Episodes

Thursday Oct 11, 2018
Episode 216: Julie Heldman
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
On the heels of the release of her new book, "Driven: A Daughter's Odyssey," Ben speaks with Julie Heldman about her journey and the legacy of her mother, Hall-of-Famer Gladys Heldman.
Heldman, one of the "Original 9," details the formative days of professional women's tennis and the factors that helped it off the ground. We discuss her mother's role, Billie Jean King's role, and how the story is remembered today.
We also discuss the sport today and her struggles with mental health, which were worsened by often cruel treatment by her mother.
It's a compelling read and you should check it out, for sure.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR216!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Sunday Jan 14, 2018
Episode 200: Mary Carillo
Sunday Jan 14, 2018
Sunday Jan 14, 2018
Ben and Courtney are delighted to see their ersatz odometer click over to 200 with their dear friend Mary Carillo at the Australian Open (the 200th Grand Slam of the Open Era, no less!). She's our kind of people.
Mary, in Melbourne for Tennis Channel, is also in the midst of reporting for HBO's Real Sports about the controversy surrounding the Australian Open's Margaret Court Arena, which has faced calls for a name change or boycott as its namesake, the Grand Slam champ-turned-pastor Margaret Court has continued to escalate her crusade against gay and transgender people, including children.
We discuss many of the sides of this complex issue, the perspectives of Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, as well as how BJK serve-and-volleyed Tennis Australia before the tournament began.
We end with Mary's enduring love for tennis, as well as her iconic moment regarding another racquet sport: badminton.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR200!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!

Monday Sep 11, 2017
Episode 198b: U.S. Open - Rafa, Sloane, Battle of the Sexes, Unstoppable
Monday Sep 11, 2017
Monday Sep 11, 2017
The 2017 U.S. Open wrapped up with an unsurprising men's champ in Rafael Nadal and a very surprising women's champ in Sloane Stephens. How did we get there? We discuss.
What do we make of how the draw broke in Rafa's favor? And how was Kevin Anderson the one able to seize the opportunity on the bottom half?
On the women's side, how did Sloane Stephens go from not being able to walk to playing her best tennis ever so quickly? What's next for her? Also, how should the other Americans in the final four--Madison Keys, CoCo Vandeweghe, Venus Williams--feel about their tournaments? And what sort of #1 will Garbine Muguruza be after unseating Karolina Pliskova?
And snaps to the USTA for one heckuva tournament.
Also, we discuss the new tennis movie Battle of the Sexes, as well as Maria Sharapova's new memoir "Unstoppable."
Mentioned on this episode: Chloe Cooper Jones' GQ piece on Dominic Thiem and Kelsey Anderson talking taxes on NCR.
As always, thanks for liking us on Facebook (leave comments on the episode thread! Engage with other listeners!), following us on Twitter (discuss this episode with hashtag #NCR198b!), and subscribing/reviewing on iTunes on iTunes or whatever your podcasting app/platform of choice may be!