The Italian Files
The Italian Files is a podcast of conversations about lesser known protagonists, themes and stories of Italian culture, society and history written and produced by FILL and hosted by Thea Lenarduzzi.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 35 minutes
- Episodes
- 8
- Years Active
- 2023
The Po, king of rivers
Italy’s longest river twists for more than 400 miles, from the mountains near Turin to the Venetian laguna. The Po has countless stories to tell about the country’s past, present, and precarious futu…
Italian colonialism, horror in the sun
In 1935, after a brutal campaign, Italy claimed Ethiopia as its own. How do Ethiopians remember those dark days? And Italians? Maaza Mengiste, whose acclaimed novel The Shadow King is set during the …
Franco Basaglia, the revolutionary
In 1978, Franco Basaglia reformed the Italian mental health system, closing the asylums. Who was he, where did he get his ideas, and what is the legacy of his ground-breaking decisions? Writer and hi…
Goliarda Sapienza, the outsider
This week we consider the life and legacy of the long-forgotten and misunderstood queer feminist writer Goliarda Sapienza. Why do her novels speak to us so powerfully today, in Italy and abroad?
Alber…
From Sanremo to Eurovision
Writer and music critic Giulia Cavaliere unveils the origins of the annual Sanremo Festival song contest, a glitzy affair born in the ruins of the Second World War. What has been its impact on contem…
Women’s sport, the long game
What is the state of women's sport in Italy today? What does this tell us about Italian society? Giorgia Bernardini, writer and author of the newsletter Zarina, dedicated to women sports, sheds some …
Lorenza Mazzetti, the genius
Lorenza Mazzetti’s work as filmmaker and writer has explored personal traumas and society through the eyes of an outsider. The episode will explore her work with Brighid Lowe and Henry K. Miller, mak…