I’m so not into sports— watching them or playing them, though I get the appeal. And I’ve certainly been to my fair share of professional sports, high school sports and other kids sports— sometimes by choice, and other times not. And a friend once told me that the reason football was so interesting was the storylines behind the players. So I get it. But anyway, I digress.
The reason I wanted to post a comment was simply to state that I get the idea of being curious about lots of different things. And how Pablo’s podcast may not have a ‘theme’ per se, other than as he so aptly states in the title, that he’s going to find out about something. That is the theme— the content doesn’t have to be similar. And we are allowed to have diverse interests, etc. It made me think a lot about Elizabeth Gilbert’s line in Big Magic, about following your curiosity, rather than your passion. I always thought I was a failure because I couldn’t find the one thing I was passionate about— and it’s because my passion lies in being curious about different things! But that idea still isn’t quite the status quo, as I think it should be.
Anyway, thanks for broadening my curiosity into something else! Always a lot to learn. And I’d jump on the bandwagon from the above comment too. What is the deal with pickleball? In my NYC neighborhood the building (painting) of multiple pickle ball courts on the basketball court has proven quite contentions. And who gets to play on the court and for how long…
Bridgitte, I appreciate that you took time to read this despite being so not into sports. I didn't know that Elizabeth Gilbert line, but I love it and I'm glad I know it now, as I think that definitely describes my path, and one I haven't always found easy to embrace. Basically, sounds like you and I are on a similar wavelength. ...As to pickleball, ok, now I'm really getting curious. I'm aware that it's growing and everything, but I haven't paid attention to the details. I'm definitely going to share pickleball suggestions with Pablo.
I think it would be interesting to learn more about how fantasy sports changes the consumption of sports, and maybe a more nuanced view of the business models (or business ecosystem) behind it.
Hey Tully, I'm also really curious about this! In particular, as fantasy sports has become such big business, with people able to play for all sorts of outcomes that aren't just wins, I wonder how much of the entire sports-viewing universe revolves around fantasy, or something like it. I know it's big, but I too don't really understand the details. I'll definitely share with Pablo!
I listened to most of Pablo's ESPN podcasts. One of the things I miss most about them is his Monday morning chats with Bill Barnwell or Alex Smith. I have with watched or listened to every Pablo Torre finds out. His episodes with Katie Nolan are great as well as when he talks with Mina Kimes and Lebatard
This newsletter is just as fun as his podcast! A friend of mine turned me onto it a month ago, and I find it strangely validating. As a nerdy person, I find myself around a lot of nerdy people, and I often feel strangely ashamed of and consciously suppressing my massive sports fandom. But it's other nerdy people/big sports fans like you and Pablo who make me feel more comfortable in my own skin. I'm not sure if you've ever felt that, but thank you for that :)
Also, I loved the Zoom with Dr. Mark last night. You nailed a feeling that I couldn't articulate when you noted how rare it is to hear about productivity/self-help from someone who has done so much research in the field. As much as I love Gladwell, Newport, or Stulberg, Mark is the one doing so much of the work that great storytellers feed off of. (To be fair to Cal, he has done mountains of research in other areas.) Can I ask you an interview-themed question? I'm curious as to how you thought about your job during the interview. How was this different than other interviews you do? I suspect that most interviews for your work tend to be about you trying to find out something you don't already know, but in this case I'm guessing you probably knew most of the answers to the questions you asked, and your responsibility was to help communicate these to the listeners. All the while you had to consult your own list of questions, monitor the chat for questions, and make jokes about being able to lift 24/7. You made it look smooth, but (in the same way you said to Pablo that a lot of work must go into his prep) it had to require a TON of work on your end, right?
Hey Matt, glad you enjoyed! I shared your comment with Pablo, and he said your feeling of validation is really gratifying for him, and he mentioned that, as a non-athlete/nerd in sports media, he's unusual in his milieu in some ways too. Or at least, people are apt to misjudge him.
Thanks for coming to the Zoom! Regarding the multitasking (ironic) you're mentioning, it was a little tricky. I actually probably would have made many more jokes (I enjoy a repartee, and even usually laugh at pretty bad jokes), but monitoring the various things (and the clock) made it hard for me to be in the moment as much. Particularly when I saw a listener send a note that they couldn't hear Gloria, so then I was concerned and wanted to keep monitoring for that. That said, you're absolutely right that this was not an exploratory interview. I saw my role as just trying to tee Gloria up to share some of her insights and either get people interested in her book or at least leave them with a nugget or two. In that role, I'm reticent to follow up on any topic too much, as I sort of want to touch on a lot of things, and let the interviewee decide how deep to go. I'm never sure what the right balance is for this kind of interview, and honestly I feel like I always come away thinking I didn't get it quite right, but not sure what the alternative is. A lot of the questions coming in during the Zoom were about ADHD, and I knew that Gloria, not being a clinician, didn't really want to talk specifically about ADHD. So I'd never avoid a topic, but in this case I knew her answer would be, basically, "I'm not a clinician," so I didn't want to take time for that. So I was fumbling my way through it! But I did prep, and had topics I wanted to hit, and viewed my place as just prompting her to share interesting things from her work, and then it's really up to her to drive. In my newsletter Q&A's, they're often somewhere between that Zoom (not exploratory at all), and background book interviews (very exploratory). So with Pablo for example, I wanted to share and highlight what he's doing, so asked some questions where I had ideas of the answers, but mixed in with my own curiosity about the mechanics of the show. I guess I mainly did not know what his answers would be, but was oriented toward highlighting specific episodes so he could share what he's doing.
Interesting point about Gladwell, Newport, Stulberg, etc. Cal has indeed done research, but his research is so distant from his writing topics (although I think it equips him in certain ways), that I hasn't struck me before as a credential for his work. (Just as my research on Arctic plant physiology hasn't struck me as a credential, although I also think it equipped me in certain ways I couldn't possibly have foreseen at the time. I was actually just talking about it in an exploratory interview last week.) I actually view his willingness to do basically journalism as what sets his writing apart from many academics. This could be an interesting topic to discuss!
Interesting points. It's so cool to think that you mentioned that to Pablo and that he engaged with it. Thank you for doing that. The exploratory balance you struck seemed to be a good one from an observer's point of view. This is random, but another aspect of this I enjoyed was having to read a book by a deadline. It felt like school in that sense, and I missed that aspect of it, especially since this had all intrinsic motivation without any of the extrinsic motivation that school and grades come along with. I hope you do this with another book again soon!
I'm interested in your last point about Newport. What advantages do you think basic journalism provides? It helps make the writing more grounded and less abstract/academic?
I'd like to pitch an episode that digs into the heart of Alaska's fun (and some would say lawless) celebrations, with a special focus on Arcticman – Alaska's own Burning Man: an annual weeklong drunken sledneck revival in the mountains, recently in the news for pushing the limits of first amendment rights in the context of extreme sports and festival culture. Arcticman, Salmonfest and the now-defunct Barticman (a drunken race on DIY transportation pulled by other drunk people on bikes, a race to see who can drink the most PBR and the fastest), Case Day (an unofficial college holiday where students try to drink 24 beers in 24 hours and keep track via sharpie on their arms, usually multiple bands, mud wrestling and a mechanical salmon involved), a yearly community 4th of july event driving beater cars off the bluff, and Trapper Creek Bluegrass festival (that one was especially crazy - took place on Hells Angels' land, complete with a self-styled "Karma Patrol" on 4wheelers and a ban on law enforcement). Escapism in a wild-west vibe. Adventure, community, a defiant stance on freedom of expression. This episode could show how festivals represent an intersection of cultural identity, sporting exhilaration, and the ongoing debate over first amendment rights, all set in Alaska: majestic, stunning, and full of militias, conservatives, democrats who love guns, anti-LGBT and staunch church-goers (with a sprinkling of liberals like me).
p.s. I have participated in almost all of these events.
Wait, wut?!? You had me at "mud wrestling and mechanical salmon." This is amazing. I very briefly lived in Alaska (Toolik Lake ecological research station, so not sure it really counts) and have never heard of any of this. (Also had the great pleasure of spending a few days with the late Lance Mackey for a story. He made me work in his dog yard if I wanted to hang out...the barking made it very hard to transcribe the interview tape!) I'm 100% going to make sure Pablo sees this, and offer you as a potential interview subject;) This is both a hilarious and extremely well-written comment.
Toolik Lake, though, that’s a part of Alaska not many get to see! I was a big Lance Mackey fan, he lived near where I grew up and I would see him often as a UAF journalism student covering the Yukon Quest for the student paper.
Yeah, Alaskans know how to party. Case Day was wild - I somehow both made it to 24 beers in 24 hours AND got an A on my TV news reporting class project on it! They banned the mechanical salmon that year after a student rode it topless, sadly.
By the way, LOVED this Q&A and am quite inspired, especially about the constant content-churning mind of Pablo. I'd love to have that kind of a brain. Also grateful that you, David, have kept this up despite the advice to give readers something consistent. I love being surprised.
I’m so not into sports— watching them or playing them, though I get the appeal. And I’ve certainly been to my fair share of professional sports, high school sports and other kids sports— sometimes by choice, and other times not. And a friend once told me that the reason football was so interesting was the storylines behind the players. So I get it. But anyway, I digress.
The reason I wanted to post a comment was simply to state that I get the idea of being curious about lots of different things. And how Pablo’s podcast may not have a ‘theme’ per se, other than as he so aptly states in the title, that he’s going to find out about something. That is the theme— the content doesn’t have to be similar. And we are allowed to have diverse interests, etc. It made me think a lot about Elizabeth Gilbert’s line in Big Magic, about following your curiosity, rather than your passion. I always thought I was a failure because I couldn’t find the one thing I was passionate about— and it’s because my passion lies in being curious about different things! But that idea still isn’t quite the status quo, as I think it should be.
Anyway, thanks for broadening my curiosity into something else! Always a lot to learn. And I’d jump on the bandwagon from the above comment too. What is the deal with pickleball? In my NYC neighborhood the building (painting) of multiple pickle ball courts on the basketball court has proven quite contentions. And who gets to play on the court and for how long…
Bridgitte, I appreciate that you took time to read this despite being so not into sports. I didn't know that Elizabeth Gilbert line, but I love it and I'm glad I know it now, as I think that definitely describes my path, and one I haven't always found easy to embrace. Basically, sounds like you and I are on a similar wavelength. ...As to pickleball, ok, now I'm really getting curious. I'm aware that it's growing and everything, but I haven't paid attention to the details. I'm definitely going to share pickleball suggestions with Pablo.
I think it would be interesting to learn more about how fantasy sports changes the consumption of sports, and maybe a more nuanced view of the business models (or business ecosystem) behind it.
Hey Tully, I'm also really curious about this! In particular, as fantasy sports has become such big business, with people able to play for all sorts of outcomes that aren't just wins, I wonder how much of the entire sports-viewing universe revolves around fantasy, or something like it. I know it's big, but I too don't really understand the details. I'll definitely share with Pablo!
Thank you. Love this Substack, David! Keep it up.
Show idea for Pablo:
Why are so many athletes and celebrities buying pickleball teams?
Ha, that's a good one! I don't play pickleball, but I am curious about the craze. I'm going to make sure he sees this
It just doesn't add up to me.
I listened to most of Pablo's ESPN podcasts. One of the things I miss most about them is his Monday morning chats with Bill Barnwell or Alex Smith. I have with watched or listened to every Pablo Torre finds out. His episodes with Katie Nolan are great as well as when he talks with Mina Kimes and Lebatard
Hey Sanford, thanks for this, and I'll share the feedback with Pablo!
This newsletter is just as fun as his podcast! A friend of mine turned me onto it a month ago, and I find it strangely validating. As a nerdy person, I find myself around a lot of nerdy people, and I often feel strangely ashamed of and consciously suppressing my massive sports fandom. But it's other nerdy people/big sports fans like you and Pablo who make me feel more comfortable in my own skin. I'm not sure if you've ever felt that, but thank you for that :)
Also, I loved the Zoom with Dr. Mark last night. You nailed a feeling that I couldn't articulate when you noted how rare it is to hear about productivity/self-help from someone who has done so much research in the field. As much as I love Gladwell, Newport, or Stulberg, Mark is the one doing so much of the work that great storytellers feed off of. (To be fair to Cal, he has done mountains of research in other areas.) Can I ask you an interview-themed question? I'm curious as to how you thought about your job during the interview. How was this different than other interviews you do? I suspect that most interviews for your work tend to be about you trying to find out something you don't already know, but in this case I'm guessing you probably knew most of the answers to the questions you asked, and your responsibility was to help communicate these to the listeners. All the while you had to consult your own list of questions, monitor the chat for questions, and make jokes about being able to lift 24/7. You made it look smooth, but (in the same way you said to Pablo that a lot of work must go into his prep) it had to require a TON of work on your end, right?
Hey Matt, glad you enjoyed! I shared your comment with Pablo, and he said your feeling of validation is really gratifying for him, and he mentioned that, as a non-athlete/nerd in sports media, he's unusual in his milieu in some ways too. Or at least, people are apt to misjudge him.
Thanks for coming to the Zoom! Regarding the multitasking (ironic) you're mentioning, it was a little tricky. I actually probably would have made many more jokes (I enjoy a repartee, and even usually laugh at pretty bad jokes), but monitoring the various things (and the clock) made it hard for me to be in the moment as much. Particularly when I saw a listener send a note that they couldn't hear Gloria, so then I was concerned and wanted to keep monitoring for that. That said, you're absolutely right that this was not an exploratory interview. I saw my role as just trying to tee Gloria up to share some of her insights and either get people interested in her book or at least leave them with a nugget or two. In that role, I'm reticent to follow up on any topic too much, as I sort of want to touch on a lot of things, and let the interviewee decide how deep to go. I'm never sure what the right balance is for this kind of interview, and honestly I feel like I always come away thinking I didn't get it quite right, but not sure what the alternative is. A lot of the questions coming in during the Zoom were about ADHD, and I knew that Gloria, not being a clinician, didn't really want to talk specifically about ADHD. So I'd never avoid a topic, but in this case I knew her answer would be, basically, "I'm not a clinician," so I didn't want to take time for that. So I was fumbling my way through it! But I did prep, and had topics I wanted to hit, and viewed my place as just prompting her to share interesting things from her work, and then it's really up to her to drive. In my newsletter Q&A's, they're often somewhere between that Zoom (not exploratory at all), and background book interviews (very exploratory). So with Pablo for example, I wanted to share and highlight what he's doing, so asked some questions where I had ideas of the answers, but mixed in with my own curiosity about the mechanics of the show. I guess I mainly did not know what his answers would be, but was oriented toward highlighting specific episodes so he could share what he's doing.
Interesting point about Gladwell, Newport, Stulberg, etc. Cal has indeed done research, but his research is so distant from his writing topics (although I think it equips him in certain ways), that I hasn't struck me before as a credential for his work. (Just as my research on Arctic plant physiology hasn't struck me as a credential, although I also think it equipped me in certain ways I couldn't possibly have foreseen at the time. I was actually just talking about it in an exploratory interview last week.) I actually view his willingness to do basically journalism as what sets his writing apart from many academics. This could be an interesting topic to discuss!
Interesting points. It's so cool to think that you mentioned that to Pablo and that he engaged with it. Thank you for doing that. The exploratory balance you struck seemed to be a good one from an observer's point of view. This is random, but another aspect of this I enjoyed was having to read a book by a deadline. It felt like school in that sense, and I missed that aspect of it, especially since this had all intrinsic motivation without any of the extrinsic motivation that school and grades come along with. I hope you do this with another book again soon!
I'm interested in your last point about Newport. What advantages do you think basic journalism provides? It helps make the writing more grounded and less abstract/academic?
I'd like to pitch an episode that digs into the heart of Alaska's fun (and some would say lawless) celebrations, with a special focus on Arcticman – Alaska's own Burning Man: an annual weeklong drunken sledneck revival in the mountains, recently in the news for pushing the limits of first amendment rights in the context of extreme sports and festival culture. Arcticman, Salmonfest and the now-defunct Barticman (a drunken race on DIY transportation pulled by other drunk people on bikes, a race to see who can drink the most PBR and the fastest), Case Day (an unofficial college holiday where students try to drink 24 beers in 24 hours and keep track via sharpie on their arms, usually multiple bands, mud wrestling and a mechanical salmon involved), a yearly community 4th of july event driving beater cars off the bluff, and Trapper Creek Bluegrass festival (that one was especially crazy - took place on Hells Angels' land, complete with a self-styled "Karma Patrol" on 4wheelers and a ban on law enforcement). Escapism in a wild-west vibe. Adventure, community, a defiant stance on freedom of expression. This episode could show how festivals represent an intersection of cultural identity, sporting exhilaration, and the ongoing debate over first amendment rights, all set in Alaska: majestic, stunning, and full of militias, conservatives, democrats who love guns, anti-LGBT and staunch church-goers (with a sprinkling of liberals like me).
p.s. I have participated in almost all of these events.
Wait, wut?!? You had me at "mud wrestling and mechanical salmon." This is amazing. I very briefly lived in Alaska (Toolik Lake ecological research station, so not sure it really counts) and have never heard of any of this. (Also had the great pleasure of spending a few days with the late Lance Mackey for a story. He made me work in his dog yard if I wanted to hang out...the barking made it very hard to transcribe the interview tape!) I'm 100% going to make sure Pablo sees this, and offer you as a potential interview subject;) This is both a hilarious and extremely well-written comment.
Toolik Lake, though, that’s a part of Alaska not many get to see! I was a big Lance Mackey fan, he lived near where I grew up and I would see him often as a UAF journalism student covering the Yukon Quest for the student paper.
Yeah, Alaskans know how to party. Case Day was wild - I somehow both made it to 24 beers in 24 hours AND got an A on my TV news reporting class project on it! They banned the mechanical salmon that year after a student rode it topless, sadly.
By the way, LOVED this Q&A and am quite inspired, especially about the constant content-churning mind of Pablo. I'd love to have that kind of a brain. Also grateful that you, David, have kept this up despite the advice to give readers something consistent. I love being surprised.
Naomi, if Pablo is intrigued by your idea, may I go ahead and share your email with him?
Yes, please do!
This is the perfect encouragement, since I'm regularly bemoaning my own unpredictability!