For the second consecutive year, a locally produced podcast and radio show is a finalist for a Signal Award in the Individual Episodes-Best Guest category and the Listener’s Choice award in that category.

"I Wish I Were a Prosciutto" is a podcast about Italian food and the stories and traditions behind the cuisine. It is co-hosted by Fairfield County residents Martin Blanco and Sandra Radosh, who invite their audience to “join us as we take a close look at a favorite dish or tradition, share memories closely tied to the Italian table, and discover places where these traditions continue.”

Many of the episodes revolve around Connecticut restaurants and purveyors of fine foods. Blanco called this year’s Signal Awards nomination “particularly relevant in the midst of Italian Heritage Month.”

Blanco, a former Newtown resident who still lives in the area, is also the show’s producer. Radosh lives in lower Fairfield County.

Last year, "I Wish I Were a Prosciutto" won a Bronze Signal Award for its interview with Lidia Bastianich.

“Podcasting has become more culturally influential than ever before,” said Jemma Rose Brown, general manager of the Signal Awards. “This year’s finalists are a true testament to the medium’s growth in both breadth and depth.”

Now in its fifth year, the Signal Awards saw submissions once again surge 30% for a second straight season, underscoring the continued and rapid momentum of the audio industry.

Winners of this year’s Listener’s Choice Awards will be announced on October 20. At that time, Signal Awards Judging Academy will also announce the winners of bronze, silver, and gold across each category.

All finalists are now competing for the Listener’s Choice Awards, which are voted on by podcast fans around the globe. Fans worldwide are invited to help crown winners in the Listener’s Choice Awards, which saw record participation in 2025, with more than 385,000 votes tallied. Voting is open through October 15 at vote.signalaward.com.

"I Wish I Were a Prosciutto" features a mix of family stories, conversations with food professionals and home cooks, historic explorations, and sampling of delicious food. Discussions are suffused with wit and intelligence, while evoking the spirit of the traditional Italian American Sunday dinner.

The podcast streams on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, and other major platforms. It also broadcasts on select Sundays each month on WGCH 1490 AM, “the voice of Fairfield and Westchester counties,” at 4 pm.

Producer and co-host Blanco remarked, “This podcast emerged from my desire to preserve family recipes, traditions, and stories in an entertaining way. I also hoped to learn about the culinary traditions from other Italian American families as well, with the aim of weaving an auditory quilt of an extraordinary culture for anyone to enjoy.”

Co-host Radosh also mentioned, “once again, we are honored and excited to be a finalist for another Signal Award, especially in the company of such accomplished people.”

Blanco is a third-generation Italian American with roots in the famous Arthur Avenue/Belmont neighborhood in the Bronx. A stay-at-home parent for two decades, he remains a skilled home cook.

Blanco worked in professional theater for 40 years in various capacities including stage director, arts administrator, actor, dramaturge, teacher, and writer. He was an on air personality for WMNR radio, a classical music station in Monroe, and currently reports on cultural issues for WPKN in Bridgeport and WGCH in Greenwich.

He has taught theater at SUNY Albany and American University, and high school English at The Academy of Our Lady of Mercy at Lauralton Hall. Blanco co-created and continues to co-produce The Flagpole Radio Café variety show in Newtown and was a co-producer for the 2023 off-Broadway hit Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground.

He is a graduate of David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.

Radosh enjoyed distinguished careers with American Airlines, Richard Foster Associates/Architects, and commercial office interior sales before venturing into the world of podcasting. Her life experience has immersed her in the traditions of Italian American culture. She brings her excellent cooking skills, highly cultivated palate, keen sense of humor, and abiding joy to podcasting.

She is a graduate of Chicago School of Art and Design and College of New Rochelle.

"I Wish I Were a Prosciutto" is produced by Scopa Communications, Beacon Podcasting, and Park City Productions.