Summary

This week's top podcast recommendations include "The Lowe Post" featuring Dirk Nowitzki, "Trivial Warfare" with a personal shoutout, and "Real GM Radio" discussing the NBA trade deadline, alongside a bonus highlight of Malcolm Gladwell on "Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air."

Abstract

The article presents a curated list of the three most noteworthy podcasts from the week of February 2, 2019, along with a bonus recommendation. It emphasizes the unique storytelling and conversational aspects of podcasts that can enrich routine activities. The first recommendation is "The Lowe Post," which interviews NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, discussing his career and the future of the Dallas Mavericks. "Trivial Warfare" is highlighted for its interactive trivia format and the inclusion of a college buddy of the author. "Real GM Radio" offers an in-depth analysis of the NBA trade deadline with insights from expert beat writers. Additionally, the author shares a past episode of "Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air" featuring Malcolm Gladwell, focusing on pioneers, tokens, and race in America. The article invites readers to engage by sharing their own favorite podcasts and follows the author's passion for storytelling and insightful discussions.

Opinions

The author expresses a strong preference for podcasts that offer more than just information, valuing those that tell stories and engage the listener in conversation.
"The Lowe Post" is praised for its host's enthusiasm and the depth of discussion about Dirk Nowitzki's career and the Dallas Mavericks' future.
"Trivial Warfare" is lauded as the best trivia podcast, with a format that allows listeners to feel like part of the game and enjoy the camaraderie and humor of the hosts.
The "Real GM Radio" episode is commended for its detailed analysis of significant NBA trade deadline moves, benefiting from the expertise of beat writers covering the featured teams.
Malcolm Gladwell's interview on "Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air" is highly regarded for its exploration of thought-provoking topics, including a discussion on race that is particularly relevant during Black History Month.
The author values the perspective gained from listening to diverse viewpoints, as exemplified by the conversations on the recommended podcasts.
There is an appreciation for the ability of podcasts to transform mundane tasks into engaging and thought-provoking experiences.

This Week’s 3 Best Podcasts (2/10/19)

Dirk Nowitzki, Malcolm Gladwell, the NBA Trade Deadline, and the best trivia podcast in the world

Podcasts are a relatively new media format, an audio form that allows us tell to tell expansive stories in new and unique ways. Podcasts are easy to consume (especially if you’re #Team2x!) and they can turn your tedious commute or nightly dish-washing routine into story time, interviews, games, and more. Many of the podcasts I listen to are sports-adjacent, while others cover pop culture, media, trivia, social economics, politics, and more. I love stories and conversations, and I love podcasts that make me think.

Most people don’t have time to consume 30 or 40 podcasts a week like me, so I thought a few highlights might be helpful. Each week I’ll choose the three best from that week, plus a bonus old podcast. Give a look and see if there’s something for you, and please comment below if you listened to a great podcast this week and want to share!

The 25 Best Things I Read, Watched, and Heard in 2018

Need a new TV show, movie, podcast, or book? Here’s 25 to get you through the new year…

The Lowe Post

Feb 1 — Dirk Nowitzki

The Lowe Post makes its second appearance among the best podcasts of the week, and it surely won’t be the last. Lowe interviews Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki as he heads into the final 30 or so games of his long and storied career as one of the greatest international basketball players of all time.

Zach is sports media elite, but he is first and foremost a fan of the game. You can hear the genuine giddiness in his voice as he gets to talk to Dirk about all of his biggest moments, including the magical 2011 championship run and Nowitzki’s escape to the locker room immediately after the game as he took it all in. The two talk about Nowitzki’s transition from Germany to the NBA, all the more relevant now that the Mavericks have rookie Slovenian sensation Luka Doncic and just traded for Latvian unicorn Kristaps Porzingis, and they discuss the challenges that face the two youngsters going forward. This is a terrific look back at a wonderful NBA career and a timely look ahead to a Dallas future with the NBA’s next two big international superstars.

Trivial Warfare

Feb 3 — TW205 …And Peggy

Trivial Warfare is the best podcast in the world. At least it’s the best trivia podcast I’ve found (tell me your favorite in the comments!), and that’s largely because of the format. Hosts Jonathan and Chris are longtime buddies. They’ve been playing pub trivia for 15 years, and each episode they invite you to the pub. Most trivia podcasts either fire off rapid question-answer-question-answer without much explanation or list off a string of facts for you to memorize. Trivial Warfare invites you into the game. Sit down at the pub, grab a beer, and join the team.

Each episode features a few listeners competing against the host(s) for the usual juicy points, and the real gooey goodness is when the competitors take their time and think through the trivia. When a question is asked, you get to hear the team’s thought process out loud as they narrow in on an answer. That gives you the listener time to come up with your own guess and makes it feel like you’re right there on the team. It also leaves plenty of time for goofy inside jokes and bad puns, essentials for any good trivia night.

There’s nothing particularly special about this episode except it’s the newest one and just happens to star my college buddy josh.mullan on the winning team (plus a shout out to yours truly!). There are 200+ backlogged episodes that work in any order, so jump in and play some pub trivia!

NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers, Ranked from 30 to 1

The 76ers, Magic, and Kings lost. The Bulls, Cavs, and Clippers won. We rank every NBA team’s decisions at the deadline…

Real GM Radio

Feb 7 — Trade Deadline Special

The NBA Trade Deadline came and went this week, and it brought with it almost a quarter century of trades. I wrote a full 6000 words breaking down the decisions every NBA team made at the deadline, and I consumed 20+ hours of TV and podcasts processing everything. This Real GM Radio episode was my favorite. It doesn’t cover every decision or trade, instead host Danny Leroux digs in deep on three of the biggest moves.

Derek Bodner talks about the Philadelphia 76ers move for Tobias Harris and the mismatches he adds to a loaded offense. Bodner talks Xs and Os, why Harris’s presence could unlock Ben Simmons, and how this impacts Philly’s future. Fred Katz considers the aftermath of the John Wall injury and why the Washington Wizards decided to deal Otto Porter and blow things up. Tim Cato wraps things up with a conversation about the Dallas Mavericks and their blockbuster move for Kristaps Porzingis, including why Porzingis and rookie Luka Doncic could be a perfect fit and deadly duo.

The details of this pod make it special. The Sixers, Wizards, and Mavericks were three of the most intriguing deadline teams, and if you follow the NBA, you know Bodner, Katz, and Cato as THE beat writer for each of those teams. In other words: you won’t get a better inside look than this.

Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air

July 20, 2017 — Malcolm Gladwell on Pioneers, Tokens, and More

Malcolm Gladwell is my very favorite author. I’ve devoured every book he’s published, and I’ve fallen in love with an entire genre of behavioral economics he introduced with books like Blink, The Tipping Point, and Outliers. Gladwell thinks about things differently and challenges us to do the same. He’s also an incredible storyteller, drawing us in to consider a fresh, new perspective.

Gladwell recently joined the podcast world with his Revisionist History, which has aired three 10-episode seasons of one-off stories that reframe history as we know it. This interview with former night show host Larry Wilmore considers Wilmore’s favorite episodes as we get a behind-the-scenes look at why Gladwell chose podcast topics like golf and satire. The two also talk about race in America, the difference between tokens and pioneers, and how it took a famous Birmingham statue of an attacking dog to finally wake white America up the racism permeating Alabama. In Black History Month, it’s that conversation that caught my attention in particular, and that’s the perspective I appreciate from both Wimore and Gladwell as they give this white writer a valuable and needed perspective outside of my own.

The three best podcasts from the week of Feb 2 (left) and Jan 26 (right)

What was your favorite podcast you listened to recently? Leave a note in the comments below!

Follow Brandon on Medium or @wheatonbrando for more sports, television, humor, and culture. Visit the rest of Brandon’s writing archives here.