The Gondolier
6/26/20261 hr 13 min
Back in 2017, reporters Kristen Clark and David Conrad came to us with a story that dug into the difficult and often dark places discrimination creates. We start in Venice, Italy, where they meet gondolier Alex Hai. On the winding canals in the hidden parts of Venice, we learn about the nearly 1000-year old tradition of the Venetian Gondolier, and how the global media created a 20-year battle between that tradition and a supposed feminist icon.
We circled back to Alex in 2026, to find out where the canal of life ended up leading after our initial reporting, and we’ve included some heartbreaking and heartwarming updates on Alex’s life at the end of this episode.
Special thanks to Alexis Ungerer, Summer, Alex Hai, Kevin Gotkin, Silvia Del Fabbro, Sandro Mariot, Aldo Rosso and Marta Vannucci, The Longest Shortest Time (Hillary Frank, Peter Clowney and Abigail Keel), Tim Howard, Nick Adams/GLAAD, Valentina Powers, Florence Ursino, Ann Marie Somma, Alex Overington, Jeremy Bloom and the people of Little Italy.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - David Conrad and Kristen Clark.
Produced by - Annie McEwen and Molly Webster.
with help from - Anisa Vietze
Fact-checking for the update by - Angely Mercado
OTHER COOL THINGS:
Books -
- The Gondolier, by Alex Hai
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSoren Wheeler· Host0:00
Radiolab is supported by USA for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. In Ukraine, Sudan, and around the world, war is tearing millions of families from their homes. Despite deep funding cuts, UNHCR continues to provide protection, shelter, and emergency relief to displaced families in more than 120 countries worldwide. For more information, visit unrefugees.org/radiolab.
Kristen Clark0:28
Radiolab is supported by Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort, offering destination-focused small ship experiences on all seven continents, with programs designed for cultural enrichment and a shore excursion included in every port. And every Viking voyage is all-inclusive, with no children and no casinos. More at viking.com.
Lulu Miller· Host0:51
[Instrumental music] Hey, friends, Lulu here. I have been working in public radio for over 20 years. I feel so lucky to get to do this job, and this is a moment unlike any other. Nearly a year ago, Congress eliminated our federal funding, and so many of you stepped up to support Radiolab at that time. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you. But the truth is, we just aren't out of the woods yet. There's no sign of federal funding coming back, and New York Public Radio, our home station, is currently facing an ongoing shortfall of nearly three million dollars. And so I'm coming to you to ask for support.