Maria Konnikova and James Hartigan launch The Tough Call podcast on October 20

Maria Konnikova and James Hartigan will co-host a new podcast called The Tough Call, with the first of ten episodes released on October 20, 2026. The series centres on decision making both at and away from the poker table and features Konnikova, Hartigan and invited guests from a range of professional disciplines.

The Tough Call podcast: format and launch

The Tough Call follows a seasonal structure and the inaugural season is set to include ten episodes, the first of which drops on October 20, 2026. The show is designed to "span the gamut of decision makers," according to Konnikova, and is poker-adjacent rather than a poker hand-analysis programme. Only one episode in the first season will feature a poker player as the guest; the remaining episodes bring in writers, film producers, businesspeople, psychologists in the mental coaching space and relationship coaches.

The format pairs two co-hosts with a guest, focusing the conversation on how that guest approaches difficult decisions in their professional and personal lives. Konnikova described a dual aim: exploring decision making and making the lessons "accessible to people so they can figure out how to apply the ideas to their own lives." She also said the production team hopes future seasons can incorporate greater audience participation by inviting listeners to submit tough calls from their own lives for consideration.

Why the podcast matters for poker and beyond — the focus keyword: The Tough Call podcast

The Tough Call podcast links to poker through shared emphasis on judgment and choice, but Konnikova emphasised it is not a poker show about hands or table-level decisions. She characterised the podcast as more focused on everyday decision making rather than prediction markets or technical game theory. Konnikova contrasted the new programme with her earlier work on Risky Business, noting different formats and emphases.

"It's called The Tough Call, referring to tough decisions, and it's meant to span the gamut of decision makers. It's poker-adjacent in the sense that good decision making is a huge part of the game, but it's not a poker podcast about hands or decisions at the table."

Konnikova co-hosted Risky Business with Nate Silver in the past; she and Silver still own the IP for that show. She said Risky Business rarely featured guests and was more about prediction and forecasting, while The Tough Call will generally bring outside voices into the conversation and focus on day-to-day decisions.

Hosts' podcasting experience and roles

James Hartigan and Maria Konnikova are both PokerStars Ambassadors and both have prior podcasting experience. Hartigan is known for hosting Poker in the Ears; Konnikova has podcasting experience through Risky Business. Konnikova said she has enjoyed the dynamic of working with Hartigan and discovering how they function together as co-hosts, and she welcomed the guest-driven format because it allows a broader set of perspectives.

The production approach deliberately brings subject-matter back-and-forth between two co-hosts and a guest. Konnikova said that the guest dynamic creates a more inclusive conversation than the two-person back-and-forth she had with Nate Silver on Risky Business.

Notable guests: Jason Koon and David Epstein

One featured guest is PokerStars Ambassador and Poker Hall of Fame inductee Jason Koon. Konnikova singled out Koon's personal history — going from near-homelessness to the top tier of the game — as a reason he fits the show's remit. She said Koon can discuss decision making both within poker and in a broader life context, and that he is someone "who can do both."

Another guest is author David Epstein, who appears on the show and recently published Inside the Box, a book about creative constraints. Konnikova described Epstein as a close friend and said she was excited to include him on the roster.

Konnikova on decision making and career choices

Konnikova discussed decisions in her own career that shaped how she thinks about decision making. She recounted writing her first book, Mastermind, during graduate school while pursuing a PhD in psychology; she took a semester off in her fourth year to finish the manuscript. Mastermind became a New York Times bestseller and allowed her to pursue writing full time. She had initially decided not to return to complete the PhD, but after months of argument with her mother she finished the degree. Konnikova characterised that choice to complete the PhD as one that changed the trajectory of her career in a positive way and said it would have been "a colossal error in judgement" not to finish.

On practical advice she offers broadly, Konnikova gave a concise directive about maintaining cognitive engagement in decisions:

"I think the number one thing is to keep using your brain. That's one of the most important things in the modern world: don't offload your decision-making process."

She warned that defaulting to artificial intelligence for nodes of the decision-making process is "horrific" and argued that relying on AI risks losing critical thinking skills.

What listeners should expect and how to engage

Season one of The Tough Call aims to balance accessible, applicable lessons with diverse guest perspectives. Konnikova said the team intends to develop audience participation across future seasons by soliciting real-life tough calls from listeners and shaping episodes around those submissions.

For industry professionals and poker observers, the show positions itself at the intersection of cognitive psychology and competitive decision-making, bringing named players and experts into conversations about practical choice architecture and personal judgement.