Tag: Podcasts

Ultimate Podcast Bracket: Vote in the Elite 8!

Vote now in the Elite 8 of our Ultimate Podcast Bracket.

We’re on to the Elite 8.

After two spirited rounds of voting in our made-up imaginary podcast bracket, we have just eight pods remaining.

We had even more fun upsets in the Sweet 16, with No. 4 My Favorite Murder knocking off juggernaut No. 1 Crime Junkie. We also had two more Cinderella stories keep their runs going, with two 8-seeds, Shutdown Fullcast and Hardcore History, keeping the magic alive.

Of the eight remaining, analysts are still tabbing defending champions Binge Mode as the odds-on favorite, but they might run into trouble in the scrappy 8-seed of Hardcore History.

As always, voting will be open until 10 a.m. ET tomorrow. VOTE NOW!

True Crime Region

No. 4 My Favorite Murder vs. No. 2 Serial

[polldaddy poll=10518857]

Sports Region

No. 8 Shutdown Fullcast vs. No. 3 Pat McAfee Show

[polldaddy poll=10518858]

Culture / Comedy Region

No. 8 Hardcore History vs. No. 3 Binge Mode

[polldaddy poll=10518859]

News / Politics Region

No. 1 The Daily vs. No. 2 Pod Save America

[polldaddy poll=10518860]

Ultimate Podcast Bracket 2020: Vote in the Sweet 16

We’re onto the second round of our annual Ultimate Podcast Bracket. Vote for your favorite podcasts!

The first round of Ultimate Podcast Bracket voting is in the books and hoo buddy did we have a round.

First: The favorites. In “looking like contenders” news, defending champions Binge Mode went and scoffed at the committee’s 3-seed, romping over the Ron Burgundy Podcast with 80 percent of the vote. Last year’s runner-up Crime Junkie also won easily over in the True Crime region, and looks set to make another deep run.

But enough of that. Let’s talk upsets. We had TWO 8-seeds upset 1-seeds this year, a thrilling development for the many rampant fans of our imaginary, meaningless podcast bracket. The first was Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, which I recommend as a lovely podcast to learn some stuff and then fall asleep to, which hung on to beat This American Life. The history nerds went and beat up the people who wear cool glasses and tell interesting stories at cocktail parties, and it was a sight to behold.

The other major upset came in the Sports Region, where upstarts Shutdown Fullcast defeated No. 1 seed Bill Simmons Podcast. The fact that the Fullcast was able to do this without working microphones, production of any kind, or any semblance of week-to-week coherence, well, it only speaks to their scrappiness and verve.

On to the Sweet 16! Vote! Once again, voting will remain open until 10 a.m. ET tomorrow. 

True Crime Region

No. 1 Crime Junkie vs. No. 4 My Favorite Murder

[polldaddy poll=10518324]

No. 6 Criminal vs. No. 2 Serial

[polldaddy poll=10518325]

Sports Region

No. 8 Shutdown Fullcast vs. No. 4 Ringer NBA Show

[polldaddy poll=10518326]

No. 3 Pat McAfee Show vs. No. 7 Mina Kimes Show

[polldaddy poll=10518327]

Culture / Comedy Region

No. 8 Hardcore History vs. No. 5 Stuff You Should Know

[polldaddy poll=10518328]

No. 3 Binge Mode vs. No. 2 Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

[polldaddy poll=10518329]

News / Politics Region

No. 1 The Daily vs. No. 5 Today, Explained

[polldaddy poll=10518331]

No. 3 FiveThirtyEight Politics vs. No. 2 Pod Save America

[polldaddy poll=10518332]

Ultimate Podcast Bracket 2020: Vote for your favorite podcast

We have 32 podcasts squaring off in a March Madness-style bracket. Vote for your favorites!

The FTW Ultimate Podcast Bracket is back for its second annual iteration. It’s time for some Pod Wars.

Last year, Binge Mode made a major run from the 4-seed, upsetting big names on the way to a title win over Crime Junkie in the final. We’ve rewarded Binge Mode’s excellence last year by bumping them up one spot, to binge ma 3-seed. Why? We like when they’ve got something to prove. Also we forgot them when doing the first two seeds, and I was too lazy to go back and change it.

When it comes to seeding, we’ve used the scientific “glancing at the Apple Podcast charts and then also just putting in stuff we like” method. If we left off your podcast, don’t be too offended. I left off my own podcast. See? I hate myself as much as I hate you.

The polls will close at 10 a.m. ET the following day, and new matchups will be posted at 10:30-ish. If I’m late, just chill. Give me some time. Updating these Illustrator files can be a bear, and it’s a whole thing, and this is a made-up podcast bracket.

OK! Now vote!

True Crime Region

[polldaddy poll=10517728]

[polldaddy poll=10517729]

[polldaddy poll=10517730]

[polldaddy poll=10517732]

Sports Region

[polldaddy poll=10517733]

[polldaddy poll=10517734]

[polldaddy poll=10517736]

[polldaddy poll=10517737]

Culture / Comedy Region

[polldaddy poll=10517741]

[polldaddy poll=10517742]

[polldaddy poll=10517743]

[polldaddy poll=10517744]

News / Politics Region

[polldaddy poll=10517745]

[polldaddy poll=10517749]

[polldaddy poll=10517753]

[polldaddy poll=10517755]

Binge the entire first season of our true crime podcast, ‘The Sneak’

The Sneak is FTW’s serialized, true crime podcast that tells the story of a once-great football star who robbed an armored truck.

This winter, For The Win tried something new. We, along with partners USA TODAY and Wondery Media, released our first narrative podcast.

It’s a podcast at the intersection of sports and true crime, and tells the story of Anthony Curcio, a once-great football star who fell on hard times and then pulled off an audacious robbery — stealing $400,000 from an armored truck and then escaping in an inner tube down a river.

As we found with new reporting, however, the story that had been told about the crime? It wasn’t the full story. Not even close. What started out as a true crime story soon became a story about a small town, and that town’s secrets. Secrets about the crime, and the people who got away with it.

The entire first season is now out, ready for binging. Each episode is between 15 and 20 minutes long, so you can move pretty quickly through it, and we think you’ll like it. We’d love if you gave it a shot.

Subscribe to ‘The Sneak’

Watch our mini documentary on the story

Explore an interactive map that shows the crime scene

Our interactive map lets you explore each moment of the crime, and allows you to see exactly how it all went down.

See other behind-the-scenes videos

Podcast: Remembering the legacy of Kobe Bryant

USA TODAY’s NBA writer Mark Medina and Alex Kennedy from Hoops Hype talk about Bryant’s death and legacy.

NBA fans and players are reeling from the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant. In this special addition of the For The Win podcast, we talk to USA TODAY’s NBA writer Mark Medina and Alex Kennedy from Hoops Hype about Bryant’s death and legacy he leaves behind.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS

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Podcast: Is this the last time Tom Brady plays for the New England Patriots?

The potential end of an era looms.

This week, Hemal Jhaveri, Steven Ruiz and Evan Thorpe discuss Tom Brady’s potential last game for the Patriots, plus name a Worst Fan of the Week (congrats, Karen) dish a bit about Danica Patrick and Aaron Rodgers and offer some Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker thoughts. Join us!

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS

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Introducing The Sneak, a new true crime podcast from For The Win and USA TODAY Sports

Everything you need to know to subscribe to FTW’s first serialized true crime podcast.

The Sneak is a new, serialized true crime podcast, out today on Wondery+, from For The Win and USA TODAY Sports.

Season one is about the story of an armored car robbery which took place in a suburb of Seattle in 2008, the once great athlete who committed that crime, and how the crime forever changed the small town where it occurred.

The podcast is available today. Right now. Here are the details:

Listen to The Sneak

You can listen to the first episode of The Sneak, totally free, on Apple Podcasts right now.

If you subscribe to Wondery+ at Wondery.com/PLUS, you will get access to each new episode of The Sneak, ad free, every week. It’s $4.99 a month and you can cancel at any time.

By subscribing, you’ll also get access to Wondery’s other great podcasts ad-free, including Dr. Death, Confronting O.J. Simpson, Over My Dead Body, and more.

The Story (some spoilers)

There are a few spoilers below, so if you want to come in fresh, skip down to the next section. 

ONE MORE WARNING. OK.

The first season of The Sneak tells the story of Anthony Curcio, aka D.B. Tuber, a college football star who committed an outlandish armored car heist in 2008. Curcio used a disguise, Craigslist-hired decoys, and made a wild escape in an inner tube down a river.

It’s a perfect crime story, but as we discovered in our reporting: It was too perfect. The story that went viral worldwide, well, it was missing things. Like how it actually all went down. And who else was involved.

Watch the trailer

Visit the show’s website

Get access to special features and learn more about the team that made The Sneak over at thesneakpodcast.com.