Podcast recommendations- ESPN Daily Vs Pablo Torre Finds Out

I’ve found you!

In 4 years, I’ve rarely missed an episode of ESPN Daily, a podcast which drops 5 times a week (each weekday morning)- diving deep into the trending sports story of the day.

When I first started listening 4 years ago, ESPN Daily was hosted by Mina Kimes, a highly intellectual and witty host, and around a year into my fandom she left and handed over the hosting reigns to Pablo Torre. Nooo!  At first, I didn’t like him at all! As he came off as being a lower-tier replica of Mina (as in intellectual but not as intellectual as Mina, witty but not as witty as Mina), it was obvious that he was trying too hard to copy Mina’s style. but there could only be one and only Mina Kimes! But this was until Pablo became his own man, namely stopped trying to end the show on a witty one-liner (which was Mina’s thang) and from then Pablo made the show his own- with his own style of witticism.

And 10 months ago, when Pablo announced his departure from ESPN, I was devastated! I looked him up straight after, but at the time he just mentioned that he was pursuing other projects, and since I’m not on social medias, so that was that, Pablo left my life!  Which then led to at least a half year of rotating hosts of ESPN Daily (which was fine), until they eventually settled on Clinton Yates.

Ok, admittedly he is the most natural and confident of all the rotating hosts, but since he’s been in the big-boy chair, I have to admit the show is less diverse now. Back in the day, the variety of sport stories were mind blowing! From previewing upcoming playoffs and championships, to following around the dudes who clean out portable toilets at football stadiums. It was so diverse and varied, that each morning I never knew what might be waiting for me that day. But I always knew I was going to enjoy it, regardless of if the topic was seemingly not something I’d be interested in, but the way they unpack the story and bring you on a journey of discovery? I always leave feeling thoroughly entertained and more knowledgeable because of it. But these days, the stories are less diverse, for example, 5 episodes in a row (this week and last), they had stories about basketball- sure, it’s the playoffs, but there’s also other sports going on at the same time! And as much as I’m all for giving minority voices more air, but since Clinton secured the permanent role, the voices we’re hearing are from a certain segment of minority voices- like what happened to all the other ESPN journalists which Pablo used to cycle through, there were like 50 of them! Where are they now?

Which then leads to Clinton’s next big mistake…. He mentioned a rival podcast on his own show! I can’t remember what it was related to, but he named Pablo Torre’s new show, and I immediately stopped the pod and looked it up!

Pablo Torre Finds Out! I’ve found you bro!

Ok, Pablo’s new show isn’t as slick and produced as ESPN Daily, and it is a bit long (hovering around the hour mark), and it isn’t entirely about sports! But the shows are always interesting, dives into the deepest rabbit holes, and the best thing is that he has his friends with him, dropping in here and there! Friends like Mina Kimes, Katie Nolan, Domonique Foxworth et al. And because Pablo’s overlords are no longer Disney/ESPN, he has more freedom to be edgy. And the last episode which I listened to, was entirely self-indulgent for Pablo and friends, where they delved deep into their fandom for X-men (the animated series), as they geeked out over X-men 97 (a revival of a series from 25 years ago). Which struck a chord with me, as I also used to love that series, and I’m kind of kicking myself now as we had just discontinued our Disney+ subscription as X-men 97 dropped. D’oh! But I vicariously lived out my fandom through them. *Smile*.

So now I’m at a cross-roads, is my Podcast listening routine wide enough to accommodate both ESPN Daily and Pablo Torre Finds Out? Or do I have to say good-bye to one? Decisions, decisions! On one hand, ESPN Daily is short and sharp (around 30 mins), the time it takes to prepare and eat breakfast. Meanwhile, Pablo’s show is twice as long, but only 3 shows a week…… But Pablo’s show doesn’t always cover sports, so I’m not kept abreast with all the goings on in American and Global sports. Argh! Perhaps for now, I’ll have to make room for both Clinton and Pablo!