Linked below are some of the best podcasts I’ve listened to lately. I did a similar post in July (LINK), May (LINK), March (LINK), January (LINK), November (LINK), September (LINK), and July (LINK).

Annie Duke’s appearance on The Knowledge Project Podcast Link | iTunes Mobile Link
There’s so much to unpack here, but wow is this podcast good! The episode is titled “Getting Better by Being Wrong with Poker Pro Annie Duke” and this thing will blow your hair back. Stuff I loved: how we fool ourselves, why the best learning occurs in groups, how to process feedback (winning/losing), the danger of resulting, the value of disagreeing without being disagreeable, why the exploratory style is so much better than the confirmatory, and her big 3 takeaways (say “I’m not sure” more, get yourself a group, and be a good time-traveler). So much that you can carry over and think about with your decision-making both with recruiting and managing your team every day.

Porter Moser’s appearance on The Coaching U Podcast Link | iTunes Mobile Link
I’m usually not a huge fan of the Coaching U stuff – too many ads, too much survivorship bias – which is why I’m a bit later on this but this was terrific. Ton of stuff that you can pull: what he learned from Majerus, why he views developing his assistants as part of his job, and his belief that you can get on guys as long as there’s love and trust in the locker room.

Drew Houston’s appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show Link | iTunes Mobile Link
I love when Ferriss does these kinds of interviews where he does an origin story of sorts by examining how a company was built. Houston, the founder of Dropbox, has some tremendous insights in this interview including the four books he’d recommend, how he came up with the idea for Dropbox (“I wasn’t trying to create a billion-dollar company, I was trying to solve an every-day problem of mine”), the importance of mental models (see Annie Duke above), the feeling that you need to run towards rather than away from, and why a tennis ball, a circle and the number 30,000 explains everything. Also: Ferriss does such a good job with his show notes that you can skip listening to the entire podcast by hopping around to various parts via his bookmarked links or dive into it further by clicking for more info on the various books/concepts/speeches Houston references. Like all Ferriss interviews, the first 240 seconds are all ads so skip to the 4-minute mark.

Rick Byrd’s appearance on The Basketball Podcast Link | iTunes Mobile Link
Chris Oliver is doing such a good job with this podcast that I could literally list all 17 episodes. I thought a “coaching nerd-out” podcast was a great idea when Chris started, but it’s so much better than I ever anticipated because of how good Chris is with his probing questions and the quality of guests he’s been able to attract. That being said, this Rick Byrd episode is my favorite of the bunch by far (Nate Oats and Bill Wuczynski episodes are also must-listens). Whenever I’m looking for “best practices” – be it “best BLOBs” or “best way to attack switching” or “best team at feeding the post” – the answer is always Rick Byrd. One of the best coaches in the country, it was great to hear Byrd talk shop. Stuff I really liked: Byrd on skip passes, how he boils offense down to one simple goal, character, and post-ups.

“Tyrod’s Tip, Rookie Trouble and Jalen Ramsey’s Interview” on GM Street (The Ringer NFL Show) Link | iTunes Mobile Link
It’s amazing how many coaching truths Lombardi can weave into a 50-minute show on the current events of the NFL. He does similar breakdowns twice a week for The Ringer NFL Show, but this particular episode is my favorite mostly because of the New England/Belichick stuff he gets into. The episode highlights in my opinion: “fear does the work of reason,” Lombardi taking you inside the Patriots’ film room, the head coach sets the culture (what he tolerates is what doesn’t matter), what you need to be thinking when you draft Antonio Callaway, and Lombardi’s anecdote about Jerry Rice. I’ll also point out that Lombardi’s Gridiron Genius was released last week and it’s fantastic.

James Borrego’s appearance on the Woj Pod Link | iTunes Mobile Link
It seems every time I do one of these I end up referencing at least one Woj episode and my favorite of the last two months was this conversation with new Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego. I’m a big fan of Borrego and I am excited to see what kind of personal spin he’ll put on “The Spurs Way” with the Hornets. Popovich’s advice to Borrego when he first got the job (“Get to Kemba”) is something we should all keep in mind. I thought Borrego’s point on the #1 thing he could control was succinct and I loved what he said about the importance of consistency.

Origins of a Champion – Nick Saban Link | iTunes Mobile Link
This is a 3-part series and each episode (+ the full interviews that James Andrew Miller made public) is pure coaching and leadership gold. I linked above to the first episode (“House of Saban”), but I actually liked episode no. 2 “Mind First, Body Second” the most.

I’m an unabashed huge fan of JJ Redick for many reasons – his meticulous approach, his candor and his willingness to help younger teammates – so I always push to promote his stuff. I’ll link to two podcasts episodes he was a part of:
JJ Redick’s appearance on The Lowe Post Link | iTunes Mobile Link
Mo Bamba’s appearance on The JJ Redick Podcast Link | iTunes Mobile Link
I liked both these podcasts. Redick’s appearance on Zach Lowe had two big takeaways for me: his 3 separators (great for your guys to hear) and his explanation of how the Sixers’ 4-point line functions in their practice. Redick’s conversation with Bamba was wide-ranging and a bit silly, but I found it really interesting because I felt Redick was trying to talk to his 21-year-old self, trying to impart to Bamba what he wishes he knew when he was entering the NBA. Again: I’m higher on Redick than most but I really enjoyed both these.

For more podcasts:
-Best Podcasts: July 2018 (LINK)
-Best Podcasts: May 2018 (LINK)
-Best Podcasts: March 2018 (LINK)
-Best Podcasts: January 2018 (LINK)
-Best Podcasts: November 2017 (LINK)
-Best Podcasts: September 2017 (LINK)
-Best Podcasts: July 2017 (LINK)