Stone + Straw

Host John Cullen travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the Tour Challenge to interview Winnipeg's own Jason Gunnlaugson. Though Gunnlaugson has yet to win a Manitoba title, his team has been consistently ranked in the top 20 in the world and he won a silver at the 2013 Olympic Trials as the fifth for John Morris. Despite a lack of titles, Jason has had one of the more unique paths a curler could have, from his surprise appearance at the 2009 Olympic Trials to playing for Russia to currently leading the analytics movement in the game. Simply put, there's no one on Earth who thinks about the game more than Jason Gunnlaugson does. And John and Jason cover it all, from his days playing poker to support his curling habit, how close he came to quitting, what analytics means for the game, and just what happened when the Russian Curling Federation came knocking on his door. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto. Presented by CurlingZone, Dynasty Curling, and Hardline Curling. Artwork by Kody Audette. Theme by Graham Wright.

Host John Cullen travels to Penticton, British Columbia, home of the Ashley Homestore Classic, to interview Mike McEwen. The 4-time Manitoba champion and 2018 Olympic Trials runner-up talks to John about one of the more up-and-down careers an elite athlete in our sport has had, from his struggles coming out of juniors to his new team with long-time friend Reid Carruthers. The discussion gets very in-depth and personal as Mike discusses quitting his job to play in a Canada Cup, the long road to finally winning his first Buffalo, what it means to be the world's #1 team, and just how close they came to calling it quits in 2014. Mike also talks about entering his peak performance condition at the 2018 Olympic Trials, and how all those losses trained him for that moment. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto. Presented by CurlingZone, Dynasty Curling, and Hardline Curling. Artwork by Kody Audette. Theme by Graham Wright.

Host John Cullen travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario, the home of Krista McCarville, for an in-depth interview. The 7-time Ontario/Northern Ontario champion and 2016 Scotties silver medallist joins John to discuss what it's like to try and compete with the world's best on a Tier 2 schedule, balancing a full-time career as a teacher with limited time off, her family, and the sport of curling. The two discuss her beginnings as a curler in the far reaches of Ontario all the way to her run to the third-place game at the 2009 Olympic Trials, and then move on to discuss her two-year layoff and her return to the game with a renewed sense of how to balance it all. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto. Presented by CurlingZone, Hardline Curling, and Dynasty Curling. Theme by Graham Wright. Artwork by Kody Audette.

Host John Cullen travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario for the Tour Challenge to interview Craig Savill, a two-time Brier and World Champion, a two-time World Junior Champion, and the owner of 10 Purple Hearts. Craig and John discuss his early days with John Morris, finding his way after that split and making his way to Team Glenn Howard, their rivalry with Kevin Martin, his battle with cancer, the magical 2016 Brier moment, and finding his way back to the game he loves. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto. Presented by CurlingZone, Dynasty Curling, and Hardline Curling. Theme by Graham Wright.

Host John Cullen travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario for the Tour Challenge to interview Jamie Sinclair, the two-time United States Women's Champion and 2018 U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up. She's also a Canadian champion, winning the Canada Winter Games in 2007. What's that you say? It's true! Dual citizen Jamie discusses her life as a curler on both sides of the border, finally landing on playing in the US. We look at how that came to be, her ascent to the top of US High Performance Program, whether she would ever consider playing for Canada again, analytics, and what it means to be a professional curler in a nation of 326 million people where only 25,000 of them curl. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto. Presented by Curling Zone, Hardline Curling, and Dynasty Curling. Theme by Graham Wright.

Host John Cullen travels to Thunder Bay, Ontario for the Tour Challenge to interview Niklas Edin, a two-time Olympic medallist and three-time World champion. Niklas discusses getting started in Sweden, how to manage fluctuating government funding, making a living in Canada, the 2018 Olympics, the hardest year of practice, and where it all goes from here. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto. Presented by CurlingZone, Dynasty Curling, and Hardline Curling. Theme by Graham Wright.

Host John Cullen travels to the Prestige Inn in Vernon, BC to interview Steve Laycock, a six-time Saskatchewan provincial champion and World Junior champion. Steve discusses learning from older players, finding the perfect fit in a lineup, mentoring younger players, and what happened with Colton Flasch and the 2018 Olympic Trials.  Presented by CurlingZone, Dynasty Curling, and Hardline Curling. Theme by Graham Wright. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto.

Host John Cullen travels to Dana Ferguson's kitchen in Edmonton, Alberta to interview skip Brendan Bottcher, last year's Brier finalist. Brendan discusses his transition from junior to men's, being one of the first successful university program teams, finding the right third, and how to become a curling professional.  Presented by Hardline Curling, CurlingZone, and Dynasty Curling. Theme by Graham Wright. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto.

Host John Cullen travels to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary, Alberta to interview their new CEO, Cheryl Bernard. Cheryl discusses her new job, breaking in to broadcasting, proving herself as a female athlete, and her dual experiences at the 2010 and 2018 Olympics. Presented by Dynasty Curling, Hardline Curling, and CurlingZone. Theme by Graham Wright. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto.

Host John Cullen travels to the St. Albert Curling Club in Alberta to interview St. Albert's own, Marc Kennedy. Marc discusses his early relationship with John Morris, curling with Kevin Martin, his 12 years with Ben Hebert, what happened at the 2018 Olympics, and outlines his plans for the future. Presented by Dynasty Curling, Hardline Curling, and CurlingZone. Theme by Graham Wright. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto.

Host John Cullen travels to Calgary, Alberta, and is welcomed into the home of Chelsea Carey, Olympic Trials finalist, Scotties winner, and the skip of the brand-new Team Carey. Chelsea discusses her relationship with her coach and father Dan Carey, her long wait for success at the women's level, and how to rebound from losing an Olympic Trials final. Presented by Dynasty Curling, Hardline Curling, and CurlingZone. Theme by Graham Wright. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto.

In this, the debut episode of Stone + Straw (@stonestrawpod), two-time Olympic Gold medallist, World Champion, and one of the best to ever lace 'em up, John Morris welcomes host John Cullen for a chat from his deck overlooking the ocean in Sooke, British Columbia. John Morris discusses the adjustment to men's curling after winning two World Junior titles, joining forces with Kevin Martin (and un-joining forces with him), his last season with Jim Cotter, and he announces that he's (most likely) through with the men's game. Presented by Dynasty Curling, Hardline Curling, and CurlingZone. Theme by Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club. Produced by Daniel Cuzzetto.

In this first teaser episode of Stone + Straw (@stonestrawpod), host John Cullen talks about why he started the podcast, his expectations for it, and plays an 8-minute preview clip from the first episode with John Morris, released in full on Tuesday, October 2nd. Hit the SUBSCRIBE button so you never miss a minute of any of the episodes this season! Presented by Dynasty Curling, Hardline Curling, and CurlingZone.