The Body Serve

Our last episode of 2015 is completely tennis-free. Here's a discussion of our favorite TV of 2015, including James & Jonathan's individual top 10 shows, plus some surprises and disappointments.2:00 The wealth of great TV & why TV is better than the movie industry right now9:00 Shows on the bubble of our top 10s (Nashville, Americans, Parks & Rec, etc)21:00 Jonathan's top 4-10 shows of the year24:45 James' top 3-10 25:15 UnReal is remaking the Lifetime network!28:25 The wonderful final season of Downton Abbey30:00 Some disagreement on season 3 of Orange is the New Black37:00 Jonathan's top 340:00 James' top 247:30 Transparent & why it is singularly great59:00 Debating Fargo's violence1:04:30 The biggest disappointments of 20151:12:30 The biggest surprises (hint: Fargo and its women)1:18:45 Even MORE TV shows we liked but didn't make the top 15-201:23:00 The huge number of impressive leading actress in comedies

Episode 31 is our season finale, as we finally recap the ATP season. Plus, women's tennis always finds its way in, and we're talking about SI's choice of Serena as Sportsperson of the Year and Jennifer Capriati's twitter diarrhea.1:00 Serena Williams is SI's Sportsperson of the Year! But how does the horse feel about this?8:00 New York trip: Mariah's Christmas show and Lea Salonga!18:00 Capriati's twitter. GIRL.24:00 Back to tennis: Novak Djokovic's all-time great season31:00 Rafa's, well, not as good season35:45 Stan & his haters38:00 Davis Cup: Murray goes undefeated41:30 Where is the next generation?49:00 Young men's drama far exceeds women's drama53:00 Revisiting Andy Murray's feminism: complicating the concept of 'ally'57:30 Our biggest surprises of the year1:01:45 Murray's bad performances vs. Roger & Novak1:04:30 Our favorite moments1:06:30 Congrats to first-time title winners & farewell to the retirees

We've reached 30 episodes! Here's our recap of the year in women's tennis:4:30 Serena's year in review9:00 Is it fair to compare her season with Novak's?14:30 The intangibles of Serena's season, especially Indian Wells return18:00 All hail Queen Vee's triumphant season22:00 James' controversial pick for favorite Venus moment26:00 Czechs win 4th Fed Cup in 5 years28:30 Underachievers: Petra & Caroline32:30 Topsy-turvy Top 1039:00 Sharapova, the consummate pro41:45 A quick recap of doubles: Hingis/Mirza and Safarova/Mattek-Sands44:30 Bouchard's career quagmire & USTA lawsuit53:30: Quickly, where's Vika at?55:00 Our biggest surprises of the 2015 WTA season59:00 Kerber's banner year1:06:30 Bloopers

In Episode 29, we're celebrating Venus' big win in Zhuhai and her return to the top 10. In #TennisDivas, we try to find diva counterparts for tennis players.:30 Effervescing because of Venus' Zhuhai win5:00 Venus' run to the title: Madison, Saisai, Vinci, Pliskova7:00 Final vs. Pliskova14:00 Jonathan does some serious rankings math, Olympic qualification scenarios18:30 Venus as ambassador for the WTA, taking advantage of WTAsia25:30 Tennis Divas: what is a diva?31:00 Which diva is Venus? 34:00 Is Serena a Mariah? Or a Beyonce?40:00 The non-divas: Ariana, Ashanti, Demi, Selena Gomez44:00 Sorry, Caroline46:30 Who gets to be Aretha?50:30 Sharapova's perfect diva match55:00 A few male tennis divas: Roger & Rafa get paired with all-time musical greats1:00:00 The perfect opportunity to shade Justine1:02:00 Adele and her tennis equivalent, with a digression on Sam Smith

1:30 First things first: Justin Bieber is making good songs. What is going on?5:00 Toronto is winning pop culture right now7:00 Masculinity and fandom: how men perform gender through watching sports; excluding women from sports fandom15:00 TV time! Why Jane the Virgin works (especially for James)19:00 Nashville, Jonathan's non-guilty pleasure23:30 James Blake on Jon Wertheim's podcast; avoiding the topic of race31:30 A sort-of tangential discussion of desegregation and racism in Normandy, Missouri (see This American Life's "The Problem We All Live With")39:00 Talking Singapore41:00 Does winning the WTA Finals predict a Grand Slam win?43:00 Radwanska a victim of bad press for winning fair and square47:00 Fedal is back!!!54:00 Our hopes for the rest of the season56:30 Venus: #thankful #blessed #bringiton

Episode 27 features an interview with Twitter friend Frith (@pluckyloser), who attended the WTA Finals in Singapore:2:45 Interview with Frith, correspondent in Singapore7:30 Frith's impressions of Singapore, the tournament facilities, fan experience13:30 Serena's absence18:00 Pros of the round robin format23:45 Sharapova's form and warm reception: biggest takeaway of the tournament?29:30 Muguruza: "she looked scary"33:50 Hingis-Mirza: Sania Superstar37:30 Pennetta's farewell: "I didn't want her to Bouchard the tournament"41:00 Our favorite WTA moments of the year46:45 Tournament attendance, the Serena effect?

Fall means a million tournaments in Asia, and players scrambling to snatch last minute points for the year-end championships. Here's episode 26:1:00 The Good Wife, The Fall, and fall TV 6:30 Road to Singapore: James says get rid of tour championships11:30 Who really gets round robin, anyway?13:30 The top players of the Asian swing: Muguruza, Venus, and Radwanska15:00 Venus' Wuhan win17:30 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Vinci gets out of hand and Venus shuts it down24:15 Talking tennis in China: sparse crowds, stifling smog, and diversifying the sport32:00 Shanghai ROLEX Masters twitter drama35:50 Speeding through the ATP side of the fall swing39:00 Rafa finally beats whats-his-name Pennetta's fiancee; Rafa vs. Nole43:00 We read your tweets! Which player do you despise most?49:30 James' mini-rant about Justine Henin55:00 The usual suspects: Stako, NK, Dolgopolov, Fognini, and listener hate for Djokovic

In episode 25, we welcome our special guest Lindsay Gibbs, co-founder of The Changeover and sports reporter at ThinkProgress.2:30 Lindsay's introduction3:30 Lindsay talks The Changeover and the online tennis landscape8:15 "How To Talk About Women's Tennis"15:00 The infamous Inside Tennis "autopsy" of SW which is racist racist racist20:00 Media literacy & learning to listen24:30 "That's not how, like, feelings work" OR checking your privilege27:00 Serena Williams, Viola Davis, and the burden of history34:00 Julie DiCaro's piece on online abuse targeting women in sports writing - dealing with Twitter trolls39:45 Stakhovsky and the ATP's failure to address lgbt issues43:30 Can the WTA teach the ATP anything about handling lgbt issues?45:30 Patenting the Erecto-meter, coveting Ferraris50:30 Our questionnaire: first up, Lindsay's dream tennis comeback55:30 Who would you put in tennis time-out?59:00 The most important question: Whitney, Mariah, or Celine?1:02:00 Remembering the Bravermans and the Gilmores

Episode 24 marks the end of our Grand Slam season. Here's Part 2 of our US Open recap:1:30 The men's tournament: maybe a bit boring?3:15 Retirements, the heat, cashing that 1st round check9:00 Mardy Fish's farewell; his courage turns sports cliches on their head16:30 James Blake and the NYPD23:00 Apology does not equal justice25:00 Stakhovsky update: statements from ATP Players' Council & Sergiy himself28:30 The inadequacy of "be-who-you-are" politics31:45 Stako's gaydar and locker room hijinks37:00 Talking actual tennis: a tough tournament for our faves38:30 Fabio Fognini def. Rafael Nadal43:45 Men's QFs; hear Jonathan's (unfair?) disdain for Gasquet46:30 Tsonga's untapped potential, again51:00 Men's final - SABR drama and Jonathan lets loose on Boris57:00 Letting go of resenting Federer59:45 James on why he can't love Roger, and why he does love Serena1:03:00 Late-era Roger vs. Sampras1:06:30 Djokovic's dominance and the nasty NY crowd1:08:00 Putting the GOAT debate to bed for nowReading list:Mardy Fish in The Players TribuneStakhovsky, USA TodayStakhovsky, New York Times