Sumo Kaboom

185: Sumo Unions & Underdogs

October 25th, 2023  |  41 mins 43 secs

organize, shunjeun incident, underdog, union, unionize, unions

Did you know that sumo wrestlers tried to organize to fight for improvements? And, have you ever wondered why we all love rooting for the underdog?

184: Musashimaru and New Sumo Recruits

October 18th, 2023  |  39 mins 34 secs

hawaii, hawaiian sumo, musashigawa, musashimaru

Musashigawa was in the news this week, so let's talk about the former yokozuna Musashimaru.

183: Sumo Lingo

October 11th, 2023  |  38 mins 53 secs

japanese, lingo, slang, sumo

This one is all about words. Words used mostly (or only) in the sumo world.

182: Retirement Rabbit Holes

October 4th, 2023  |  39 mins 49 secs

kaisei, okinoumi, retirement

We watched the retirement ceremonies of Okinoumi and Kaisei this weekend, and they led us down very different rabbit holes.

181: Aki Basho Days 11-15

September 27th, 2023  |  1 hr 1 min

2023, aki, atamifuji, basho, takakeisho

Who won our Sumo BINGO game? And who won the 2023 Aki Sumo Tournament?

180: Aki Basho Days 4-10

September 20th, 2023  |  45 mins 19 secs

As always, we're LOVING this basho and can't wait to see who wins.

179: Days 1-3 Aki Basho 2023

September 13th, 2023  |  39 mins 14 secs

2023, aki, basho

Our favorite moments from days 1-3 of the September, 2023 basho.

178: Nishikigi and the Slow Risers

September 6th, 2023  |  39 mins 47 secs

nishikigi, slow rise, ydc

Here's to all those who take a while to get to the top. The Slow Risers!

177: Sumo Scandals Part 4 - Violence

August 30th, 2023  |  39 mins 8 secs

death, jsa, scandal, sumo, violence

What happened in a heya in 2007 and how it changed sumo. ** This episode contains descriptions of violence. **

176: Sumo Scandals Part 3 - Drinking and Drugs

August 23rd, 2023  |  52 mins 16 secs

cannabis, drinking, drugs, haramafuji, pot, scandal

Yet another sumo scandal. This week, it's drugs and drinking.

175: Sumo Scandals Part 2 - Match-Fixing

August 16th, 2023  |  44 mins 1 sec

freakanomics, match-fixing, media, scandal, statistics, yaocho

Accusations of match-fixing in sumo are nothing new.

174: Sumo Scandals Part 1 - Gambling and the Yakuza

August 9th, 2023  |  42 mins 19 secs

betting, gambling, scandal, sumo scandal, yakuza

Part 1 in a series about the scandals of sumo.

173: Chiyonokuni's Retirement

August 2nd, 2023  |  42 mins 23 secs

chiyonokuni, dave, sumo mainichi

We're chatting about the recent retirement of Chiyonokuni with one of his biggest fans - Dave from the Sumo Mainichi Podcast.

172: Days 11-15 of the July 2023 Basho

July 27th, 2023  |  57 mins 29 secs

basho, hoshoryu, playoff

Did we like how the July basho ended? We sure did!

171: Days 4-10 of the July Basho

July 18th, 2023  |  44 mins 27 secs

basho, days 4-10, hokutofuji, july, nishikigi

A few of our favorite moments and story lines from the July basho.

170: Shonnanoumi and Days 1-3 of the July Tournament

July 11th, 2023  |  50 mins 25 secs

2023, july, nishikigi, shonnanoumi, terunofuji, tournament

A primer on Shonnanoumi and a break down of what happened on days 1 - 3 of the July tournament.