The Sicilian Inheritance

I really wanted to love this podcast! The first few episodes hooked me in and piqued my imagination. As a lover of Wilder, I know that Jo Piazza can tell an effective story. However, the podcast left me feeling like she needed a way to market her book and olive oil company. Where this podcast shines is in the history - I enjoyed the episodes that strayed from the story itself and focused more on the origin of the mafia and stregas (AKA Italian witches/healers). But besides those episodes, it felt like we spent hours listening to Jo in the archives leafing through paper, looking for a discovery. This drawn out process made me think there was going to be some sort of smoking gun - however, we don’t learn anything particularly interesting. I don’t really understand why she didn’t follow the landslide lead earlier on. I wish it had cut to the chase instead of winding around in several different, unfulfilling, directions. Also, if the medium episode hadn’t been the finale, I think I would’ve stopped listening no matter what. There were zero new discoveries from that conversation and I felt like I was listening to the same spiraling theories about a land dispute over and over again. I couldn’t believe it ended with such a whimper.

Give me all things Sicilian Inheritance! Love the family history, mystery, and dive into small town Italian culture. Jo is a first-class storyteller!

Would easily have given this podcast a better rating, but the audio level of the previous two episodes is mixed too low. Literally can’t hear it when the volume is turned up full blast. It’s a shame that a problem that is so easy to solve has ruined an otherwise entertaining program.

Only a few episodes in, but it's a fun, engaging story that brings Sicily to life. It's a mix of a cold case investigation and an exploration into one's roots but delivered in a fun, breezy way as if you're along for the ride with some interesting and compelling characters. Highly recommend!