Electronic cigarettes have saturated the market in the last few years.  These alternatives to traditional cigarettes are so popular that shops dedicated to selling the devices and the flavored liquids used to smoke them are popping up all over New York City.  There’s only one problem.  The health effects of e-cigarettes are unknown.  

On April 24th, the Federal Drug Administration proposed rules to extend its authority to new types of tobacco products – including electronic cigarettes.  If the rules are adopted, they would include companies having to submit product and ingredient listings; end all new tobacco product marketing; prevent any misleading health claims without prior scientific review by the FDA; and free samples would be a thing of the past. 

E-Cigarettes: Science vs. Culture

It's season 2 of The Natini Hour and we have a new segment - Sunny Side Up with Uncle Tally. Every week Natalie's uncle brings us the haps on Sundays in Florida. In this episode, as Uncle Tally is on his way to brunch, he shares the delights of marriage and life in retirement. There's sun, New York nostalgia, chicks and peeps, and Key puts in a request for a shipment of Key limes.

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This week, Sunny Side Up with Uncle Tally takes us on a journey - from a brunch boat ride to a fishing trip with his daughter, off to the Vatican and then on to Hollywood. Uncle Tally shares some words of wisdom and reminisces about a time when ARGO was half a sentence back in his Brooklyn days.

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Another Sunny Side Up with Uncle Tally takes us to Florida, where the unusually chilly weather forces Uncle Tally to turn on the heat and wear PJs - so much for his "tough guy" image. And Key is reassured that the Key Limes are on their way...and they're packed with a little something extra...

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The weather's great, wish you were here...On this installment of Sunny Side Up with Uncle Tally, Natalie and here uncle compare the weather down south by way of Atlanta, GA and Tampa, FL. And after a night of Rusty Nails and [comedy] clubbing, Uncle Tally gives a review of the comedians, re-telling some of his favorite jokes of the night...Watch out Louis CK. He also tries to explain who Andre Rieu is...Who? Rieu.

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It's Sunny Side Up with Uncle Tally and on this Palm Sunday edition The Natini Hour gets schooled on religion...Also, retirement bodes well for the Abruzzo's as Mr. Congeniality (Uncle Tally) has got the "juice" for going to the front of the b'fast line and he's not afraid to throw that around...although, he is missing NYC and ready to return. But where are the Key Limes? Apparently, they're taking an alternate travel route...

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In Season 3, The Natini Hour sat down with comedian, writer, author, activist, Lizz Winstead.  As co-creator and former head writer of The Daily Show and co-founder of Air America Radio, Winstead has brought her political wit to the masses and changed the way we get our news. 

We talked about Winstead's journey from comedian to activist for women's reproductive rights and how staying true to oneself is the key to success.  Join the conversation! 



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In the season opener, The Natini Hour sits down with the writer, director and cast of the play, Dinner with the Boys.  The play is written by and also stars, Dan Lauria of TV’s The Wonder Years and Sullivan & Son, as well as Broadway’s Lombardi and the hit musical A Christmas Story. This dark comedy is about a couple of old-time wise guys who just want to have a good Italian meal, a few laughs, and to tie-up loose ends before dessert...You may think that this play is another mobster farce – and it is – but there is something different about this tale – something beyond the murder and the mayhem.  Join the conversation! 



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Halloween ramps-up all things paranormal, but for ghost hunters, investigators, and para-psychologists, the after life is more than a once-a-year gimmick. Delving into the world of the paranormal is a life calling leading to discovery, and leaving open the possibility that our spirit lives forever.

Gary Galka, an inventor and engineer, has made a career out of building and selling test-measurement tools for the cable, medical and textile industries. But when his eldest daughter, Melissa, died as a result of a car crash in 2004, he turned his scientific skill-set into a paranormal business.

Galka and his family began to receive what they call, “after death communications,” from Melissa. Sometimes in the form of the sent of her perfume or the feeling of a kiss to the forehead or an embrace. These events were comforting and helped them begin to heal. So, he created a series of paranormal investigator tools, for the professional and amateur ghost hunter because he, “wanted to provide a means to an end for other people so that they too could maybe share in some of the experience that I had indirectly through the use of a physical device.”

The Mel Meter, named after his daughter, Melissa, was the first device introduced to the market in 2008. Since then, he has seen a real connection between the ghost gadgets and coping with loss.

Galka’s company donates part of the profits from the sale of the paranormal devices to grieving support groups, such as The Cove Center for Grieving Children and Mary’s Place A Center for Grieving Children in Connecticut.

AudioFiles E03: Horror - The Mel Meter Paranormal Paradox

The waterway traditionally seen as the entry to New York City is the Narrows, a tidal strait between the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The Narrows and the surrounding military forts have been protecting New York Harbor for centuries. In 1964, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge – connecting the two boroughs – became the newest guardian of the Harbor. As the bridge celebrates its 50th anniversary, Natalie Abruzzo looks at the structure’s controversial beginnings…and the tensions it represents for New York’s so-called “forgotten borough.”

Staten Island was once comprised of farmlands and beach fronts. Prior to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the 69th Street Ferry from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn used to bring passengers between the two boroughs as many people who lived in other parts of New York City visited Staten Island as a weekend and summer getaway spot. There were resorts up and down the east shore of the Island – from Tottenville to South Beach. Midland Beach and South Beach were filled with bungalows, resorts and hotels. There was even a passenger train that went from St. George to South Beach regularly, because of the large amount of visitors.

Previously accessible only by boat, the city’s fifth borough was now connected to the rest of the city by road. Services for the 69th Street Ferry ended once the bridge was completed.

The bridge also brought a real estate and business boom to the sleepy beach resort island. However, between the rise in traffic and the demise in neighborhoods, such as Arrochar, not all Staten Islanders would see the building of the Verrazano as an unmitigated good.

At the time of this reporting, a toll hike has been proposed for the bridge. It will be the fourth one in the past 7 years. Many of the boroughs’ elected officials chose not to support the Verrazano’s 50th Anniversary ceremony as a silent protest to the MTA’s proposal.

There are a few photos of Staten Island prior to and during the building of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at AudioFilesPodcast dot com. They are from the Collection of the Staten Island Museum.