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About Tempo and the Times: Popular Culture Collides With Politics & News Tempo and the Times is the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics,...
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About
Tempo and the Times:
Popular Culture Collides With Politics & News
Tempo and the Times is the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics, and business. It’s a collision born of experience that began on manual typewriters and has been transformed by the digital age. Tempo and the Times is a companion to Bob Gatty's Not Fake News Network, which is the home to blogs, NFN Radio News, and books like Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness.
Tempo and the Times' Hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger bring a long-range perspective and wide swath of experience and opinion to the show. Both began their writing careers at newspapers, worked as part of the Washington DC political machine, and went on to write books, music, and more. Both have made the transition into the digital age, as writers, performers, and producers of a wide range of content.
They now deliver all of that to Tempo and the Times listeners with to-the-point commentary that’s often tinged with offbeat humor. The shows feature guests from the worlds of music, art, politics and technology – some famous, some offbeat, and some who are just hidden gems. Scott and Bob want look at what’s happening in our seemingly upside-down world. Tempo and the Times is designed to to offer a deep, strange dive into the areas where popular culture, news, politics, and technology are all colliding in a perfect storm. And to examine what this collision means for each of us.
Bob Gatty began as a newspaperman in Pennsylvania and went on to join United Press International, at age 24, becoming chief of the Trenton, NJ state capital bureau. He helped cover the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where he was teargassed during rioting that led to the arrest of the Chicago Seven.
In 1970, Gatty went to DC to work on Capitol Hill and ultimately became chief of staff for Reps. Edwin B. Forsythe (R-NJ) and then James J. Florio (D-NJ). Nine years later, he established a full-service editorial services firm that covered the federal government for scores of industry magazines and provided communications assistance to numerous industry organizations. Throughout his career, Bob launched two magazines and published thousands of articles in magazines covering the food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, retailing, and retailing industries, among others.
In 2016, he relocated to Myrtle Beach, SC, and established the Not Fake News network, which creates and publishes left-leaning political commentary, and the NFN Radio News Podcast, where Tempo and the Times shows are also presented.
Gatty is the author of Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness, published in 2020 and available in paperback and digital versions on Amazon.com. A new book on politics, also from the pages of Not Fake News, is now in the works. A man of many talents, he also co-authored a book about baking bread with chef-adventurer Brandon Cristiano.
While Gatty’s career has included hard-hitting investigative journalism, political coverage of major events in recent history, and helping two members of Congress enact legislation that now affects our daily lives, one story simply won’t let go: his 1965 reporting about a UFO that was alleged to have landed in a farmer’s field in Kecksburg, PA. As a result, Bob has appeared as a guest on Unsolved Mystery, Conspiracy, and several other programs related to that story. Gatty claims there is no truth to rumors that he has had personal contact with space aliens, though Ramminger says he doubts the veracity of that claim.
Scott Ramminger, who holds a journalism degree from the University of Tennessee, worked during college and briefly after as a newspaper reporter. He then struck out for DC and at 23 became the youngest-ever director of communications at a national trade group and lobbying organization representing food manufacturers.
Ramminger went on to hold senior public affairs and marketing positions at several other business trade organizations, running national public relations campaigns in the food and construction industries. His writing has appeared — under his own name and under the byline of others — in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many others.
At 39, Ramminger obtained his first CEO job and spent the next 20 years running organizations representing producers and users of chemical wood preservatives and then distributors of candy, cigarettes, and other tobacco products. He has been a registered lobbyist and served as an industry spokesperson, testifying before Congress and regulatory agencies and representing business interests in hostile media interviews. (Gatty didn’t conduct any of those interviews, though he says if he had, he’d have made Ramminger squirm.) Along the way, Ramminger went from conservative Democrat to moderate Republican (when there was such a thing) to liberal Democrat.
A lifelong musician and writer who claims to have started out to become “either Tom Waits or Norman Mailer,” Ramminger returned to actively writing and performing music in his late 40s. He has released five records, all of which have received critical acclaim and have enjoyed significant airplay.
His 2017 CD, Do What Your Heart Says To, held the top position on the Roots Music Report R&B Album Chart for several months. His records have been reviewed in publications including Down Beat, Blues Matters, No Depression, and many more. In 2017, after departing his last CEO job, Ramminger decided he had had enough of DC and relocated to Nashville, where he works as a musician and writer, performing primarily around the South and Mid-Atlantic both as solo guitar/vocal act; as a singer and sax man with his own band, “Scott Ramminger & The Temporary Condition;” and as a saxophonist in other peoples’ bands. He has received several awards for his songwriting.
Gatty and Ramminger have been colleagues and friends for almost 40 years. Gatty worked for Scott on several occasions and also helped him get a great job, which Scott subsequently “willed” back to Bob when he hit the CEO big time. They also have run rapids in kayaks, spent many nights in smoky jazz clubs, helped each other paint houses and move furniture under strange conditions -- and had many other adventures, some of which can only be revealed posthumously or when the statute of limitations runs out.
So, hang on tight. You’re in for a crazy ride on the Tempo and the Times podcast. You can find it here and by visiting most major podcast streaming outlets, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Tumblr, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, and JioSaavn.
show less
Tempo and the Times:
Popular Culture Collides With Politics & News
Tempo and the Times is the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics, and business. It’s a collision born of experience that began on manual typewriters and has been transformed by the digital age. Tempo and the Times is a companion to Bob Gatty's Not Fake News Network, which is the home to blogs, NFN Radio News, and books like Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness.
Tempo and the Times' Hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger bring a long-range perspective and wide swath of experience and opinion to the show. Both began their writing careers at newspapers, worked as part of the Washington DC political machine, and went on to write books, music, and more. Both have made the transition into the digital age, as writers, performers, and producers of a wide range of content.
They now deliver all of that to Tempo and the Times listeners with to-the-point commentary that’s often tinged with offbeat humor. The shows feature guests from the worlds of music, art, politics and technology – some famous, some offbeat, and some who are just hidden gems. Scott and Bob want look at what’s happening in our seemingly upside-down world. Tempo and the Times is designed to to offer a deep, strange dive into the areas where popular culture, news, politics, and technology are all colliding in a perfect storm. And to examine what this collision means for each of us.
Bob Gatty began as a newspaperman in Pennsylvania and went on to join United Press International, at age 24, becoming chief of the Trenton, NJ state capital bureau. He helped cover the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where he was teargassed during rioting that led to the arrest of the Chicago Seven.
In 1970, Gatty went to DC to work on Capitol Hill and ultimately became chief of staff for Reps. Edwin B. Forsythe (R-NJ) and then James J. Florio (D-NJ). Nine years later, he established a full-service editorial services firm that covered the federal government for scores of industry magazines and provided communications assistance to numerous industry organizations. Throughout his career, Bob launched two magazines and published thousands of articles in magazines covering the food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, retailing, and retailing industries, among others.
In 2016, he relocated to Myrtle Beach, SC, and established the Not Fake News network, which creates and publishes left-leaning political commentary, and the NFN Radio News Podcast, where Tempo and the Times shows are also presented.
Gatty is the author of Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness, published in 2020 and available in paperback and digital versions on Amazon.com. A new book on politics, also from the pages of Not Fake News, is now in the works. A man of many talents, he also co-authored a book about baking bread with chef-adventurer Brandon Cristiano.
While Gatty’s career has included hard-hitting investigative journalism, political coverage of major events in recent history, and helping two members of Congress enact legislation that now affects our daily lives, one story simply won’t let go: his 1965 reporting about a UFO that was alleged to have landed in a farmer’s field in Kecksburg, PA. As a result, Bob has appeared as a guest on Unsolved Mystery, Conspiracy, and several other programs related to that story. Gatty claims there is no truth to rumors that he has had personal contact with space aliens, though Ramminger says he doubts the veracity of that claim.
Scott Ramminger, who holds a journalism degree from the University of Tennessee, worked during college and briefly after as a newspaper reporter. He then struck out for DC and at 23 became the youngest-ever director of communications at a national trade group and lobbying organization representing food manufacturers.
Ramminger went on to hold senior public affairs and marketing positions at several other business trade organizations, running national public relations campaigns in the food and construction industries. His writing has appeared — under his own name and under the byline of others — in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many others.
At 39, Ramminger obtained his first CEO job and spent the next 20 years running organizations representing producers and users of chemical wood preservatives and then distributors of candy, cigarettes, and other tobacco products. He has been a registered lobbyist and served as an industry spokesperson, testifying before Congress and regulatory agencies and representing business interests in hostile media interviews. (Gatty didn’t conduct any of those interviews, though he says if he had, he’d have made Ramminger squirm.) Along the way, Ramminger went from conservative Democrat to moderate Republican (when there was such a thing) to liberal Democrat.
A lifelong musician and writer who claims to have started out to become “either Tom Waits or Norman Mailer,” Ramminger returned to actively writing and performing music in his late 40s. He has released five records, all of which have received critical acclaim and have enjoyed significant airplay.
His 2017 CD, Do What Your Heart Says To, held the top position on the Roots Music Report R&B Album Chart for several months. His records have been reviewed in publications including Down Beat, Blues Matters, No Depression, and many more. In 2017, after departing his last CEO job, Ramminger decided he had had enough of DC and relocated to Nashville, where he works as a musician and writer, performing primarily around the South and Mid-Atlantic both as solo guitar/vocal act; as a singer and sax man with his own band, “Scott Ramminger & The Temporary Condition;” and as a saxophonist in other peoples’ bands. He has received several awards for his songwriting.
Gatty and Ramminger have been colleagues and friends for almost 40 years. Gatty worked for Scott on several occasions and also helped him get a great job, which Scott subsequently “willed” back to Bob when he hit the CEO big time. They also have run rapids in kayaks, spent many nights in smoky jazz clubs, helped each other paint houses and move furniture under strange conditions -- and had many other adventures, some of which can only be revealed posthumously or when the statute of limitations runs out.
So, hang on tight. You’re in for a crazy ride on the Tempo and the Times podcast. You can find it here and by visiting most major podcast streaming outlets, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Tumblr, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, and JioSaavn.
6 MAY 2021 · A former top advisor to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the State of New Jersey is expected to intervene in a lawsuit that the U.S. Supreme Court intends to consider that asserts the constitutional right to carry a weapon outside the home.
In in this episode, co-hosted by former Gov. Jim Florio, and hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger, attorney William J. Castner says he also expects other states to join in opposition to the lawsuit against the long-standing New York law that prohibits unrestricted open carry of firearms.
The court announced April 26 that it will hear the challenge to the century-old law in its next term beginning in October. The restriction requires those who seek a permit to carry a concealed weapon to show a special need for self-defense and is similar to laws in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and elsewhere that the court previously has declined to review.
Castner, a partner in the Connell Foley law firm based in Cherry Hill, NJ, joined the firm after serving as senior advisor to the governor on firearms in the Murphy administration. In this regard, he advised on legal, regulatory and policy alternatives to help reduce gun violence in New Jersey.
Castner says he worries that the conservative U.S. Supreme Court could, in effect, “wipe out a very strong law” that guards against unregulated open carry of firearms in New Jersey. “I don’t want my kids going to Six Flags and have the person next to them carrying a firearm,” he adds.
“If the U.S. Supreme Court were to invalidate the New York law, which is very similar (to New Jersey’s) and has been on the books since 1913, our law would be at risk,” Castner explains. “I talked to the governor today and our attorney general is going to try to intervene in that case because we have serious concerns that our strong gun safety laws would be at risk.”
On the podcast, Florio credits Murphy with helping New Jersey strengthen its gun laws and fight against the “epidemic of gun violence” that is prevalent in our society. Florio is known for successfully resisting the Republican legislature’s efforts to override his veto of legislation that would have repealed the state’s ban on assault weapons during his term as governor.
“In our state we have congested highways, we have crowded mass transit, and it’s not a great recipe to have instant access to firearms in a state like ours,” Castner says. “It’s not terribly complicated. New Jersey has among the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the country, and we have among the lowest per capita gun violence deaths in the country, so it is a situation where access and the proliferation of firearms leads to more gun violence deaths.”
While the state “is doing what we can,” Castner says, “Washington is failing us. Until there is a federal solution, we will be limited in reducing (gun related crime).”
Transcribed
29 APR 2021 · R&B and Blues piano player Daryl Davis, in an incredible interview with the Tempo and the Times podcast, tells the story of his career, which has included gigs with Chuck Berry and other famed jazz and blues musicians, while confronting blatant racism and even "infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan.
During his long career as a musician since graduating from Howard University with a degree in jazz, Davis went from tires being slashed outside a venue in Maryland because of his race to influencing a top leader in the KKK to leave the organization -- and give him his robe.
That's the part of the story that we present in today's episode of Tempo and the Times. It's a fascinating tale of courage and determination to do what's right.
Transcribed
22 APR 2021 · Blues piano man Daryl Davis begins the story of how music led him to a friendship with the Imperial Grand Wizard of the KKK. This eventually led the fellow to quit the KKK and give Daryl his robe.
Daryl, obviously, can be a pretty persuasive guy.
Daryl also explains how, while still in high school, he wound up convincing Muddy Waters’ piano man, Pinetop Perkins, to come over to his family’s home for lunch.
It's the first of two episodes with Daryl, a fascinating fellow who has a lot to say about music, race relations, and the times in which we live.
Transcribed
15 APR 2021 · What are the trends in journalism today? What is motivating the next crop of reporters and editors who will be covering the news in the years ahead? What factors influence what is reported today? Take a listen to this episode with our guest, Guy Reel, who's day job today is teaching these young journalists. Guy is department chair and professor of mass communications at Winthrop University in North Carolina and shares his views with hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger.
What's "fake news?" Where did that come from? Listen to Guy tell us how it's not really a new phenomenon -- it was just called something else in years gone by.
9 APR 2021 · The Biden administration’s new plan to develop wind energy resources off the Atlantic coast can result in hundreds of new wind turbines producing massive amounts of clean energy within the next few years, says Kris Ohleth, a top wind energy expert says in this episode, co-hosted by New Jersey attorney and former Gov. Jim Florio.
Ohleth, Executive Director of the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) and a 15-year veteran in offshore wind energy, says that with strong support from the Biden Administration, which has just launched a major initiative to develop wind energy off the Atlantic coast, new wind farms that can produce massive amounts of electric power can be in place within the next four or five years and perhaps sooner.
They will dramatically reduce reliance on fossil fuel while providing thousands of new, good paying jobs, and boosting the economies of communities along the mid-Atlantic coast, she predicts.
According to the White House, the administration’s plan would generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade, enough to power more than 10 million homes and cut 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for port communities to have a new start,” Ohleth says.
“Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come," says Florio, who co-hosts the episode with Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger. "The concept of offshore wind, clean energy, and climate change sensitivity is an idea whose time has come.”
Transcribed
1 APR 2021 · Before 2011, Rick Pullen's career was all journalism: investigative reporter for different newspapers and later inventive magazine editor. The two roles in the same business exposed his two sides: he thrives on the thrill of an investigation, and he has a creative curiosity for design and writing he has never tamed.
In 2011 he merged the two and started writing fiction. In 2016 he published his bestselling political thriller, NAKED AMBITION.
THE APPRENTICE, a serial with novice reporter Tish Woodward, was published in December 2017.
NAKED TRUTH, a sequel to NAKED AMBITION, followed in September 2018. NAKED TRUTH is another thriller with newspaper reporter Beck Rikki again on the trail.
In this fascinating conversation, Rick shares insight into what it took to produce and successfully publish these novels and many of the challenges that he confronted and successfully managed along the way.
Take a listen.
26 MAR 2021 · Former Reagan Secretary of Agriculture talks about politics in the age of Donald Trump, and post-Trump. He reveals how he actually got the plumb position on the Reagan cabinet, talks about pig farming, and discusses his views about how to bridge the political divide that exists in America today. He shares fascinating back stories about his experience with Reagan and Congress.
Transcribed
18 MAR 2021 · Former U.S. Rep. and New Jersey Gov. James J. Florio continues to look to the future, continues to look at today's problems as opportunities, and firmly believes that traditional solutions no longer can be applied to the challenges of the times.
All of that came into focus during our interview for today's episode ofTempo and the Times, co-hosted by Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger.
While Florio has retired from politics, he is not sitting around twiddling his thumbs.
"I'm intimately involved in offshore wind energy production, clean energy production" he said. "I'm working with a company that's doing that sort of thing, and I'm very optimistic that this administration is going to be supportive of clean energy and particularly offshore wind. New Jersey is one of the leaders in that area. We've authorized construction of a facility off the coast."
Reminded that defeated President Donald Trump belittled wind energy and said that windmills kill birds, Florio pointed out that Denmark relies on wind energy and that the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society are both supportive.
"Birds are not stupid," he cracked.
Florio recounted his successful battle as governor to convince a veto-proof Republican state legislature not to override his veto of legislation that would have overturned the state's ban against assault weapons, and how he worked to build support among the electorate to the point that not a single vote was cast in support of the override attempt.
Calling that his proudest moment in a long career in government, Florio said it's an example of what political leaders must do today to deal with difficult and controversial issues. Educate the people, he said. Explain the problem and possible solutions and the reasons for the proposed solution. Help them understand and build consensus.
Old solutions can no longer be applied to new problems, he stressed. No matter what those problems might be.
Asked if he's optimistic about our children's and grandchildren's future, he replied:
"I'm optimistic if we can get the leadership to engage in the process and be willing to take on the task of explaining how hard things are to resolve, but they can be resolved if you're willing to get people to understand the problem and understand what the options are.
"I used to have these town meetings and I'd go out and as objectively as possible as I could be, I would explain the alternative paths and then conclude by saying, 'my thought is, on balance, this is the path we should follow. What do you think? The people would give me their thoughts. I would benefit from their thoughts, reject some thoughts, but ultimately come out with a decision that really reflected the people that I was representing.
"That's the approach that we have to have out of the leadership in the Congress, the Presidency, and the local governors; having people look at the choices, make their decisions as to what they think what's best, and then support or reject whatever the decision-makers arrive at. That's the approach that leads me to be optimistic about the future."
During the interview, Florio talks about politics post-Trump, says the Democrats should scrap the Senate's gerrymandering rule so Biden's progressive policies can stand a chance, that the Cuomo sex abuse scandal should proceed and if the charges are proven to be true, "they cannot be tolerated."
"This is a good example of what I spoke about before," Florio said, when reminded that times have changed when it comes to how individuals are treated by public figures. "We're applying old policies to new problems and they're not working. Old policies allowed for conduct that was acceptable that is now not acceptable. So we have to have new policies to deal with the new problem."
For the complete interview, take a listen.
Transcribed
11 MAR 2021 · In this premier episode of Tempo and the Times, Nashville musician shares her musical journey with hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger.
She talks about the stories behind the songs on her album, which honor 13 notable women from history in this, Women's History Month. It's funny, informative, and entertaining and worth taking a listen.
"13 Women" album had its genesis with the election of Donald Trump, which prompted Anders to use her voice for constructive protest. In this episode we present three selections from her new album. You can learn more at www.susanandersmusic.com.
Next up on Friday, March 19 will be John R. Block, President Ronald Regan's secretary of agriculture. Block will talk national politics with Gatty and Ramminger and perhaps we can even talk him into playing his guitar.
We'll also premier the complete version of Ramminger's original theme song for the show, you guessed it, "Tempo and the Times," which you get a taste of in the opening to this episode.
We hope you enjoy and will follow us. We'll be here every Friday with fresh talk, music, and interviews.
So now, here's the Susan Anders story.
Transcribed
18 FEB 2021 · Welcome to Tempo and the Times, Tempo and the Times, the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics, and business.
It’s a collision born of experience that began on manual typewriters and has been transformed by the digital age. Tempo and the Times is a companion to Bob Gatty's Not Fake News Network, which is the home to blogs, the NFN Radio News podcast, and books like Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness.
Tempo and the Times' Hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger bring a long-range perspective and wide swath of experience and opinion to the show. Both began their writing careers at newspapers, worked as part of the Washington DC political machine, and went on to write books, music, and more. Both have made the transition into the digital age, as writers, performers, and producers of a wide range of content.
They now deliver all of that to Tempo and the Times listeners with to-the-point commentary that’s often tinged with offbeat humor. The shows feature guests from the worlds of music, art, politics and technology – some famous, some offbeat, and some who are just hidden gems.
Scott and Bob want look at what’s happening in our seemingly upside-down world. Tempo and the Times is designed to to offer a deep, strange dive into the areas where popular culture, news, politics, and technology are all colliding in a perfect storm. And to examine what this collision means for each of us.
About Tempo and the Times: Popular Culture Collides With Politics & News Tempo and the Times is the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics,...
show more
About
Tempo and the Times:
Popular Culture Collides With Politics & News
Tempo and the Times is the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics, and business. It’s a collision born of experience that began on manual typewriters and has been transformed by the digital age. Tempo and the Times is a companion to Bob Gatty's Not Fake News Network, which is the home to blogs, NFN Radio News, and books like Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness.
Tempo and the Times' Hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger bring a long-range perspective and wide swath of experience and opinion to the show. Both began their writing careers at newspapers, worked as part of the Washington DC political machine, and went on to write books, music, and more. Both have made the transition into the digital age, as writers, performers, and producers of a wide range of content.
They now deliver all of that to Tempo and the Times listeners with to-the-point commentary that’s often tinged with offbeat humor. The shows feature guests from the worlds of music, art, politics and technology – some famous, some offbeat, and some who are just hidden gems. Scott and Bob want look at what’s happening in our seemingly upside-down world. Tempo and the Times is designed to to offer a deep, strange dive into the areas where popular culture, news, politics, and technology are all colliding in a perfect storm. And to examine what this collision means for each of us.
Bob Gatty began as a newspaperman in Pennsylvania and went on to join United Press International, at age 24, becoming chief of the Trenton, NJ state capital bureau. He helped cover the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where he was teargassed during rioting that led to the arrest of the Chicago Seven.
In 1970, Gatty went to DC to work on Capitol Hill and ultimately became chief of staff for Reps. Edwin B. Forsythe (R-NJ) and then James J. Florio (D-NJ). Nine years later, he established a full-service editorial services firm that covered the federal government for scores of industry magazines and provided communications assistance to numerous industry organizations. Throughout his career, Bob launched two magazines and published thousands of articles in magazines covering the food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, retailing, and retailing industries, among others.
In 2016, he relocated to Myrtle Beach, SC, and established the Not Fake News network, which creates and publishes left-leaning political commentary, and the NFN Radio News Podcast, where Tempo and the Times shows are also presented.
Gatty is the author of Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness, published in 2020 and available in paperback and digital versions on Amazon.com. A new book on politics, also from the pages of Not Fake News, is now in the works. A man of many talents, he also co-authored a book about baking bread with chef-adventurer Brandon Cristiano.
While Gatty’s career has included hard-hitting investigative journalism, political coverage of major events in recent history, and helping two members of Congress enact legislation that now affects our daily lives, one story simply won’t let go: his 1965 reporting about a UFO that was alleged to have landed in a farmer’s field in Kecksburg, PA. As a result, Bob has appeared as a guest on Unsolved Mystery, Conspiracy, and several other programs related to that story. Gatty claims there is no truth to rumors that he has had personal contact with space aliens, though Ramminger says he doubts the veracity of that claim.
Scott Ramminger, who holds a journalism degree from the University of Tennessee, worked during college and briefly after as a newspaper reporter. He then struck out for DC and at 23 became the youngest-ever director of communications at a national trade group and lobbying organization representing food manufacturers.
Ramminger went on to hold senior public affairs and marketing positions at several other business trade organizations, running national public relations campaigns in the food and construction industries. His writing has appeared — under his own name and under the byline of others — in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many others.
At 39, Ramminger obtained his first CEO job and spent the next 20 years running organizations representing producers and users of chemical wood preservatives and then distributors of candy, cigarettes, and other tobacco products. He has been a registered lobbyist and served as an industry spokesperson, testifying before Congress and regulatory agencies and representing business interests in hostile media interviews. (Gatty didn’t conduct any of those interviews, though he says if he had, he’d have made Ramminger squirm.) Along the way, Ramminger went from conservative Democrat to moderate Republican (when there was such a thing) to liberal Democrat.
A lifelong musician and writer who claims to have started out to become “either Tom Waits or Norman Mailer,” Ramminger returned to actively writing and performing music in his late 40s. He has released five records, all of which have received critical acclaim and have enjoyed significant airplay.
His 2017 CD, Do What Your Heart Says To, held the top position on the Roots Music Report R&B Album Chart for several months. His records have been reviewed in publications including Down Beat, Blues Matters, No Depression, and many more. In 2017, after departing his last CEO job, Ramminger decided he had had enough of DC and relocated to Nashville, where he works as a musician and writer, performing primarily around the South and Mid-Atlantic both as solo guitar/vocal act; as a singer and sax man with his own band, “Scott Ramminger & The Temporary Condition;” and as a saxophonist in other peoples’ bands. He has received several awards for his songwriting.
Gatty and Ramminger have been colleagues and friends for almost 40 years. Gatty worked for Scott on several occasions and also helped him get a great job, which Scott subsequently “willed” back to Bob when he hit the CEO big time. They also have run rapids in kayaks, spent many nights in smoky jazz clubs, helped each other paint houses and move furniture under strange conditions -- and had many other adventures, some of which can only be revealed posthumously or when the statute of limitations runs out.
So, hang on tight. You’re in for a crazy ride on the Tempo and the Times podcast. You can find it here and by visiting most major podcast streaming outlets, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Tumblr, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, and JioSaavn.
show less
Tempo and the Times:
Popular Culture Collides With Politics & News
Tempo and the Times is the podcast where music, literature, art, and popular culture collide with news, politics, and business. It’s a collision born of experience that began on manual typewriters and has been transformed by the digital age. Tempo and the Times is a companion to Bob Gatty's Not Fake News Network, which is the home to blogs, NFN Radio News, and books like Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness.
Tempo and the Times' Hosts Bob Gatty and Scott Ramminger bring a long-range perspective and wide swath of experience and opinion to the show. Both began their writing careers at newspapers, worked as part of the Washington DC political machine, and went on to write books, music, and more. Both have made the transition into the digital age, as writers, performers, and producers of a wide range of content.
They now deliver all of that to Tempo and the Times listeners with to-the-point commentary that’s often tinged with offbeat humor. The shows feature guests from the worlds of music, art, politics and technology – some famous, some offbeat, and some who are just hidden gems. Scott and Bob want look at what’s happening in our seemingly upside-down world. Tempo and the Times is designed to to offer a deep, strange dive into the areas where popular culture, news, politics, and technology are all colliding in a perfect storm. And to examine what this collision means for each of us.
Bob Gatty began as a newspaperman in Pennsylvania and went on to join United Press International, at age 24, becoming chief of the Trenton, NJ state capital bureau. He helped cover the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where he was teargassed during rioting that led to the arrest of the Chicago Seven.
In 1970, Gatty went to DC to work on Capitol Hill and ultimately became chief of staff for Reps. Edwin B. Forsythe (R-NJ) and then James J. Florio (D-NJ). Nine years later, he established a full-service editorial services firm that covered the federal government for scores of industry magazines and provided communications assistance to numerous industry organizations. Throughout his career, Bob launched two magazines and published thousands of articles in magazines covering the food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, retailing, and retailing industries, among others.
In 2016, he relocated to Myrtle Beach, SC, and established the Not Fake News network, which creates and publishes left-leaning political commentary, and the NFN Radio News Podcast, where Tempo and the Times shows are also presented.
Gatty is the author of Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness, published in 2020 and available in paperback and digital versions on Amazon.com. A new book on politics, also from the pages of Not Fake News, is now in the works. A man of many talents, he also co-authored a book about baking bread with chef-adventurer Brandon Cristiano.
While Gatty’s career has included hard-hitting investigative journalism, political coverage of major events in recent history, and helping two members of Congress enact legislation that now affects our daily lives, one story simply won’t let go: his 1965 reporting about a UFO that was alleged to have landed in a farmer’s field in Kecksburg, PA. As a result, Bob has appeared as a guest on Unsolved Mystery, Conspiracy, and several other programs related to that story. Gatty claims there is no truth to rumors that he has had personal contact with space aliens, though Ramminger says he doubts the veracity of that claim.
Scott Ramminger, who holds a journalism degree from the University of Tennessee, worked during college and briefly after as a newspaper reporter. He then struck out for DC and at 23 became the youngest-ever director of communications at a national trade group and lobbying organization representing food manufacturers.
Ramminger went on to hold senior public affairs and marketing positions at several other business trade organizations, running national public relations campaigns in the food and construction industries. His writing has appeared — under his own name and under the byline of others — in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many others.
At 39, Ramminger obtained his first CEO job and spent the next 20 years running organizations representing producers and users of chemical wood preservatives and then distributors of candy, cigarettes, and other tobacco products. He has been a registered lobbyist and served as an industry spokesperson, testifying before Congress and regulatory agencies and representing business interests in hostile media interviews. (Gatty didn’t conduct any of those interviews, though he says if he had, he’d have made Ramminger squirm.) Along the way, Ramminger went from conservative Democrat to moderate Republican (when there was such a thing) to liberal Democrat.
A lifelong musician and writer who claims to have started out to become “either Tom Waits or Norman Mailer,” Ramminger returned to actively writing and performing music in his late 40s. He has released five records, all of which have received critical acclaim and have enjoyed significant airplay.
His 2017 CD, Do What Your Heart Says To, held the top position on the Roots Music Report R&B Album Chart for several months. His records have been reviewed in publications including Down Beat, Blues Matters, No Depression, and many more. In 2017, after departing his last CEO job, Ramminger decided he had had enough of DC and relocated to Nashville, where he works as a musician and writer, performing primarily around the South and Mid-Atlantic both as solo guitar/vocal act; as a singer and sax man with his own band, “Scott Ramminger & The Temporary Condition;” and as a saxophonist in other peoples’ bands. He has received several awards for his songwriting.
Gatty and Ramminger have been colleagues and friends for almost 40 years. Gatty worked for Scott on several occasions and also helped him get a great job, which Scott subsequently “willed” back to Bob when he hit the CEO big time. They also have run rapids in kayaks, spent many nights in smoky jazz clubs, helped each other paint houses and move furniture under strange conditions -- and had many other adventures, some of which can only be revealed posthumously or when the statute of limitations runs out.
So, hang on tight. You’re in for a crazy ride on the Tempo and the Times podcast. You can find it here and by visiting most major podcast streaming outlets, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Tumblr, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, and JioSaavn.
Information
| Author | Bob Gatty |
| Organization | Bob Gatty |
| Categories | Music Interviews |
| Website | - |
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