You've seen the 10 most downloaded episodes of Toronto Mike'd in 2014, but here are my favourites. This was tough, as I thoroughly enjoyed recording far more than 10 episodes, and I excluded all episodes with my buddy Elvis, but here's my 10 favourite episodes of Toronto Mike'd in 2014, in no particular order.
Jonathan Torrens
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/01/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_65.html
Why it's a personal favourite: In early 2014, I wasn't certain what I wanted my podcast to become. Then, out of the blue, I received an email from Jonathan Torrens.
Jonathan was interested in renting my podcast studio to record the first episode of his podcast with Jeremy Taggart, but I was more interested in him coming on my podcast and answering my many questions about Street Cents, Jonovision, Trailer Park Boys and the Degrassi movie.
Jonathan took a very expensive cab ride to and from my place during a very short visit to Toronto and when he left I knew exactly what I wanted my podcast to be.
Ed the Sock
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/10/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_94.html
Why it's a personal favourite: I was a big fan of Ed the Sock growing up, and it was a thrill to not only chat with Ed's creator but also Ed himself. Yes, Ed is a sock, but he still succinctly and hilariously says what I'm thinking.
Jeff Marek
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/04/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_74.html
Why it's a personal favourite: To this day, no podcast has run as long as this one. The report was natural, the conversation fun and interesting and by the end of the first hour I forgot we were recording. I loved chatting with Jeffy.
Maddog
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/10/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_92.html
Why it's a personal favourite: Maddog was a listener of the podcast, and if he was going to guest he wasn't going to hold back. The brutal and refreshing honesty from him made for compelling audio. With every episode I record now, I aim to recapture that rawness I heard from Maddog.
Mike Wilner
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/11/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_96.html
Why it's a personal favourite: Mike is a divisive personality amongst Jays fans. An ongoing joke in my circle when someone comes off arrogant or condescending is to call him or her "Wilner".
Mike came over intending to be as honest as possible and I believe he was. Afterwards, as people heard his hour with me, I kept hearing the same thing. I had humanized the beast. Those who disliked him immensely were willing to admit they simply misunderstood the man.
Strombo
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/12/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_103.html
Why it's a personal favourite: I could record another 1000 episodes and not recreate this perfect storm. George was generous with both his time and his honesty, and we truly hit it off. We were two pals having a deep and interesting convo and to this day I can't quite remember what was said during the recording and what was said afterwards. It was pure magic.
Mark Hebscher
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/08/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_89.html
Why it's a personal favourite: Much like with Ed the Sock, I grew up a big Hebsy fan. Sportsline was my show and Mark was the star. The conversation was so awesome, I've asked him to come back on to share more stories in late February.
Erin Davis
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/07/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_84.html
Why it's a personal favourite: I had never met Erin Davis and wasn't sure what to expect. I suppose I thought she might play it ultra safe because of her prominent role on such a G-rated show.
Instead, she was completely down to earth and honest and completely engaging. Today, we exchange emails and Twitter DMs regularly and just last week I made my debut on CHFI during Erin's show.
Ashley Buchholz from USS
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/11/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_95.html
Why it's a personal favourite: Ashley is like nobody else I've interviewed. He just seemed to see things differently, and think in this creative manner that made it crazy fun to have a conversation with him.
It helped immensely that I was a legit fan of his band, making this a special thrill.
Tribute to Martin Streek
Hear it here: https://www.torontomike.com/2014/07/toronto_miked_podcast_episode_82.html
Why it's a personal favourite: No episode took longer to produce, and as episodes go, this one was definitely the greatest risk. Based on the positive response, it worked. I was extremely pleased.
Although some of the guests were clips from previous episodes (Alan Cross, Todd Shapiro, Fred Patterson, Bingo Bob, etc.) I made fresh calls to some very interesting people, including Brother Bill and David Marsden. I like to think Martin's memory was fairly and justly honoured.
