Post-Podium: A Jeopardy! Retrospective

In this episode of Post-Podium, I am joined by Justin Bolsen, the winner of the recent Jeopardy! High School Reunion Tournament - a competition including 27 contestants who previously competed in the teen tournaments of season 35. In his last appearance on the show, Justin finished as a semifinalist; this time around, he completed his redemption arc by defeating Jackson Jones and Maya Wright in a two-day total point affair final. Topics discussed include Justin's preparation for the teen tournament versus the HSRT, his eager response to a clue about one of his favorite musical artists, and how he plans to face his greatest challenge yet: the season 39 Tournament of Champions (TOC). We also analyze each of his games from the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals individually and talk about, among other things, the nuances of gameplay and wagering strategy. Timestamps 0:14 Introducing Justin Bolsen 0:55 What was competing in the teen tournament like? 2:16 Did Justin make any large purchases after the teen tournament? 2:43 How did both groups of teen tournament contestants get to know each other? 4:06 Justin on his connection to trivia after the teen tournament 5:44 Justin's reaction to the first email about the HSRT 7:21 Did Justin ever consider the possibility of a second chance? 8:08 Who did Justin not want to face in the quarterfinals? 9:28 Best glow-up of the HSRT? 10:08 Justin on studying for the teen tournament vs. the HSRT 12:01 Final Jeopardy! wagering was consistent throughout the HSRT 12:57 Did Justin have any goals or expectations for the HSRT? 13:52 Justin on how his quiz bowl experience shaped his preparation 14:52 Justin's best and worst categories 16:44 No college attire? 17:43 Any unused contestant stories? 18:45 Justin's quarterfinal match (vs. Shriya Yarlagadda, vs. Teagan O'Sullivan) 21:26 "Who is JID?" 23:06 How did Justin spend his day off before the last taping day? 25:00 Justin's semifinal match (vs. Stephanie Pierson, vs. Claire Sattler) 29:02 The Finals: Game 1 (vs. Jackson Jones, vs. Maya Wright) 31:57 The Finals: Game 2 35:02 Post-HSRT celebrations 35:56 Justin's HSRT watch party experience 37:00 Justin's dad's reaction to the finals 37:42 How much clout does winning on Jeopardy! get you at Brown? 38:22 Justin's plans for the prize money 38:48 Who is Justin looking forward to meeting in the TOC? 39:26 Some trivia regarding Justin's TOC berth 40:03 How much time will Justin dedicate to TOC prep? 40:59 Wrapping up and promoting social media 42:06 Outro

Editor's Note: At 1:11:37, Andrew mentions Jeopardy! champion Ben Ingram and credits him with winning the 2013 TOC. This is a mistake; Ben won the TOC in 2014 while Colby Burnett won the TOC in 2013. In this episode of Post-Podium, I am joined by Andrew He, a 5-game Jeopardy! champion and the 2022 Tournament of Champions (TOC) first runner-up. I asked him a ton of questions - some including what it was like running into Amy Schneider during his initial run, watching her streak unfold from home, and how Andrew prepared himself in the months leading up to the TOC. We also spent some time recapping and analyzing each of his games from the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the six-game showdown between him, Amy, and Sam Buttrey. Finally towards the end, Andrew speaks candidly about his TOC performance, how his relationship with Jeopardy! has changed since competing in the TOC, and what he has planned for the future (at least until Jeopardy! Masters).   Timestamps 0:14 - Intro 1:22 - Andrew's introduction 2:01 - Andrew on his original tape day 4:01 - Andrew on his perception of his 5-game run while Amy was setting records 5:46 - How Andrew prepared in the months leading up to the TOC 7:18 - Andrew on dealing with pressure and meeting expectations 11:11 - Andrew's quarterfinal match (vs. Jonathan Fisher, vs. Christine Whelchel) 21:36 - Whose quarterfinal win impressed Andrew the most? 23:04 - Between Matt and Mattea, who did Andrew want to face in the semifinals? 25:26 - Andrew's semifinal match (vs. Mattea Roach, vs. Eric Ahasic) 34:51 - The Finals: Game 1 39:05 - The Finals: Game 2 42:16 - Andrew on the night before games 3-6 44:48 - The Finals: Game 3 52:05 - The Finals: Game 4 1:01:29 - The Finals: Game 5 1:04:54 - The Finals: Game 6 1:10:13 - Andrew's final thoughts on his TOC performance 1:12:23 - Andrew on the post-TOC celebrations 1:13:36 - Discussing "post-Jeopardy! hangover" 1:16:42 - Andrew on his future plans and how he'll be spending his winnings 1:18:33 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 1:20:03 - Outro

In this episode of Post-Podium, I am joined by Tyler Rhode, a 5-game Jeopardy! champion and a 2022 Tournament of Champions (TOC) semifinalist. I asked him some questions about his initial run, his preparation in the months leading up to the 2022 TOC, and what it was like getting to meet some of the best players to have ever played the game of Jeopardy! We also spend some time recapping and analyzing the quarterfinal and semifinal matches from the TOC all while Tyler provides some additional context and perspective. Part 2 will be covering the six-game finals of the TOC featuring a very special guest.  Timestamps 0:13 - Intro 1:58 - Tyler's introduction 2:21 - How did Tyler cope with the fact that he'd possibly go up against Matt Amodio during his initial run? 3:53 - Tyler on qualifying for the TOC and how his feelings changed over time 6:05 - How Tyler prepared in the months leading up to the TOC 7:52 - Who was the first TOC contestant Tyler met when he arrived in Culver City? 9:01 - What was it like getting to stand among some of the most talented players to have ever played Jeopardy!? 10:22 - Quarterfinal Match 1: Ryan Long vs. Megan Wachspress vs. Maureen O'Neil 16:22 - Quarterfinal Match 2: Jonathan Fisher vs. Andrew He vs. Christine Whelchel 20:18 - Quarterfinal Match 3: Brian Chang vs. Tyler Rhode vs. Margaret Shelton 28:38 - Quarterfinal Match 4: Courtney Shah vs. Rowan Ward vs. John Focht 31:34 - Quarterfinal Match 5: Eric Ahasic vs. Jaskaran Singh vs. Jackie Kelly 35:36 - Quarterfinal Match 6: Zach Newkirk vs. Jessica Stephens vs. Sam Buttrey 39:45 - Special Exhibition Match: Amy Schneider vs. Matt Amodio vs. Mattea Roach 41:24 - Semifinal Match 1: Amy Schneider vs. Maureen O'Neil vs. Tyler Rhode 44:58 - Semifinal Match 2: Matt Amodio vs. John Focht vs. Sam Buttrey 48:04 - Semifinal Match 3: Mattea Roach vs. Eric Ahasic vs. Andrew He 51:36 - Of the finalists, who did we think had the best chance of winning the TOC? 53:19 - The TOC afterparty (plus a close call!) 54:55 - Tyler's favorite match to watch in the studio vs. on TV 56:32 - Final words from Tyler about his performance and the TOC 57:24 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 57:52 - Outro

In this episode of Post-Podium, I recap the inaugural Jeopardy! Second Chance Competition (SCC). The SCC was a two-week competition, which lasted from October 17-28, 2022; it featured 18 non-winning contestants from seasons 37 and 38, who were invited back for a chance to compete for a $35,000 prize and a spot in the 2022 Tournament of Champions (TOC). Each week consisted of three semifinal matches followed by a two-day total point affair finals. The winners of both weeks of the SCC would eventually round out the 21-person TOC roster. Stick around until the end of this episode to find out who will be my guest in the next episode which will cover the TOC quarterfinals, semifinals, and the special exhibition match between Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach! Timestamps 0:14 - Intro 1:09 - Semifinal Match 1: Cindy Zhang vs. Aaron Gulyas vs. Jessica Stephens 3:52 - Semifinal Match 2: Erica Weiner-Amachi vs. Tracy Pitzel vs. Molly Karol 6:26 - Semifinal Match 3: James Fraser vs. Renée Russell vs. Pam Schoenberg 8:55 - Week 1 Finals: James Fraser vs. Jessica Stephens vs. Molly Karol 13:41 - Semifinal Match 4: Sarah Snider vs. Jeff Smith vs. Sadie Goldberger 16:04 - Semifinal Match 5: Tom Philipose vs. Alicia O'Hare vs. Jack Weller 17:49 - Semifinal Match 6: Nikkee Porcaro vs. Do Park vs. rowan ward 19:45 - Week 2 Finals: rowan ward vs. Jack Weller vs. Sadie Goldberger 22:56 - How Jessica and rowan fared in the TOC 27:01 - Wrapping up and outro

Editor's Note: This episode of Post-Podium was recorded on December 3, 2022 - three days before Cris Pannullo lost his 22nd game to Andy Tirrell. In this episode of Post-Podium, I am joined by John "TK" Focht, a 4-game Jeopardy! champion, a 2022 Tournament of Champions (TOC) semifinalist, and creator of j-ometry - a website which compiles statistics using historical game data from J! Archive and the official box scores published by Jeopardy! itself. I asked John some questions about what j-ometry can tell us, how it can be useful to future contestants, how it helped him prepare for the TOC, and the implications that j-ometry and "Jeopardata" can provide. We also discuss some of his original run from February 2021 as well as his winding path to the TOC. Finally, we break down three games of Jeopardy! and view them through the lens of j-ometry to see what the data can and cannot tell us about contestant performance.  Timestamps 0:14 - Intro 2:01 - John's introduction 2:31 - A game of telephone with MLB Network 4:55 - What is j-ometry? 11:06 - John explains the available stats on j-ometry 17:47 - What does a contentious game of Jeopardy! look like? 19:04 - Would it be possible to see who would win in a head-to-head-to-head matchup using j-ometry? 21:38 - What data should the Jeopardata team publish next to help improve j-ometry? 24:14 - How did John feel about his chances of qualifying for the TOC as more superchampions emerged? 33:30 - John's "preparation" for the TOC 38:11 - How can future Jeopardy! contestants use j-ometry in the same way it benefited John? 40:24 - John's reaction to his matchup against Courtney and rowan 42:53 - How did the data specifically affect John's strategy in the TOC? 52:54 - Analyzing game 4 of the TOC finals 1:00:22 - Analyzing Cris Pannullo's 11th game 1:05:36 - Analyzing Cris Pannullo's 15th game 1:11:42 - John on his 5th game loss to Lance St. Laurent 1:14:24 - Why the Jeopardy! staff is the best at what they do 1:19:45 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 1:20:30 - Outro

In this episode of Post-Podium, I am joined by Bliss and Zach Gozlan to discuss the roster and format of the 2022 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions (TOC) as well as justify why we think certain players should be ranked higher than others in our individual power rankings/tier lists. I also spend some time at the start of this episode talking to Bliss about why she decided to create a Jeopardy! all-time leaderboard, which can be found here. We apologize for misgendering Mattea Roach at certain points of this episode. Wikipedia incorrectly addresses Mattea using she/her while the Inside Jeopardy! podcast correctly uses they/them. We regret this error.  Timestamps 0:13 - Intro 0:55 - Why Bliss created the Jeopardy! all-time leaderboard 2:59 - How Bliss handles data entry for the Jeopardy! all-time leaderboard 4:51 - Why Jerry Slowik wasn't invited to the 2014 TOC 5:41 - Twice the Jeopardy! loser? 6:56 - The best performing Canadian Jeopardy! contestant before Mattea Roach 8:24 - How to access the Jeopardy! all-time leaderboard 9:20 - Explaining the 2022 TOC format (plus potential scenarios) 11:37 - Our thoughts on the 2022 TOC roster and format 16:55 - Explaining the methodology behind my 2022 TOC tier list 19:03 - The S Tier Players 20:09 - The A+ Level Players 27:52 - The A Level Players 31:37 - The A- Level Players 37:20 - The B+ Level Players 45:22 - The B Level Players 50:47 - The B- Level Players 59:09 - Summary of my 2022 TOC hot takes 1:00:27 - Brief comments on the Second Chance Tournament's impact on the 2022 TOC 1:03:06 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 1:04:28 - Outro

In this episode of Post-Podium, I am joined by Rhone Talsma and Zach Gozlan to talk about the Second Chance Competition (SCC) format and break down the roster of contestants who are looking to rewrite their Jeopardy! history. We also spend some time at the beginning of this episode giving our opinions on some of the ideas Jeopardy! executive producer Michael Davies pitched in the first episode of the new Inside Jeopardy! podcast. Because of the length of this episode, I highly recommend you refer to the timestamps below if you are looking for a particular segment or topic of discussion. Timestamps 0:13 - Intro 1:38 - Discussing Jeopardy! Honors 3:02 - Jeopardy! spin-off shows? 6:07 - What would a Jeopardy! Masters League look like? 11:13 - Breaking down the financials of Season 38 15:51 - Tournament of Champions roster speculation 20:03 - Opinions on the SCC format 26:08 - Sadie Goldberger 29:07 - Molly Karol 32:58 - Isaac Applebaum 38:52 - Jack Weller 41:26 - Cindy Zhang 45:44 - Do Park 50:03 - Jessica Stephens 53:44 - Aaron Gulyas 56:17 - Renée Russell 1:00:19 - Nikkee Porcaro 1:05:33 - James Fraser 1:08:51 - Sarah Snider 1:13:41 - rowan ward 1:16:26 - Tracy Pitzel 1:19:32 - Pam Schoenberg 1:24:08 - Tom Philipose 1:26:41 - Alicia O'Hare 1:29:54 - Jeff Smith 1:35:47 - Some SCC roster stats 1:37:41 - Our SCC picks to win 1:40:32 - Who would we have liked to have seen in the SCC? 1:44:16 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 1:45:50 - Outro

In this short, special episode of Post-Podium, I share my predictions for who I believe will join the inaugural Jeopardy! Second Chance Competition (SCC) roster, which is scheduled to release on Monday, August 1st (along with the first episode of the official Jeopardy! podcast titled 'Inside Jeopardy!', hosted by EP Michael Davies and other Jeopardy! producers). In addition to who I expect to be in the SCC, I also share my picks for who I'd want to see in the SCC. My predictions are backed by my own set of criteria that do not, in any way, reflect the decision-making of Sony Pictures Television or Jeopardy Productions, Inc. Any overlap in methodology or final contestant selections is purely coincidental.  I also go over other Jeopardy!-related announcements shared in a blog post by Michael Davies, which you can read for yourself here. If I mistakenly misgendered someone while recording this episode, please contact me via Twitter at @thejericbrual, and I will add a correction in the episode description as soon as possible. Timestamps 0:14 - Intro 0:30 - Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik are the official co-hosts of Jeopardy! 1:21 - Jeopardy! will be airing handpicked episodes during the summer off-season 1:46 - More Jeopardy! recap content on social media during the off-season 1:58 - Jeopardy! launches an official podcast - Inside Jeopardy! 2:20 - Thoughts on Inside Jeopardy! 3:19 - SCC predictions disclaimer 3:41 - My methodology for determining potential SCC candidates 5:01 - No. 1-4: Most confident picks 6:54 - No. 5: Highest non-winning Coryat score of Season 38 7:38 - No. 6: A fan favorite in a superchamp sandwich 8:05 - No. 7-14: Highest non-winning Coryat scores against contestants in the 2022 TOC 8:35 - Honorable mentions and personal picks/favorites 9:43 - Rapid-fire recap of my SCC predictions 10:04 - Next episode of Post-Podium: Analyzing the SCC roster [with a guest(s)!] 10:23 - Outro

In this episode of Post-Podium, I had the opportunity to chat with Eric Ahasic, a meteorologist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who recently ended Ryan Long's 16-game run on Jeopardy! Eric went on to win five more games, finished as a 6-game super champion, and won a total of $162,601. His run eventually came to end when Megan Wachspress beat him by $2 in his seventh appearance. Coincidentally, Megan also went on to become a 6-game super champion. And yes, we are anticipating Ryan, Eric, and Megan to return and compete in the upcoming Tournament of Champions later this year. With Amy Schneider’s run in the rearview mirror and Mattea Roach’s run in full swing, I’ll be asking Eric questions about what it was like to prepare for Jeopardy! during what’s arguably its most competitive season yet. Was Daily Double hunting always a part of Eric's gameplay strategy? Of Eric's 14 opponents, who gave him a run for his money? And who did Eric happen to run into while he was searching for a phone charger? All of these questions and more are answered in this episode of Post-Podium! Timestamps 0:00 - A quick message for Post-Podium listeners 1:46 - Intro 3:23 - Eric's introduction 4:11 - Eric describes his first day of taping 8:29 - Did Eric tell anyone about his success while he was taping? 10:06 - While taping, did Eric realize that Ryan, Megan, and himself could be in the next TOC together? 12:46 - Eric describes his watch party experience 17:36 - Eric talks about his past in-person auditions 19:58 - Eric's audition timeline  23:14 - What steps did Eric take to prepare for Jeopardy!? 27:13 - Eric's best and worst Jeopardy! categories 28:42 - Eric talks about the three categories he ran during his streak 30:07 - Eric talks about the Jeopardy! buzzer 35:22 - What does it take to become a meteorologist? 36:28 - What was the craziest weather event Eric witnessed/analyzed? 37:36 - How did Eric's career in meteorology affect the way he prepared for Jeopardy!? 39:08 - Eric on the importance of Daily Doubles 43:00 - Eric talks about the Final Jeopardy! clues during his streak 45:17 - Game Breakdown: Game 1 (vs. Ryan and Stephanie) 46:51 - Game Breakdown: Eric's tendency to make true Daily Doubles 48:03 - Game Breakdown: Game 3 (vs. Maggie and Tessa) 49:48 - Game Breakdown: Game 5 (vs. Randy and Siobhan) 52:12 - Game Breakdown: Game 7 (vs. Barry and Megan) 54:33 - Eric describes the "Overheard" segment after Game 7 55:50 - Was there any part of the contestant experience that surprised Eric? 57:23 - Does Eric still keep in touch with his contestant cohort(s)? 58:49 - Did Eric have a "taping buddy" while on set? 1:00:02 - Has Eric been able to connect with the greater Jeopardy! alumni and trivia communities? 1:03:07 - Other behind the scenes stories (Eric's struggle to find a phone charger) 1:04:36 - "Have you read any messages from randoms or people from your distant past on social media?" 1:06:21 - What does Eric plan to spend his winnings on? 1:07:11 - What kind of mentality or approach will Eric be working with leading up to the TOC? 1:09:08 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 1:10:32 - Outro

In this episode of Post-Podium, I had the opportunity to chat with Danielle Maurer, a digital marketing manager from Peachtree Corners, Georgia who recently ended Mattea Roach's 23-game run on Jeopardy! Danielle finished as a two-day champion and amassed a total of $29,999. Have you noticed an ongoing theme in the guests we feature on this podcast? Season 38 is truly the season that keeps on giving. With the unprecedented rise in ultra champions such as Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider, how did Danielle prepare to potentially face one herself? What exactly is high fantasy literature? And what was the calculus behind Danielle's Final Jeopardy! wager which ultimately dethroned Mattea? All of these questions and more are answered in this episode of Post-Podium! Timestamps 0:14 - Intro 1:34 - Danielle's introduction 2:31 - Danielle's watch party experience 5:11 - "Why Jeopardy!?" 9:21 - Will Danielle audition for another trivia game show in the future? 11:01 - What steps did Danielle take to prepare for Jeopardy!? 16:26 - Danielle's best and worst Jeopardy! categories 18:10 - Did Danielle read any "Jeopardy! reference books"? 19:41 - Danielle on Jeopardy! buzzer technique 24:00 - Danielle on Ken and Mayim as the co-hosts of Jeopardy! 26:52 - Danielle on high fantasy literature and being an author 31:32 - Danielle on Dragon Con and cosplaying 37:02 - Danielle on singing at the Korean Demilitarized Zone 41:33 - Danielle's initial reaction to Mattea's ultra champion status 47:31 - Game Breakdown: Danielle goes for a true Daily Double on DD1 (Game 1) 49:40 - Game Breakdown: DD3 - "4 'N'" for $2000 (Game 1) 53:16 - Game Breakdown: Final Jeopardy! - "USA" (Game 1) 55:19 - Final Jeopardy! wager theory - Why $4,200 was Danielle's best option (Game 1) 1:00:39 - Game Breakdown: Final Jeopardy! - "NOVEL TITLES" (Game 2) 1:03:10 - Danielle and Mallory's shared experiences as authors 1:04:28 - Game Breakdown: Danielle swept "OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE" (Game 3) 1:05:58 - Final Jeopardy! wager theory - Why Mallory's $5,000 wager was risky (Game 3) 1:08:29 - Game Breakdown: Final Jeopardy! - "LIVE MUSIC" (Game 3) 1:10:50 - Does Danielle still keep in touch with her contestant cohort? 1:13:26 - Danielle praises her contestant cohort for their camaraderie 1:16:25 - Was there any part of the contestant experience that surprised Danielle? 1:18:41 - Other behind the scenes stories (TV magic, the hosts are human too) 1:21:23 - "Have you read any messages from randoms or people from your distant past on social media?" 1:23:04 - Danielle on the impact of teachers who believed in her 1:25:37 - What does Danielle plan to spend her winnings on? 1:27:22 - Wrapping up and promoting social media 1:28:51 - Outro