Best Episodes: Fan Recommendations from the archives

We all have our faves but here are some to start with! If you want more specific recommendations, make a Patreon pledge, join the Discord and ask – there’s plenty of long timers and / or people who just listen to thousands and thousands of hours of audio who can point you in a certain direction.

* February 2018: David Warner. A pre-Sandpapergate interview which is thoughtful and reflective. It will genuinely leave you scratching your head about how he got from there to March 2018. (See also: Geoff’s book *Steve Smith’s Men*.)
* March 30, 2018: Sandpaper-gate. Live from the scene and with limited Australian media on the ground, Geoff and Adam have spent days and nights doing interviews while everyone tries to understand what on earth happened in South Africa. This episode was recorded on a rooftop while both Geoff and Adam were delirious with sleep deprivation.
* March 2019: Glenn Maxwell. One of the patron saints of TFW.
* July 2019: Natalie Germanos. One of many great interviews with various women in cricket about their journeys, including the new generation of professional players and commentators.  Geoff and Adam’s respect for, and understanding of, the women’s game, coupled with the lengths they have gone to cover the game, produces some great interviews as people feel free to open up. Other interviews with some of the fantastic women of cricket are suggested below, but highlights include an interview with Associate Professor Dr Deirdre McGhee, a sports scientist researching breast injuries in women’s elite sport, and the lack of understanding of women’s physiology in sport.
* February 2020: Ebony Rainford-Brent with a follow-up in November 2020 to specifically address BLM.  TFW regularly engages with some tough questions around equality and justice in cricket, without neglecting the cricketing brilliance of people like Ebony Rainford-Brent. There’s also a great January 26 interview with Munanjahli writer Dr Chelsea Watego and a 2020 interview with Dan Christian covering Australian cricket’s relationship with Indigenous players and communities, and a number of other interviews addressing similar topics. TFW regularly cover ‘associate cricket’ and interview players from all over the world, as well as being open about the political challenges in host countries - most recently during the Sri Lanka - Australia Tests.
* January 2021: Marcus Stoinis. More than just a big rig. Marcus starts talking about cricket as a backdrop to the rest of his life, and opens up about caring for his father as he died. It’s an honest and touching interview which resonated with a lot of people. It’s also on YouTube here.
* March 2021: Story Time 38 - The Dera Ismail Khan Disco. The disco to end all discos. The story in question starts at about the 23:45 mark.
* 213: Geoff’s 23-minute masterclass on 213 (aka the Final Word Number or Cricket’s Golden Number).  The segment begins at 1:22 of Season 8, Episode 7 and we *highly* recommend a listen.
* Calling The Shots, A brilliant series on the history of cricket broadcasting of all sorts. This was produced and released by Adam Collins and Daniel Norcross during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Podchaser has a searchable list of most previous episodes here.  Regular features now include a long interview released over the Christmas period and an end of year review of the best and worst of cricket stories for the year. Other recommended interviews include Mel Jones, Kate Cross, Clare Connor, Harsha Bogle, Jim Maxwell, Jeremy Coney,  and Gerard Whateley. If pop culture’s more your thing, Urthboy and Paul Kelly have featured, as have comedian Wil Anderson and actor William McInnes.