Share
The Socially Distant Sports Bar
271: Best of The Guests (Pt 2)
Ep. 560
•
🎙 The Socially Distant Sports Bar – Episode 271: Best of The Guests (Parts 1 & 2)
This week, we celebrate the very best of our brilliant guests — from sports legends and comedy icons to music stars and broadcasting royalty. It's a two-part special packed with golden moments, barely relevant tangents, and top-tier nonsense.
“Like a sports podcast, if sport took a back seat to an impression of Bob Harris or a rant about rugby shorts.”
⭐ Featuring:
Josh Widdicombe, Sam Warburton, Humphrey Ker, Kate Mason, Suzi Ruffell & Maisie Adam, Chesney Hawkes, Gordon Smart, Scott Quinnell, Colin Murray, Joe Marler, Emily Campbell, Danny Wallace, No Such Thing As A Fish, Adam Hurrey, Richard Herring, Bob Harris, Leroy Brito, Greg Jenner, Felix White, and Max Rushden.
Two huge parts – one absolute festival of guests.
🎧 BONUS FOR PATRONS
👉 Subscribe at patreon.com/distantpod for an exclusive Q&A with Mike, Elis, and Steff, only available to our Patreon supporters.
🗳️ VOTE FOR US – British Podcast Awards
We’re up for Listeners' Choice at the British Podcast Awards and we’d love your vote.
🎟️ Distant Pod Live – 2026 TOUR!
We're heading out on the road in 2026 with a brand-new live show and you won't want to miss it.
📍 Tour Dates:
- Fri 20 March – Cardiff, New Theatre
- Sat 21 March – Cardiff, New Theatre
- Tue 7 April – London, Hackney Empire
- Wed 8 April – London, Hackney Empire
- Fri 24 April – Carmarthen, Lyric Theatre
🎫 Tickets on sale now → distantpod.com/live
From Olympic heroes to pub quiz kings, this is your chance to relive the best of the bar banter with some of our favourite ever guests — all in one place.
We’ve launched a brand new merch store — mugs, hoodies, prints and more!
If you fancy supporting the pod that way, head here 👇
More episodes
View all episodes
689. Mainland (pt 2)
27:16||Ep. 689Episode 305: MainlandStill gloriously obsessed with sport’s weirdest, funniest and most fascinating moments, Distant Pod continues to documentaries and books that make sport so compelling.🎟️ Hackney tickets - see us live next weekhttps://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live🎤 Mike tour:https://mikebubbins.com/❤️ Tops Off Vic fundraiser:https://www.justgiving.com/page/kelly-bubbins-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=EM&utm_campaign=020🎧 PART 2Steff’s documentary this week is The Track, a deep dive into Bosnia and the luge.https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0G5647BLG/ref=atv_sr_fle_c_sr09b671_1_1_1?sr=1-1&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B0G56Q2S17&qid=1772611735930Mike’s book this week is slightly closer to home — Mike’s Wales Youth Rugby Programme... Bubbs' Sliding Doors moment.🔒 Join Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening, and Part 3 every week as a bonus episode.688. Mainland (pt 1)
01:16:27||Ep. 688Episode 305: MainlandThree hundred episodes in and still finding brilliance in the strangest corners of sport, Distant Pod is the weekly podcast where Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero bring you the best clips, books and documentaries they’ve found.🎟️ Watch us live in Hackney:https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live🎤 Mike is on tour in 2026:https://mikebubbins.com/❤️ Donate in memory of podcast legend Tops Off Vic:https://www.justgiving.com/page/kelly-bubbins-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=EM&utm_campaign=020🎧 PART 1Mike kicks things off with Tiger vs Boulder, a clip that perfectly captures the unpredictability (and occasional absurdity) of nature meeting sport.https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUTUF39EfBb/?igsh=MXg0NmdidHQzYWprZg=Elis brings a nostalgic gem — “And Ninian Park looks more like the San Siro!”https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-Za-ryGukSteff rounds out Part 1 with a pair of clips from Canadahttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DUyT1FQDtoX/?igsh=dzdrZGx3enQycmx6https://www.youtube.com/shorts/naGpZhyJP0s🔒 Subscribe to Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts for early, ad-free Parts 1 & 2 — plus Part 3 as exclusive bonus content every week.687. Veg: Pint Size
15:37||Ep. 687Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod. We’ve been back through our archive of episodes and picked out some of our favourite stories, anecdotes, and funny bits.If you’re new to the pod, these are a perfect way to dip your toe in and then dive back into the full episodes from our early days.Come and see us LIVE in London in April https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live685. The 20% (pt 2)
32:11||Ep. 685Still gloriously obsessed with the brilliance and absurdity of sport, Distant Pod continues to explore the clips, stories and ideas that make sport endlessly fascinating.🎟️ Hackney tickets:https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live🎤 Mike tour:https://mikebubbins.com/❤️ Tops Off Vic fundraiser:https://www.justgiving.com/page/kelly-bubbins-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=EM&utm_campaign=020🎧 PART 2Elis’s documentary pick is Jim Mills: Jacko’s Sporting Almanac, a deep dive into one of sport’s great collectors and chroniclers.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b08qggc1?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobileSteff’s book this week is Good Coach, Bad Coach by Simon Harling, exploring what separates effective coaching from the rest — and what really drives performance.https://store.simonharling.blog/🔒 Join Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening, and Part 3 every week as a bonus episode.684. The 20% (pt 1)
01:18:10||Ep. 684Three hundred episodes in and still digging up gold from sport’s strangest corners, Distant Pod is the weekly podcast where Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero bring you the best clips, books and documentaries they’ve found — from elite performance to absolute chaos.🎟️ Watch us live in Hackney:https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live🎤 Mike is on tour in 2026:https://mikebubbins.com/❤️ Donate in memory of podcast legend Tops Off Vic:https://www.justgiving.com/page/kelly-bubbins-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=EM&utm_campaign=020🎧 PART 1Elis brings a brilliant reality check with real people attempting marathon pace, a reminder of just how extreme elite endurance really is.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SRYtn0j5ccASteff shares a deceptively simple but strangely gripping clip simply titled “Stairs” — one of those bits of internet sport-adjacent content that becomes oddly compelling.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bHT_jZvQDsMike rounds things off with Rhys Carré, showcasing the power and personality of the Welsh rugby star.https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVj19MfDMV5/?igsh=NzUzb2JjY2lqZWp3🔒 Subscribe to Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts for early, ad-free Parts 1 & 2 — plus Part 3 as exclusive bonus content every week.683. Philosopher: Pint Size
15:09||Ep. 683Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod. We’ve been back through our archive of episodes and picked out some of our favourite stories, anecdotes, and funny bits.If you’re new to the pod, these are a perfect way to dip your toe in and then dive back into the full episodes from our early days.This is from 193: His Guts Split Open And It Was The King Of SpadesCome and see us LIVE in London in April https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live681. Sondico Mills & Boons (Pt 2)
35:56||Ep. 681🔒 Subscribe to Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts for early, ad-free Parts 1 and 2 — plus Part 3 every week as exclusive bonus content.Over 300 episodes deep and still gloriously sidetracked, Distant Pod is where Mike, Elis and Steff explore the brilliance, nostalgia and absurdity of sport through the clips, documentaries and books that caught their attention this week.🎟️ LIVE SHOW UPDATECardiff and Carmarthen are now completely sold out — thank you so much to everyone who’s coming along.The only remaining shows on this run are our two nights at Hackney Empire in London on April 7th and 8th, and there are only a handful of seats left.🎫 Tickets:https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live🎧 PART 2Steff Documentary:The Toughest Tug of War Team in the Worldhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxo3JPdWHXoMike Book (chosen by Elis James):More Than a Shirt — Joey D’Ursohttps://amzn.to/3P81qec680. Sondico Mills & Boons (Pt 1)
01:03:50||Ep. 680🔒 Subscribe to Distant Pod Bonus Club on Apple Podcasts for early, ad-free Parts 1 and 2 — plus Part 3 every week as exclusive bonus content.Over 300 episodes in and still discovering sporting brilliance in the strangest corners of the internet, Distant Pod is the weekly podcast where Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero bring you the best clips, documentaries and books they’ve found that week. From legendary sporting nostalgia to total nonsense, it’s a fast-moving tour through the world of sport.🎟️ LIVE SHOW UPDATEOur live shows in Cardiff (March 20 & 21) and Carmarthen (April 24) are now completely sold out — thank you so much if you’ve already grabbed tickets.That means the only shows with seats left on this run are our two nights at Hackney Empire in London on April 7th and 8th.And even those are very close to selling out, with only a handful of seats left in the stalls.🎫 Grab tickets here:https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live🎧 PART 1Mike: Newport RFChttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DUA3QPkCINR/?igsh=MzdpMTY5endzMzRnElis: Peter Beardsleyhttps://x.com/sid_lambert/status/2018588358193062387Steff: Is that you Maureen?https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSzyZL3DBEl/679. Big Kick Energy: Pint Size
08:11||Ep. 679Welcome to Pint-Sized Distant Pod. We’ve been back through our archive of episodes and picked out some of our favourite stories, anecdotes, and funny bits.If you’re new to the pod, these are a perfect way to dip your toe in and then dive back into the full episodes from our early days.This is from 202: Suzi Ruffell & Maisie Adam from “Big Kick Energy”Come and see us LIVE in London in April https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/the-socially-distant-sports-bar-live