Cidiot

Let's go further north. Health. History. Horses. And culture. Cidiot has a one-on-one conversation with Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). You’ll hear about Elizabeth’s journey to leading SPAC, her discovery and full on love of Saratoga, what’s on this season, from jazz to the ballet — plus a delicious innovation “Choreographer’s Feast “ — dancers do eat! And in part three, Elizabeth shares her recommended itinerary of where to go for a weekend in Saratoga.

Thanks to Elizabeth and SPAC, Cidiot is giving away two tickets to "Voice and the Violin" with Joshua Bell & Larisa Martinez, performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Friday, July 29, 2022. What’s your cidiot story? Send it in for your chance to win. Details on how to enter on the episode 69 page at Cidiot.com. Deadline is Friday, June 24th at midnight EST.

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 at Cidiot.com.

It's strawberry season! Yes, I can't eat them sadly, but you probably can happily. In this special episode, breaking from our usual schedule, hear directly from Robinson Greig at Greig Farm on best practices of what to look for and how to pick them. 

Thanks for listening to Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Berkshires. Subscribe to the newsletter and follow us on Instagram. 

Photo courtesy of Greig Farm.

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

Pride starts early in June across the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Berkshires. This episode I talk to Osun Zotique, executive director of OutHudson and the co-grand marshal of Hudson Pride. If you’re following the news, you may have also seen that Osun just announced a historic run for congress to represent the new 19th district. To their knowledge, Osun is the first trans non-binary candidate to run for national office. Learn more at OsunforNY.com.

Osun and I talk about pride in the Hudson Valley, about Hudson (“the P-town of the Hudson Valley”), about LGBTQ contribution to the upstate’s community, economy and culture. Osun also teaches me about “forest bathing” and how this year’s Pride is an opportunity to take that COVID Stickiness and well, dance it out…

Find Pride events mentioned in this episode and many others on the Cidiot.com blog post and follow Cidiot on Instagram.

Thank for listening. And special thank you as well to show sponsors Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center and Taconic Toastmasters Club.

Photo credit: JD Urban. Provided by OutHudson.

Is it a chore or a passion? This episode of Cidiot we go through seasonal to-do lists, from Mat, from listeners—and from a special guest Robinson Greig of Greig Farm. No one has a longer—or more daunting list—than a farmer. 

If updating your kitchen, bathrooms and pantry is on your to-do list (it's on ours!), then you're in luck since a new sponsor of Cidiot is Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center. For Cidiot listeners, just mention the podcast to save $500 off a project of $5,000 or more. See recent projects and fun on Instagram @hvkitchendesigncenter, visit their site at hvkitchendesign.com or call 845-615-9410 about a consultation. 

Thanks for making Cidiot the best regional podcast in 2021 Chronogrammies. Voting is finishing up for 2022 and Cidiot is a finalist, so excited to see how the show does again. Get on the mailing list at Cidiot.com and follow Cidiot.hv on Instagram to stay current.

Some of the most important news is local. Mat interviews Emily Sachar, publisher and editor of The Daily Catch. She shares her journey from a newspaper reporter (including an internship under Bob Woodward at The Washington Post), to an art historian and then starting The Daily Catch in Red Hook, NY. We hear about the stories of which she's proudest, behind the scenes of the Daily Catch's Ukraine coverage, what it takes to produce a daily paper, about just doing "the next right thing," and more. And when asked the signature question of her favorite place in the Hudson Valley or Berkshires, Emily brings Cidiot an exclusive!

Cidiot is up for best regional podcast in the Arts & Entertainment category of the 2022 Chronogrammies. Please vote and get other ideas from Episode 64 "A Cidiot's Ballot," or via the blog post on Cidiot.com.

Welcome new sponsors Taconic Toastmasters Club and Hudson Valley Kitchen Design Center. Lucky to have you.

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

The Chronogrammies weren't always reader's choice, but luckily they are now. This episode, Mat reviews Chronogram magazine's 3rd Annual Chronogrammies finalists category by category with his picks for your vote—and why. From Arts & Entertainment and Retail to Nature & Outdoors, Shelter, Health & Wellness, and even People. You'll hear his top picks including Adams Fairacre Farms, Ashokan Resevoir, Bangallworks, Clermont, Citiot, Giobatta, Graham & Co., Greig Farm, Oblong Books, Olana Historic Site, Pause Dog Boutique, Rough Draft Bar & Books, WKZE and Woodstock Meats. See the blog post with the full ballot at Cidiot.com.

Thanks for listening to Cidiot, 2021 Chronogrammie Winner of Best Regional Podcast. You can vote now and every day April 1-May 15 with just an email address at Chronogram.com under Chronogrammies. Excited for this vote and this season. Come visit. 

Whether you consider cottage core a movement or a stylish trend, it’s a connection to the past. I talk about what it means to me, including its form in Jello-molds. I also talk to Jeremy Franson and Sandra Franson, who run Comfort & Joy - Family Heritage for Today. We talk about their connection to the Hudson Valley, visiting Grammy Joy in Rhinebeck (they called it “Regular Town”), living on a farm, chamber pots, and about tradition—and why it’s important to keep it. We also get a primer in Women’s Suffrage Movement history for Jeremy’s twin sister Joelle, which is timely during Women’s History Month.

Here are some helpful links to things mentioned in the episode:

"Cottagecore: The Whimsical Trend That May Just Help Your Mental Health" (Healthline)

Comfort & Joy - Family Heritage for Today: Send in recipes and stories to [email protected] or use the form at the website.

Learn about Workshop Experience Weekend May 7-8 at workshopexperience.org and see my Podcasting 101 workshop on Saturday at 1-3:30 p.m. There’s also a blog post about it on Cidiot.com, as well as the beginning of a new guide to where to stay in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Berkshires. Would love additions, comments and suggested edits to make it more useful.

Thanks for listening. Cidiot made the final round again for 2022 Chronogrammies Regional Podcast in the Arts & Entertainment category. Voting begins April 1 if you can please help out.

This episode is about managing stress and the proven science of the great outdoors being good for you. I also talk to Allison Chawla, host of Talk to Allison on Radio Free Rhinecliff as well as a psychotherapist, healer, and coach. We talk about change, giving up what is comfortable, about the artistic hamlet of Rhinecliff, parenting, moving up here from the city, newfound diversity, foraging—and keeping a knife under her bed in fear of the silence.

In other news, Cidiot made the finals for 2022 Chronogrammies Best Regional Podcast, so get ready to vote in April. 

Cidiot is about being new in and acclimating to country life. So what happens if you, say, move to south Florida for a few months and try to fit in there. In this special episode, you'll find out. Mat shares his eight observations comparing life in Florida to the Hudson Valley, including a guest voice: his brother-in-law's brother-in-law Irwin Levy, who is active in the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society. Tune in for some laughs and, of course, warmth.Be sure to stream the new Cidiot anthem on Spotify, Apple Music, and more. Hamilton & Adams is offering 15% off at their new online store for fans of the show. Just use the code: CIDIOT. And sign up for the Cidiot mailing list and get more info about the show, becoming a sponsor, and the Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountains, Berkshires, and rural living at Cidiot.com

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

Maybe you’ve seen the t-shirt. Maybe you own it. I do. “Upstate & Chill” is a trademark saying from Hamilton & Adams, a cool and beloved retailer for men and women in Kingston, NY. For me, it perfectly captures the spirit of moving to the Hudson Valley so much so that it’s a lyric in our Cidiot anthem. In this second episode of Season 5, I interview Andrew Addotta of Hamilton & Adams about his path up here, opening a business, and more. We play Hudson Valley geography, and he also shares his favorite spot, not to mention a cidiot hiking story.

Special treat for Cidiot listeners: Get 15% off at Hamilton & Adams new web site. Use code CIDIOT. https://hamiltonandadams.com/discount/CIDIOT

Also, be sure to download the Cidiot anthem, created with El Seuco and The Don of Space Studios in Red Hook on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and more. Links available through the music page at Cidiot.com.

Photo: James J. Reddington

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