Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia<\/em><\/a>. While there’s been plenty written on the mafia, Ferrante, who was incarcerated for being a mobster himself, offers the first insider’s history of this crime organization. Today on the show, he shares the surprising influences on the formation of the mafia in Sicily, why Louisiana and not New York was actually the mob’s American Plymouth Rock, the unexpected collaboration between the government and the mafia during WWII, the real reason J. Edgar Hoover didn’t go after the mob, why that hands-off approach changed, and much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You’re probably familiar with the American mafia, at least through its portrayal in popular culture. But how did this infamous secret society come to be? Louis Ferrante traces its origins in the first volume of his slated trilogy on the subject, entitled Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia. While there’s been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42376,42385,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-history","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\n
Podcast #958: An Insider's Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia | The Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Podcast #958: An Insider's Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You’re probably familiar with the American mafia, at least through its portrayal in popular culture. But how did this infamous secret society come to be? Louis Ferrante traces its origins in the first volume of his slated trilogy on the subject, entitled Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia. While there’s been […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-15T14:12:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T16:18:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brett & Kate McKay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"headline\":\"Podcast #958: An Insider’s Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-15T14:12:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T16:18:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":155,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/958.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"History\",\"Podcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2024\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/\",\"name\":\"Podcast #958: An Insider's Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia | The Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/958.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-15T14:12:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T16:18:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/958.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/958.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/culture\\\/history\\\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcast #958: An Insider’s Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Manliness\",\"description\":\"Men's Interest and Lifestyle\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3\",\"name\":\"Brett & Kate McKay\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Podcast #958: An Insider's Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia | The Art of Manliness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Podcast #958: An Insider's Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia | The Art of Manliness","og_description":"You’re probably familiar with the American mafia, at least through its portrayal in popular culture. But how did this infamous secret society come to be? Louis Ferrante traces its origins in the first volume of his slated trilogy on the subject, entitled Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia. While there’s been […]","og_url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/","og_site_name":"The Art of Manliness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness","article_published_time":"2024-01-15T14:12:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-07T16:18:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Brett & Kate McKay","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@artofmanliness","twitter_site":"@artofmanliness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brett & Kate McKay","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/"},"author":{"name":"Brett & Kate McKay","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"headline":"Podcast #958: An Insider’s Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia","datePublished":"2024-01-15T14:12:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T16:18:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/"},"wordCount":155,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958.png","articleSection":["Culture","History","Podcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2024","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/","name":"Podcast #958: An Insider's Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia | The Art of Manliness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958.png","datePublished":"2024-01-15T14:12:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T16:18:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/958.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/culture\/history\/podcast-958-an-insiders-guide-to-the-rise-of-the-american-mafia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcast #958: An Insider’s Guide to the Rise of the American Mafia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/","name":"The Art of Manliness","description":"Men's Interest and Lifestyle","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4ed6cc1b40b6de48739267a953ef2b3","name":"Brett & Kate McKay","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}