Advertise on podcast: THIS is Ithaca

"All day every day", employee for the City of Ithaca, Tony Diehl, stets out to maintain and empty out those lollypop-style parking meters aligning the streets in downtown Ithaca. Slowly but surely they will be replaced by newer, Solar-powered parking meters or perhaps even made obsolete by smartphone apps. Slipping from the analogue into the digital age. The times they are a changin’. You can check out our other audio portraits at www.thisithaca.org. Credits Producers Marietta Synodis and Florenz Gilly Editing Florenz Gilly Music All tracks by Blue Dot Sessions. In order they appear: Pintle, Tan Mountain, Golden Grass, Plum King, That Wide River, Hash Out, Arizona Moon Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie

By pure chance, young economics student Phil Shapiro discovered the Alternatives Library inside Cornell's Anabel Taylor Hall and chose it to become the venue for his live show for WVBR radio. For more than five decades, Phil continued doing shows there, thirty Sundays of every year. There must be a reason why his audience, which he claims to be one of the best, most engaged live audiences in the world, has remained loyal to Bound for Glory all these years. We spoke to Phil in the summer of 2019 about his path to becoming host of North America's longest running live folk radio show, and learned about the magic formula for building community: music, tradition, and a shared space to gather and come together.  Special thanks to Hoot & Holler and Kora Feder who kindly gave permission to use excerpts from their live performances for our podcast. Bound for Glory has been on hiatus since 2020, but you can still tune in to 93.5 FM on Sunday nights from 8-11pm to hear archival shows. For more info on the show and upcoming broadcasts, visit their website at boundforglory.org. Credits Producers Marietta Synodis and Florenz Gilly Editing Florenz Gilly Music Kora Feder, Hoot and Holler (now Golden Shoals) Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie

Picture 25 women chatting over wine and swapping–no, not Tupperware–but sex toys. This is how Christine Barksdale started her business. Today, over a decade later, Barksdale is running a women-centric, sex positive store off Route 13 in downtown Ithaca. Sitting with her between whips and lingerie, we learned how an episode of Oprah inspired her to open a store and that every vibrator has a distinct sound. Can you hear the difference?   NOTE: This episode mentions the existence of sex. Be alert – and have fun!   Stay up-to-date on new episodes, exclusive visual material, and fun stories by subscribing to our newsletter. Or, by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There you can see the faces of all the folks we’ve interviewed, in one scroll. Credits Editing Florenz Gilly and Marietta Synodis Music Tango Rosino, Bossa Boa, The Criper, Zulia Conspiracy, Um Pepino, Entwined Oddity, Basketline by Blue Dot Sessions Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie

Whether on the back of a horse during a snowy day or through the streets by foot, Holly Horner tries to be outside as much as she can. Naturally, Holly chose to be a city carrier, delivering mail to businesses in bustling downtown Ithaca, as well as to houses in the more residential areas of town. We accompanied Holly while she was carrying out mail from her right-seated postal truck. Sitting down with her, she told us about the seasonal changes of mail traffic in a college town, the pitfalls of her job and what skills she had to learn for doing it right. Always stay up-to-date on new episodes, exclusive visual material and fun stories by subscribing to our newsletter. Or, by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There you can see the faces of all people, that we've interviewed, in one scroll. Credits Editing Florenz Gilly and Marietta Synodis Music Let Go Gecko, Highway 94, Cradle Rock, That Horse Ithica, Scraper by Blue Dot Sessions Ambient Sounds Some sounds were taken from freesound.org. They were all published under a CC-License—as is our podcast. Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie  

What’s a typical day in the life of a mayor of Ithaca? For Svante Myrick, who’s been mayor since 2012, it requires coffee. Lots of coffee. In this episode Svante tells us how he ran for office as a recent college grad, his thoughts on sidewalks, and the one thing most people want to talk to him about. Special thanks to the Annie Sherman from the mayor’s office. Credits Editing Florenz Gilly and Marietta Synodis Music Borough, Flashing Runner, Pedal Rider, Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie

Tucked in the north side of Triphammer Marketplace is The Mall Dry Cleaners, a family owned and operated business since 1970. But what exactly happens when you get your clothes dry cleaned anyway? And who does all that work? We go behind the carousel of clean shirts to find out what really happens at the dry cleaners. Gratitude to Daniel Wood, Tina Haviland and Debbie Cook for telling us about their lives and work. Also, thanks to owner John Gorsky who didn't hesitate to participate in our project, as well as to Nancy Morse for setting things up. Credits Editing Florenz Gilly and Marietta Synodis Music Bauxite, Dangerous Swing, For We Shall Speed by Blue Dot Sessions Gitanas Mojadas by Polka Madre All four titles are available under a Creative Commons-License. And so is our podcast. Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie

What’s the road to becoming a rockstar? For Casey Harris, who is legally blind, it all started by tuning pianos. Now the 34-year old performs around the world as the keyboardist for the alt-rock band X Ambassadors. In this episode, Casey tells us about growing up in Ithaca, how his brother Sam and him would always fight as kids and how they nonetheless started making music together; also, what every newcomer band should consider when they want to be taken seriously. On September 24th 2021, X Ambassadors will release their new album "Beautiful Liar". The interview was conducted in the summer of 2019 at Casey's house in Ithaca, NY. Credits Editing Florenz Gilly and Marietta Synodis Music Permission to use X Ambassador's original music was kindly granted to us for free by Kobalt Music Publishing [BMI]. Songs used: Litost, Unconsolable, Renegades, Superpower, Gorgeous. All songs written by Adam Levin, Samuel Nelson Harris and Casey Wakeley Harris (X Ambassadors) as well as former band member Noah G Feldshuh. Both piano pieces in the beginning and in the end of this episode are recordings by Casey Harris. The "raw, stripped-down, acoustic version of 'Unconsolable'" was recorded on a "Big Ugly Yellow Couch" (See video here.) With special thanks to Terra Simon, Bill Reed and Ann Markwell.  Jingle The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie, Ross  

In Fall Creek, Ithaca, the Lincoln Street Diner serves up comfort food...with attitude. Owner Christopher O’Brien and waitress Jolie Waite tell us what it’s like to be behind the counter, the story of “The Ziffy”, and the shenanigans that make people come back. Credits Editing Florenz Gilly and Marietta Synodis Music  The Shoes They Wear, Caveman, Capering, Sylvestor, Chrome and Wax, Floating Whist All tracks by Blue Dot Sessions. Jingle Mosaic Foundation, The Fall Creek Brass Band, Richie and Rosie

What does it take to be a bus driver? TCAT's Desiree Johnson is a second-generation bus driver so she's the perfect person to ask. She takes us on a tour of the job, sharing insights on life and community along the way. Credits Music: Lobo Lobo., Chase and We Follow , Grumpalo All Tracks by Blue Dot Sessions

In our first episode, Marietta and Florenz reflect on their experiences working on THIS is Ithaca and explain the concept of their podcast.