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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe IBJ Podcast is taking a week off for the holidays. But in case you’re looking for something to listen to, we’ve pulled together a list of our most-downloaded podcasts of 2024.
A couple of themes you’ll notice (which have been consistent throughout the podcast’s nearly 7-year run): Listeners care deeply about local sports and media figures, and Pete the Planner—who already had a strong following before joining IBJ as a finance columnist—remains a compelling draw. And the podcast is a valuable and user-friendly tool in IBJ’s arsenal for explaining complicated events. Evidence: The two podcasts that unspooled the drama behind the Hogsett administration’s falling out with the Indy 11 and its moves to bring an MLS team to the city both made the top 10.
At the top of the list is host Mason King’s interview with Chick McGee, who has been a fixture on Indianapolis radio for 38 years as a cast member of “The Bob & Tom Show.”
Anybody who has listened to the show for more than a few weeks knows his central role: He’s the combustible comic foil for host Tom Griswold, who likes to claim the intellectual high ground while Chick wears his heart on his sleeve, including his seven or eight stents from cardiac disease.
In the episode, which originally aired on April 1, Mcgee and host Mason King dive into the dynamics that drive the show and how his role developed and evolved over 38 years. You might know that co-host Bob Kevoian retired in 2015 and since has suffered serious health issues; Griswold had heart valve replacement surgery in 2021; and comedian Ron Sexton, best known as recurring character Donnie Baker, died last fall. Mortality isn’t necessarily funny, but it’s fodder for McGee, who believes it’s important to be real on-air about difficult topics. McGee also runs through his origin story: growing up in an idyllic Ohio town, the rocky family life that shaped him and the mentor who encouraged him to embrace being funny.
Here’s the list of the IBJ Podcast’s 10 most-downloaded episodes of 2023:
IBJ Podcast: Chick McGee of ‘Bob & Tom’ on happiness, regrets, mortality and (of course) Tom, April 1
IBJ Podcast: Explaining the Indy Eleven stadium, MLS soccer bid drama, May 1
IBJ Podcast: Pete the Planner on what your career earnings should tell you about retirement savings, April 22
IBJ Podcast: Pete the Planner on the best and worst ways to handle a big inheritance, June 10
IBJ Podcast: John Stehr, news anchor turned mayor, on tackling one of Zionsville’s hottest issues, April 15
IBJ Podcast: Downtown soccer battle update—stadium design, burial sites, Simon family land, May 28
IBJ Podcast: Tony Pancake, the PGA’s pro of the year, walks fine line at Crooked Stick, Feb. 26
IBJ Podcast: Pete the Planner bullish on 2024 stocks, housing market (with a Constitutional caveat), Jan. 8
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