Sports radio has gotten boring. But sports podcasts have taken its place, offering refreshing, serious, and educational listening. Here are some favorites:
The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz
Dan Le Batard was a sports writer for the Miami Herald before starting a daily radio show with co-host Jon Weiner (a.k.a. Stugotz) in 2004. It’s the perfect mix of legitimate sport conversation and silliness.
The hosts accurately discuss sports and make fun of them at the same time. Weiner plays the traditional host, spewing hot takes that Le Batard has to correct.
Le Batard, the son of Cuban exiles, often talks about the intersection of race and sports, while bringing on other voices who are well versed in the subject.
Whistleblower
In this podcast, sports journalist Tim Livingston tells the story of the 2007 arrest of NBA referee Tim Donaghy for betting on games that he officiated. At the time, this was the biggest scandal in sports. The NBA front office insisted that it was the case of one rogue referee who got involved with some bad people.
Livingston interviews former players, law enforcement officials, and Donaghy himself. His reporting suggests that it wasn’t just Donaghy who was betting on games. In fact, the NBA may have been behind fixing its own games in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
I love basketball, but this podcast revealed the dark side of the NBA. This is some really good sports journalism in a 10-episode podcast released in August 2020.
Only a Game
I interned for WBUR’s Only a Game in college, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had. For 27 years, the show was the only sports program on National Public Radio, until it was taken off the air in September.
Several years of episodes are available to stream on wbur.org. There are stories for both the extreme sports fan and the person who knows nothing about sports.
One of my favorites is “My Dad’s Friendship With Charles Barkley,” which tells how a cat litter scientist and basketball star Charles Barkley became unlikely friends.
And don’t miss the episode titled “Pablo Sanchez: The Origin of a Video Game Legend,” because I have a small part in it.
The Right Time With Bomani Jones
Last year, a lot of sports discussion was about race and equal opportunity. Here is some really good work on the subject. In this ESPN podcast, Jones persuasively describes the relationship between sports and the social justice movement. He weighs in on sports, pop culture, and social topics all at once. There are new episodes a couple of times a week.
Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez & Football Inc.
Aaron Hernandez’s story is wildly fascinating. The New England Patriots drafted Hernandez and Rob Gronkowki in 2010, and the two tight ends looked destined to catch passes from Tom Brady for the next decade.
But Hernandez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in 2013. He was convicted and sentenced to life in 2015; he committed suicide in prison in 2017 at age 27.
How does that happen to an NFL star? This seven-episode podcast from 2018 by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team gives some answers by telling a well-researched story of Hernandez’s inner demons. This is great sports journalism, with insight into what the Patriots may have known about Hernandez before he was arrested.
All podcasts can be found on Apple Podcasts.
