Daddy’s Most Listened to Podcasts of 2019! 🎧

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 Joshua Movies, Podcast, Sports

Every year at thereviewsarein.com I count down my Most Played Albums of the Year in a post. It’s a fun activity that I want to tweak a little to share my Most Listened to Podcasts of 2019 with you all now!

Before we get to the list, a couple notes.

1) I like sports a lot, so there are a lot of sports-based podcasts here.

2) I know that there are a lot of top podcasts out there that people love that aren’t on my list or that I’ve heard of but haven’t checked out – so if you have a recommendation please leave a comment with the title.

3) There are a bunch of podcasts on this list from The Ringer podcast network. It wasn’t my intention to make that my listening pattern, but here we are and I don’t regret it.

I used to listen to podcasts more than I do now. I had travel time to and from Toronto on the Go Train and to the office on the TTC once I got into the city. And even last year at this time I’d listen as I pushed Ollie’s stroller in the parking garage to get him to fall asleep. Now I listen when I’m in the office at home working or when I’m pushing Ollie in the stroller on a walk. And I’ve started listening in one ear when I go to bed. I would say that listening to podcasts has become a near daily habit for me.

Now, here are the nine podcasts I’ve listened to most in 2019 – with a bonus 10th entry tagged on at the end.

1. The Bill Simmons Podcast

I’ve been reading/listening to Bill Simmons since his days on Page 2 at ESPN. Since then I’ve followed him to the podcasting world through ESPN, Grantland, and now at The Ringer. They call him the podfather because he’s been doing this forever. And ya, I’m still listening.

On the NFL side I always enjoy the Guess The Lines pods with Cousin Sal (Jimmy Kimmel Live and Lock It In). The season preview Over/Under pods for NBA and NFL are also good fun I can schedule in every year. And the list of guests that Simmons keeps bringing in is entertaining whether they’re talking about sports, politics, film, books, or whatever else comes up.

It’s safe to say that Simmons and his team have this whole podcast thing figured out. And I look forward to it continuing.

ps. Shout out to nephew Kyle, everyone’s favourite 20-something podcast producer.

Link: The Bill Simmons Podcast on Spotify

2. The Ringer NBA Show

With new pods multiple days a week with more than one theme and podcast team involved, The Ringer NBA Show is more a feed than a single podcast – but I’m counting it because I listen often. So often that it landed in the #2 spot on my Spotify Wrapped list.

If you love the NBA, check out the Mismatch, Group Chat, and Heat Check to get news, takes, and wraps of storylines that never seem to stop.

Link: The Ringer NBA Show on Spotify

3. No Dunks / The Free Agents / The Starters

No Dunks (AKA The Starters, The Free Agents, The Basketball Jones) moved to The Atlantic in time for the new NBA season and I’m glad for that. The team of Skeets, Tas, Trey, Leigh, and JD talks basketball as well or better than anyone else in the market. They are knowledgeable and funny. They are consistent and conversational. They are top notch.

They finished the Toronto Raptor’s championship season with NBA TV as The Starters. They transitioned into indie life as The Free Agents in the summer. And then they signed their new deal and became No Dunks. It’s been a wild year, and I’ve been listening.

Link: No Dunks on Spotify

4. The Ryen Russillo Podcast / The Russillo Show

Russillo made the move from ESPN to The Ringer in 2019, and I went along for the ride. I only started listening this year, but have become a fan.

I’ve quite come to enjoy the weekly NFL wraps with Chris Long + the opening essays/rants, the guests and interviews, and the takes. His experience in radio shines through with fewer restrictions placed on him.

As a sports fan, I like it.

Link: The Ryen Russillo Podcast on Spotify

The Ryen Russillo Podcast The Ringer Podcast

5. The Rewatchables

If you love movies, The Rewatchables is a podcast I would invite you to check out. The long-form breakdowns of scenes, performances, what’s aged the best, what’s aged the worst, behind-the-scenes tidbits and more all make for an interesting listen.

Yes, it really only clicks if you know the movies they’re talking about, and it’s even better if you like them – but here’s hoping you do and you give it a shot like I have.

Link: The Rewatchables on Spotify

6. Binge Mode

Mallory Rubin (Editor-in-Chief) and Emmy-winner Jason Concepcion (NBA Desktop) from The Ringer come together to become an other worldly podcasting duo on Binge Mode.

The series started with Game of Thrones, breaking down every single episode of the HBO show. Its second subject was Harry Potter, as the pair went deep (deep) on the books, movies, and love for JK Rowling’s wizarding universe. And now, Binge Mode: Star Wars is looking at the films, Disney+’s The Mandalorian, mailbag questions, and a whole lot more as they lead up to the release of The Rise Of Skywalker on Thursday, December 19, 2019.

These podcasts are best enjoyed by Uber-fans. However, coming in without an extensive knowledge, but with a curiosity and desire to find out more is just as good!

Link: Binge Mode on Spotify

7. The Book of Basketball 2.0

The audio sequel to Bill Simmons’ 2009 The Book Of Basketball, the multi-part podcast has become a favourite since it started releasing episodes in November.

The series is 11 episodes in right now, with more coming as Simmons and guests (J.A. Adande, Ryen Russillo, Steve Kerr, Jach Lowe, Marc Stein, and more) look at players, games, teams, and the game of basketball over the last decade.

I look forward to more episodes. And maybe some day a version 3.0.

Link: The Book of Basketball 2.0 on Spotify

8. The Tony Kornheiser Show

Uncle Tony and his team (Michael, Liz, Nigel, etc.) break down local sports relevant to them in DC and hits the big stories from across the sporting landscape. But that’s not all. Guests are good for bits on politics, movies, music, and in fact, music and the spotlight the The Tony Kornheiser Show shines on indie artists is one of my favourite things.

Tony is the old guy I want to listen to talking about games and seasons that happened before I was born and that we’re all experiencing together right now.

Link: The Tony Kornheiser Show on Spotify

9. PTI (Pardon The Interruption)

I used to watch PTI on TSN a couple times a week, but I don’t anymore. So the podcast version of the show is a nice way to either catch up on a bunch of episodes, or to just listen to familiar voices talking about sports in a 22 to 25 minute pod.

The length is a big reason why Pardon The Interruption is still one of my favourites. I love long deep dive podcasts, but 20ish minutes is perfect sometimes.

Link: Pardon The Interruption on Spotify

Bonus: WhatCulture Wrestling Ups and Downs (videos)

We watch a bunch of wrestling (mostly WWE, but some AEW as well) and to in addition to watching TV programming, I do enjoy watching YouTube videos from the team at WhatCulture Wrestling.

Depending on time and and subject matter, I’ll click on a News video and give it a watch – but almost without fail, I know that I’m going to watch Ups and Downs videos every week for Raw, AEW Dynamite, NXT, and Smackdown. And if there’s a Pay-Per-View on Sunday, I’m going to watch the Ups and Downs video for that too.

I like the recap. I like the insight. And I like feeling connected to grown men who enjoy wrestling because it makes me feel validated in my enjoyment of the product as a 37-year-old dad.

Link: WhatCulture Wrestling on YouTube