The grandfather of the active-athlete podcast has found a new digital home.
On Monday, The Ringer announced it is bringing aboard Sixers guard and veteran podcast host J.J. Redick to host a show as part of the site’s podcast network. The show, creatively dubbed “The J.J. Redick Podcast” will debut Wednesday. One of Redick’s early guests, The Ringer teased, will be his Philadelphia teammate Joel Embiid.
The idea of an active athlete hosting a podcast is no longer much of a novelty. We’ve got “Road Trippin'” with Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye on Uninterrupted, which also airs “The Victor Cruz Show” and Draymond Green’s apparently defunct “Dray Day” (which may be defunct… but could return any time). Over on The Players Tribune you’ll find “R2C2” featuring CC Sabathia.
But before all those podcasts, there was Redick’s show on Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical, which debuted in February 2016 and lasted through Halloween. Redick migrated over to Uninterrupted over the summer but didn’t last long there before finding a new podcast home on The Ringer. In a 49-second tease for his new show, Redick said he will interview athletes such as Embiid, as well as celebrities such as James Corden.
Redick’s podcast on Yahoo was always well-received, with the guard earning plaudits for his insight, his comfort at the mic and a lineup of guests that included Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Coach K, Aaron Rodgers, Steve Nash, Steve Ballmer. Last August, he brought on Ringer editor-in-chief Bill Simmons, who will now serve as his boss.
Redick’s new show adds to a deep Ringer lineup that includes podcasts on MLB, the NBA, the NFL, college sports, video games, television, movies, food and more, plus the massively popular Bill Simmons Podcast. Simmons and company have shown a willingness to draw big names before, luring former Comedy Central host and longtime TV writer/producer Larry Wilmore for a regular podcast. Bringing Redick aboard gives The Ringer the type of show people will, theoretically at least, seek out and come back to again and again.
Active athletes provide all sorts of perspective that the average reporter, analyst or even former player simply can’t. When they can combine that insight, as Redick can, with a compelling personality and fun sense of humor, all the better.