Episodes
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Not exactly sports, but sort of. I and New York politics expert Ross Barkan reflect on Trump’s landslide victory, the multiethnic factors propelling it, and where the Democrats go from here. Enjoy!
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Eric (@HLinsight) is a real life pro sports gambler. He also has profound reservations about sports gambling’s introduction to the mainstream. I can confidently say that the conversation you’re about to listen to isn’t happening at any of the other mainstream sports media sites. This is a candid look at why betting sports, as fun as it is, is mostly a sucker’s bet.
Topics include…
* Parlays and other tricks apps use to keep you hooked
* How the limiting of winners makes sustained success nearly impossible
* Tout scams, busty pick advice, and other ways to get rich off worthless tips
* Sports bet advertising that targets youth
* Betting on games vs. events that are determined by inside info (Draft picks)
* Can games be rigged in this era due to gambling?
* Pro social gambling vs. anti social gambling
* How do we feel about betting on the 2024 election? Good opportunities there?
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In addition to being co-host of the Light Years podcast, Saam is tasked with running Creator Growth at Playback, an interactive sports streamer app. This means that a lot of this millennial’s waking hours are spent on trying to figure out the sports viewership habits of Zoomers.
This is the foundation of our conversation in this pod: What’s up with young people? What programs are they gravitating to and why? And are their habits upending traditional notions of what “mainstream” media even is? But first, true to Bay Area form, we start with expressing our annoyance at the conventional takes of Purdy-hating, “NFL Film Watchers.”
Topics include…
* “Film Watchers” don’t have an edge on the data
* Is NFL Twitter worse for the fake smart takes than NBA Twitter
* How the beat writer has to pretend to not care if the team loses
* Ya, I cared when the Warriors lost
* My regret over my ESPN the Magazine Draymond “hit piece”
* How ESPN cut the Nike loses Steph Curry article from the Magazine
* Will Compton farting at the Washington Post over his Bussin’ with the Boys Trump interview
* Legacy media trying to recap these Trump and Harris Youtube show interviews
* The filming over everything makes athletes more paranoid in the locker room now.
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My live video with Chris Best is available here as well, so it seems. Great talk, enjoyed being the one who answers the Qs this time.
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Your guy Big Wos is back, with candid takes on the state of NBA media. This was a great conversation wherein we discussed the following:
* A variety of ESPN NBA moves (Woj leaving, Lowe ousted, Shams hired)
* Shams on First Take shows why we didn’t really need Woj anymore
* Why does ESPN value news breaking so much!
* I can now freely say that Brian Windhorst is great
* The friendly fire of an ESPN article attacking ESPN host Kendrick Perkins over his NIL business
* Is Perkins’ business sleazier than SOP for college education loans?
* Will we see more Matthew Sluka situations where players simply quit over NIL issues?
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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 -
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When Tim Kawakami and I get together, we’re going to talk sports media. Considering that Tim just recently left the Athletic, where used to be my boss, and joined the ambitious SF Standard, we’ve got much to discuss. Also, for those who like Niners talk, we’ve got a whole lot of it in the back half of this pod. My teaser is that Tim dispels a commonly believed false notion or two. Enjoy!
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Nate Jones, NBA agent and footwear entrepreneur at Move Insoles, is here to discuss a shocking corporate ouster at Nike. We get into how Nike modernized at its own expense, lost core customers, and ultimately fired a CEO they were just recently so enamored with. What lessons can be learned from the shoe apparel giant’s issues? What parallels do we see to recent problems at Disney and overall entertainment? Is this what happens when a corporation sacrifices art in pursuit of efficiency?
Oh, and we also discuss why the hell Nike’s not making more of the Caitlin Clark moment. Enjoy..
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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 -
Big content Friday at HoS! Today we’ve got YouTube superstar Saagar Enjeti on to discuss content trends. Saagar has been steadfast about not doing ads to support his business. What’s behind that philosophy? And why is he thrilled about the prospect of legacy media’s demise? Also, Saagar asks me some questions about what’s going on in the sports media space. Enjoy!
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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 -
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Had a fantastic time catching up with our friend Moynihan, co-host of The Fifth Column and all around podcasting force at The Free Press.
This podcast is roughly two hours, one of which we’re making free. For whatever reason, we found the World War 2 revisionism controversy of Daryl Cooper on Tucker Carlson to be a fruitful subject. Why did the political horseshoe arrive at trashing Winston Churchill?
Topics include but aren’t limited to…
* Today’s protestors are physically weak compared to the high T 60’s protestors
* How television shook up America in the 1960s
* Jonestown
* The Martyr Made Hitler vs. Churchill imbroglio
* The “theyification” of Tucker Carlson
* Can a “founding myth” be mostly real?
* We’ve exited peak “wokeness.” Is that simply the result of Elon Musk buying Twitter?
* What are the free speech implications of American culture getting shifted by one guy’s impact on one social media platform?
* Can Michael draw a line between his old shop Vice collapsing and Republicans doing better with young males?
* Jesse Jackson
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Sports Analytics King Neil Paine is on to address some of the questions on our mutual minds. Am I correct that people are less into politics this election? Is Kamala Harris a classic backup QB promotion? Is baseball back in American culture (Thanks to Judge and Ohtani)? Is Ohtani paradoxically more fun now that he’s not pitching? Is Aaron Rodgers too old to be good? Is a “system quarterback” even a real thing? What NFL players have “shadow value”? We discussed these subjects and much more in a talk that was, in my opinion, quite enjoyable.
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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 -
Ryan Glasspiegel is back, and we’ve got many a media topic to discuss. Did politics influence the Samantha Ponder ouster at ESPN (I say ‘no’)? What do we make of the presidential betting odds? How do we feel about how politics is all “vibes” and no substance these days? Topics include but aren’t limited to…
* Sam Ponder: Was there any politics aspect to the ESPN firing?
* Defending Pat McAfee against Awful Announcing
* Trump/Kamala gambling odds
* What's more important in elections: vibes or policy?
* I am fascinated by the character that is Tim Walz
* FS1 shakeup
* Simmons/Klosterman and the gambling topic
* Ryan has another WBD/NBA lawsuit prediction
* Am I a Caleb Williams skeptic amid the hype?
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Warning: This is a very football-heavy podcast.
The NFL is back, and so is Warren Sharp with his massive 2024 Football Preview. Given that Warren is so well versed on NFL data and trends, I wanted to pick his brain on what America’s most analyzed league is currently missing. Obviously NFL coaches are highly informed, but is there something they’re doing wrong? Is football in its early stages Moneyball era, like baseball in the early 2000s? And why the hell have teams stopped scoring in this supposedly pass friendly epoch? We discuss these topics plus so much more. Enjoy!
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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 -
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Kat Rosenfield is an author and Free Press columnist who often boldly covers matters of cultural controversy. I was fascinated by her “What the Childless Among Us Leave Behind” essay, which anchors a lot of the pod. We also got into Nike’s new direction and a range of other subjects related to the modern gender wars. Topics include but aren’t limited to…
* Is there such a thing as objectively good style?
* Is the meme of “unhappy childless woman” true?
* The divide in perspective between parents and the childless
* Kids give you existential relief
* Why are cats symbolic of female loneliness?
* Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” vs. JD Vance’s “cat ladies”
* Why are Gen Z men shifting Republican?
* Why are older women overrepresented at Kamala Harris rallies?
* Why did Obama resonate with young millennial males?
* What is the visual Social Justice Aesthetic?
* Nike shift and the current sanitized culture
* Men expressing what they find attractive as underground movement
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Big Wos and I were interviewed for The Spoils documentary, which examines how the AAU business is changing as the money in the NBA and NCAA explode. Director Mike Nicoll sat down with us to discuss that plus so many related topics of mutual interest.
For instance, in recent years, American youth basketball has become something between a sport and exercise in social media brand building. Team USA just won gold in spectacular fashion, but is this the last truly dominant American basketball generation? Is that just natural as the sport gets more internationally popular, or has something gone wrong in how we cultivate future superstars?
House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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 -
I believe you’ve heard of Nate Silver, whose fame is well earned. Sometimes, it’s almost too bad that his reputation as a data/politics guy precedes him. Nate, the writer, is highly underrated.
I was reminded of this once again while reading his new book, On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything. It’s an engrossing exploration of risk and probability, as applied to those who live with making difficult choices. We get into many of its fascinating topics and also discuss what had just happened: On Tuesday, Kamala Harris announced Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her presidential running mate, passing over Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro.
Topics discussed but not limited to…
* Was Josh Shapiro’s Jewishness a deciding factor in losing out on the VP spot? Can we set odds on this?
* Why presidential candidates are sometimes inclined to pick worse VPs
* What it was like to hang out with Sam Bankman-Fried during his legal troubles
* What’s with the Effective Altruists? Why do some think AI will kill us all?
* Why are the Effective Altruists so disproportionately childless?
* Profiling guys like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen
* Is there a dispassionate way to cut through media noise and assess when Trump is helping his own cause?
* Will Trump outperform the polls again? Should that be expected?
* Can the NFL be Moneyball’d?
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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 -
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OK, I’m back from vacation, leaping out of cold Lake Tahoe and into this particular hot water.
The women’s Olympic boxing controversy is an absolute mess from a media perspective. When Angela Carini of Italy quickly tapped out against Imane Khelif of Algeria, it kicked off a cultural firestorm. Initially, some of those outraged by what they witnessed in the match were operating off of incomplete information. But in the follow up, many conventional media outlets were misleading in their corrections.
Given all this confusion, I’ve enlisted evolutionary biologist Colin Wright to make sense of what’s likely happened, why it’s happened, and where the public conversation went wrong. We also discuss what determines “male” vs. “female,” and the impact of testosterone on the human body. Fascinating stuff, in my humble opinion.
Topics include but aren’t limited to…
* Imane Khelif as subject of controversy
* What is a DSD (Differences of Sexual Development) condition?
* Where the “right” went wrong in the immediate aftermath of this controversy
* Where the “left” is wrong in their correction of the right, especially in media
* What’s with the impulse to morally shame people who seek an ethical guideline here?
* How the IOC really dropped the ball
* Does XY = male?
* Does it matter at all that the International Boxing Association has Russian ties?
* Odd ways that testosterone impacts the human body, right down to the fingers
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Nate Jones, current NBA agent and insole entrepreneur, has a lot of smart thoughts on our favorite topics. Today we discuss the big news in NBA media: Warner Bros (Turner Sports) is insisting it has the right to match a TV rights deal and the NBA says it doesn’t. Is this about to get ugly? Why must fans be deprived of Inside the NBA?
Topics include but aren’t limited to...
* The dispute between beloved fan favorite TNT and an NBA that wants to move beyond its old standby
* Are broadcasters overpaying for the NBA? Or is this the path to riches?
* David Stern is a McDonald's guy. Adam Silver is a Taco Bell guy
* Why Nate thinks the NBA needs stars playing more years of college ball
* Men’s college basketball is well known; Women’s college basketball is known well
* Why NCAA basketball doesn’t help the NBA like NCAA football helps the NFL
* Nate tells us whether he believes Jaylen Brown’s contention that he was left off Team USA due to Nike
* Nate and I discuss what is sure to be a highly contentious election discourse, anchored in the political gender gap
* Nate wishes the Democrats elected their candidate through a primary
* I can never predict which issues will matter to people
* Trump’s impact on the people around Nate and myself, in our Blue World lives
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I saw NBA Youtube tycoon Jason Timpf out at Vegas Summer League and we got to talking about this exact topic: Do you need to truly love basketball to be a winner at its highest levels? That conversation led to this podcast, which includes Jason’s keen observations on Team USA. Enjoy..
House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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 -
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Glass man alert! Our favorite sports media expert has broken news, and so we discuss his stories, plus a range of other topics. To copy Ryan’s notes, here’s our loaded topic docket:
* Skip Bayless leaving FS1
* Success after ESPN
* Shannon Sharpe’s ascension and impact as a megastar
* NBA TV deal scuttlebutt with some informed speculation on big news
* New York Knicks owner James Dolan's warnings about modern NBA
* Trump assassination conspiracy theories
* The right weaponizing cancel culture (as the left once did) to cost ordinary people their jobs
* Shams Charania free agency bonanza
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Cowherd alert! Colin and I did our yearly summer conversation, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We started by discussing the sports media mogul era and of course got into a range of interesting topics. Subjects include but aren’t limited to…
* Colin on being not just a businessman, but a business, man
* Colin reflects on Barstool’s success
* How does Colin know who’ll work out as a podcaster?
* Twitter/X is easy; Making content is hard
* When is OK to talk politics in sports broadcasting?
* Colin on Nike and LeBron/Klutch both misusing their power
* The difference (and similarity) between how Steph and LeBron handled their careers
* The difference between Kevin Durant and Steph Curry
* Is KD like Aaron Rodgers?
* Klay Thompson’s grumpy end with the Warriors
* People are more likely to admit reality on sports than in politics
House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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 - Show more
