The Zach Lowe Show

Zach Lowe spent years as the most respected NBA columnist at ESPN, and his move to The Ringer brought this podcast with him. The format is straightforward: twice-weekly conversations (Mondays and Thursdays) where Lowe invites fellow journalists, coaches, and basketball minds to break down what's actually happening across the league. What makes it work is Lowe's particular talent for asking the right follow-up question -- he doesn't just let guests monologue, he pushes them toward specifics about team schemes, roster construction, and the stuff happening between the box score lines. With about 90 episodes so far since the show launched under The Ringer banner, it's still building its archive, but the 4.8-star rating from nearly 2,000 reviewers shows the audience followed him enthusiastically. The conversations have a comfortable, peer-to-peer quality that avoids both the hot-take shouting of sports radio and the dry monotone of pure analytics shows. Lowe genuinely loves the NBA's weird corners -- he'll spend ten minutes on a mid-season Pacers lineup experiment with the same enthusiasm other hosts save for Lakers drama. If you already read his columns and appreciate that blend of tactical knowledge and elegant writing, the podcast captures that same sensibility in audio form. It's less about breaking news and more about understanding why the news matters.