Little Local Conversations
Discover the people, places, stories, and ideas of Watertown, MA. Join Matt Hanna as he has conversations with various businesses owners, community leaders, creatives, and other interesting folks in Watertown to learn about what they do and get to know a bit about the people behind the work.
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The podcast is in partnership with the Watertown Business Coalition (find out more about them at https://watertownbusinesscoalition.com/).
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Episodes
32 episodes
Episode 31: Ernie Thebado (Watertown Director of Recreation)
Meet Ernie Thebado! He's the new Director of Recreation for the City of Watertown (though he's no stranger to rec in Watertown!). We chat about the people and moments that shaped him (as a kid and an adult) at Boys and Girls Clubs in Marlboroug...
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Episode 31
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32:59
Episode 30: Steve "Nookie" Postal (Revival Cafe + Kitchen)
Meet Nookie Postal! He's a chef and co-owner of the new Revival Cafe and Kitchen here in Watertown. We get into a conversation about his culinary journey:From growing up where a nice night of food was going out to a chain restaurant...
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Episode 30
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34:27
Episode 29: Ruth Rappaport (Musician)
Meet Ruth Rappaport! She's a musician living here in Watertown. Listen to hear about:Being a self-taught guitarist and growing up surrounded by the folk revival and cowboy musicHow running a coffeehouse and working at recor...
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Episode 29
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35:33
Episode 28: Erin Rathe (Watertown Senior Planner for Economic Development)
Meet Erin Rathe! She's the Senior Planner for Economic Development for the City of Watertown, a brand new position for the city. We talk about her journey transitioning from pursuing a PhD in English literature to owning a handcrafted gift shop...
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Episode 28
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38:01
Episode 27: Ryan Nicholson (Watertown Fire Chief)
Meet Ryan Nicholson! He's the Fire Chief at the Watertown Fire Department. We chat about his Watertown roots, then his journey from early experiences on ambulances all the way up to fire chief with stops as training officer, fire inspector, dep...
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Episode 27
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37:45
Episode 26: Peter Pyne (Olespaña)
Meet Peter Pyne! He's the executive chef and owner of Olespaña, a Spanish bar and restaurant here in Watertown. We talk about growing up as a farmer in northern Spain (but also studying economics), the cultural differences between the US and Sp...
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Episode 26
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35:18
A Quick Update From Matt
Hi there! This is just a short message saying that I'll be taking a short break from releasing new episodes, but I'll be back at it in a few weeks. Until then, take care!
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2:08
Episode 25: Sally Young (Artist-Activist / Edible Watertown)
Meet Sally Young! She's an artist and art activist here in Watertown and the mind behind Edible Watertown, an initiative of the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee. She's had a winding journey to get where she is now that includes being...
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Episode 25
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36:52
Episode 24: Joel Giacobozzi (Watertown High School & Middle School Principal)
Meet Joel Giacobozzi! He's the principal for the Watertown High School and (at least temporarily) for the Middle School as well. He has some surprising stories you might not expect for a principal such as stints living alone in the Yukon and st...
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Episode 24
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29:53
Episode 23: Tyler Cote (Watertown Community Engagement Specialist)
Meet Tyler Cote! He’s the Community Engagement Specialist for Watertown, a new role in the city. We get into a conversation about his days working in a nonprofit teaching kids about online safety and a particular day there that forever changed ...
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Episode 23
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37:30
Episode 22: Stephanie Venizelos (Watertown Community Wellness Program Manager)
Meet Stephanie Venizelos! She’s the Community Wellness Program Manager for the City of Watertown (which includes managing the farmers market!). We chat about her early years teaching health in schools and her transition into broader thinking ro...
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Episode 22
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30:23
Episode 21: Christian Dallas (Dallas Insurance Agency / Watertown Rotary Club)
Meet Christian Dallas! He's an insurance agent at Dallas Insurance Agency here in Watertown and is the president-elect of the Watertown Rotary Club. We chat about his experience working his way into the Watertown community and how the kindness ...
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Episode 21
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30:25
Episode 20: Gideon Schreiber (Watertown Director of Planning and Zoning)
Meet Gideon Schreiber! He's the Director of Planning and Zoning for the City of Watertown. We chat about his early experiences in the wilderness of Northern Idaho and the cold of Fairbanks, Alaska (where he once spent a month with temperatures ...
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Episode 20
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31:14
Episode 19: Steve Owens (Massachussets State Representative)
Meet Steve Owens! He's the State Representative for the 29th Middlesex District which includes most of Watertown and part of Cambridge. We chat about missing the boat on the Silicon Valley gold rush, his history in freight transportation manage...
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Episode 19
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29:13
Episode 18: Tia Tilson (Watertown Community Foundation)
Meet Tia Tilson! She's the Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation, a place-based philanthropic organization here in Watertown. We chat about her early grassroots organizing and fundraising experiences and the lessons learned, ...
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Episode 18
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28:14
Episode 17: Julie Fei-Fan Balzer (Painter/Printmaker/Collage Artist)
Meet Julie Fei-Fan Balzer! She's a painter, printmaker, and collage artist here in Watertown. We chat about her winding journey as a self-taught artist from her early rejections from scrapbooking magazines to snowballing hard work and luck into...
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Episode 17
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36:43
Episode 16: Darren Farrington (Mosesian Center for the Arts)
Meet Darren Farrington! He's the Executive Director at the Mosesian Center for the Arts here in Watertown. We talk about his roots in the arts including a stint as an entertainment lawyer and interning for Les Mis in New York to arts advocacy a...
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Episode 16
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26:32
Episode 15: Kristen Kenny (Artist / Arts Organizer)
Meet Kristen Kenny! She's an artist, arts organizer, and Chair of the Watertown Arts Market. We chat about how her wide-ranging artistic interests were a result of a childhood surrounded by musicians and artists, creating and running her own fa...
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Episode 15
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27:59
Episode 14: Ariel Nathanson (Finances for Feminists)
Meet Ariel Nathanson! She's the founder of Finances for Feminists, a financial coaching business here in Watertown. We chat about her early interest in money (including keeping spreadsheets of her Beanie Baby collection), the three lenses she v...
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Episode 14
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28:25
Episode 13: Amelia Young (Hatch Makerspace)
Meet Amelia Young! She's the Coordinator at Hatch Makerspace here in Watertown. We chat about her early discoveries with materials, her path being involved with various collaborative spaces over the years at MassArt, Harvard, a middle school li...
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Episode 13
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33:16
Episode 12: Liz Padula (Artemis Yoga)
Meet Liz Padula! She's the owner of Artemis Yoga here in Watertown. We chat about her childhood experiences with yoga and body awareness, her time in Silicon Valley (and how she left to seek something more impactful to people's day-to-day life)...
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Episode 12
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23:29
Episode 11: Andrea Santopietro (WCA-TV)
Meet Andrea Santopietro! She's the Executive Director at Watertown Cable Access Corporation (better known as WCA-TV). We chat about how she first got into film and into her current role, the variety of resources WCA-TV offers the community (inc...
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Episode 11
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25:04
Episode 10: Bob Airasian (Real Estate Broker / Watertown Business Coalition)
Meet Bob Airasian! He's a real estate broker, co-president of the Watertown Business Coalition, and is involved with many other things in Watertown. We talk about his biggest volunteer moments, how he carved his path through a couple career cha...
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Episode 10
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34:23
Episode 9: Archy LaSalle (Activist / Photographer)
Meet Archy LaSalle! He's the Vice Chair of the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee, a passionate activist, and working photographer. Archy has a lot of stories and we touch on some of them by chatting about his experiences in educationa...
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Episode 9
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36:06
Episode 8: Charlie Breitrose (Watertown News)
Meet Charlie Breitrose! He's the editor of Watertown News. We talk about how he runs his one person operation, how Watertown News gets more unique monthly visitors than the population of Watertown, and his own personal journey into journalism a...
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Episode 8
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22:02
