Cidiot

Let's talk more broadly about this movement to the country and the experience for each of us. I speak to artist and photographer Alissa Hessler, founder of Urban Exodus, a project and podcast. She is also author of Ditch The City and Go Country: How to Master the Art of Rural Life From a Former City Dweller, which is how I first found out about her. You can already tell she's a role model for me.

From her studio in Maine, Alissa talks about her move to the country, what she's learned, the impact on her life, the stories she's chronicled in others, advice for you, and of course about the Hudson Valley. We also start to get our heads around winter coming and what she does to get through and thrive in it. Spoiler: canning and a dance party!

Links to what's mention in the episode:

Related episodes:

Thanks to our sponsor Sunflower Market with stores in Woodstock and Rhinebeck. Sunflower is devoted to deepening symbiotic relationships through clean and sustainably sourced food. Visit their site and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

When you think of art in the Hudson Valley, your head probably goes to the Hudson Valley School and the river, mountains and landscapes of Thomas Cole and Frederick Edwin Church. You know, dead old white men.

Anne Sanger runs the Pinkwater Gallery in uptown Kingston. She’s an artist and her gallery focuses on women artists of the Hudson Valley. We talk about her journey to the Hudson Valley, taking a wrong turn—or was it a right turn—and becoming an artist. We also chat about the types of artists she represents and the etiquette and advice for newbies like me shopping for art. Yes, you can sometimes borrow it!

Thanks to our sponsor Sunflower Market with locations in Woodstock and Rhinebeck. Sunflower is devoted to deepening symbiotic relationships through clean and sustainably sourced food. Visit their site and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Pinkwater Guide to Art in the Kingston Area:

GALLERIES IN KINGSTON

In Uptown / the Stockade:

In Midtown:

In the Rondout / the Strand:

On Route 28 (between Kingston and Woodstock):

FALL LEAF PEEPING + ART

Annual Art Events in Kingston

Art Instruction for Adults

In a special cross-over in honor of International Podcast Day, Cidiot talks to this year’s winner of the Chronogrammie for regional podcast (we got runner-up!) Brett of Kaatscast podcast. It’s no wonder he won. A pro in audio with a very handsome voice and a public radio style podcast, Brett has recording more than 60 episodes of Kaatscast as well as audiobooks and driving tours of the Catskills. 

Recorded outside at Ole Savannah’s in Kingston on the water, we talk about how working in audio leads to producing driving tours of the Catskills and his award-winning podcast (!) and we also compare the Catskills and the Hudson Valley and talk about bears and snakes. Ick.

Be sure to also tune into Brett’s interview of Mat on his new episode of Kaatscast.

Links

If you love books, you’ll love this episode. Cidiot gets local, pro recommendations from Oblong Books in Millerton and Rhinebeck, The Chatham Bookstore in Chatham, Rough Draft Bar & Books in Kingston, and several Cidiot listeners. Links here and on the episode page on Cidiot.com

Books mentioned:

Bookshops:

Other:

Welcome new sponsor: Sunflower Market, with stores in Rhinebeck and Woodstock, is devoted to deepening symbiotic relationships through clean and sustainably sourced food. Visit their site, follow on Facebook & Instagram.

A big part of why we love the Hudson Valley and Catskills is because of the farms and the animals. In this awesome, moving, eye-opening, and hilarious episode, you’ll meet the fabulous Kathy Stevens and hear how Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties got started and its mission.

You’ll learn about Noodles, a blind horse named Buddy, and a cow named Tucker, what Kathy calls 'random acts of callousness' and about the Underfoot Family. 

“The tours change people,” Kathy explains. 

You’ll also get advice on how to engage with animals on a tour (i.e., take your sunglasses off, sit down, don’t make a loud sound), CAS's unique programming, and why and how to volunteer. We find a job for Mat. And yes, yes, yes, Kathy and I will together make animal sounds.

Welcome new sponsor: Sunflower Market, with stores in Rhinebeck and Woodstock, is devoted to deepening symbiotic relationships through clean and sustainably sourced food. Visit their site and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Past episodes on animals:

Super-short episode today while Cidiot prepares for a big, big, big fall sprint of shows starting September. Very excited and a new sponsor coming too. 

Plan ahead for fall with the Cidiot Guide to 2022 Fall Festivals on the Cidiot.com blog.

Four years since the show debuted! What a good time for a State of the Cidiot. In this special episode, Mat reflects on what Cidiot has accomplished so far along with birthday messages from several listeners, including Mark, Katie, Allison, Irwin, Adam—and of course superfan Leslie, Mat's mom. 

Thanks for supporting and enjoying Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about life in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Berkshires. 

A few things you can do to make this birthday special:

Other links:

Is there an equivalent for cidiots in Maine? Yes, there is! In fact, Mainers have their own dictionary of phrases, which I was excited to learn on our two-week vacation. It got me thinking about doing nothing and doing everything. I'll share my update on our to-do list, and Robinson Greig will send in an update from Greig Farm.  

Sign up for the Cidiot newsletter for free.

Other links:

• Discover Upstate Art Weekend July 22-24, 2022. Info here.
• Thanks to our sponsor Hudson Valley Kitchen and Design Center. Mention Cidiot for $500 off your project $5,000 or more. Info here.
• Send in a quick birthday message to Cidiot with the microphone at Cidiot.com

My favorite Mainer phrases:

• "From Away" - from somewhere other than Maine
• "Flatlander" - someone raised at low altitude
• "Happier than a clam at high tide" - happy
• "Tighter than a bark on a tree" - tight
• "All stove to hell" - in bad shape

©2026 MCZ Media LLC. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.

Newburgh is one of the oldest towns in New York State and frequently talked about as a city coming around. Cidiot spoke to Diane Parisella, who with her business partner Lisa Morgan, own Designed Grind Cafe at the Newburgh Mall and started The Newburgh Market, held on Sundays from April through the end of October in the mall parking lot 10 am-3 pm. Hear about the market, their business, what's coming to the mall, her favorite places in the Hudson Valley, and more on Newburgh itself.

Stop by Designed Grind Cafe and tell 'em Cidiot sent you, and get 10% off a delicious coffee.

Thanks for listening to Cidiot and our sponsors Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center and Taconic Toastmasters Club. Follow Cidiot on Instagram (@cidot.hv) and subscribe to the free newsletter on the home page at Cidiot.com.

©2026 MCZ Media LLC. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.

I asked our new sponsors at Taconic Toastmasters Club to help me be a better presenter on air for you. They went through a few of my episodes and tell me what I'm doing right—and maybe could be better. I'm a believer in self-improvement and I'll take a few tips wherever I can get them. Including about owls.

Want to develop and polish communication and leadership skills in a fun, friendly, supportive environment? Join Taconic Toastmasters Club at their next meeting at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, 1 North Front St, Hudson, NY (Use rear entrance). The club meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 5:30 PM. See their website. 

Follow Cidiot on Instagram and please send a birthday message to Cidiot.com. Just click on the microphone in the corner and mention your name and a favorite episode. By July 1 if you can. You can also subscribe for free to the Cidiot newsletter. Thanks.

©2026 MCZ Media LLC. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.