The Word Podcast: Sports, News, & Stuff · The Word Podcast

New Year, New Us! NFL Divisional Round. Gambling scandals galore. New Years Sports Resolutions

·1 hr 21 min·5 clips

The hosts separate Vegas betting from mobile gambling and warn about college athletes getting pressure from classmates.

The Word is back. James, India, and Rich Abernathy open the first episode of 2026 with post-hiatus energy, a green-room check-in, and the kind of New Year conversation that starts with the weather, the quiet news cycle, and the simple relief of getting back in the studio. It is, by their own running joke, a medium hiatus. They keep circling that phrase, half-laughing at it, then moving on before it gets stale. The first annual Jones vs. Beans intra-squad scrimmage comes up early. The hosts treat that fake internal matchup like it belongs on the rundown, which fits the show’s habit of making a return feel both organized and a little loose at the edges. Sports talk takes over from there, but not in a tidy way. The episode moves by detour and callback more than by clean segments, which is part of the charm. The picks pool gets messy fast. Rich’s one-game loss, made more annoying by deadline weirdness and holiday travel, becomes a tiny courtroom drama where technicalities matter just enough to keep the joke alive. Skyline Chili enters the picture. What begins as a punishment bet turns into a side conversation about Cincinnati food, grocery-store substitutions, and a promised fish-camp lunch in the Greater North Carolina area, because sports talk can absolutely get derailed by lunch logistics. James makes the case for betting that stays small, social, and honest about itself, the kind of thing you do in a sports book with a drink, a snack, and no fantasy of becoming a genius overnight. The show keeps tripping over its own feet in a way that feels intentional. Those interruptions help it pivot, recap, and keep the rundown alive while the hosts work through their own jokes in real time. The chemistry stays loose. Even when the tone turns mock-serious or a little exasperated, the episode keeps the warm, chatty rhythm that makes the duo feel like they are building the show as they go. The year starts sideways, but by the end it has settled into a familiar mix of football, bets, weather, and the kind of inside jokes that make a sports podcast feel lived-in instead of packaged.

As heard by us

The Word returns for its first 2026 episode after a medium hiatus, folding banter, a picks-pool dispute, and a sports-gambling rant into a loose reset.

The Word returns for its first 2026 episode after a medium hiatus, with James, India, and Rich Abernathy easing back in through green-room banter, weather talk, and a fresh-year reset.

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Why you'd press play

You want a first-episode-of-2026 studio hang after a medium hiatus, with picks-pool bragging rights, Skyline Chili, and a fish-camp bet.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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