.” – Helene Stapinski
  • ”Our country is a revolving door of cultures that keep coming in.” – Helene Stapinski

About our Guests…

Helene Stapinski


Helene Stapinski began her career at her hometown newspaper, The Jersey Journal. She is the author of three memoirs: Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History and Baby Plays Around: A Love Affair, with Music, and Murder In Matera: A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy. Helene has also written extensively for The New York Times, for Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, Salon, Real Simple, New York magazine and dozens of other newspapers, magazines, and blogs. She’s been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, The Today Show and as a performer with The Moth main stage.

Danielle Oteri 

Reference: http://www.danielleoteri.com/
Danielle Oteri is an art historian, writer and founder of Feast On History and Arthur Avenue Food Tours. Her food, history and travel writing has appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Dream of Italy, Grove Dictionary of Art, Roads & Kingdoms, Gothamist, NPR and Metropolitan Museum of Art’s blog. She is also the editor of Museum Travel for TripSavvy. Danielle writes feature stories, lists, deeply researched pieces and adaptations of academic papers for a general audience. She draws on her professional experience in art and design to create visually compelling slideshows and Instagram takeovers for brands and editorial publications. Her favorite projects include developing a visual component.

Episode Sponsors

The National Italian American Foundation

Resources Mentioned

The New Neighborhood
Italian Christmas Eve Food Tour
Helene Stapinski Website
Harper Collins
Feast On History
Arthur Avenue Food Tours

Books Mentioned

Murder In Matera Five-Finger Discount Baby Plays Around Forty Days in Italy
Helene Stapinski Helene Stapinski Helene Stapinski

Grazie Mille,

Anthony Fasano
Co-Host, The Italian American Podcast[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5935294/height-orig/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/height/90″ height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]

Filed Under: Author Interviews, Family History Research, Podcast Tagged With: ancestral villages, Arthur Avenue Food Tours, Baby Plays Around, Danielle Oteri, Feast on History, Five-Finger Discount, Helene Stapinski, Italian American experience, Italy, Murder in Matera, Southern Italy

Previous Post: « IAP 52: Michael Badalucco on reuniting with his Sicilian relatives
Next Post: IAP 54: Adriana Trigiani on Kiss Carlo and Italian Family Feuds »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christine Simolke says

    November 13, 2017 at 1:33 pm

    Loved hearing about “Murder in Matera.” Hope to read it soon! Thanks for another great podcast.

    Reply
    • Anthony Fasano says

      November 14, 2017 at 5:25 pm

      You welcome Christine – you’ll love the book 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright © 2021 · Property of Italian Power Productions, LLC · Powered by