House of Strauss

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comI’ve known Bomani for about as long as I’ve been in this business and yet I never know what to expect when we catch up, beyond a great conversation. On this pod, he was candid about his adventures in sports television and insightful on a wide range of other subjects. The conversation includes, but is not limited to:* What it’s like to host a show* The time Bomani called me after I got fired* What prediction on his show is Bomani most proud of?* Sports and the crypto collapse: Why were athletes main characters? * Why doesn’t the NBA do promos like this? * We reflect on Bomani’s contention, “College basketball was better when Duke was the official team of White America.”* Does America benefit from sports rivalries as proxies for ethnic conflict?* Why did White America give up on basketball?* Why didn’t High Noon totally work and why was Bomani open about that reality? * What it’s like to perform your friendship for an audience when things aren’t working* Bomani’s thoughts on Skip Bayless vs. Shannon Sharpe* Bomani’s thoughts on his (perhaps) imitators* Is Chat GPT-style technology going to replace musicians? * Can the human love for music be wholly gamed by robots?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comBig sports media news week so we called in Ryan Glasspiegel to make sense of it all. This conversation includes, but is not limited to…* The odd media reactions to the tragic (though recently encouraging) Damar Hamlin situation. * Is it okay to do a story on how many people watched the scary situation? * The Football Hatin’ New York Times* Skip Bayless as the moment’s memetic scapegoat* Ryan and Ethan…don’t quite see how Skip’s tweet was that bad. * The building divorce between Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe* Ethan is against “disgusting” and “gross” Twitter responses* Stephen A. Smith addresses UFC impresario Dana White’s wife slap incident * Do we think reigning USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter’s going to lose his 2023 position over a 1991 kicking of his now wife? * Is Ryan’s affiliation with Ethan going to ruin his Madison Square Garden plans?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comHad the brilliantly idiosyncratic Athletic writer Marcus Thompson on to discuss if he came from the last generation of beat writers (then we took it from there). This is an industry chat, with the guy who served as my mentor as I entered the industry. Topics discussed in this podcast include, but are not limited to…* Beat writers…is that still a thing? * Is “no cheering in the press box” dead?* The Jenna Laine vs. Giovani Bernard controversy. Should Laine have apologized? * What are the unspoken rules in reporter vs. athlete locker room interactions? * How is covering NFL players different from covering NBA players?* How to ask questions of sports industry people* Why in person media access is humbling* What Marcus would ask players when they said “we’re friends.”* The darkness of humanity that superstar players see

HoS Pod welcomes Luke Burgis, author of the fascinating book Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life. I read it before our interview and can’t stop thinking about it. Not only is the book entertaining, but it gave me a different perspective on life. I can’t say that happens all too often. Luke is also the proprietor of the Anti-Mimetic, which continues on his book’s pertinent themes. A Substack devoted to one book’s themes might sound constraining, but perhaps after you listen to the podcast, you’ll see how Luke’s focus happens to be endlessly generative. Our conversation included, but was not limited to…* What is “mimetic desire”? * Why is understanding mimetic desire a skeleton key for understanding life?* Why Luke was researching professional sports (football specifically) for his book* To understand an athlete, you need to know what they desire* How the 1990s San Diego Chargers rejected the Denver Broncos imitative trap* How Steve Kerr used football coaching as a model for his basketball team* “I guess I believe in you more than you do,” as motivation* How similarity breeds rivalry more than difference does* What’s the most powerful mimesis engine: Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Instagram?* The “training wheels truth” that Twitter is an echo chamber isn’t totally true* The scapegoat as a deep human need* “Torches of Freedom,” a 1920s example of social justice capitalism 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.comAudio version of this article is up.

Ethan and Ryan are back and discussing matters of controversy, including, but not limited to:* Video evidence reviewed by the San Diego DA appears to debunk "gang rape" accusation against punter Matt Araiza. Why no media mea culpa? Why so much anger at, say, a Substacker who pointed this out?* On the Grand Narrative being more important than whatever happened* What's with the media trying to establish a standard where accusations alone = consequences?* On how nobody knows how to talk about college athletes and group sex at parties leading to bad outcomes* The sad news about Grant Wahl out of Qatar* Ryan's noticed a pattern where a lot of traveling sports writers die young* Viktor Bout traded for Brittney Griner: The reaction* Who else: Elon Musk. Is he in the Tyson Zone?* The circular debate over the Twitter Files 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.comAndrew Sharp has a very particular set of skills, which is why Ben Thompson of Stratechery tapped him for a bold new podcast venture. Given that Sharp is, admittedly, not a tech expert, what is he doing co-hosting a tech podcast? Moreover, why is he ideal for such a role? Our conversation includes, but is not limited to: Sharp’s odd knack for being a pod wingmanThe Twitter files (Some of the conversation might be a sequel to last week with Ryan)* Why Sharp’s given himself over to the Elon News Era* Why we both think Musk is being dishonest in self presentation * Somehow we end up talking Trump* Is Elon 200 IQ Trump? * Civility is good* Is the “Karen” era on Twitter over? * The old Twitter days* The height of Grantland and its aftermath* We go long on LeBron* Why did Nike and the NBA bury Giannis’ rise?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comReturning media critic champ Ryan Glasspiegel stops by for an emergency pod. Why? Because a couple days just yielded way more novelty than could properly be absorbed by any one person. In this pod, our discussion includes but is not limited to…* Kanye/Alex Jones/Hitler* Elon/Matt Taibbi/Hunter Biden* LeBron/Jerry Jones/Kyrie IrvingAnd more..

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comCertified Graying Millennial Saam Esfandiari returns to HoS, giving out takes for the holiday season. In this pod, our discussion includes but is not limited to…* Looks like Saam was right about his James Wiseman pessimism. Can a man, in good conscience, feel validated by a 21 year-old’s struggles? * The Wiseman Paradox: How can such a talented player, with good counting stats production, be so destructively bad?* Why NBA players might prefer to be called a “pussy” over “coward”* The Bay Area Media and propaganda: We know we’re softer than other regions, but are we also more inclined to buy happy lies? * Why did veteran SF Chronicle reporter Connor Letourneau take a (probable) shot at Saam and his co-host Andy Liu? * What’s grinding Saam’s gears in this World Cup about American coverage of Iran? * Our takes on how U.S. player Taylor Adams dealt with some hostile questioning. Our takes on the takes in response. * Is it permissible for an American to say “Eye-Ran” instead of “Ee-Rahn”?* Our unvarnished takes on the U.S. women’s soccer team getting half the USMNT prize money. How sexist are we? Or are we nuanced? Listen and find out. * Who runs the Bay: Gians, Niners or Warriors?

Topics on this podcast include:* Why did Tyler write so much about sports in a book that was mostly anchored in the business world?* Is there a way to improve at writing?* Is there a way to anticipate a paradigm shifting talent like a Kevin Durant or Steph Curry?* Why email response time is such a huge indicator of top tier talent* How ambitious are you?* What’s up with NBA defensive superstars being hard drinking maniacs?* Yugoslavia as NBA talent river versus China as NBA talent desert* The power of high draft pick incumbency* On Draymond Green being a great role player vs. Russell Westbrook being a terrible superstar* The feedback to Tyler’s viral piece, Classical liberalism vs. The New Right 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