The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players

In this episode, I sit down with Avery Silverstein, a 17-year-old bridge prodigy who has fallen hard for the game. Despite her young age, Avery has already earned two medals at the Junior World Championships and reached the round of 16 in the Vanderbilt as my partner. We discuss her journey from fam...

I was inspired to interview Maya Jonas-Silver, because of this post she made on Bridge Winners bemoaning the lack of playing opportunities for her recent bridge initiates. After winning the 2023 20-50 Mini McKenney award Maya hasn't stopped. She has become a passionate advocate for bringing young ad...

In this episode, I sit down with Ethan Derman, a remarkable young talent who just got accepted early decision to the University of Virginia. Ethan shares his journey from playing baseball and water polo to becoming a junior world championship medalist in bridge. We dive into our dramatic Vanderbilt ...

I'm thrilled to welcome Antonio Palma from Portugal to the show today. Antonio has had an incredible run of second-place finishes in recent years, including the Rosenblum, European Mixed Championships, Soloway Knockouts, and Spingold. Last year, he broke through by winning the pairs in Madeira, lead...

In this episode, John McAllister sits down with Julie Marina Sigsgaard and Ella Rosthøj, two young Danish players whose friendship, partnership, and love of bridge have taken them from neighborhood kids to representing Denmark on the world stage. Despite only playing bridge for a handful of years, t...

In this episode, John McAllister sits down with Emanuel Unge, the creator of Cue Bids, the hottest app in bridge today. Emanuel shares how he discovered bridge at age 25. After years of poker and board games, and how that late start completely reshaped his life — leading him to meet his wife, build ...

In this episode, John McAllister sits down with Christina Lund Madsen, a writer, journalist, tournament organizer, and world-class competitor, coming off of winning her third European Mixed Team Championship. Known for her sharp wit and fearless bidding, Christina shares how she uses storytelling to...

This is a long anticipated conversation for our host John McAllister as he finally sits down with English star David Gold. David considers himself lucky to play with legends Zia Mahmood for the North American Bridge Championships and Andrew Robson for the English open team. Fresh off competing in th...

In this captivating episode, John McAllister welcomes Tracy Brines, whose extraordinary background spans naval service, nuclear power plant operations, and competitive bridge. Tracy reveals engaging stories from his Navy days, shares intense experiences from his time managing nuclear power plant con...