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Rating: YouTube was born in 2005, precisely on Valentine's Day. Since then, and from the first trivial video uploaded online, a significant amount of water has flowed under the bridges.
After almost twenty years of transformation, "The Tube" has become the television of the new millennium, with millions of hours of entertainment within it. This is the home of podcasts, which are now mushrooming. Each one carries on its own, alongside the classic interviews of mainstream TV, but certainly giving something more by being able to operate with greater freedom.
In recent years, a very particular podcast has emerged, very different from the others and precisely for this reason, it has made people talk about it. It is called "One More Time" and the title, quite eloquent, already gives us an idea of what we will find ourselves watching and listening to. "One more time," a new opportunity, a rebirth, a new beginning. The host is Luca Casadei, a visionary entrepreneur and talent scout expert in communication, not new to brilliant insights, who in this project wanted to leave profit at the last place; if we're talking about economic gain. Because if we're talking about emotional, cultural, and relational enrichment, then we are indeed at the top of the list of goals.
Casadei was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the outskirts of Paris, in 1976, and moved to Italy in 1998. He works in the field of television and entertainment, and he founded an all-female security agency before entering the digital world. In 2009, he was the first to make the role of YouTuber a profession, giving birth to the DefHouse project, an Academy for young talents with fifty million followers worldwide. He has produced series and web shows, achieving more than eight billion views across various platforms that are the protagonists of the web.
After many successes but also failures, after being sucked into the dangerous vortex of gambling (a heavy paternal legacy), not without paying the price of the experience, he rises up again and decides to give a new direction to his life, working primarily on himself. After embarking on an intense personal rebirth journey, starting by embracing the Hoffman Method, he decides to create a parallel reality all his own, to share with a particularly empathetic audience.
"One More Time" is a small space with enormous potential. Two armchairs, two microphones, and images proposed in black and white, to tell the life of the guest and make them open up completely, without any pressure. Casadei has two arrows always present in his quiver, two questions to ask, as simple as they are important for the purpose of the chat: "How was your affection?" "How are you? Now and here, I mean."
Usually, the first question introduces the conversation and the second closes it. It all seems very strange and initially trivial, but it is not so. From the microphone of One More Time have passed writers, singers, actors, presenters, successful entrepreneurs. Roberto Saviano, Giuseppe Caprotti, Emilio Fede, Lele Mora, Marco Baldini, Sammy Basso, Daniele Bossari, are just a few of the over one hundred and fifty guests interviewed in four seasons of the podcast.
Luca Casadei is a very empathetic, polite, and kind guide. Managing both the logical and temporal thread of the conversation, he lets his interlocutor express themselves freely, without constraints or traps, never judging. It is this delicacy and humanity in his approach that convinces the guest to open up and share their life path, often consisting of ruinous falls and slow, arduous climbs.
The most peculiar episode, which most demonstrated what was described above, is the one that saw a sharp and aggressive Vittorio Sgarbi rail against those asking him simple introductory questions. The epilogue was surprising. A true self-inflicted slap to the art critic's ego.
Casadei wanted to contribute to the development of his creation firsthand, sharing his story in a long interview and doing the same with his mother and brother Lorenzo. An incredibly remarkable family story deserving of a movie screenplay, which was also narrated in the autobiographical book by Nicoletta Amato, Luca's mother. Among the most beautiful episodes, for sure.
The podcast even reached the stage, with an exclusive evening at the Arcimboldi in Milan, on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. This just hours from the release of the eponymous book: "One More Time. Stories of rebirth for a better fall". The first book signing was held right in the theatre foyer. Casadei wanted to meet everyone present, even postponing the closing of the Arcimboldi by three hours, ensuring no one missed a hug and a dedication.
The book introduces the podcast but its pages are dedicated to the ten most significant stories among the one hundred and fifty given to the public up until that moment. Casadei narrates the guest and reports their words, closing each chapter with reflections afterward and thanks from those who occupied the chair.
The audience has now learned not to focus exclusively on the guest but on the story they will tell. The lightning-fast sold-out of the Arcimboldi widely confirmed this theory, given that Casadei never revealed who the interviewee would be until the curtain rose.
There is no gossip, the sole purpose of the chat is to delve into the depths of life experiences and the emotions that are part of them. A new life born from the rubble of the previous one, failures that have taught success, traumas that have brought enormous awareness. Everyone can find something of themselves and take inspiration.
Among the ten stories proposed in the book, the one of Mario Maccione stands out, a member of the "Bestie di Satana", who animated the crime news in the early nineties. The long chapter dedicated to the interview contains a sometimes shocking narrative. The aim is not to glorify a now repentant and recovered killer, but to let us enter the madness of his past and step by step into the path of change.
There is the story of Giuseppe Caprotti, the account of the birth of an empire but above all of the difficult life of a son crushed by the imposing shadow of a despotic father.
There are many sensations we absorb and lessons we learn, often finding ourselves pleasantly discovering a person we were unaware of or changing the opinion we had about someone we thought we already knew.
Nathalie Caldonazzo is the most striking example. Hers is an incredible life, especially the part dedicated to the love story with Massimo Troisi, up to his death.
"One More Time" is a podcast, a book, and an opportunity to know and know yourself through the pleasure of listening. Putting ten such interesting stories, like that of Roberto Saviano and his entire journey, on paper indelibly fixes some fundamental points of our existence.
This book is therefore recommended first and foremost to those who still do not know Luca Casadei and his creation. But also to those who are his followers and enthusiastically embrace his every initiative.
Because a good book is always a great idea. If it is also the result of an equally good insight, even better.
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