Andrea Di Ciancio, the nights of radio without filters

Voce ‘e notte: the voice of the radio is always there when no one else is. Conquer the place in the enfilade, between the compulsive interactivity of the internet and the intrusiveness of a TV in the dark; wins because you can hear it while driving, hear it and not hear it if you’re on duty at work; or if you keep it next to the bed guessing the volume level – perceptible but soft – when you can’t sleep and fearfully suspect that you too have joined the “sect of the insomniacs”, of which they belong, says Titta Di Girolamo in “The Consequences of love”, “men and women of all social backgrounds, of all ages, races and religions”.

Andrea DiCiancioforty-one years old, Roman from Casal Bertone, youthful passion for Kant, current propensity for gardening and carpentry, favorite reading Stephen King, has been hosting for five years together with Roberto Arduini “I Lunatici” on Rai Radio 2, a broadcast for the benefit of the categories above and perhaps a few more.

Who is among the lunatics?

A diverse world from 14 to 99 years of age where you find who you expect: security guards, truck drivers, bakers, night club workers, but also architects who love to draw at night, doctors on call and finally yes, the insomniacs. And do you know what is, from experience, a very common cause of insomnia? The loss of a partner: there are many widows and widowers who cannot sleep well for months or years. We are the company of their difficult nights.

The program is open to phone calls and whatsapps: how much lineup and how much improvisation?

The strength of the “Lunatics” is that anything can happen at any moment. We throw a cue but there are no filters, we just exclude the fight, avoiding very divisive issues such as football and politics. For the rest, a telephone call can dictate the course of the transmission when the interventions of other listeners are hooked up to it. Ours is the largest night bar in Italy.

A fresh example?

An 84-year-old lady who, after a life harassed by men, told us of alternating between two lovers, one 50 and the other 30, without sentimental implications. Clearly the phone call provided argument throughout the night.

Where are they calling you from?

Audience is also heterogeneous by geographical distribution. And thanks to the time zone we also have daytime listeners, from Japan to America to Australia. Almost all compatriots but not only: a Brazilian wrote to us that he is learning Italian with us.

The biggest emotions?

Listening live from a delivery room to the first cry of a newborn; the acquisition of a listener who began to follow us because so did her mother, who in the meantime had gone away; the floods in the Marches last September, when the program became a chronicle because there were people on the spot who called us to tell us what was happening. Goosebumps…

The darkest night?

The one during the pandemic that followed the Pope’s solitary prayer in St. Peter’s Square. There were so many phone calls so filled with anguish and despair that Roberto and I, when we got home at dawn, began to cry.

Now that you also have the video window, aren’t you tempted to switch to television?

I am interested in the world of radio, which in any case has been a training ground for great TV presenters: from Corrado to Amadeus. Now there is the opposite trend, from TV to radio, or that of transferring influencers to the radio hoping that they will bring followers with them. It’s often a disappointment, both because those who follow Instagram live don’t move from there, and because not all influencers know how to do radio.

What is the key to a successful program?

The ability to improvise. Today there is an excess of authorial work, a rigid script where even the unexpected is constructed by excluding the possibility of surprise, of that moment of embarrassment which however allows you to get out of it by creating a show. Therefore the public, in recent years, has become accustomed to a more passive and distant listening. You ask to interact with the messages, but then you don’t even read them. With “I Lunatici” we try to really put social networks at the service of the radio, for example by quoting tweets. In fact, every night we enter the trend with the hashtag of the show.

His favorite programs?

“La Zanzara” and “Il Ruggito del Coniglio”, which kept me company during all the years of university.

Does the dissemination of podcasts and other listening methods take away or put away the radio?

We are going through a period where the quantity of content is huge and the quality is more difficult to find, but I trust that is the transition to a future balance.

How do you live with reversed biorhythms?

We run from September to July, from midnight to four, but the first two years we closed at six. Getting used to it was hard: at the end of the first season I weighed 15 kilos more, trying to sleep with a small son and in the hope that the neighbor wouldn’t make noise in the morning. But over time a balance is found.