David Chitel Launches Dave Of The Dead, a Podcast on Life, Business, Reinvention, and the Lessons That Outlive Us

Media and entertainment entrepreneur David Chitel today announced the launch of Dave Of The Dead, a provocative new long-form interview podcast that confronts the moments that define us—professionally and personally—and the lessons that survive long after titles, roles, and certainty fall away.

Inspired by the spirit of Día de los Muertos, Dave Of The Dead is not about endings, but evolution. The series explores how identity, ambition, and purpose are reshaped through disruption, reinvention, and choice—examining what we carry forward when the path ahead is no longer clear or comfortable.

Through unfiltered conversations with founders, creatives, executives, and cultural change-makers, the podcast cuts past polished narratives to examine the real cost of building, failing, starting over, and choosing what matters next. Each episode is grounded in raw, honest real-life experiences, offering listeners clarity grounded in humanity in a world obsessed with social media sizzle.

“This podcast was born from the belief that our most important chapters don’t start with success—they start with surrendering to the choices we make,” said host David Chitel. “Dave Of The Dead is about what we carry forward from moments of reinvention and vision over visibility that define who we become next.”

The debut episode features Evan Shapiro, a “Media Universe Cartographer” who has lived through the very volatility he maps. Having experienced disruption, reinvention, and false certainty firsthand, Shapiro is known for challenging lazy thinking and empty narratives. Instead, he focuses on how power, platforms, and economics truly work—and where the industry is headed—stripping away complexity down to what matters, backed by data and common sense, never spin.

In the premiere episode, Chitel and Shapiro explore unforeseen setbacks, the illusion of permanence in business, and what it takes to build a meaningful life and career inside systems that are constantly being redrawn. The conversation draws on Shapiro’s lived experience navigating personal challenges and career disruption to examine the resilience required to reinvent amidst unthinkable adversity.