The Jonah Keri Podcast

Jonah Keri continues his MLB playoff coverage of the ALDS and NLDS with Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus (Texas Rangers); Tommy Bennett of Baseball Prospectus (Philadelphia Phillies); Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis Cardinals); Ben Kabak of River Avenue Blues (New York Yankees); Al Beaton of Bless You Boys (Detroit Tigers); Jack Moore of FanGraphs and Disciples of Uecker (Milwaukee Brewers); and Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (Arizona Diamondbacks).

Jonah Keri breaks down the 2011 MLB wild card contenders with bloggers Patrick Sullivan from Over the Monster, Steve Slowinski from DRaysBay, Craig Calcaterra from NBC Sports Hardball Talk, and Dayn Perry from ESPN Insider and FanGraphs, then discusses the division winners with Doug Glanville from ESPN's Baseball Tonight.

Jonah Keri interviews Rob Neyer, National Baseball Editor for SB Nation. Topics include: Jonah's birthday and favorite ages; the Braves, the Cards, and the NL wildcard race; the AL wildcard race; and the Moneyball movie and the statistical revolution.

Jonah Keri interviews R.A. Dickey, knuckleball-throwing pitcher for the New York Mets. Topics include: R.A. Dickey Face; losing his signing bonus because of the discovery that he doesn't have an Ulnar Collateral Ligament; his long stint in the minor leagues; the knuckleball; becoming a pitching coach; how the Mets' ownership issues and stadium changes impact players; Star Wars night at Citi Field; climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for the charity Red Light District Outreach Mumbai; the Mets' reaction to one of their top pitchers climbing Mount Kilimanjaro; embracing social media; and writing a book.

Jonah Keri interviews Len Kasper, play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Cubs on WGN and Comcast TV. Topics include: Milwaukee Brewers' 2011 outlook; whether anyone can beat the Phillies in the playoffs; how baseball players' salaries affect our perception of them; trading Joey Votto; how expected win totals affect player acquisitions; the future of the cubs: Starlin Castro, spending over slot for draft picks, finding patient hitters; spending a lot of money on free agents when teams are still a couple of years away from winning; following in Harry Caray's footsteps; and integrating cutting-edge ideas into a mainstream broadcast.

Jonah Keri interviews Dave Dameshek, writer and podcaster for NFL.com. Topics include: Debating Tim Raines vs. Willie Stargell; WAR: what is it good for?; our shared crush on Rob Lowe; franchise players; the Sonic Award; and a League of Leagues update. The Jonah Keri Podcast is now part of the Grantland Network.

Jonah Keri interviews Mike Scully, former writer and showrunner for The Simpsons as well as writer and producer for Parks and Recreation, Everybody Loves Raymond, and several other series. He is co-creator of the upcoming Napoleon Dynamite animated television series. Topics include: The start of Mike's career: writing jokes for Yakov Smirnoff; walking into The Simpsons writers room; balancing highbrow and lowbrow jokes; quotability; sharing The Simpsons with our children; Mike's favorite episodes from his four years as show runner; copycats; sensitivity around The Simpsons World Trade Center episode; hockey on The Simpsons; getting guest stars; Boston Bruins and LA Kings; Parks and Recreation: Comparisons to animated shows, and finding an audience; the upcoming Napoleon Dynamite animated series; censorship battles on The Simpsons; Springsteen. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews David Leonhardt, economics columnist and soon-to-be Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times and 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winner. Topics include: The state of the economy; the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the economy; the impact of tax cuts and increases on the economy; politicians are just like Jim Hendry: what is best for the collective is not best for the individual leader; the White House's mistakes and the outlook for the 2012 election; taxing the rich; Standard and Poor's credit downgrade; how much innovation and education can help the economy; the future of the American dream; the upcoming baseball pennant races; and Bryce Harper and humility in sports. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Ken Davidoff, national baseball writer for Newsday and acting President of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Topics include: Ken's prediction that MLB would not do anything about A-Rod's poker games; whether gambling is a huge potential problem for MLB; the stupidity of our species; why it is so easy to pick on A-Rod;  A-Rod vs. Jeter; state of the Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry; the Yankees' playoff rotation; whether all baseball writers should learn to speak Spanish; what the Mets should do with Jose Reyes; the Mets' inferiority complex; the function of Twitter for a sportswriter; and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Alan Hahn of Newsday. Topics include: The New York Islanders; pluses and minuses of massive development projects like arenas; Plan B for the Islanders arena now that Nassau voters have rejected the proposal; the last true dynasty; the NBA lockout; and imagining a farm system for the NBA. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo's Big League Stew baseball blog. Topics include: The Jays/White Sox trade of Zach Stewart and Jason Frasor for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen; Kenny Williams; what were the Cardinals thinking?; Alex Anthopoulos is a Ninja; Ervin Santana's no-hitter; whether Tony LaRussa was right to chase Colby Rasmus out of town, and whether a team like the Jays should take a chance on a high-upside pain; lousy teams with cool ballparks; winners and losers in the Carlos Beltran trade; and whether non-contenders like the Astros, Cubs, and Mariners are sufficiently aggressive in marketing their tradeable players. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts and Variety. Topics include: The Moneyball movie; Friday Night Lights; this year's Emmy nominations; Dodger Thoughts and the early days of baseball blogging; having a dual persona; Frank McCourt; Clayton Kershaw; and interacting with Michael Schur and Ken Tremendous without realizing they are the same person. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week. This episode was sponsored by Wyndotte Street.

Jonah Keri interviews Rickey Henderson, the Man of Steal and Hall of Fame left fielder. Topics include: Rickey's proudest record; his exaggerated crouch; using mathematical calcuations and situational context for base stealing; misperceptions in the media; talking about himself in the 3rd person; keeping tabs on competitors like Tim Raines; his current role in baseball; and the Pepsi Max Field of Dream Team.

Jonah Keri interviews Jesse Thorn, host of the The Sound of Young America on Public Radio and the Jordan, Jesse, Go! podcast. Jesse writes about "dressing like a grownup" at Put This On. Topics include: Being a sports fan among comedians and fashionistas; the new trend of fashion among NBA players; why men should bother to care about how they look; whether it's acceptable to wear shorts; the lost art of mindfulness; menswear blogs; The State of the Union in Comedy; the San Francisco Giants; Fantasy Fantasy Sports Analysts and other meta-fantasy analysis; and shared anxiety over losing podcast listeners to fascinating guests. Plus,  the Food Pick of the Week.

Jonah Keri interviews Rob Neyer of SB Nation. Topics include: The Giants' huge run differential; the Diamondbacks' key to success; the Giants' success; the Phillies' not-great offense; great pitching and flawed offense on the Seattle Mariners; big deals; teams that won't admit they're out of it; AL Central; the transition from DH to non-DH; the Frank McCourt mess; the pluses and minuses of Mark Cuban as an MLB owner; summer movie preview; Jonah's next book: The definitive history of the Montreal Expos; first person writing; The Jonah Power Rankings; the new Elements of Style; Jonah and Rob's upcoming appearance at SABR; and an unexpected addition to SB Nation. Plus, the Food Pick of the Week.