The Negroni Episode | Calm Conversations to Quiet Your Mind

Looking for a sleep podcast to fall asleep fast, reduce anxiety, and quiet an overactive mind? This special 50th episode of The Insomnia Project is designed for insomnia relief, stress reduction, and gentle nighttime unwinding through slow, soothing conversation.
Marco Timpano and Nidhi Khanna celebrate with a relaxed discussion over a classic Negroni, reflecting on the journey of the podcast and revisiting favourite moments from the first 50 episodes. This low-stimulation, easygoing conversation creates a cozy and familiar atmosphere perfect for bedtime listening.
The episode also drifts into the calming beauty of fountains and the soothing sound of flowing water, enhancing the tranquil tone. With soft-spoken storytelling, gentle nostalgia, and unhurried pacing, this meandering podcast episode helps ease racing thoughts, reduce anxiety, and promote restful sleep.
Whether you’re searching for a sleep podcast for insomnia, calming background noise while you work, or a peaceful way to unwind at the end of the day, The Insomnia Project offers a comforting, reliable escape.

​The Negroni Episode
Original airdate: July 31, 2016)


Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Thank you for joining us on this episode

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax, grab a drink, and listen as we have a conversation about the mundane. One thing that we will Promise is that our conversation will be relaxing so that you can just drift off. Thank you for joining us on this episode. We hope you will listen and sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Ndihi:  And I'm your co host, Nidhi Khanna.

Marco: And this sound you're about to hear is Nidhi and I clinging our glasses.

Ndihi:  Oh, that was nice.

Marco: Because this is episode 50.

Ndihi:  It is episode 50. Wow.

Marco: Marco, of the Insomnia Project.

Ndihi:  And we are sipping on, uh, some wonderfully made Negronis.

Marco: I turned to Niddy and I said, we should have something special. And I turned and I said, do you like Campari? And she said, I haven't had it in a while. And I said, perfect. So I mixed us up some Negronis. And if you're not familiar. And how is your Negroni, by the way?

Ndihi:  My Negroni is wonderful.

Marco: So a Negroni is a classic aperitif cocktail. It consists of equal parts gin, Campari and vermouth. Sweet vermouth. So you want to do 1 oz, 1 oz and 1 oz. So it's an easy drink to make, but it's also an easy drink. It is also an easy drink to make.

Ndihi:  Horrible.

Marco: If you've ever had a bad Negroni, something's gone wrong. And then there's a slice of orange. You put the orange in the glass and just swirl it. Don't shake a Negroni. I don't know. I don't know why people would do that. But it's wrong, Nikki, is all I can tell you.

Ndihi:  Well, clearly m. You know what you're talking about when it comes to Negronis, because this one is just fabulous. And, um, Marco, instead of orange, you put a little bit of grapefruit.

Marco: Well, I didn't have an orange, so I had to improvise as well. Your Negroni, I used rose gin, which is wonderful.

Ndihi:  If you've ever, um, if any of our listeners have ever tried rose gin, they'll know what I'm talking about. But if you like sort of rose scented, um, liquors or anything like that, or even rose scented, anything.

Marco: Rose water.

Ndihi:  Rose water. You'll enjoy rose hip gin.

Marco: And I'm afraid it's because I didn't have enough gin, so I had to use the rose, uh, gin on yours. But I know because I had tasted Negroni with the rose gin before and I enjoyed it. So I know you would, because I know you're a big fan of the rose. I will say this. Do you know the history of this particular drink?

Ndihi:  No. Please do tell.


The Negroni comes from Florence and was invented in 19

Marco: So since it's episode 50. We are partaking in some libations here. The Negroni comes from Florence and was invented in 19. Or I shouldn't say invented, was made. First made. First enjoyed in 1919 at the Cafe Cassoni. Now, there's a lot of sort of. With m. And we're recording this episode outside. So if you hear the odd sort of playing above us or, you know, birds chirping, you'll know that we're recording this episode as we drink the Negroni outside. Now, with all Italian tales, you got to take everything with a sort, uh, of grain of salt, because there's sure so many different versions. Now, a lot of people believe the Negroni was invented or made for the count of Negroni. Uh, and then other research I've done suggests that it was made in 1919 at, ah, Cafe Cassone when someone asked to have their Americano, which is another cocktail strengthened. So as opposed to using soda water, to use gin. And hence the Negroni was invented. Now, one interesting quote I have about the Negroni is from a very famous actor. Do you care to guess who is

Ndihi:  this someone, uh, like a recent, uh, actor?

Marco: No, no, it's a. He's a director and actor and of quite a bit of note.

Ndihi:  Oh, okay. Um, Italian?

Marco: Nope. American, I believe. British, but American.

Ndihi:  British. American. And, uh, someone who is quite active in, like, the 70s, 80s.

Marco: No, no. Yeah, I would say the. From the late 40s to the 70s.

Ndihi:  Yeah, late 40s to the 70s. Okay.

Marco: I'm gonna just say it because otherwise we're gonna take forever. It's Orson Welles.

Ndihi:  Ah.

Marco: Uh, so he is quoted as saying, the bitters are excellent for your liver and the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.

Ndihi:  It's all about balance, Marco. At the end of the day, I

Marco: feel like you and I balance each other. Other on this particular podcast.

Ndihi:  Cheers to that.

Marco: And it's episode 50. So we're happy to have you listening to this podcast. And if you would like to write a review to let us know what you think of our episodes up until now, please do so on itunes. We certainly appreciate that. And, uh, it helps with the podcast.

Ndihi:  It really does.


Nidhi: I feel like every episode has something that I enjoy

Speaking of 50 episodes.

Marco: Yes.

Ndihi:  I think it's only natural that we, uh, talk about our favorite episodes. Do you have a favorite, um, thus far that you gravitate towards for whatever reason?

Marco: You know, Nidhi, I have favorite M moments because I feel like every episode has something that I really, um, enjoy.

Ndihi:  Yep.

Marco: And of course, we've talked about the, um, Nuit Blanche.

Ndihi:  Yes.

Marco: Exhibition. We've done So I won't talk about that. But there was a particular episode where I was talking to my wife Amanda about tumbleweeds.

Ndihi:  Yes.

Marco: And I said at one point, which we had to cut out of the episode because we started to burst into laughter. I'm like. Because she had seen tumbleweeds in Wyoming or somewhere. And I'm like. I was like. And I said this in all sincerity. I go, were you riding in a stagecoach when you saw the tumbleweeds? And we. She looked at me and we both burst into laughter because what an absurd thing. But it just sort of came m to mind as I was asking about tumbleweeds.

Ndihi:  So, Marco, interestingly enough, I believe that that is an episode from, uh, before this was even the Insomnia Project.

Marco: There you go.

Ndihi:  I think this was like one of those early, early episodes that we never aired or that we aired under a different, um, premise or as part of Nuit Blanche, I can't remember. But I think we should dig up that audio.

Marco: I don't know if I even have it. I'll have to look for it.

Ndihi:  We'll have to look for it. Because you're right. That was a wonderful moment for me. I agree with you. So every episode sort of has its own flavor and, um, feeling. It's, ah, been quite a journey to also listen to some of the older episodes, like our first few ones, uh, versus the ones that we have now. Um, because there's been a lot of, um, you know, guests on board. We ourselves, I think, have really gotten into like a cool group with each episode. My favorite episode is the one where we were talking about Sage Wellness. I think it's the same episode where we were talking about nebulizers. But, um, you gave me a bunch of different products to try from there. Um, I remember there was like a peppermint oil or something.

Marco: Peppermint Halo is the, is the. Is the name of the.

Ndihi:  That's it. And I know it's really good for, um, injuries and headaches. And I think I was either having a headache that day, so I put it on. But I was putting it on a little bit too much.

Marco: Yeah. Cuz a little goes a long way. It's a little roll on, right?

Ndihi:  Yes, that's it.

Marco: And so I gave it to you and I was like, you know, just use it. And you just went to town. I guess you were sore, you had a headache, you got backache.

Ndihi:  Oh, that's it. My back. That's right. Um, but it was really interesting because after that episode we got quite a Bit of feedback, uh, I think over email about people wanting to know more about Sage Wellness.

Marco: And I had a friend who listened to the episode and she said to me the next day she went to Sage and bought a nebulizer for her office.

Ndihi:  Oh, great.

Marco: She said it's made the world of difference, uh, in her mood and in her productivity. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but she says she just feels better knowing that, um, she's got, I think she uses something called Joy or something when she's working and she really enjoys it.

Ndihi:  And I've seen like a lot of the Sage Wellness, uh, like, I think they're expanding or something because now I'm noticing them everywhere. Right.

Marco: So of course it's one of those things, you know, once someone mentions it, you see it everywhere.

Ndihi:  Yeah, it's true. And you know, I think other than Sage Wellness, like just having, uh, all the different guests that we've been so lucky to have, um, you know, having Amanda on especially, especially has been a wonderful experience.

Marco: I tend to mention her every episode. Having, um, Nug on was, Was a lot of fun for us because Nug actually gave us. He does a podcast called the Illusionoid and he gave us a bunch of tips on when recording some technical stuff that has really helped us out.

Ndihi:  And, and most recently the Nintendo episode was really popular. So I think it's just been, uh, a great, great experience so far. So here's to another 50 episodes and more.


Nidhi: We talk about tea and coffee a lot on ListSleep

Marco: Now, Nidhi, do you remember what we talked about on our first episode?

Ndihi:  I have a feeling. Okay, so I could be wrong, but I'm sure there was tea involved. Really?

Marco: We talk about tea and coffee a lot. I think it's because both you and I, A, drink a lot of tea and coffee, and B, we'll have it as we're getting the episode ready or getting ready to record. You and I will have a tea today. We're having a Negroni, but we'll have a tea.

Ndihi:  It's a natural topic, I think. Also, um, it's been great to talk about the different, uh, towns and cities, uh, and places that our listeners are from. Whether it's Bury the uk, right? Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, uh, Ann Arbor, uh, and it's great to see also, uh, that people are still listening from those places as well.

Marco: Well, one of the great things about SoundCloud is we can see where we have listeners and all of a sudden we'll turn to each other and we're like, we have a lot of listeners in Kitchener and in Red Deer. And so what we do is when we notice that we have new listeners or many listeners from various places, we'll do some research on those places because it's nice to know where we have listeners, and it's also nice to know about the places where people are listening from. And we enjoy that. So as a result, we will highlight those cities. But if you have your town or city that you want us to mention, send us a tweet @listSleep and we'll definitely mention it and talk about it.


We need to revisit our quest to get the official cookie of Toronto

Ndihi:  Um, another really great moment for me, Marco. Well, two really great moments, I think, early on in some of our earlier episodes. Um, and Marco, I'm just gonna move that away from the calendar.

Marco: So I just threw some calendar, ah, near a candle that I have lit. 2M.

Ndihi:  Great moments. One was the mayor of Red Deer tweeting us.

Marco: Yes.

Ndihi:  Um, and the official cookie. Our quest to get the official cookie of Toronto. Um, uh, named or inaugurated. Um, I think we need to revisit that whole official cookie now that we're 50 episodes in.

Marco: Yeah, we left it with a city person, with the city of Toronto, assistant to the mayor, and she never got back to us.

Ndihi:  I know. So we need to get. Follow up with her again.

Marco: I'm gonna, I'm gonna call her out on that. So, you know, we need. We need you to answer our emails and our tweets and we'll, uh, tweet the mayor with regards to this episode and we'll get something started. Because I believe Toronto, besides having the Insomnia project as its home base, we also need a cookie.

Ndihi:  We do, we do. And, uh, we had some really good recipes. If I, uh, I shook the table. You did shake the table. These Negronis are really getting to us on this episode. It's the Negroni episode, everyone. Um, but those are sort of a collection of my favorite moments. And I don't know, like, maybe, maybe we need to do a roadshow to some of these places that we have been discussing. You know, I really think we need to go to Ann Arbor. Perhaps there's an opportunity to go to Topeka. Uh, sure. And record from there. We also did one on, um, Utah.

Marco: If that's right.

Ndihi:  If I'm not mistaken.

Marco: Salt Lake City.

Ndihi:  Salt Lake City, exactly.

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Every good piazza has beautiful fountains, right

Now, Nidhi, one thing that I love that we haven't talked about yet, and as I'm drinking this Negroni just comes to mind. Fountains.

Ndihi:  Okay.

Marco: Because I. I picture myself in a piazza in Italy drinking a Negroni. And every good piazza has beautiful fountains. So for me, for example, uh, Piazza Navona in Rome has these two beautiful fountains that I love to admire and sit and drink near.

Ndihi:  So, question?

Marco: Sure.

Ndihi:  Trevi Fountain.

Marco: Yes.

Ndihi:  What are your thoughts on it?

Marco: So it's funny because Amanda and I went to Rome last year, I believe it was last year. And I said, well, I love seeing the Trevi Fountain at night. So we were tired. We had just sort of driven into Rome and we were hungry and I Said, but we've got to go see it at night. So I. I dragged Amanda around Rome, and I am like, it's around here. You can actually hear the water before you see the fountain itself. And I couldn't hear the water. And I'm like, I know it's around here. And we turn the corner and it's completely closed down. Scaffolding everywhere. They were repairing or cleaning it or whatnot, but you. You could barely see it. You had to look at photos of it. Yeah. So that was the last time that I saw it, which I didn't really see it. And I was. I dragged Amanda round Rome to find it. And it's not an easy fountain to find, actually.

Ndihi:  Isn't it close to the Parthenon? Am I not? Maybe I'm mistaken.

Marco: No, I wouldn't say it's close to it. Maybe it is, but I never approach it from there, so.

Ndihi:  Right. I found, uh, Rome. Like, uh. It was really interesting because I walked kind of like. I mean, you can start at, um. Oh, I forgot the name of the piazza, but. And then you just keep walking. You pass the Spanish Steps. You just keep going all the way to the old Forum and back.

Marco: Right.

Ndihi:  It's, uh, it's. It's really cool to walk Rome. And I think being in a city like Toronto, you forget that these older cities are actually. Actually quite walkable and smaller than you think they are.

Marco: Right.

Ndihi:  Um, so I think Paris is like that as well.

Marco: Ah, yeah.

Ndihi:  Like, it's very easy to walk one end of Paris to the other.

Marco: And there's something about the ground. The grand fountains of Europe.

Ndihi:  Yes.

Marco: That I love. And one time when I was in Rome, my thing was I had seen all the sort of typical touristy sites, but my objective was to go to as many fountains as I could, take photos with them.

Ndihi:  Oh, cool.

Marco: I have, like, uh, in some photo book, I have like, 25 or 30 different photos of me next to fountains in Rome, which is kind of neat.

Ndihi:  Now, it's interesting because, Marco, you know that, um, as part of my day job, I work for a, uh. Um. An outdoor public square.

Marco: That's right. A piazza, if you will.

Ndihi:  A piazza, really? Um, in that, uh. Close to Toronto.

Marco: Right.

Ndihi:  In Mississauga. And there's a fountain there.

Marco: Amazing. Does the fountain have a name?

Ndihi:  Uh, no, it's just the fountain.

Marco: Fair enough.

Ndihi:  That's part of this public square. Um, but it's. It's huge. Right. Uh, and it's actually used as splash pad for kids and people particularly. How wonderful in the Hot days of the summer, sure. But what's really cool is that the quality of the water is the same as, um, what you would find in a pool.

Marco: Really?

Ndihi:  So you can. Yeah, so it's. There's this whole, um. When I started working there, they took me down into the fountain room.

Marco: Oh, this is interesting, actually. Uh, so what does one see in the fountain room? Is it like its own little sort of like, you know, when you see a movie and people go into a submarine and there's all kinds of pipes?

Ndihi:  It feels like that. Yeah, there's a lot of pipes. Because the fountain turns into the skating rink in the winter.

Marco: That's a unique thing that we have in North America, in particular in Canada, where we can make our public fountains, or even our public. I don't know what you would call it, like Nathan Phillips Square. Is that a fountain? It's kind of like it turns into an ice rink.


I had never thought about fountains from a technical point of view

So it's neat how in North America we do that. We repurpose our fountains. But. Sorry, I didn't mean to take away

Ndihi:  from what you were saying. No, please. So, um, um. And the name of this piazza is Celebration Square.

Marco: What a great name. Celebration Square. In Mississauga.

Ndihi:  In Mississauga. So the fountain, uh, the fountain room is. Yes. Similar to what you described. Sort of got like a very submarine y feel.

Marco: Okay.

Ndihi:  Uh, and it actually takes, like, technicians to, uh, assess the water quality. The water quality is assessed a few times during the day.

Marco: Oh, a few times during the day, yeah.

Ndihi:  Yeah. So it's really like high quality water. And, uh, uh, it drains every night. So the water will drain into, uh, I guess a vat.

Marco: Okay.

Ndihi:  And then there are these jets that come up. And actually every. Every day, the jets kind of like are what is refilling.

Marco: The fountain propels the water into the fountain.

Ndihi:  Right? Yeah. It's similar to other fountains that. Where you see jets, and I think the Trevi Fountain has jets, if I'm not mistaken.

Marco: I couldn't tell you, but, um, you seem to be more of a fountain expert than I do, so.

Ndihi:  I'm absolutely not a fountain expert. There's. There's certain things, though, that, uh, I was just quite impressed with because I had never thought about, um, fountains from a technical point of view.

Marco: Okay.

Ndihi:  Um, so it's quite interesting to actually learn about how a fountain is run. Maybe one day we will have a fountain technician on.

Marco: That'd be great.

Ndihi:  Could you imagine here to explain it all to us? Because I am horrible at explaining the technical components of how fountains work.

Marco: Have you ever seen, um, fountains that play with the water? Time to music. And so the water sort of, uh, propels or is jets like the Bellagio in front of. In Vegas, the Hotel Bellagio. There was one. I saw a fountain like this at another casino in, In Ontario somewhere where they had a fountain that they play music and the water would sort of jet out to the music. I love seeing those kind of fountains. They really make me happy.

Ndihi:  So to take that a step further.

Marco: Okay.

Ndihi:  If, uh, anyone is ever visiting Niagara Falls, Canada, uh, which is very close to Toronto, for our international listeners, they do, um, a laser light show on water, um, in the summer. I don't. They've done it for the last few summers. And basically you project laser light onto the water feature.

Marco: Right. Which is the falls.

Ndihi:  Well, which is the falls in that regard. Um, and uh, it creates like a laser light show essentially. So there are now ways to actually take these fountains and project laser lights light to and, and, and create um, a show in combination with like music, as you say, uh, to make a really cool experience.

Marco: I, I love when you can incorporate something like water, a fountain, light, music and really have a show. For me, I prefer to watch that than fireworks.


Marco, have you ever gone on the Maid of the Mist

And um, you know, you had mentioned Niagara Falls. Have you ever gone on the Maid of the Mist?

Ndihi:  So interesting you asked that question. I have not been on the Maid of the Mist, only because I used to be really scared of the idea of going underneath or behind a waterfall or near a waterfall. Uh, so I never went on it, but now I feel like I could.

Marco: You have to. One of the great things about the Maid of the Mist is that it approaches the falls in such a manner that you're surround. So it doesn't go behind the falls. There's too many rocks there and whatnot. And I'm sure there's regulations where you wouldn't want a boat that close, but it brings you sort of to the eye of the storm. So it brings you like right in the middle of the fall so that you are surrounded by water on either side. So you know, you have like 180, uh, peripheral vision. It sort of comes all around you and you really hear, uh, the thunderousness of the waterfall of the falls. Yeah.

Ndihi:  So when I think of waterfalls, I have to say one of the most vivid memories. And this is gonna sound a bit bizarre, sure. But I grew up reading, um, Tintin comics, the Adventures of Tintin. And there's one, um, I don't want to say episode, but one book where they go to South America to rescue Professor Calculus as one does. As one does. Or in the French version, I think, like Professor Tronusol, um, and they're in South America and they have to go through a waterfall or Tintin goes through a waterfall and finds like a secret entrance to the Inca caves or something like that. And, uh, I don't know why, but when I think of waterfalls, I always think about that scene in the book. Isn't that odd?

Marco: No, I think that's great. I think that's awesome that you have an association too. Something you enjoyed as a kid. Associated with something like waterfall. As majestic as waterfalls.

Ndihi:  I know.

Marco: Did they find the Professor?

Ndihi:  They did find the professor. And of course it was an adventure that required Tintin's intelligence in order to get out of, um, the pickle that they were in. But they did rescue the Professor. I'd like to actually see the Victoria Falls.

Marco: Oh, yes. In Africa. Yes, the tall, tall falls. I think they'd be cool, but I think they'd be disappointing sometimes. Like, you know, my. My association with Grand Falls is Niagara Falls. And I mean, I don't think there's going to be anything that really sort of tops that. Um, sad to say. But let me ask you this. What about fountains in India? We talked about fountains in Italy. What are the fountains like in India or in Southeast Asia or that part of the world, let's say?

Ndihi:  You know, to be quite honest, Marco, I don't really. I don't know if there's many fountains in that area. I'm just trying to think back about a particular fountain. And the thing is, is that a lot of those areas are suffering from, like, drought or water shortages. So I don't actually um, easily recall a fountain that you remember from there. Yeah.

Marco: Well, there you go.

Ndihi:  Isn't that interesting?

Marco: Well, it is interesting because water is so precious in, in. In the world. But in particular, in certain parts of the world, you've got to be very, you know, prudent and very careful with the water that you have. So it stands to reason. But I would love to have a fountain.

Ndihi:  There's something about the, um, sound of water rushing through that is calming and serene. And I know it's something like. I would love to have one of those almost m. Meditation spaces with a water fountain that has, um, nice smooth rocks and you can see the water that runs through it. And the sound of the water trickling through kind of puts you in a very calm, calm state. And looking around at your backyard area or your deck, I really feel that it's something that could even be incorporated in here in such a wonderful way because you've got a bit of a Zen backyard feel.

Marco: There you go. What a wonderful way to end episode 50 with that sort of visual that you described. Uh, as always, we want to thank you for listening, and we encourage you to tweet us listenandsleep.

Ndihi:  Let us know your favorite moments, and as Marco mentioned earlier, please do feel free to write us a review on itunes. We're so happy to always hear from you. And as always, the Insomnia Project is produced by drumcast Productions, and today's episode

Marco: was recorded in my backyard with Negronis in hand in Toronto, Canada.

Ndihi:  Sam.