This Day in History Class

Every family has an origin story – for author Jo Piazza (Under the Influence, Wilder) her family's is a murder mystery. For as long as she can remember the Piazzas have told the story of their Sicilian roots going back over a hundred years ago: one by one the sons and then their father sailed off to America to carve out a better life. Their mother, Lorenza Marsala was supposed to join them – but she never made it. She was murdered by the Sicilian mafia, they said. The truth of what happened has morphed like a game of telephone through the generations. Various versions of the story claim she was killed by the Black Hand, others insisted she was a witch, killed over a bad spell. Now, Jo is determined to untangle the twisted narrative which just might bridge the gap from cinematic mob fantasies to an unexpected reality. Join her in Sicily on a family vacation/fact finding mission in which she goes to the scene of the crime, confronts mafia experts, consults mediums, and tracks down Italian officials, determined to set the record straight on her great, great grandmother’s mysterious disappearance.

Listen here and subscribe to The Sicilian Inheritance on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Please enjoy these April 12th flashbacks from the TDIHC vault, and we will see you soon for a brand new episode!

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Please enjoy these April 11th flashbacks from the TDIHC vault, and we will see you soon for a brand new episode!

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On this day in 1633, the banana made its British debut in the window of a London apothecary.   

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On this day in 1939, world-renowned Black opera singer Marian Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

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On this day in 1986, actor and director Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California.

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On this day in 1945, Private First Class Sadao Munemori was killed in action near Seravezza, Italy.

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On this day in 1945, Private First Class Sadao Munemori was killed in action near Seravezza, Italy.

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On this day in 1928, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. 

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On this day in 1996, FBI agents raided the remote Montana cabin of Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski.

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