PHILADELPHIA, PA – September 23, 2021 – Audacy announces THE RUN: 2016 CHICAGO CUBS, its first original podcast in partnership with Major League Baseball. The show, part of Audacy’s newly launched 2400Sports podcast studio, will relive the twists and turns of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series campaign, game-by game, controversy-by-controversy, heartbreak and triumph. THE RUN: 2016 CHICAGO CUBS will launch on Monday, September 27, everywhere podcasts are available.  New episodes will be available Mondays.  Listen to and follow the series HERE. 

This new documentary podcast, from executive producer Jody Avirgan, will be hosted by comedian and “The Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. and baseball analyst and 670 The Score (WSCR-AM) host Matt Spiegel. Dropping two episodes per week, Wood and Spiegel will relive some of the best moments from the World Series against the Cleveland Indians.

Joined by life-long Cubs fans, executives, players and journalists who covered the historic run including Joe Maddon, David Ross, Theo Epstein, Katie Rich, Pat Hughes and Tom Verducci, the series relives the on-field heroics from that momentous championship run and combines it with enlightening storytelling about the cast of characters that came together to make it possible. Listeners will get to know the guests and what they were going through not just on the field, but in the clubhouse, between games and after they clinched the title of World Series champions.

“I covered the Cubs run on the radio and was in the stands,” said Spiegel, “but I’m learning all sorts of new things as we’ve been doing this series. And Roy thinks he has the best Game 7 story, but I’ve got one in my pocket that will blow him away.” 

“I’m not sure if Matt truly understands.” added Wood. “I wore a Cubs bathrobe the entirety of 2016. By Game 7 it was filthy. It still reeks of beer, Cleveland rainwater, and sweet, sweet victory. We’ll see whose story is better.”

“If I can confess something – I’m not that big of a baseball fan. But like most of America, I was riveted by the entire Cubs run, staying up late into the night during that rain delay and Game 7 comeback,” said Avirgan, Executive Producer, The Run. “The whole concept of ‘The Run’ is to treat a sports postseason as if it were a season of a TV show or movie, and recap it the way a pop culture podcast would. The 2016 Cubs are a perfect fit – so much drama on and off the field, so many amazing characters and stories. The fall of 2016 was…an interesting time, but it’s been a joy to revisit this team and this moment when sports showed how magical the world can feel. Cheesy, I know, but true.”

“We’re thrilled to build on our partnership with MLB and have “The Run” kick off the newest addition to our robust podcast business – 2400Sports,” said J.D. Crowley, Chief Digital Officer, Audacy. “This show is the first of many podcasts where we’ll offer an intimate look into the fan and player experience, giving our audience behind-the-scene looks at some of baseball’s most memorable moments. I can’t think of a better subject than the Cubs’ magical journey and what went into breaking a 108-year curse.”

“The 2016 World Series was one of the most memorable in our history, not just for Cubs fan but for baseball fans everywhere,” said Nick Trotta, Senior Director, Global Media, Major League Baseball. “Reliving that championship through this podcast documentary will allow listeners to experience the events and understand the people that made this historic season come together. We’re excited to start our partnership 2400Sports with this momentous and exciting story.”

Wood grew up in Alabama but has been a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan since the age of six — and has the pictures to prove it. He joined Comedy Central’s Emmy-nominated “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” in 2015 as a correspondent. This year, Comedy Central and Wood are collaborating on two podcasts, “Roy’s Job Fair” and “Beyond the Scenes,” as well as his third hour-long stand-up special airing later this year. As an executive producer, his credits include the PBS documentary “The Neutral Ground,” an HBO Max project “1% Happy” and an untitled medical field comedy for NBC. Wood will executive produce, write, and star in an untitled comedy in the works at FOX with Denis Leary producing, and will also star alongside Jon Hamm in the long-awaited “Fletch” remake, “Confess, Fletch.”

Wood’s first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Father Figure,” debuted in 2017, the same year he was named the new host of Comedy Central’s storytelling series, “This is Not Happening.” His second Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You,” which debuted in 2019, remains the network’s highest-rated original stand-up premiere. Before “The Daily Show,” Wood co-starred for three seasons on TBS’s “Sullivan & Son,” and he remains a regular guest on various ESPN shows and the MLB Network. 

Spiegel has been a talk show host, singer, and columnist in Chicago since 1995, currently co-hosting “The Parkins & Spiegel” show afternoons on 670 The Score, as well as “Hit and Run” on Sunday mornings during the baseball season. He has written baseball columns for The Score, The Daily Herald, USA Today, Baseball Weekly, The Sporting News and more. He hosted nationally on Sporting News Radio for a decade before returning to The Score full time in 2009. Spiegel traveled with and covered the Cubs in their historic 2016 World Series run, broadcasting live from Cleveland, and then from Chicago’s Grant Park for the Rally of a Lifetime. He is also a singer and bandleader in Chicago; his band Tributosaurus considers themselves the Chicago Symphony Orchestra of rock’n’roll. Their jingle “Cubs Score,” plays before and after every game on the Cubs Radio Network. 

Jody Avirgan of Roulette Productions is a podcast host, producer, and editor. In addition to serving as Executive Producer for “The Run,” he is helping Audacy develop a number of projects under the new 2400Sports banner. He is the host of the Radiotopia show “This Day in Esoteric Political History,” and recently served as editor and producer on Apple TV+’s “The Line,” and the Adam McKay-hosted “Death at the Wing.” From 2016-2020, he ran and hosted “30 for 30 Podcasts,” part of ESPN Films. He also developed FiveThirtyEight Podcasts, where he hosted, reported and edited a variety of shows and projects. Prior to arriving at ESPN, he was a producer at WNYC radio, and has worked with shows such as “On the Media,” “Marketplace,” “Freakonomics,” “99% Invisible” and many more. 

Download the cover art for THE RUN: 2016 CHICAGO CUBSHERE

Listen to the trailer HERE

Twitter:

Roy Wood, Jr.             @roywoodjr

Matt Spiegel               @mattspiegel670

Jody Avirgan              @jodyavirgan

Audacy                        @AudacyCorp

Audacy Sports          @AudacySports

MLB                            @MLB

Instagram:

Roy Wood, Jr.             @roywoodjr

Audacy                        @audacy

Audacy Sports           @audacysports

MLB                            @mlb

Audacy launched 2400Sports in June to house the company’s sports digital audio content, including both new and existing original podcasts. The studio launched on the heels of Audacy becoming the official audio and podcast partner of Major League Baseball. As part of that partnership, Audacy and Major League Baseball will collaborate on the production and distribution of official podcast programming for the league and its clubs.

For more information, visit www.audacy.com and www.mlb.com.