Open Session With Tim Durr

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. 

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.

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)

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

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 confron

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 tea

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

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)

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)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Meet Kyle. I was the Best Man at his wedding and referred to him as one of the steadiest people I know. He's always reliable and has a heart as big as his 6'3'' frame. In this episode, we discuss his preparation of becoming a father in a few months, reflect on some college memories from when we were roommates, and get into a bunch of other topics. We also do a throwback to the sports podcast we used to co-host for all the sports fans out there. His dogs also interrupt us a little. Around the 21-minute mark, Kyle brings up a coffee shop in Slippery Rock, Pa. that never opened. Upon limited research, I wasn't able to find any specific reasons why. Around the 36-minute mark, we discuss Slippery Rock University's tuition cost. In 2010, when we were roommates at SRU, their tuition cost was around the $6,000 amount we estimated. Here's some facts about their current cost. In the Apt 11 Sports segment, we discuss Kareem Hunt's suspension but didn't mention that it was announced this weekend that it's an 8-game suspe

Meet Craig, he joined me remotely from Pittsburgh for this episode. He's extremely sarcastic and doesn't care if you're in on the joke or not. He has a degree in Psychology but his brain has been jumping all over the place long before that. He always has a curious perspective on life and we've been having the exact conversations I want to have when I was creating the idea for this show. We get into the video game industry, ADD, and a plethora of other topics with a wealth of philosophical discussion. Around the 13-minute mark, we discuss Luke Perry's death. If you're interested in the shows or movies that he starred in, check out his IMDB. During that conversation, Craig inaccurately states the Tom Brokaw has passed away. He hasn't, we're sorry Tom. Around the 43-minute mark, Craig mentions that department stores and marketing in the 80's was focused on splitting stores into boys and girls based on the colors blue and pink and that move led to video game consoles being placed in the boys section. I couldn't f

Meet Aaron. He's one of the most open people that I've ever met. We've known each other for a few years now and it's always a good time when we get together. Find out how he gained his hot dog-related nickname, played Division III football, ended up as a benefits analyst for life insurance instead of a school bus driver or underwater basket weaver...and why the next time he's back, it'll be record breaking. Around the 38-minute mark, Aaron mentions how Wal-Mart was sued for taking out life insurance policies on their employees for large values and cashing them in. Here's a bit more context about that situation. Around the 1 hour, 9-minute mark, Aaron throws out a random figure for how many people live in New York City and Los Angeles, realizing it isn't correct. After looking up the numbers, 5 percent of Americans live in NYC or LA. The Census said in 2015, that 62 percent of Americans live in major cities. Around the 1 hour, 33-minute mark, Aaron references idolizing Nate Hartung growing up. Hartung was a hi

Meet Chris. He's a hobbyist rapper/pop artist, avid lover of autotune, hockey aficionado, and wonderfully peculiar. Find out what irks him, how he's misunderstood by so many of his friends' girlfriends, what his rap name is and why it should be changed to "Call Center Rapper". Please give us your feedback at opensessionTD@gmail.com or tweet Tim directly @TimDurr. If you're interested in checking out Chris's music, it's available on Bandcamp, along with select songs available on most major streaming services. Around the 20-minute mark, Tim references a theory that says we can only hold around 250 relationships with people. He's referencing Dunbar's number, which is actually 150, along with some other theories that have found the number to be higher. Around the 27-minute mark, Tim discusses the author Paulo Coelho and how he is in favor of pirating. If you'd like to read more about that, check out this article by the Guardian. Around the 59-minute mark, we try to reference a Drake song and can't remem

Hey there, I'm Tim Durr and I love sharing stories with people. I believe we can all learn from hearing about one another's experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. That's the vehicle I want this podcast to be. I bring seven years of journalism experience, 27 years of being a human, and a bit of inquisition in this attempt to discuss what makes us all human. I invite you to come along for the ride.