PODCASTS – MY NEW FAVORITE PASTIME

On the adoption spectrum, I have always fallen exactly in between middle adopters and late adopters for pretty much any innovation that becomes mainstream. This was the case for my relationship with the iPod, iPhone, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Kindle and earbuds. I cannot pinpoint why I choose to wait until most of my larger community of family, friends and peers have made something a part of their daily lives for me to consider exploring the idea of it becoming a part of mine. The funny thing, though, is that once I do embrace the innovation, I usually become the loudest and most vocal ambassador for it within my circles.  

The latest innovation that I have mid-to-late adopted is podcasts. Podcasts have been around for years, and I just never had any interest or curiosity about this form of acquiring information or being entertained.  Primarily because I have always preferred listening to music on my headphones when I was running, in my car, walking through a city, or on a flight. Music allows me to disconnect from the material world and get into a sort of Zen space or at least feel like I am part of my own cool music video.  This is why the thought of listening to people talk through my headphones straight into my head felt like I was subjecting myself to an ‘information injection’ when all I wanted to do was declutter my mind.  While my sentiment is reasonably accurate, I was completely wrong about the impact that podcasts can have on my quality of life.  

A little over a year ago, when the first Covid-19 lockdown was enforced, I found myself open to changing my regular content consumption patterns and exploring other options. My brother-in-law turned me onto a podcast called ‘Wisdom of the Sages, ’ which I can confidently say has transformed my life. It is a daily podcast hosted by two Americans who have spent the past three decades on the spiritual path of Bhakti Yoga. Each weekday they spend about an hour discussing the ancient Vedic scripture called the Srimad Bhagavatam, and on weekends they have listener Q&A and interview interesting people who are also on a spiritual path.  I have not missed a single episode for the past year and have found that listening to a daily spiritual podcast allows me to gain a deeper understanding of some of the mysteries of the divine and our own inner wiring.  It also puts me in a serene space of peace and presence as I head into my day, which produces miraculous results in terms of how I respond to the world and how the world typically responds to me. 

The other podcast that I have been listening to is the ‘The Rich Roll Podcast.’ The host, Rich Roll, is popularly known for being a vegan ultra-endurance athlete and an accomplished author.  His podcast, which has been running since 2012, consists of two to three-hour interviews with a variety of fascinating individuals ranging from elite athletes to cultural icons to creative geniuses to accomplished doctors to actors to spiritual leaders, etc. More than the background of the guests, though, I appreciate the way that Rich can create a safe space that allows for a transparent and authentic conversation to unfold. Also, Rich’s ability to actively listen to his guests and crystalize and reproduce the key points shared during the conversation is simply phenomenal. This podcast has not only taught me new information about holistic wellness, culture and creativity; it has also given me a model to follow in the case that I launch my own podcast in the future.   

Okay, so now on to sports. Although I love sports, I spend so much time engaged in conversations around this topic during my workday and while watching competitions live or on television that, surprisingly, I do not listen to many sports-related podcasts.  That said, I have been fortunate to be invited to serve as a guest on a few podcasts and had the opportunity to share my career journey as well as my thoughts on current trends within the sports ecosystem.  

While on this path of doing podcast interviews, I’ve realized that these are fantastic platforms for people who want to learn about how to break into the industry, understand the industry better or build their networks.  Listening to a podcast interview can be far more engaging than reading an article or report. It gives the listener a true sense of the individual, which can be challenging to pick up in a written document.  I by no means am saying that podcast interviews should replace reading when it comes to research. I just feel that for someone on the outside of the industry trying to get in, or in but trying to go up, podcast interviews can provide this service in a way that contains more personality than a written document. On that note, I’m sharing a few sports-related podcasts that I would recommend to anyone who fits the categories mentioned earlier. These are in no particular order.

Education2Sport – Hosted by Ed Bowers https://education2sport.com/  

Ed Bowers is a passionate, personable and purpose-driven individual who has uploaded over 200 interviews with people working within the sports industry. He has wonderfully tailored his podcast to address many of the questions and concerns of a person looking to learn more about the type of work people do while working in sport and how to get one’s foot through the door. Ed does a great job of having a diverse set of guests on his podcast so that his listeners gain knowledge about the entire sporting ecosystem. Here is a link to my interview with Ed: https://education2sport.com/neel-shah/ 

Sportsy Says Let’s Talk Sports – Hosted by Siddharth Deshmukh – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3BJkJkPFdZtaEtmK0I7gwQ 

Siddharth Deshmukh is an old friend, GISB faculty and veteran in the sports industry.  His podcast features some of the top athletes and sports business minds across Indian sport. It is perfect for anyone interested in learning about hot topics within the Indian sports industry and about the backgrounds of the people helping to make the Indian sports landscape grow & evolve both on and off the pitch. I was fortunate to be a guest on his podcast to speak about sports management education and the football industry. Here is a link to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1tLQyk81Q8 

SportsGrad – Hosted by Reuben Williams – https://www.sportsgrad.com.au/podcast 

Reuben Williams is an enthusiastic and highly driven person who created a podcast to support the tens of thousands of sports management students trying to figure out how to transform their passion for sport into their professions. As Reuben is based in Australia, the podcast contains interviews with several industry leaders working within Australian sport. It is light, informative and full of a number of essential tips on how to gain relevant experience, build a network and secure a job in sport. I was fortunate to be interview #48 and the first person representing the Indian sports industry on the podcast. Here is the link to the interview: https://plnk.to/sportsgrad/e/1000499961321.  

The Sportsbiz Show – Hosted by Ananya Sachdev –https://open.spotify.com/show/0kGMJEEvmQMYzUWSjqogtl 

Ananya Sachdev recently graduated from Columbia’s Sports Management program and has been a force to reckon with since then. She is a master networker and has leveraged this superpower to build a podcast that features many big names working within the Indian sports industry. Her questions are well-researched and insightful, making it easy for the guests to open up about their sports management journeys and thoughts on the industry.  This is a great podcast to check out, especially if you are a current sports management student or recent graduate. It provides great information on sports and offer a glimpse of someone who has expertly built her brand in a few short years after passing out of her post-graduate program. Here is a link to access my interview with Ananya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35lsLCsYB4g 

Kite Talks – Hosted by Arup Soans – https://www.blog.kitetalks.com/podcast

Arup Soans is a dear friend, GISB faculty and the former Marketing Director for the successful 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted in India.  Arup created an innovative sport organization called Kite Talks, which offers an engaging platform for a cross-pollination of ideas between game-changers from India's sports community and across the globe. He has a vast network and has already leveraged some of it to set up interviews with global sports industry leaders.  Kite Talks offers a number of great content pieces for anyone interested in knowing what the brightest minds feel about the present state and future opportunities within the global sports industry.  Also, Kite Talks is just getting started, so stay tuned to his website as there will be more informative and insightful content yet to come. The Kite Talks podcast interview I did with Arup is still in the publishing process, so I'm sharing a link to a recent 'Careers in Sports' webinar we recently conducted along with Prashant Khanna from Star Sports  https://youtu.be/r3AZ2L3tx2M.

That is it, folks. Do check out these podcasts mentioned above or any podcast that you feel will add value to the quality of your life in some way. Also, let me know if you have any podcast recommendations as I would love to give them a listen.