Too Close To Call Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

Don’t get fooled by calls for decorum. American politics should be spicy and the State of the Union needs an Adderall lift. The rowdier vibe that permeated Tuesday night’s pageantry with Joe might be a step in the right direction, argues Dave in the latest version of #TheRant.

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It buys me lunch or a cocktail, whic…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

“Off the record” is easy. “On background” is trickier.

These are the main two ways sources converse with reporters.

And surprisingly enough, a lot of political figures don’t get the nuanced differences and find themselves out over their skis on a cold hard mountain once the story pushes live.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

“Even the way we talk about it right, you’re just friends, if you’re not in a relationship together,” says Marisa Franco, a Washington-based psychologist who explores the bonds of friendship in her book, “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends.”

As someone who has placed deep friendships at the highest priority in …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

Sacha Haworth was hired as a communications director for Kyrsten Sinema as she prepared for her U.S. Senate run in 2018. She lasted just five months.

Now as Sinema pursues a political future as an independent with a potential re-election in 2024, Haworth opens up on the #pod about her time in close proximity to the mercurial Arizonan.

Haworth describes Si…

Shwirl is a 22-year-old electronic producer from Arizona who began making music his freshman year in high school when he could swipe away his parents computer. His songs have been picked up by the electronic label #BitBird, which is topped by San Holo, a progressive DJ from Holland.

In this #pod, Shwirl talks about his #hyperpop music, how he pitched himself to his music hero, why he now hates his most popular song and his decision to drop out of school to pursue his artistic ambitions. Plus a sample of one of his songs.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe

Rep. Josh Harder, a third-term Democrat from Central Valley California, kicks off #TooCloseToCall’s 2023 podcasts with a view from the mess on the House floor and a critique of his party’s 2022 political decisions in close House races.

“In 2022, last year, there were a lot of districts that were very close that were decided by less than 1 point that the Democratic Party all but ignored … If you look at the outside polling and the inside polling in a lot of those districts, it was pretty clear that they were going to be decided by just a point or two one way or another and I think it’s inexplicable that we didn’t put up more resources to make sure that those candidates got across the finish line.”

Press play above or throw some stars to the #pod Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

Dave returns from Christmas family time with an observational #Rant about the choice to rear children and what’s lost in the midlife years when offspring are old enough to walk and talk but not think for themselves.

Free Substackers get the 1:21 tease; Paid subscribers get the nourishing full 12-minute rant.

Press play above or throw some stars to the #po…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

Could the blue bird’s demise actually reinvigorate journalism?

This week, on #TheRant, Dave delves into the spiraling storyline of Elon Musk as moderator in tweet, why his frenetic reign is both expected and confounding, and the most likely outcomes for social media use in the world of journalism going forward.

Free Substackers get the 1-minute tease; Paid s…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

On this #TooCloseToCall rant, Dave reviews the LCD Soundsystem show in Brooklyn, serves up two NYC cocktail bar recommendations and details his experience lunching in true Americana-style at Margaritaville in Times Square.

A free snippet is available for everyone; the full rant is for paid subscribers.

Press play above or throw some stars to the #pod Spot…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidcatanese.substack.com

On this #TooCloseToCall rant, Dave takes paid subscribers into Holiday Party season in Washington, D.C. where banal conversations reign, lobbyists beat their chests, white Russians are spilled and Off the Record rules are in effect.

Here’s how to survive a party when you had a Twitter spat with its host.