House of Strauss

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comThis time Ryan and I start off on the conventional topics before spinning off into strange directions. His tweet nicely summarizes the docket but I’d add that we touch on the Deion Sanders controversy as well. Enjoy.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comBeyond being co-host of the successful Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast and Vice President of Programming at storied WFAN, Spike Eskin is a keen observer of what works in the audio format. Given that, I wanted his NBA takes, but also his insights into what makes a sports talk personality succeed. In this episode, we looked at the NBA’s disastrous All-Sta…

Shadi Hamid is an author, Atlantic writer, and Brookings fellow with a particular skill for pointing out the flaws in comforting popular assumptions. I’m a fan of Hamid’s work, including his latest book, The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea.Three weeks ago, Shadi had a stray tweet about football fandom that drummed up some outrage at sports media sites. That’s not exactly why we’re talking, even if it is, in a roundabout way, how we came into contact. The anti NFL fan sentiment is a good jumping off point, though, to a broader discussion about sports, culture and whether it’s a force for good in society. Our conversation touches on, but is not limited to:* Football: Good for America?* Is football uniquely American?* How football in America is like hookah in the Middle East* The allure of nervous crowd energy* Shadi’s book on how liberalism and democracy are not synonymous* The difficulty of accepting a system in which you can lose, big time * The Cathedral, Yarvin, and the democracy-skeptical rightists This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comOur returning champ Ryan is back from Arizona, to discuss sports media goings on in the Super Bowl aftermath. We get into his experience of doing a Colin Cowherd profile, whether Brett Favre has a case in his suing of Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe, plus some LeBron James takes. This conversation broaches, but is not limited to:* Super Bowl viewership. A disappointment? * What’s Skip Bayless like in person?* The aforementioned Brett Favre: Why he’s not charged for a crime, why he’s suing Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe* Ryan’s annoyance at how Celtics-Bucks became a load management game* Can the NFL make women’s flag football a thing?* Bill Simmons and Spotify. Ryan gives some expository there* I oh so bravely stand up for Michael Jordan’s legacy vs. LeBron James

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comMy old boss, Athletic superstar and overall King of Bay Area Media stops by to talk Warriors and Niners. Obviously, the Warriors’ end to the Wiseman era gets some play here, but the conversation goes in a variety of directions. This podcast discussion includes, but is not limited to:* On how we should aspire to be like Steph Curry in terms of delegation* What happened with James Wiseman? When was it really over? * Can Joe Lacob be cajoled?* Tim’s Mailbag columns at The Athletic are incredible and he’s dropping news bombs within them* Why’d it end ugly between Kyle Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo?* How Brock Purdy seemed for real before getting thrown into action* Warriors GM Bob Myers: Is he leaving? Tim makes a bold prediction* Which team is bigger in the Bay, Warriors or Niners?* A theory or two on why Myers might be antsy to go* What does it mean that I declined to ask about the San Francisco Giants?* As a guy who serves readers expertly, but is often fighting with them, how does Tim feel about sports fans?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comMaggie Gray, CBS radio star and co-host of Maggie and Perloff, seems prone to unleashing a totally reasonable opinion that you’re not seeing elsewhere. Recently, it was the viral take that sports figures shouldn’t feature their children during press conferences (gasp!). On this episode, we get into the fallout from this heresy, plus address why James Dolan once went scorched earth against Maggie and her company. Topics on this podcast include but are not limited to:* Twitter made the media hate its customers* The evil anti kid take* Why the take is reasonable though scorned* Maggie interviewed Joe Montana the day this Wright Thompson piece dropped. * Cool Joe deflects, with honesty* How all great athletes fade from public memory* LeBron scoring title takes* The Rule of LeBron Cringe* Maggie vs. James Dolan* How’s the NBA doing right now?

Ross Barkan, proprietor of the best newsletter on New York politics, returns to discuss whether Knicks owner James Dolan might go down in flames. But before we get to that, he has a bone to pick with certain anti woke intellectuals. This conversation includes, but is not limited to:* The battle of ideas between Matt Yglesias vs. Wesley Yang* Ross’ critique of Yang’s recent focus* Can both Yglesias and Yang feel validated by history?* The Wokes, the Anti Wokes, and the Anti Anti Wokes, plus how nobody defines themselves as such* On how the cultural focus on Covid is fading out* Has James Dolan finally messed with the wrong crowd?* Dolan’s completely insane media tour This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comI’m on a big Richard Linklater kick right now, so Freddie’s Top 20 ranking of his movies came at the right time. Given the personal timing and Freddie’s excellent analysis, I just had to reach out and get some additional thoughts on the rankings, the director, and why his time-sensitive work endures. Yes, we also manage some modern media criticism in this episode. The conversation we have broaches, but is not limited to:Freddie’s review of TárMy dislike of HBO’s Inside the Episode features Why Freddie doesn’t write pure Culture WarHow the Boomers misled us on the finite nature of timeHow people who miss aspects of the past get stigmatized as owning all of itMalcolm Gladwell’s dirty trick against Matt Taibbi in the Munk debate If Dazed and Confused is a perfect movie, then why isn’t it Number 1 on Freddie’s list?The mystical nature of Matthew McConaughey’s charisma in Dazed and ConfusedWhy Freddie ranked his Before Sunrise trilogy the way he didDid Boyhood work? Was there anything deeper to School of Rock? Freddie discusses his piece on how the creative underclass is still raging

Meet Tyler Dunne, author of The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football, and proprietor of the Go Long Substack. I’m a big believer in the principle that, the more specific the analysis, the broader the implications, and that’s why I was excited to read Tyler’s incredibly specific book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and, as happens, felt myself inspired to ask the author some follow up questions. On this pod, we discuss how tight ends unveil the meaning of life, represent the apotheosis of football player, get severely underpaid, and tap into a “sacred” tradition of permitted violence. Enjoy, unpaywalled. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comRyan is back, discussing events of the moment. The NFL playoffs is an unholy juggernaut, crushing all comers. We try out theories as to why it gained on the other leagues this past half decade. Then we pivot to “Canada’s top trending story,” a Russian defenseman, playing for an American team. This podcast discussion includes, but is not limited to:* The NFL’s golden decade, which has been largely unexplained in sports media* Are there any lessons to learn from its dominance? * What should the NBA have done? * Ryan loves the Joe Buck + Troy Aikman announcing combo?* Ivan Provorov, a Russian guy we’d never heard of, didn’t wear his NHL team’s Pride Night warmup shirt: Media anger ensues * Is the media freakout concentrated among Canadian journos, or are U.S. sports writers just as hyperbolic? * Ryan and I both aren’t in favor of punishing pregame abstentions like this, be it Colin Kaepernick, or this guy we just learned about* Why is the NHL, of all leagues, getting involved in controversies of late? * Bill Simmons had a fascinating interview with WWE CEO Nick Khan* Nick Khan has a theory on what ESPN might take from Turner in the next round of NBA television rights