

Cidiot
Mat Zucker
Learning to live and love life in the Hudson Valley. Hosted by Mat Zucker. Have you fantasized about living in the country? Curious what the transition is like? Or are you a local and want to see a different side of the folks who've invaded your land? The award-winning podcast Cidiot® has been featured in The Albany Times-Union, Chronogram, Country Living, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Poughkeepsie Journal, NBC's Today.com, and more. For updates visit cidiot.com and follow @cidiot.hv on Instagram and @cidiot_hv on X. Email: goats@cidiot.com
© Mat Zucker 2018-2024. Cidiot is a ® trademark.
© Mat Zucker 2018-2024. Cidiot is a ® trademark.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 6, 2024 • 26min
102. Valley Girls
The Valley Girls Podcast hosts, Jenny Leifer and Jennifer Santiago, share the Hudson Valley story one character at a time. They discuss why they started the show, offer advice for cidiots, play a hilarious geography game, and reveal their go-to spots like Mills Mansion and swimming holes.

May 16, 2024 • 40min
101. Herd It Here
You know I love chickens, but my biggest curiosity is with cows. So was very excited to talk to Kyle and Amanda from Gulden Farm. Kyle and Amanda grew up in the area and join us for a special episode about farming. We talk about Kyle’s journey to Montana and back, the story of Gulden Farm, what it means to farm sustainably, my cidiot questions about cows, and even about that great logo I love.
Plus, to tempt you to try their amazing grass-fed meats and products, they’re offering Cidiot listeners a 10% discount now through July 31, 2024 at their store. Just use CIDIOT2024 at checkout (Certain limitations may apply.)
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.
Photos provided by Kyle & Amanda.
©2024 Cidiot® is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.

Apr 26, 2024 • 32min
99. Ulster Eateries Unfiltered
Cidiot®'s back! Jason Bover, photographer, foodie and founder of Ulster Eateries Unfiltered, joins to kick off Season 7.
He shares with Mat his relationship to the Hudson Valley, growing up in the food and bev business and local ingredients. We talk about the Ulster Eateries Unfiltered Facebook group as well as the gatherings and its VIP discount card supporting local restaurants, not to mention his appearance on "Kitchen Nightmares" and meeting Gordon Ramsey. Jason also just started his own coffee brand, Tiny Dog Coffee, bagged and packaged here in Saugerties.
Join Ulster Eateries Unfiltered for free on Facebook. Get the VIP Foodies Card for discounts to more than 70 businesses and support local. Buy online at Ulster Eateries Unfiltered website: ($20) or available in person for $15 at:
Kingston Candy Bar (Uptown Kingston)
Twin Ravens Coffee Company (Ellenville)
Village Pizza (New Paltz)
Some of Jason’s picks:
Urban Fork, Kingston
Mexico Lindo, Kingston
El Mercadito, Kingston
Salt and Fire, Kingston
Kingston Standard, Kingston
Dallas Hot Wieners
Half Moon Rondout Cafe
Supernatural, Hudson
Moto, Hudson
Lagousta’s Lucious, New Paltz
More Jason Bover links:
Wedding photography: Above Weddings
Tiny Dog Coffee
As featured in HudsonValleyOne: Follow the Foodies
Kitchen Nightmares Ep 6 - Gordon Ramsey special guest "Love Bites"
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival - 9/28—9/29/24
Cidiot is the award-winning podcast about the Hudson Valley. Host and executive producer Mat Zucker and editor Isaac Rostan.
2024 Cidiot® is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.

Apr 25, 2024 • 18min
100. Here's to 100
90% of podcasts don’t publish more than three episodes. And of the 200,000 shows that do go beyond three, 90% will quit after 20 episodes. So hitting 100 episodes like Cidiot® does this month is a rare bird. Or, well, maybe a rare goat.
For Episode 100 and this milestone in regional podcasting history, Mat brings back some favorite moments and favorite voices to punctuate the journey from city to country. 🐓🐐🐔
Thank you to everyone who’s listened so far, and been a part of the show to date. This includes Kallie at Sawkill Farm, Kate Steward at Shion Studio, Dairo Chamorro of the Empire Regulars, Allison Chawla at Radio Free Rhinecliff, and my brother-in-law’s brother-in-law Irwin Levy at Our Hamptons podcast.
Cidiot is the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Thank you so much editor Isaac Rostan for your artful blending and music again this episode. This very special episode was recorded in my hometown in the Hudson Valley and in my original hometown of Springfield, NJ. We’re all from somewhere. Come visit.
Visit Cidiot.com for links to listen and more information.
Music: "Ebbs and Flows" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.
Cidiot® 2024. All Rights Reserved

Dec 21, 2023 • 12min
98. Cidiot Unwrapped (Season 6 Finale)
It's holiday time and this episode is coming to you live from Hudson Winter Walk and a live performance.
Mat closes out this amazing season of Cidiot® by sharing what he got from Spotify Unwrapped about the show as well as his own lessons and moments of which he’s proud. So lucky to have you all season. Episode 100 is coming up so be sure to send in ideas or a voicemail message wishing the show something good!
Links:
Episodes for Season 6 on Cidiot.com
Cidiot Bookstore on Bookshop dot org
Join ConnectHV (free)
The Brothers That Just Do Gutters
Dutchess Tourism
Co. coworking on Instagram
Thank you for listening to Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about learning to live and love life in the Hudson Valley.
Visit Cidiot.com for more information, itineraries on the blog and to join the free Cidiot newsletter. Follow Cidiot on Instagram at Cidiot.hv.
Copyright 2023. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.

Nov 16, 2023 • 26min
97. Getting Fit in the HV
“Pick one exercise in every plane of motion” — Jakob Roze
Jakob is this episode’s special guest. Originally from the Catskills, schooled in Saratoga, started a business in New York, and now back upstate, we talk about moving his work here, the relationships between newcomers and locals, and play a round of the Cidiot geography game. And with winter coming on, in part three, Jakob also gives me a recommended plan, there’s mention of bone mineral density, I clarify I am not 80 but I think I have to buy some weights for winter.
Links for this episode:
RozeFit Coaching: https://rozefit.com/
How to Stay Motivated to Workout During the Winter (RozeFit blog)
Wildflower Farms, Gardiner, NY
Sam’s Point at Minnewaska State Preserve, Cragsmore, NY
Book: The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter (available via Cidiot bookstore)
Thank you for listening to Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about learning to live and love life in the Hudson Valley.
Visit Cidiot.com for more information, itineraries on the blog and to join the free Cidiot newsletter. Follow Cidiot on Instagram at Cidiot.hv.
Copyright 2023. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.

Oct 26, 2023 • 32min
96. Aging in the HV
Where should we grow old? Is the Hudson Valley a good place for aging? More and more people think so. And when you find your place, how should we plan for it? How can we stay in our home? How can we get around? What kind of resources are available?
Choosing to move from the city to upstate and now past 50, yeah, Cidiot® wants to know all this and more.
So Mat talks to Brian Jones of the Dutchess County Office for the Aging who debunks myths about the department (no, they don’t just send people to retirement homes) and shares info about the great resources and programs that offices like ours in Dutchess County offers. Brian has tips for successful aging and how to "stay on the upside of dirt." It’s really fun conversation, plus Brian has an awesome voice - no wonder he’ll soon be an announcer for local college sports teams.
Dutchess Office for the Aging (dutchessny.gov/aging)
Tel: 845-486-2555
Links of things mentioned in the episodes:
Go Go Grandparents
Meals on Wheels
Help at Home
Rhinebeck at Home (aging in place group)
Silver Sneakers
Falls Prevention Checklist
County Calendar
Pickleball Courts (Quiet Cove)
Overmountain Conservation Area
Friendship Centers in Dutchess County
Sunwise Aging Services & Care Management
Thank you for listening to Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about learning to live and love life in the Hudson Valley.
Visit Cidiot.com for more information, itineraries on the blog and to join the free Cidiot newsletter. Follow Cidiot on Instagram at Cidiot.hv.
Copyright 2023. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.

Oct 21, 2023 • 11min
95. Bleats from Sheep & Wool
In a special spontaneous episode, Cidiot takes you live to the New York Sheep & Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds (October 21-22, 2023). Mat has no idea what he's looking at but luckily Rachel Zive and her partner Sam Barnett are there to guide us all through the fabric and the animals. We learn so much including advice for beginners, celebrity knitwear designers, and terms from the fiber folk community.
Links mentioned in the episode:
New York State Sheep & Wool Festival
Andrea Mowry
Andrew Mowry on YouTube
Tessellated Vest pattern on Ravelry
Bleu Belle Bijoux
Copyright 2023. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.

Oct 5, 2023 • 22min
94. Creative in the HV
What makes the Hudson Valley special for creative people? This episode, Cidiot talks to Jordan Koschei about building ConnectHV, a creative “network of networks” for creative people in the Hudson Valley and Jordan’s idea of “digital terroir.” It’s about having a sense of place even for a digital network. And just as we’re building on the soil of Hudson Valley’s past, maybe the future will build on this. I think it’s the most thoughtful conversation about living in the Hudson Valley I’ve had in a long time. Tune in.
And if you’re a creative in the Hudson valley — designer, podcaster, coder, food & bev, business, anything — Jordan has a very broad definition of creative “If you’re not actively destroying thing, you’re a creative” — be sure to go to ConnectHV.com and sign up for free.
Plus we hear his favorite two places — natural and human — places in the Hudson Valley.
Links to what's mentioned in the episode:
Connect HV
Hudsy
Hudson Community Incubator
River Valley Guild
The Cabincast Podcast
Lake Minnewaska State Park

Sep 21, 2023 • 10min
93. The Reluctant Gardener - Part 2
Mat gives an update on the gardening project, including flowers vs. vegetables competition. Though his voice notes, you probably get too close to the amateur he is and the struggles he faces — not to mention the neglect he embodies.
Links to what’s mentioned in the episode:
Sam’s video on how to properly weed (YouTube)
Stark Blooms (Instagram)
Photos of before and after weeding (Instagram)
Thank you for listening to Cidiot, the award-winning podcast about learning to live and love life in the Hudson Valley. Visit Cidiot.com for more information, itineraries on the blog and to join the free Cidiot newsletter. Follow Cidiot on Instagram at Cidiot.hv.
Copyright 2023. Cidiot® is a registered trademark.