“Stories tell you what’s important to people.” - AJ Schenkman

Thanks to Jennifer Santiago and Jenny Leifer of The Valley Girls podcast, I was introduced to a writer and public school teacher A.J. Schenkman. He writes a lot about area history and has published multiple books including “Patriots and Spies,” Wicked Ulster County,” “Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh” and most recently the beautiful illustrated children’s book “Franklin’s Trees.”

As you’ll hear on this episode of Cidiot®, A.J.’s brand of writing and teaching is “History Made Seamless,” which means making history accessible. We talk about how he got into writing about history, Eleanor wanting a place of her own away from mother-in-law, witness trees, stories from the FDR National Historic Site, elk, and A.J.’s new illustrated book: “Franklin’s Trees.”

“A good book will transform you through time,” he promises so excited to share this conversation and a slew of stories about FDR, Eleanor, trees, and more.

Links to highlights from this episode:

• Franklin’s Trees, by A.J. Schenkman (Muddy Boots publishing)
• A.J. Schenkman's blog “History Made Seamless”
• Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
• Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
• Historic Huguenot Street (New Paltz)
• A.J. on Literary Hudson Valley (YouTube)
• Cidiot Episode 29: Eleanor Was Right

Thanks to the Valley Girls Podcast and their new show, Literary Hudson Valley.

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley, produced and hosted by Mat Zucker. This episode was brilliantly edited by Isaac Rostan. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Hudson, New York is still a new place for me, so this episode Cidiot tries to take a short cut to getting to know why the way things are.

I find the best way to do this is through people who’ve been here for years and who reflect the way things are and maybe even shape them.

Meet Mark Allen, a film-maker, a writer, a radio host, and yes, a former go-go boy. Mark and I both grew up in the 70s and 80s, though I was not a go-go boy nor featured in Paper Magazine. He is prolific and provocative and is generous and hilarious sharing what he sees. We talk about Hudson’s culture, about video, dinner parties, the waves of gays, advice for cidiots—and of course the back alleys of Hudson.

Links highlighted in episode:

• About Mark Allen

• Mark Allen’s YouTube channel

• “Are Hudson’s Sidewalks Safe for NYC Tourists” (Youtube):
• Time & Space Limited, Hudson:
• Wax museum, Lake George

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Carole Osterink writes The Gossips of Rivertown, a blog that is news and commentary (and takes its name from a novel by a Hudson writer). It’s a must-read for all of us who live here. This episode tune into Carole’s story, how she chooses what to cover, if she considers herself a journalist andtr advise if you want to start a hyperlocal news sources like it in your town.

I hope you have something like it where you live. And I hope it’s written by someone like Carole.

Hyperlocal newspapers & blogs (pls send in more!):

• A Little Beacon Blog (Beacon)
• Croton History & Mysteries (Croton)
• The Daily Catch (Red Hook and Rhinebeck)
• Daily Freeman (Ulster, Green & No. Dutchess Counties)
• The Gardiner Gazette (Gardiner):
• The Gossips of Rivertown (Hudson)
• The Highlands Current (Philipstown, Cold Spring, Garrison)
• The Hudson Valley Pilot (Rhinebeck)
• Hudson Valley One (Ulster County)
• Hudson Valley Post
• IMBY (several counties)
• Kingston Wire (Kingston)
• Mid-Hudson News
• Ossining History on the Run (Ossining)
• Tgazette (Taghkanic)

Plus, Mat is recently interviewed on the Rhinebeck Scoop podcast about Cidiot.

There also are many good visitor and travel blogs to the Hudson Valley but that’s a separate list. Let me know if I should put one together.

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

This episode, Mat shares the news of moving—still within the Hudson Valley of course. Some thoughts on change and new opportunities. Some questions too. Are you still a cidiot if you move back to a city?

Links to what’s mentioned:

• The Corner Counter, Red Hook
• Red Hook Stationery Co., Red Hook
• Taste Budd’s, Red Hook
• Pause Dog Boutique, Rhinebeck
• Trixie’s List
• Story of Hudson
• Wylde, Hudson
• Little Rico Cafe, Hudson

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

What is it about water? The Hudson River is the central fixture of the Hudson Valley, so Mat honors it as the muse and focus of this episode. He shares a poem by William Cullen Bryant about the Hudson, “A Scene on the Banks of the Hudson” which will take you from the shores of Beacon to, well, who knows where you will go. Tune in and come visit.

Links highlighted:

• The Hudson River Maritime Museum
• Riverkeeper
• William Cullen Bryant via Academy of American Poets
• “A Scene on the Banks of the Hudson” (Poem)
• Friends of Clermont Historical Site
• The Effects of Water on Mental Well-Being (Espyr)
• Episode 50 - Hudson River Lighthouses

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

This episode, Mat talks to Freddy Pikovsky, co-founder of Barnfox. Barnfox is a co-working community across the Hudson Valley, with locations in Hudson, Kingston, Livingston Manor, and Poughkeepsie. Freddy shares how early experiences in the outdoors inspired him, moving from the city to the Hudson Valley, the original intent for Barnfox, and what it is today.

Don't miss this: Freddy also has a special offer for Cidiot® listeners — a free day pass at any Barnfox location to experience it yourself.

Visit: https://barnfox.com/cidiot-day-pass/ https://barnfox.com/cidiot-day-pass/

Other Links

• Barnfox: https://barnfox.com/
• Co. in Rhinebeck: https://www.coworkwith.co
• Freddy’s book Back to the Land on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/FARM-LANDS-Back-Land-Outdoor/dp/1452173338) or via Chronicle Books: (https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/farm-land-s-back-to-the-land)

Music credits:

• "Ebbs and Flows" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

• "Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Join Cidiot® for a conversation with Ryan Wexler, a local volunteer fire captain to hear about what it’s like to be a firefighter. Mat learns about ways to volunteer and support local fire departments, why you should buy a 911 sign for outside your home, why the best time to have an emergency is at night, where animals fall in the rescue cue, when “the tones” hit, and more.

Links mentioned:

• FASNY Museum of Firefighting - Hudson NY: https://fasnyfiremuseum.com/
• Greenport Fire Department: https://www.townofgreenport.com/fire-department.html
• Cidiot Episode 9: "Red All Over" https://www.cidiot.com/9-red-all-over/

Get a 911 Sign for your home:

• Next Generation Signs - Ghent, NY : https://www.nextgensignsinc.com/
• Matthew Signs - Stockport, NY: https://www.facebook.com/matthewsignsllc

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Cidiot’s last crossover event was Episode 77 with Brett Barry of Kaatscast: The Catskills Podcast. Well, I just discovered the new Valley Girls podcast, so synchronized to release at the same time, here I interview them about their show, and they interview me on their pod.

Jenny Leifer and Jennifer Santiago are hosts of the Valley Girls Podcast. We talk about why they started their show, telling the Hudson Valley story one character at a time. They give a bit of advice for cidiots, we play the hilarious Hudson Valley geography game, and we end with their go-to-spots, which include Mills Mansion and swimming holes. Good timing for that.

Links mentioned on this episode:

• Listen to the Valley Girls Podcast: valleygirlspodcast.com
• Follow them on Instagram: @ValleyGirlsPodNY
• Mat’s Rural & Country Podcast list on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/curated-lists/podcasts-for-rural-and-country-living
• Episode 77: The (Other) Best Regional Podcast: https://www.cidiot.com/77-the-other-best-regional-podcast/
• Vanderbilt National Historic Site (Hyde Park, NY): https://www.nps.gov/vama/index.htm

Cidiot® is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Please rate & review the show at Cidiot.com, join the mailing list, and get in touch about what you like—and what you’d like to hear about. And come visit.

Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved