Best Basic Italian Podcasts (2025)

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Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, "HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company" (HBR Press, 2017) 55:16

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4d ago55:16

55:16

Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own start-up seem too risky? There is a radical third path open to you: You can buy a small business and run it as CEO. Purchasing a small company offers significant financial rewards--as well as personal and professional fulfillment. Leading a firm means you can …

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Verena Halsmayer on Managing Growth in Miniature: Solow’s Model as an Artifact 1:22:06

4d ago1:22:06

1:22:06

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, chats with Verena Halsmeyer, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Vienna, about her recent, award-winning book, Managing Growth in Miniature: Solow’s Model as an Artifact. The book explores the history of the way economists think about growth, including the role of technological change in it. It focuses on t…

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Double Indemnity (1944) - Dictaphones, Insurance Investigators & a Wig 2:10:33

4d ago2:10:33

2:10:33

We are rounding out Classics month with a real, undeniable classic: it’s Billy Wilder’s 1944 noir Double Indemnity! Did everyone else already know that this movie is about insurance? No, really, a lot of the plot revolves around insurance policies! Also, point of order, Erika and Paul would like to formally apologize to all Lolas for the slander on…

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Ivan Franceschini et al., "Scam: Inside Southeast Asia's Cybercrime Compounds" (Verso Books, 2025) 50:32

8d ago50:32

50:32

“If I had been enslaved for a year or two, I might not be able to believe in humanity any more.” “I am a victim of modern slavery.” These chilling words come from a Taiwanese female lured by a fake job offer, only to be sold into a scam compound in Cambodia. She is not alone. She is one of thousands deceived into this industry—people who left home …

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Christina Jerne, "Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism" (U Minnesota Press, 2025) 56:40

9d ago56:40

56:40

For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia …

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Carl Benedikt Frey, "How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation, and the Fate of Nations" (Princeton UP, 2025) 54:29

7d ago54:29

54:29

In How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation, and the Fate of Nations (Princeton University Press, 2025), Carl Benedikt Frey challenges the conventional belief that economic and technological progress is inevitable. For most of human history, stagnation was the norm, and even today progress and prosperity in the world's largest, most advanced econo…

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Vanessa S. Williamson, "The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History" (Basic Books, 2025) 53:49

10d ago53:49

53:49

Americans have always fought over the meaning of freedom and equality. What is not commonly recognized is that the battles most pivotal in defining our democracy, from the framing of the Constitution to the decades-long backlash to the civil rights movement, hinged on one issue—taxes. In The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation i…

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Coffee Break Italian - All You Need To Know 39:21

11d ago39:21

39:21

Join Mark and Francesca for this special episode of Coffee Break Italian where we're talking about something a bit different. We receive emails and messages all the time asking us "where should I start?", so we thought we'd answer that in this episode. We share details about how Coffee Break Italian first started and all of the resources we have re…

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Thomas Piketty, "A Brief History of Equality" (Harvard UP, 2022) 28:56

11d ago28:56

28:56

It's easy to be pessimistic about inequality. We know it has increased dramatically in many parts of the world over the past two generations. No one has done more to reveal the problem than Thomas Piketty. Now, in this surprising and powerful new work, Piketty reminds us that the grand sweep of history gives us reasons to be optimistic. Over the ce…

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Blazing Saddles (1974) - Horse Actors, Johnsons & a Wed Wose 1:57:25

11d ago1:57:25

1:57:25

Man, this month is gonna give listeners whiplash…after a sunny musical and a disturbing melodrama, we’re going with Mel Brooks’ 1974 Western spoof Blazing Saddles! Sure, Paul once claimed he would never even attempt to talk about this movie, but Erika got him drunk and before he knew it, they were recording. You can follow That Aged Well on Bluesky…

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Joe Allen, "The Package King: A Rank and File History of UPS" (Haymarket Books, 2020) 1:01:15

12d ago1:01:15

1:01:15

If the 20th Century was the American Century, it was also UPS's Century. Joe Allen's The Package King: A Rank and File History of UPS (‎Haymarket Books, 2020), tears down the Brown Wall surrounding one of America's most admired companies—the United Parcel Service (UPS). The company that we see everyday but know so little about. How did a company th…

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Richard H. Thaler and Alex Imas, "The Winner's Curse: Behavioral Economics Anomalies, Then and Now" (Simon and Schuster, 2025) 54:22

13d ago54:22

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Alex Imas is the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Professor of Behavioral Science, Economics and Applied AI and a Vasilou Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he has taught Negotiations and Behavioral Economics. He is a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Applied AI and the Human Capital & Economic Opportunity, a…

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Pierre-Yves Donzé & Maki Umemura, "Pierre-Yves Donzé & Maki Umemura, Japan and the Great Divergence in Business History" (JESB, 2025) 32:37

15d ago32:37

32:37

For much of the late 20th century, Japanese business historians were core contributors to the global field. They published, collaborated, and shaped debates. But something shifted after 2000. Their international visibility - and participation in emerging theoretical conversations - declined. In Japan and the Great Divergence in Business History (Do…

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All the words you need for a card game in Italian | A Coffee Break with Francesca 5:30

17d ago5:30

5:30

Join Francesca from the Coffee Break Italian team for a coffee break and get ready to improve your Italian over just 10 minutes. In this little espresso lesson, Francesca explores one of Italy’s favourite pastimes: giocare a carte, playing cards! You’ll also pick up useful phrases like fare le carte (to shuffle the cards), un mazzo (a deck), and ev…

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Lars Cornelissen, "Neoliberalism and Race" (Stanford UP, 2025) 1:17:23

17d ago1:17:23

1:17:23

In Neoliberalism and Race (Stanford UP, 2025) Lars Cornelissen argues that the category of race constitutes an organizing principle of neoliberal ideology. Using the methods of intellectual history and drawing on insights from critical race studies, Cornelissen explores the various racial constructs that structure neoliberal ideology, some of which…

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How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing Powerhouse 1:10:28

18d ago1:10:28

1:10:28

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Colleen Dunlavy, Emeritus Professor of History at University of Wisconsin-Madison, about her recent book, Small, Medium, Large: How Government Made the U.S. Into a Manufacturing Powerhouse. Small, Medium, Large examines the crucial role that the U.S. federal government played in rationalizing and diffus…

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Joseph Stiglitz, "The Origins of Inequality" (Oxford UP, 2025) 39:47

18d ago39:47

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Joseph E. Stiglitz has had a remarkable career. He is a brilliant academic, capped by sharing the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics and the Nobel Peace Prize, and honorary degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford and more than fifty other universities, and elected not only to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Lett…

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Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) - Feeding Frenzies, Elevators & a 5 O’ Clock Daiquiri 2:20:34

18d ago2:20:34

2:20:34

Classic Film November rolls on with something just a little different…1959’s Suddenly, Last Summer which might just possibly be the darkest film ever done on That Aged Well. And we did A Nightmare On Elm Street two weeks ago! Erika and Paul take you through all of it, with time left to talk about what plastic surgery they’d get for $23 million, the…

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Bonus Episode: Clues Explained - La fantastica Caccia al Tresoro 10:05

24d ago10:05

10:05

We're back with a special bonus episode of the Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt! Join us for a detailed explanation of this year's Treasure Hunt clues. Sit back, relax and enjoy listening to this episode on your next coffee break. ☕️ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Loic De Canniere, "The Future of Employment in Africa: Demography, Labour Markets and Welfare" (Anthem, 2025) 1:07:47

24d ago1:07:47

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The Future of Employment in Africa: Demography, Labor Markets and Welfare explores the major trends that will define the face of the sub-Saharan continent in the next three decades. The near doubling of Africa’s population by 2050 will lead to more than twenty million new job seekers entering the African labor market every year until then. Right no…

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Singin’ In The Rain (1952) - Round Tones, Rage Blackouts & a Triple Threat 2:30:17

25d ago2:30:17

2:30:17

We’ve made it through October, which means we’re kicking off another tradition here at That Aged Well…Classic Movie November! And we’re ringing in November with a true classic: Singin’ In The Rain, which comes with a cavalcade of dancing, singing, and stories of how Gene Kelly maybe wasn’t so nice on set. Come join Paul and Erika as they bask in wh…

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Roots and Recollections: Interviewing Family Members 13:36

26d ago13:36

13:36

Before those irreplaceable memories fade, join me as I delve into the profound importance of interviewing your elderly relatives. These conversations are not just about collecting dates and names; they capture the vivid personal stories, family folklore, and emotional context that bring your dry genealogy charts to life. Learn practical tips and es…

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Maxim Sytch, "The Influence Economy: Decoding Supplier-Induced Demand" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:06:59

26d ago1:06:59

1:06:59

In The Influence Economy: Decoding Supplier-Induced Demand (Oxford UP, 2025), Maxim Sytch reveals how professional services--consulting, marketing, banking, and legal firms--create demand for unnecessary and potentially harmful products and services. Such supplier-induced demand can take many forms, including superfluous reorganizations, frivolous …

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Nancy Neiman, "Markets, Community and Just Infrastructures" (Routledge, 2020) 1:13:59

27d ago1:13:59

1:13:59

A series of market-related crises over the past two decades – financial, environmental, health, education, poverty – reinvigorated the debate about markets and social justice. Since then, counter-hegemonic movements all over the globe are attempting to redefine markets and the meaning of economic enterprise in people’s daily lives. Assessments of m…

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Garrett Hardin’s Tragic Environmentalism 1:15:27

1M ago1:15:27

1:15:27

An ecologist in California claimed that the iron laws of nature locked humanity into destroying our environment. This meant that we must take drastic measures to rein in unfettered capitalism and the American habit of overconsumption, lest we deplete our common resources. That argument made Garrett Hardin one of the most influential and celebrated …

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A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) - Parenting, Dream Logic & a Warm Bath 2:16:34

1M ago2:16:34

2:16:34

It’s the final Monday in October and y’all know what that means…Erika and Paul watched a slasher film! Well, Erika watched it and Paul “watched” it, but we can only hope for so much here. Particularly with this one, Wes Craven’s classic A Nightmare On Elm Street, which gives your hosts a chance to talk about DIY projects, bed TVs, and random bottle…

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Clue #4 (italiano) | The Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt 2025 10:21

1M ago10:21

10:21

We have reached the last clue of our virtual treasure hunt - La fantastica Caccia al Tesoro di Coffee Break 2025 - which will lead us to the final location! Test your Italian and detective skills as we reveal everything you need to know to determine the last destination. Remember to submit your entry form listing the location from each episode to b…

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Jeff Neilson, "Fortress Farming: Agrarian Transitions, Livelihoods, and Coffee Value Chains in Indonesia" (Cornell UP, 2025) 44:31

1M ago44:31

44:31

Over the last several decades, sources of income derived away from farms have come to play a much bigger role in rural Indonesian households. How do rural people in Indonesia engage with farming and social and economic spheres beyond their villages? What do their changing forms of engagement mean for land relations, sustainability, and the future o…

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R. Jisung Park, "Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World" (Princeton UP, 2025) 44:24

1M ago44:24

44:24

R. Jisung Park is assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he holds appointments in the School of Social Policy and Practice and the Wharton School of Business. It’s hard not to feel anxious about the problem of climate change, especially if we think of it as an impending planetary catastrophe. In Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of …