Media News
Iconic Dallas media figure Dale Hansen returns to fray via new podcast
Mark Villasana, Lila Levy, Dale Hansen
An iconic Dallas media figure is back on the air: Former longtime sportscaster Dale Hansen, who retired in 2021 after more than 40 years, is chattering again in a new podcast, "Dallas Dialogue With Dale Hansen," which made its debut on June 2.
The podcast is sponsored by Northwest Insurance Agency, a Dallas-based agency owned by Mark Villasana, an insurance professional with nearly 30 years of experience in the DFW market.
Villasana and his partner Lila Levy (AKA, CultureMap Dallas' own bagel expert) launched a separate podcast in April 2025, called "Beyond The Policy: Covering Everything Dallas," where they share insights on insurance, before segueing to interviews with chefs, artists, musicians politicians, and other local figures.
Hansen was one such figure they interviewed, and that May 26 episode turned out so well, they decided to launch a new monthly podcast starring Dale, providing the outspoken and opinionated Hansen with a platform for his hot takes on a variety of issues.
Here's a few words from Dale:
The return of Dale
""I've seen every movie and TV show that Netflix has to offer," Hansen says. "My wife and I travel quite a bit, and I play a lot of poker with the guys," Hansen says. "So when Lila called, what was supposed to be an hour turned into two and a half. I don't have a lot of conversations with people these days, so it's hard for me to shut up. Halfway through, they said, 'This is really good, would you mind if we make it into two parts.' And then they suggested the idea of doing the podcast once a month. That was the magic moment for me. I love writing commentaries. I was ready to retire for a lot of reasons, but that was the only thing I missed from my television days."
To zoom or not to zoom
"My wife and I live in Waxahachie," Hansen says. "It's not that far from Dallas. We're recording the show in Denton and I make the drive. I don't like having these conversations over Zoom. I know it's technically possible but i like to look the person in the face, and be there with Mark and Lila. Someday we might end up doing it over Zoom but for now, it gets me out of the house. It's about an hour and 15 minutes. Although halfway there, I start thinking, 'Maybe we ought to do this over Zoom.'"
First topic
"The first one I did was about the divide in America — how we've allowed politics to divide us unlike anything in our history," Hansen says. "We've been divided before but never lost friends. But because of my self-identified 'liberal' leaning, I've had conservatives kick me out of a card game. I don't get invited to dinner parties. My sister and I didn't talk for nine years. I blame a single man, Donald Trump, for causing this divide. Previously, you could still maintain friendships. And it goes both ways. I have a liberal friend, we were going to eat at Javier's, and the question was, 'Who else is coming,' because they won't attend if certain people are there."
Future Dale
"Future topics include the Luka and the Dallas Mavericks, and the technology of the world we live in -- phones, computers, Facebook. I do see some of the benefits, but how many influencers does one country need?" Hansen says.
"Bottom line, I am doing a great deal of what I did at channel 8 — talk about social issues, sports, although even when I was talking about sports, I would always weave in social aspects. I just love sparking the conversation. A friend told me that his buddy said, 'The hell with Dale Hansen, he thinks he's right about everything and he's just not.' Well, of course I think I'm right — I wouldn't say it if I didn't think I was right. I didn't understand why that was supposed to offend me."
"Dallas Dialogue With Dale" can be viewed on YouTube or heard via Spotify.
Racing at the Velocity Sim Racing Lounge in Houston. Courtesy of Velocity - Sim Racing Lounge