

The Press Box
The Ringer
The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker catch you up on the biggest media stories, from sports to politics and everything in between.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 13, 2017 • 41min
Ep. 234: Interview With 'Hidden Figures' Director Ted Melfi
The Ringer's Sean Fennessey sits down with Ted Melfi to discuss the success of his latest film, 'Hidden Figures' (1:10), and how it came about (3:19), as well as the difficulties of making an entertaining movie about math (8:00). Melfi also shares what it's like working with Taraji P. Henson (18:27) and Kevin Costner (21:15), getting Pharrell to score his movie (29:20), and how he feels about the 'Hidden Fences' mishap (38:45).
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Jan 12, 2017 • 57min
Ep. 233: 'The Masked Man Show' on the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels
The Ringer's David Shoemaker welcomes Bleacher Report's Dave Schilling to discuss Peter Thiel's Trump-Hogan quote (01:30), the return of the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels on 'Raw' (06:01), Chris Jericho defeating Roman Reigns (17:04), the golden age of Monday-night main events (21:38), the Bullet Club (30:11), and their "SmackDown Stock Watch" (41:14).
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Jan 11, 2017 • 60min
Ep. 232: The Sports Movie Hall of Fame: 'Any Given Sunday'
In their third SMHOF episode, The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan induct ‘Any Given Sunday’ and break down Oliver Stone's bizarre editing (02:25), Cameron Diaz's underrated ownership chops (08:15), Al Pacino's last great performance (11:16), the Tao of James Woods (15:15), the eye-opening concussion/painkiller subplots (16:44), Jamie Foxx's breakout role as Willie Beamon (21:17), the craziest cameos (34:27), and where the "Inches" monologue ranks in the pantheon of great sports movie speeches (45:04).
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Jan 11, 2017 • 52min
Ep. 231: ‘Bachelor Party’ With Jade Roper and Peter Scalettar
The Ringer’s Juliet Litman is joined by former ‘Bachelor’ producer Pete Scalettar and former contestant Jade Roper to discuss their feelings about Nick (1:20), Corinne’s villain status (3:40), Liz’s epic departure (25:40), her TV wedding to Tanner (33:35), and Danielle’s tragic confession (43:50).
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Jan 6, 2017 • 59min
Ep. 230: 'Achievement Oriented' on 2017 Trends and the Man Behind Marcus Holloway
The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion recap their holiday gaming and talk to New Yorker contributing writer Simon Parkin about his book, 'Death by Video Game'; VR and psychology; end-of-year lists; and recent (and future) industry developments. Then Ben, Jason, and their colleague Justin Charity talk to actor Ruffin Prentiss about playing the protagonist of 'Watch Dogs 2.'
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Jan 4, 2017 • 52min
Ep. 229: 'The Masked Man Show' With Dave Schilling
The Ringer's David Shoemaker welcomes Dave Schilling to discuss "CarmEllsworth" (04:12), Dean Ambrose's IC title win on 'SmackDown' (6:32), Shoemaker coming to grips with Paige's engagement to Alberto Del Rio (10:54), 'Raw' gearing up for the 'Royal Rumble' (25:24), and a familiar face on 'Bring It to the Table' (39:47).
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Jan 3, 2017 • 39min
Ep. 228: ‘Bachelor Party' With the Sports Gal
The Ringer’s Juliet Litman is joined by the Sports Gal to recap the first episode of ‘The Bachelor’ and to ask the big questions, such as “Is Nick a good bachelor?” (1:15), “Why did so many women wear red?” (8:05), “What was up with the dolphin/shark suit?” (21:05), and “Why didn’t Liz give Nick her number?” (32:05).
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Dec 29, 2016 • 58min
Ep. 227: Sports Movie Hall of Fame: 'Moneyball'
HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Chris Ryan to discuss 'Moneyball,' the second inductee into the Sports Movie Hall of Fame. They cover everything from the state of Brad Pitt's career (0:45), the past 20 years of sports movies (2:34), the making of 'Moneyball' (9:25), their favorite moments from the film (14:20), and the future of sports movies (51:54).
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Dec 27, 2016 • 35min
Ep. 226: The Best and Worst of Tech in 2016
The Ringer's team of tech writers — Molly McHugh, Victor Luckerson, Alyssa Bereznak, and Kate Knibbs — discuss their best and worst of the year in tech. Listen as they reveal their best app of the year, their least favorite acquisitions and memes, and what we as consumers have to look forward to.
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Dec 23, 2016 • 58min
Ep. 225: 'Achievement Oriented' on 'Assassin's Creed,' Video-Game Movies, and the Year of the FPS
The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and Jason Concepcion discuss the newly released movie 'Assassin's Creed,' then bring on their colleagues Jon Lovett and Kam Collins for a wider discussion about why video-game adaptations historically haven't worked well as films. Lastly, they talk to Chris Plante of The Verge about how and why first-person shooters broke out of their slump and whether 2016 was the best FPS year ever.
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