The Shallow End – Details, episodes & analysis

Justin, aka @740SmithCards, PC's Michael Jordan, but the rest of his PC is made up almost entirely of non-Hall of Famers—players who hold a special place in his history as a fan of Ohio sports. In this episode, we hear how Justin marries his passion for collecting childhood heroes with his fondness for some of the era's most unique and memorable sets of sports cards. We also learn that Justin doesn't consider himself an influencer, except when it comes to passing along knowledge of the hobby to his kids.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz, @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards on IG.

Josh is a sports-card collector of many interests: vintage, modern, Yankees, superstars from across MLB. In this episode, learn from a collector who remembers that sports cards are supposed to be a hobby, fun, and most of all, an escape from everyday life. Find Josh on IG at @InspiredSportscards.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

The latest edition of The Shallow End: Total Content. Featuring …

Cardboard Chronicles; Cards to the Moon; Stacking Slabs; The Collector's Gene; Sports Card Madness; Sports Cards Nonsense; Lemme Get That Podagraph; Wax Pack Hero.

Contact Dave Schwartz on IG @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Collector Kevin M. Cormier once called it the "paralysis of indecision." It's those moments when you have too many cards that you want, the funds to get some, and the decision and contemplation becomes so much that you end up doing nothing. On this episode, we consider it from a slightly different perspective—from the unhelpful point of view of "What If …"

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz ⁠@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards⁠

Read the Kevin Cormier interview from June 6, 2023, ⁠here⁠.

Sports-card influencers have power not because of some cosmic or mystic force. They have power because we give them power. Who are the most powerful influencers in the sports-card hobby? That's an easy answer: Look in the mirror.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Referenced in this episode: "Hodinkee Radio episode 21: Matt Jacobson" (aired Nov 26, 2018)

Clark, curator of @fivecardguys and host of the Cards to the Moon podcast, recently committed to attending his first National. Then he changed his mind and will instead go to the first Fanatics Fest a month later in New York. Here's why. Plus, we talked about Cards to the Moon recently celebrating its third anniversary, how he keeps it fresh, and we close by playing some sports-card related games.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Welcome to an experiment. A new monthly series, "The Shallow End: Total Content," works to shine a light on some of the best, most interesting, and notable recent episodes in sports-card podcasting. If you'd like to leave feedback, host Dave Schwartz can be reached on Instagram at @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards.

When you spend a good chunk of your week sitting inside unmoving airplanes at one of the world's largest airports, the mind wanders. Mine wandered to sports cards. Please enjoy this abbreviated, hopefully entertaining, O'Hare-inspired episode.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

The sports-card hobby is an ecosystem. It has apex predators, parasites and everything in between. If you're among the 99 percent of collectors who fall somewhere between the two ends of the hobby spectrum, how do you survive it?

A funny thing happened on the road to The National 2023: previously absent or scarce cards suddenly became available in droves. With the 2024 National about two months out, Austin Carlson (@carlson_cards) visits to talk about how last year's trend is informing this year's collecting.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)