Marta On The Move Podcast- Hosted By Marta Napoleone Mazzoni

#86 Luis Von Ahn I wonder how many of you may know, that the widely popular company known as Duolingo, has it's base right here in Pittsburgh, PA?  I sure didn't.  After trying many language courses, Rosetta Stone, and even regular CD's you can listen to on your way to work (never happens), I  found myself drawn to the free app that is Duolingo. I just happened to be browsing online one day, and noticed from their website, that they are Pittsburgh based! What, what? If you listen to my show, you know I love traveling, and merging my cultural experiences with my beloved hometown of Pittsburgh.  Finding out that Duolingo was based here, and that I was addicted to the app, just made my day!  I had to find out who was behind this, and get them on the show. Turns out a gentleman by the name of Luis Von Ahn created Duolingo.  I reached out, scheduled an interview, and a tour of the office.  Wanting to come prepared for the podcast, I started researching Luis, and found myself blown away by what he has accomplished

I have recently returned from my Moroccan journey, and I am forever changed in my love of spices.  The richness of the country, is in it's spices in my opinion.  I have never seen, tasted, or smelled such pungent, and varied flavors.  I wanted to record when I got home about all that I have seen, tasted, and hopefully share some cooking tips with my listeners from locals on the trip! I love to cook, and made finding some cooking classes while I was there a top priority.  In fact, the first night I arrived after my flight, I contacted a local family to see if I could join them for dinner, and help prepare the meal.  Khadija'a Kuzina was the easiest choice I had to make before I arrived.  They responded instantly, warmly, and accommodated me on short notice.  I met with them, and had a lovely meal of eggplant appetizer, salad, fresh squeeze juice, and lamb tagine with prunes and almonds. (MY FAV!) It was easily the best food I had in Morocco, and I helped make it, furiously scribbling down recipes, and notes as

Diving is one of my favorite activities, but even I get nervous when I am not prepared.  I have put together some of the things that make, at least for me, a solid base for a successful dive.  I am sure others have their routines they go through, and I would love to hear about them.  Please post if you have something you always do, aside from the regular checks that help make your dive a great one.  Follow me at @icantfindmarta, on Facebook or check out my podcasts on the Epicast TV.   NO CAFFEINE-  Usually, you wake up pretty early to go diving, and if you didn't get a good night sleep, you will be tired and cranky. For me, I have to resist that morning espresso.  I had one once before I went diving, not thinking it would effect me, but my nerves were shot, and I was shaky.  My buoyancy was terrible, and I was breathing more rapidly, and shallow under the water. I knew it was because my heart rate was elevated from the espresso I had hours ago.  It kicked in when I needed it LEAST.  A great learning lesson f

#83 Rick Sebak FINALLY!!!!   Not many of you know this, but I have been trying to get Rick Sebak on my show since day one.  Our schedules have never synced up, until now, and I am so glad we waited, because it is pure gold. If you grew up in Pittsburgh, you knew his voice, and later spotted him around town.  For those that don't know him, Rick is a highly skilled director, producer, and writer for WQED Pittsburgh.  His signature "scrapbook documentaries" have been copied across the country, but never duplicated.  His Kickstarter "Nebby" is going on now to build funds for 6 new videos highlighting Pittsburgh.  We want that to happen, so make sure you head over, and donate to help us bring that to life! Rick has a certain way of showcasing the people, and history of Pittsburgh that is hard to put into words, so I am not going to try, if you have seen him, you know exactly what I mean.  I will tell you, however, that we had a lovely conversation about his history, his story, Pittsburgh's food scene, and how he c

#82 Patrick Jordan Serendipity  : the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for Unfortunatly, when I say the word Serendipity, you may think of a very bad romantic comedy starring John Cusack.  I know, because that is what I thought of any time I heard that word.  No longer is that the case for me.  Now when I think of that word, a person comes to mind by the name of Patrick Jordan. I met Patrick at a Deep Local party, and was introduced by our mutual friend Jeff Swenson.  Little did we know our history at that time, but we do now!  You just have to listen to the episode to hear it. I will tell you that Patrick Jordan is the Artistic Director of his company Barebones Productions in Pittsburgh, PA.  A local theater company that pushes the envelope, bringing plays to life that have an edge, or grit.  I saw my first (but not last), Barebones production of The Elaborate Entrance Of Chad Diety at The Ace Hotel recently, and was blown away by the production.  It was a sold out sho

#81 Pittsburgh Speakeasies with John Schalcosky and Mike Mills Hey all!  This month I am keeping up with the Pittsburgh Drinks theme, and offering a part two to the episode prior to this one that featured Sean Enright and Cody McDevitt.  If you haven't listened to that one yet, I suggest you do!  It is full of interesting drinks recipes, tips, and facts about Pittsburgh that are featured in their book, Pittsburgh Drinks. We touch on Pittsburgh speakeasies on that episode, but I wanted to take that a step farther, and bring on my true, and trusted researcher of pretty much everything, John Schalcosky from The Odd, Fascinating, and Mysterious History Of Pittsburgh to dig up what he found on Pittsburgh speakeasies.  I also wanted to pair that with some whiskey tasting tips in honor of The Whiskey Rebellion Festival, and age old bootleggers.  Mike Mills joins us, and instructs us on how to taste whiskey properly, along with some other tips for your at home consumption. We chat about where the term speakeasy comes

Pittsburgh has a very long, and semi forgotten history in the world of cocktails.  I just recently learned about a lot of it through the book Pittsburgh Drinks : A History of Cocktails, Nightlife & Bartending Tradition by Sean Enright, and Cody Mcdevitt.  If you are a listener of my show, you know I love a great cocktail, and am constantly striving to improve my mixing abilities at home.  With that in mind, I wanted to do a 2 part release featuring, and praising Pittsburgh as not just an incredible town for craft cocktails, but also showcasing that our history in this area is richer than most would think. Part 1 Pittsburgh Drinks with Sean Enright and Cody Mcdevitt.  This episode bring the incredible talents of these two gentleman.  Sean starts us off in the episode to aid in our Craft Cocktail Series, teaching those at home how to up their game at making cocktails.  He mixes up (out of my very short supply), two cocktails that you can easily make at home to impress your guests, or have on a random Tuesda

#79 Joe Furlow- General Manager of The Magic Castle I have traveled quite a bit, and have visited places that I thought were incredible, and some places that were all hype.  I have wanted to visit a place called The Magic Castle in Los Angeles the moment someone told me that it existed.  A secret society of magicians? WHAT?  Truth be told, it was all I could think about for a while.  So when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped.  I could not wait any longer. I won't go into too much history about the place ( You will have to tune into the episode for that!).  I will tell you that The Magic Castle or The Academy of Magical Arts was incorporated in 1961, and shortly after The Castle opened its doors on January 2, 1963, and has been in operation ever since.  It has become known as “The Mecca for Magicians” throughout the world to come, entertain, and practice their craft. I truly was like a kid in a candy store when I walked in, and I smiled the ENTIRE time.  they nearly had to drag me out when it was time

#78 City Of Play- Adam Nelson and Greg Manley I have been waiting for this episode for probably about two years.  I have covered other events for City Of Play, and am a HUGE fan of this organization.  I feel as though I was just waiting for the perfect moment to record, maybe even waiting to get to know the organizers better.  I just knew, I wanted to wait to record to bring their story to all of you, and I am glad I did.  In the two years I have known them, they have become very great friends, and it just made this episode that much more fulfilling to record. Adam and Greg are awesome, they provide an invaluable service to our city. "City of Play is a creative agency that designs interactions and builds real-world games for businesses and communities."  This is what the description is on their website. City Of Play is so much more than that though, it is about relationships, team building, engaging the people, and places in, and around our city.  It is about FUN, pure fun, and working together without scorn,

#77 Marcel Lamont Walker I cannot draw, I truly don't have great penmanship either, so I am constantly in awe of folks that have this ability.  I think most of us are "drawn" to them, the creatives.  Having a talent that may take some shaping, but is really THERE.  I feel as though my first form of  influential artwork was comics.  I loved them.  I am sad to say, that Barbie was one of the first ones I had because of my catholic grade school upbringing.  Anything I didn't get to smuggle in, was provided for by my older brother, and sister. I will admit, they had a great *ahem* book and film collection that was well past my years, but no comics.  Barbie was the only subscription service allowed to be delivered to the house   I could go into the whole theory about self esteem, and why this, for me was a poor subscription choice from my parents, but that's what I got.  Shortly after Barbie, came Batman.  What a jump, a release, a slight breath of seeing a glimmer of who I am as a person.  Someone I could relate

#76 Fun A Day Pittsburgh Happy 2017!  We are going to make this year RULE!  Starting off the new year with a super fun project for all of you.  Fun A Day Pittsburgh is an event that has been in "play" for over a decade in Pittsburgh, and I JUST found out about it.  I need more fun in my life, and what better way to start the new year, than participating in something that is committed to just doing what you love for 31 days.   So that is the whole deal, do something fun for 31 days, and at the end of those 31 days, display your project in an art show. That is it! Now, don't think too much into it, and don't freak out like I did. (I had no clue what I was going to do for the longest time).   I am super happy I got to sit with Laura Greenawalt and Angela Stabryla because they calmed me down, and explained the event in detail.  Tune in and check out how you can join in the fun.  Because if you aren't having fun, what's the point? OH! and don't freak out also because this releases Jan 8th, you can STILL participat

#75 A Very Westworld Christmas Alright y'all.  I wanted to end this year with something super fun.  What is more fun sitting around with some of your good friends and chatting about fan theories for the hit show WESTWORLD!!!!!   If you are not a fan, We can't be friends , or haven't finished the first season, what are you thinking?!,  then you should really turn away right................ NOW.  There are not many shows out there where I truly geek out.  Alright, alright quiet down!!! Who knew Stranger Things was going to blow all of our socks off, AND that I would get to interview one of the stars of the show (shameless plug).  That is besides the point, the point is, there is hardly a show out there anymore where I lose my mind over it.  I crave it, I obsess, and talk countless theories over it with friends when I should be working! Hi Aldo's Foods!  I could not let this moment pass me by to invite some friends over and chat about all of the fan theories that are swirling out there about this show! To those

We are almost rounding out this year!!! AHH! I can't believe it.  It went so fast, but I am super happy that I get to feature Nick Miller and Ashely Cort before the end of the year!  If you follow me, you know I love video games, among many, many other things.  I am super jealous right now, because Nick and Ashley (whom I know from up at Epicast TV, and Black Forge Coffee), have managed to put themselves INTO a game.  I am not joking folks, it's true.  They made themselves into 16 bit characters for Sega Genesis!  I can't even deal with this news.  I just knew I had to get them on the show to find out how they did it! Nick and Ashley are the owners of Black Forge Coffee Shop in the up, and coming Allentown neighborhood.  It is a minute away from our lovely Epicast Network (PODSQUAD!), which is housed in Work Hard Pittsburgh.  I chat with these two to find out what it takes to make an old school video game, What the game is all about (two words- Coffee and Crisis!),why they got in the coffee business, and many

The first time I met Sean Collier, I didn't know what to expect. I knew his dad was a popular name in Pittsburgh, and so is Sean's.  He was very quiet at a gathering we were all invited to, and I was honestly not sure if we would get along.  To be honest, I was nervous to talk to him.  He is probably laughing at me right now reading this. Well, it shows how much I know, we totally hit it off, and are now good buds.  He is one of the better eggs in our city, and I love what he does.  I have been on his podcast called You Can't Handle The Truth, where he, and Aaron Kleiber,(another awesome dude) review movies after an advance screening of them.  Not sure you know this about me, but I am obsessed with movies.  I used to keep lists when I was little of any category you can think of. Hottest actors Best on screen performance Best Love scene (I was a sick child) Best actress Best gruesome death (Once again.....) The list went on... I still have these notebooks someplace stored in my mom's house like a time capsul

Hello everyone!   This post is long overdue!  This summer I went on a solo trip to learn to sail in the Greek Islands.  I had quite the adventure, and an interesting connection that was made during travel plans.  In short, captain of the boat I was going to sail with had an emergency, and had to leave.  This left me with no place to go 2 weeks before my trip!  I was still holding out hope in trying to sail, so I reached out to a group online Girls Love Travel, and simply posted this-   “Help! My Captain of the boat left, and I am now struggling to find a new boat to stay on.  Anyone know anyone in Greece with a boat? Thanks!”  A gal came forward in the comments section by the name of Jessie Stele.  Let’s go back even farther now…  *time warp* Marta On The Move grew up attending a very small school called Our Lady Of Fatima, a Catholic grade school that she attending for 8 years.  To give you an idea how small it was, there were 5 gals in our 8th grade graduating class.  Heading to public school the following

Magician Lee Terbosic On Marta On The Move Dance, magic dance!  Rounding out my all thing mystical, spooky AND magical IS a magician.  Lee Terbosic joins Marta On The Move for a most engaging interview.  We are all in love with magic since birth.  Isn't everything you experience early in life magical?  As we age, we start to lose that sense of everyday magic. Luckily, for that, there are magicians out there that still offer that sense of wonder, that unexplainable moment, or trick that you can't explain.  There is a reason Harry Potter is one of the most popular stories of all time.  We all love it!!!! I have been waiting to get a magician on my show for quite a bit, and I saw the perfect opportunity when I found out that a famous, local Pittsburgh magician was going to try and recreate the incredible escape stunt that Harry Houdini performed in 1916 in downtown Pittsburgh!  Lee Terbosic has been planning about plotting for years to pull this off. 100 years since Houdini performed it, in the same spot, at the

TRUE SPOOKY STORIES OF PITTSBURGH- PART II Welcome to the second annual pajama party podcast where we reveal scary, mysterious, and mystical true stories of Pittsburgh!  Gotta love Halloween, and this is a great way for you to celebrate the season.   Remember the old radios shows?  The Shadow?  Well, my great friend John from The Odd, Fascinating, and Mysterious History of Pittsburgh, and I LOVE to try and recreate those times when folks listened to the radio, in the dark, scared out of their minds, and letting their imaginations run wild!  That... is truly the scariest part about it. Join us for what will be the second year we have done this, and every year it gets better and better.  Eventually we will be taking submissions of short stories, poems, or skits to be read on the show.  We will do our very best to make them sound amazing.  In the meantime, enjoy hearing more spooky stories of Pittsburgh.  AND if, god forbid, you missed last year's episode, here it is!  Also be sure to check out all the other pod

The Scarehouse-A Conversation With Creator Scott Simmons When something gets national press year, after year, it calls your attention.  When something gets national press, AND it is in your own backyard, it should make you want to investigate it, and find out what makes it so unique.  This is one of the many, many reasons, I wanted to bring Scott Simmons onto my show.  Scott created Scarehouse over 20 years ago, and it continues to be one of the most entertaining, creative, breakthrough haunted houses in the country.  It has been featured by CBS News, ABC News, Forbes Magazine, and the best (in my opinion) Geek and Sundry! I had a feeling in the back of my mind that Scott and I would get along, and have an awesome conversation.  I had been following his hilarious posts on Twitter and Facebook, little did I know I would forget that I was recording an episode, and truly just felt like we were hanging out chatting about our favorite things.  Podcast goals and podcast gold, people! I also wanted to talk with him

Enter The Imaginarium Welcome to the lead up to Halloween on Marta On The Move! I love this time of year, and truly enjoy featuring all things mystery, spooky and festive!  Therefore, I bring to you Enter The Imaginarium, an escape room that recently opened in Harmarville created by a collaboration between The Scarehouse and Bricolage.  How can someone not be excited for this? I ask you! I am a huge fan of escape rooms and immersive theater, so I could not wait to sit down with Jeffery Carpenter and Scott Simmons to chat behind the scenes of this venture. We talk about everything that goes into creating an escape room, why they decided to make one, what is in store for the next one (Yes, there will be more!), and also talk some clues for this particular room, and the mysteries surrounding D. Sykes, and the minotaur legends.  MUAHA. Enter The Imaginarium is giving away a free ticket for this episode!  Simply tag two friends in the comments to be entered in the drawing! On another note, I did not make it out of

Mysteries of Pittsburgh By Boat! Hey guys!  Join me and my good friend John Schalcosky again as we uncover mysteries of Pittsburgh, BUT this time by water!!  I love being on a boat, and this is the first time I have been on one (that is not the clipper).  Join us as we travel to different sites, and uncover cool history that you may not have ever known. John is a regular on my show, and you will love the stories he weaves for your ears. We love recording these because they make us feel like we are back on an old radio show.  If you missed our other episodes called Crazy Summer Stories of Pittsburgh, or True Spooky Stories of Pittsburgh, check them out!  We will be releasing another one this coming October as the 2nd annual True Spooky Stories of Pittsburgh!  I gather some folks, we throw on some pj's and have a lovely evening filled with wine, snacks, and hauntingly creepy stories.  Pretty much the highlight of my year and we have Scott Simmons from The Pittsburgh Scarehouse on the show as well talking about