Tim brings on a group of people to discuss the everchanging world during the Coronavirus. They all share sentiment around social distancing, staying home, following experts advice, and being socially responsible during this pandemic. Tim also asked what they're doing to pass the time and get their recommendations of what they're binging, reading, or playing to take their mind off of the situation. Here's what they said: Kyle: Check out Tiger King on Netflix. Everyone on social media is going crazy talking about it so you can virtually connect with a lot of people afterward to chat about it.Dan: Listen to old music and enjoy content that you might have forgotten about. Joe: Find old sporting events on YouTube or through other platforms and enjoy watching some of your favorite sports memories again. Or even check out sports that happened before you were born. 

Open Session with Tim Durr

We're All in this Together, Life During the Coronavirus Pt. 2

Tim brings on a group of people to discuss the everchanging world during the Coronavirus. They all share sentiment around social distancing, staying home, following experts advice, and being socially responsible during this pandemic. Tim also asked what they're doing to pass the time and get their recommendations of what they're binging, reading, or playing to take their mind off of the situation. Here's what they said: Tim's mom, Linda: watch old shows from the TVLand era or other TV shows to take your mind off of it.Matt:  The Outsider on HBOEthan: Playing video games. Aaron: The House Party app allows you to connect with family or friends and play games. If you'd like to provide feedback or share stories, please leave a message for the show at 323-391-0665.

We're All in this Together, Life During the Coronavirus

Tim spent the weekend in Atlanta for his cousin's wedding and talks about how that was and the ATL. (0:46)Mac Miller's posthumous album, "Circles" released on Friday. Tim talks about his first thoughts on the album and what Mac means to him as an artist. (15:09)Eminem dropped a surprise album and people got offended by a line about Ariana Grande. (28:18)Parting Thought: Enjoying the time you spent with family is important. Even though we all have a ton of differences with our families, we should cherish the time we spent with them and make sure we're appreciative of the people who helped raise us to become who we are today. (42:00)

Atlanta Wedding, Mac Miller's Circles, and Eminem the Uncle

Tim talks about what he's been up to this week as he finished his time with Wells Fargo and prepares to head back to Lowe's. How he and Olga had some good food and Bonefish Grill and Cabo Fish Taco. (0:38)A new Mac Miller project comes out January 17th. Tim discusses his thoughts on the debut single and his expectations for "Circles", the posthumous release from Mac. (3:45)The Vault: Shortly after Mac's passing in September 2018, Tim recorded a track paying tribute to the artist and decided this would be a great time to debut it for the world. Check out the track, "Close to Home". (9:36)Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels commented on Lizzo's weight in a recent interview and Tim has some questions about the outrage culture and claiming that Lizzo is being fat-shamed by the comments Michaels made. (13:37)Sports Microcosm: Every season when new NFL head coaches are being hired by teams, the Rooney Rule comes up. The rule that requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate. In 17 years of the rules existence, it hasn't solved the lack of minority coaches in the NFL. (23:41)Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional Playoffs on Saturday and the hot takes and strong defenses flew about the likely MVP QB. Tim says both sides are missing the mark in their analysis of Jackson. (42:23)Parting Thought: The outrage culture and the move to make snap, reactionary judgments aren't benefiting anyone in our society. A lot of the topics discussed on this episode are examples of those views and they only cause more division between people. (47:47)

Outrage Culture, Mac Miller's Upcoming Album, and the Rooney Rule

Tim discusses his New Year's Eve festivities, his return to Lowe's Corporate Headquarters as an employee, and wishes everyone a great 2020. (0:36)In this week's Random Segment, Tim does an interpretive reading of a song from 1972. The song happens to be Don McLean's "American Pie". (3:17)In a new segment, "How'd that place become a city?", Tim looks at how the city of Pittsburgh was founded and became what it is today. He looks at its history and a few defining moments of the early days of Pittsburgh. (16:00)Sports Microcosm: The legacy of Tom Brady and his future after the New England Patriots lose to the Tennessee Titans on Wild Card Weekend. (22:33)The Vault: Tim digs into the Vault to pull out a recording he did as a grad student at Syracuse University. The recording is a radio newscast from 2014 with Tim as the host, reading through a couple news stories. (32:21)Parting Thought: It's important to embrace conflict and difficult conversations. Too many people look for an easy way out and don't like confrontation so they want to "ghost" a situation instead of discussing it head on. (38:24) 

Reading Song Lyrics, Tom Brady's Legacy, and Embracing Conflict

After going to Beaver Falls for the holidays with his girlfriend Olga, Tim discusses the trip and all of the delicious food they ate in Pennsylvania. (1:00)Random Segment: Using Random.org's GPS Coordinates tool, Tim landed on a ghost town in Canada that he did some research on and talks about towns being created because of an industry. (10:10)The Western Pennsylvania dialect gets called Pittsburghese a lot, but the entire region has their own way of talking. Tim looks into his home region's use of English and makes observations about different words and how we come up with new words. (16:20)The Vault: A writing assignment from 2010 comes out of the Vault this week where Tim wrote about myths and stars. The paper clearly didn't have a ton of effort put into it, so Tim has fun critiquing his work from nine years ago. (25:47)Sports Microcosm: The College Football Playoff Semifinal took place over the weekend and Tim wants the NCAA to move Division I football toward a traditional playoff format with 12 or 16 teams. (32:48)Parting Thought: As we head into 2020, focus on being deliberate in the new year. Don't overwhelm yourself by worrying about 400 issues or tap out because the Presidential Election is too taxing on your mind. Focus on improving yourself in 2020 and allowing that growth to transfer to others. (45:11)

Good Holiday Food, Random Segment, and Being Deliberate in 2020

Tim discusses holiday travel and how he has to drive through West Virginia for three hours, and while that sucks, we need to have context on that state instead of talking about how bad it is.Some random internet research leads Tim to random.org where he selects five days from his life to talk about what was happening in the news or what he remembers from his own life around that time. (5:44)Stories from the Vault: Tim dives into his random folders of writing and shares something he wrote long ago and forgot about. This one appears to be some type of speech he crafted that has a bit of an Aaron Sorkin, West Wing flair to it.(19:00)A look at HBO's Watchmen after the series finale a few weeks ago. (24:17)Many other podcasts have inspired the creation of Open Session, so check out a couple of our favorites. (38:00)Parting Thought: The importance of mental health and taking time to relax your brain from all of the stimuli constantly bombarding it. Also, make sure you're doing activities that engage your brain and break away from the constant monotony of life. (45:31) 

Holiday Travel through West Virginia, Random History, and a Story from the Vault

Tim discusses his nostalgic week playing Halo and receiving a Christmas present that both made him think back to 2009-10. (0:37)An exercise to reflect on the different chapters of your own life. (3:37)Ranking the best 30 for 30 ESPN documentaries and discussing the series. (13:49)The legacy of Mac Miller along with Tim's favorite songs by the artist. (32:57)Sports Microcosm: Cam Newton's named the Walter Payton Man of the Year, his philanthropic acts, and why he should be the Panthers QB in 2020. (39:20)Parting Thought: We should make sure we cherish the family and friends we see over the holidays all the time and not just by buying them a gift for Christmas. (49:26)

Chapters of Life, Mac Miller's Legacy, and Cam Newton's Philanthropy

Charlotte Hornets basketball game and how analytics zaps the fun out of watching basketball (1:25)The absolute insane outrage about the Peloton ad and why I don't understand it. Plus, the simple way to buy holiday presents for your loved ones. (7:45)The Game's newest album, Born 2 Rap, and why he's one of the most underrated rappers in the past 20 years. (22:06)Sports Microcosm: San Francisco 49ers radio broadcaster Tim Ryan commenting on how the ball is hidden by Lamar Jackson's skin color and the remarks by Richard Sherman defending him. (29:00)Poet's Corner: I read an excerpt from my book of poems, Duality and Dichotomy, and give you a shameless plug of how to obtain my book. Amazon Kindle / Softcover (36:14)Parting Thought: Why it's so important not to get caught up in the social media admiration culture and avoid basing your self worth on other people's accomplishments and the importance of perspective in life. (40:12)

Peloton Outrage, Lamar Jackson Hides the Ball, and the Importance of Perspective

An update on what I plan for the podcast to be going forward and an update on my life and why I took such a long hiatus from the podcast. (1:25)How difficult it is to discuss politics in today's culture and why it should be so simple. (9:10)The Great Hack on Netflix and Watchmen on HBO. Why you should give both a watch and how interesting the topics they're covering are (18:17)Poetry Corner: A few lines I wrote and the debut of my interpolation of Mac Miller's 2009. (29:07)Sports Microcosm: Racism in the NHL and the story of Akim Aliu and Bill Peters. (34:55)Parting Thoughts: Why you should make changes now and don't wait for a New Year's Resolution. Be decisive about making positive changes in your life. (51:18)Enjoy the first episode back of Open Session. I plan to bring a new episode every week.

The Redux (Welcome Back)

Meet Joe. He's a veteran sports journalist with over 35 years of experience and someone who I greatly enjoyed working with at FOX Sports before we were downsized almost two years ago. (Don't worry, we get into that.) I went on location to his house to chat with him poolside, so enjoy the sounds of nature in the background. We talk a lot of sports in this episode but there are some good life lessons and funny stories in there. Around the 36-minute mark, Joe tells a story about when he was fresh out of college and got to interview Dr. J. Around the 54-minute mark, we discuss how coverage of athletes has changed over the years with more public relations and team control over players when interacting with journalists. Around the 1 hour mark, we discuss our time working together at FOX Sports and how the process went of being downsized, when FOX Sports chose to lay off 50+ writers.

Poolside Chat with Joe Menzer

Let's talk sports! Time to throw it back to my Sports Microcosm days with some big-picture discussion about Tiger Woods' fifth Masters victory and his legacy, how NHL fans can grow the sport by selling some of the greatest players we've ever seen, and what NASCAR needs to do about its attendance issue. Topic 1: Tiger Woods finished his redemption arc with a victory at the Masters. Let's talk about his longevity and how it compares to some other greats, what his legacy is, and why we can't forget about his transgressions along the way. Topic 2: The NHL currently has two of the best players in the history of the sport responsible for the past three Stanley Cup victories. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are two of the best ever. Here's how hockey fans can sell those players and all the amazing storylines to grow the sport. Topic 3: NASCAR saw a sea of empty seats at Bristol two weeks ago and that isn't an unfamiliar sight. As the sport struggles with attendance, what does it need to do in order to adjust to the changing sport's climate and make the sport healthier going forward.

Sports Microcosm: Tiger at the Masters, NHL Greatness, and NASCAR's Attendance Issue

One of our new formats for some episodes will be called "A Few Thoughts", where I share some views and perspectives I have on a topic that's in the news or from an experience I've recently had. On this first edition, I discuss my recent trip to Los Angeles, how I think LA is a microcosm for America, along with my thoughts on the tragic murder of rapper, entrepreneur, and activist Nipsey Hussle. A great article I read that touches on many of the same topics as I did on the death of Nipsey Hussle, was Jemele Hill's piece in The Atlantic.

A Few Thoughts: Los Angeles

Meet Tim...scratch that, you've already met me. Yep, I'm going solo this episode. Decided to take some time to tell you more about myself. I also share some of my philosophies on life and announce some exciting news for the show going forward. Around the 42-minute mark, I read excerpts from my book of poems, "Duality and Dichotomy". It's available in full-audio format and for purchase through Blurb.

Tim the Host of This Show

Meet Dan. He's a massive fan of hockey and rock music, originally from Rochester, N.Y. (basically Southern Canada), has a lot of different opinions and happily shares his pet peeves with us. We talk about the downside of social media, how he got into his favorite band, and what it was like growing up in Western New York. Around the 19-minute mark, I ask Dan about the specific area of Rochester, New York that he grew up in. It's called Henrietta. Here's more info about that suburb. Around the 21-minute mark, we discuss some hockey history. Specifically, Eric Lindros and then the 1980's New York Islanders dynasty. In that discussion, Dan also mentions how Lindros feuded with the Flyers and their owner, Bobby Clarke. Around the 33-minute mark, we discuss Dan's favorite band, The Gaslight Anthem. Check out their music! Around the 1 hour and 46-minute mark, we discuss Mike Vick's imprisonment involving the running of a dog-fighting ring.

Dan the Not Quite Canadian

This is a show for anyone who subscribes to the belief that we can learn something from everyone we encounter and there's nothing more fulfilling than a good, inquisitive conversation.

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Open Session with Tim Durr

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