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Home / Features / Top five Poker In The Ears podcasts of 2020

Throughout the year, Poker In The Ears has been bringing you poker chat, special guest interviews, and of course, Joe’s stupid games. The podcast is a source of near-constant joy for players and fans in the community, but we have to say that some episodes stand out as the “classics”.

Here we take you through the top episodes of 2020, hand picked by the podcast’s co-host James Hartigan. If you’re a regular listener, then you may have heard one or more of these before. If you’re new to the show, now’s the perfect time to see what Poker In The Ears is all about.

J.D Shapiro explains why his own film is so bad

In Episode 176, Superfan Darrin Curtis picked Battlefield Earth (one of the worst films ever made) as his specialist subject. Watching it for research caused Joe and James a lot of pain. The film’s original screenwriter J.D. Shapiro agreed to make a special guest appearance on the podcast to explain WHY the movie is so bad. The episode also features Poker Personality of the Year Jonathan Little, who joins for a discussion on the Global Poker Awards.

Actor David Costabile joins show after winning charity poker tournament

Back in May, PokerStars held the Call For Action online charity tournament, which brought together celebrities and poker players alike and gave away $1 million to various causes. Out of all the famous faces, actor David Costabile came out the eventual winner. And Joe and James jumped on the opportunity to bring him on the podcast. In Episode 183, Costabile talks about the poker tourney, as well as his roles in Billions and Breaking Bad.

Maria Konnikova on her new book The Biggest Bluff

Joe and James often obsess over films and TV during the podcast, but they also read books. There have been several episodes focusing on book reviews this year, but the top of the pack was Episode 185, headlined by Maria Konnikova discussing her poker journal The Biggest Bluff.The book details her adventure from novice to accomplished and sponsored player, gives glimpses into the life of her poker coach Erik Seidel, and offers lessons as to what poker can teach us about life.

Top ranked online poker pro joins podcast

Every now and then, Joe and James talk to actual poker players. In Episode 195, Bert “girafganger7” Stevens joins the podcast. This is a player who has over $12.7 million in online tournament winnings. Stevens has three WCOOP titles and won two EPT Online events this year. He is ranked number one in the UK and number two in the world on PocketFives (at the time of writing). Stevens talks about his poker journey, his collection of farm animals, and how his relationship saved him.

200th Anniversary special features Phil Hellmuth and Aaron Sorkin

The 200th Episode of Poker In The Ears was a very special anniversary podcast, this one featuring a long list of celebrity guests, each worth of their own show. Jennifer Shahade and Spraggy talk about poker and the Queen’s Gambit. Original poker brat Phil Hellmuth joins the podcast and talks about other player’s perception of him, his rants and meltdowns, and what the real Hellmuth is like. Writer, director and producer Aaron Sorkin is next up, and he’s here to discuss whether Molly’s Game is actually a poker film. It’s an excellent Anniversary, and one of the most memorable episodes of the year. The audio version is below, and you can check out the video version here on YouTube.

Poker In The Ears recently aired its 200th episode, the first ever in video format, with special guests that included Aaron Sorkin and Phil Helmuth

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