Episodes
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David open with two contradictory ideas: “The return of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog” and “there are too many bits (0:36).”Then they get into the following:
Kamala Harris's current podcast tour (10:12)
NFL players wanting to kick reporters out of the locker room (22:54)
Kate Winslet playing a war correspondent in the movie 'Lee' (31:03)
Everyone is introducing a paywall (36:27)
Later they react to breaking news, as Shams Charania joins ESPN as the new...
Published 10/07/24
Hello, media consumers! Today, Bryan is joined by Bomani Jones—host of ‘The Right Time With Bomani Jones’—to discuss all things politics, media, and sports, including:
Thoughts on the vice presidential debate (03:11)
Democrats’ lean-into-football strategy (Coach Walz) (08:06)
What to make of the coverage around Kamala Harris (11:50)
Zach Lowe and ESPN in the 2010s (21:15)
College football, the 12-team playoff, and NIL (30:53)
Looking back on ‘High Noon’ (40:31)
Plus, David Shoemaker...
Published 10/03/24
Hello, media consumers! In a special bonus edition of The Press Box, Bryan has two guests. First, he speaks with Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin for instant reactions to the Tim Walz–JD Vance vice presidential debate. They discuss the following:
The biggest surprise of the debate (1:22)
Who looked more confident, Tim Walz or JD Vance (9:35)
The January 6 exchange (16:40
Whether or not this will be the last debate (26:04)
Then he speaks with screenwriter Gabriel Sherman about writing 'The...
Published 10/02/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David open the show by discussing Zach Lowe’s departure from ESPN (0:34). Then they preview the vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance (12:34). Later, they react to DiJonai Carrington’s postgame interview about Caitlin Clark (28:37). Then they talk about Only in Journalism classics following the story about New York City Mayor Eric Adams (37:56).
Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week, Only in Journalism, and David Shoemaker Guesses the...
Published 09/30/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan sits with not one, not two, but three guests this week. First he speaks with The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay and they they discuss the following:
Zach Lowe getting laid off by ESPN (1:47)
How everyone has been covering Travis Kelce’s bad play (20:45)
A possible Kamala Harris podcast tour (30:30)
Then he speaks with Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, the authors of ‘Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter,’ and they get into the following:
Elon changing...
Published 09/27/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David have a scandalous episode coming up. They discuss the following:
Mark Robinson’s post on an adult website (0:35)
Oliva Nuzzi being placed on leave after a relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (7:12)
The controversy surrounding 'Megalopolis' (22:46)
Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week, Only in Journalism, and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Brian H. Waters
Learn...
Published 09/23/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan welcomes The Ringer’s head of content, Sean Fennessey, this week. First they discuss Woj’s shocking announcement and the value of the sports insider (1:39). Then they discuss the latest with the election and what they expect in the remaining months (16:3 0).
And to stay on theme with election season, they close the show with their top 5 campaign movies (30:54).
Plus, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
Hosts: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Sean...
Published 09/19/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David immediately react to Adrian Wojnarowski’s retirement from ESPN (0:30). They reflect on:
His commitment to bell-to-bell NBA coverage (2:40)
Being the first iPhone alert sports journalist (11:40)
How his NBA draft day tweets changed when he began at ESPN (14:45)
How the “Woj bomb” caught on (17:30)
The NBA media in the post-Woj era (22:39)
Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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Published 09/18/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David are back to discuss what’s next after the Donald Trump–Kamala Harris debate (4:00). They share their thoughts on the moderators (6:15), JD Vance’s responses to the "cats and dogs" comment (9:32), and Kamala Harris’s performance (17:26).
Later in the notebook dump they react to the following:
Linda Deutsch's legacy as a court reporter (32:10)
How iconic James Earl Jones’s voice was (35:00)
Plus a couple of TV host–TV producer meltdown clips...
Published 09/16/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan grabs his coffee and fires up the mic with Benjy Sarlin so they can provide you with the morning-after immediate reactions to the Kamala Harris–Donald Trump debate.
They discuss the following:
The biggest things everyone learned from the debate (1:10)
How close did we get to seeing Kamala Harris the prosecutor (8:51)
How Kamala Harris was prepared for the debate (12:24)
Things that connected with undecided voters (16:00)
Words that will be remembered out of...
Published 09/11/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show by previewing this Tuesday’s long-awaited debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump (00:36). Then they discuss Tom Brady’s first day on his new job (17:35).
Later, in the notebook, they react to the following:
Tenet Media got covert funding from Russian state media employees (35:33),
Joe Tessitore debuted on 'Raw' (38:54), and
Shannon Sharpe called out his producers (49:47)
Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David...
Published 09/09/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan kicks off the show with a preview of his latest piece on the ringer dot com, How Fox Threw Tom Brady a Hail Mary and Won (0:45). Then he welcomes Pablo Torre and they discuss the following:
How the media talks football these days (7:05)
Tom Brady being recast as an announcer (18:13)
The democratic rollout of Tim Walz (31:29)
Pablo’s podcast, ‘Pablo Finds Out’ (43:43)
Plus David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
Host: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Pablo...
Published 09/06/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show by recapping Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s interview with Dana Bash (0:32). Then, as they get ready for the return of football, they get into the following:
Football season starts with Tom Brady in a different seat (13:34)
Legendary head coaches Nick Saban and Bill Belichick make their television debuts (19:23)
ESPN takes over the SEC (24:16)
Deion Sanders vs. Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler (30:17)
Then, in the notebook, they...
Published 09/03/24
Hello, media consumers! On the Final Edition of 'The Press Box,' Bryan welcomes Oliver Darcy to the pod. They discuss the following:
The rules of the upcoming Harris-Trump debate (1:49)
Kamala Harris’s upcoming interview and what to expect (10:42)
Sarah Palin’s new trial against The New York Times (15:49)
Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to the House Judiciary Committee (17:33)
Then Oliver discusses why he left CNN to build his own platform, ‘Status’ (21:32).
Plus, David Shoemaker Guesses the...
Published 08/29/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show by discussing the state of sports color commentary and whether or not analysts should be ex-players (0:30). Then Bryan recaps his four nights at the upper deck of the United Center in Chicago (10:30). They also discuss the following from the Democratic National Convention:
Their favorite moments that stuck out (19:26)
Some media grumbling (30:17)
The branded media place to hang out (36:00)
Then, in the notebook, they discuss the...
Published 08/26/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan is live out of the United Center in Chicago along with Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin, and they recap the Democratic Convention. They assess Kamala Harris’s speech and then hit on 10 topics:
Defining Kamala Harris (8:08)
How the Democrats talk about Donald Trump (10:47)
The Democrats’ embrace of celebrity (15:34)
Thoughts on the rollout of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’s running mate (17:55)
The return of the Obamas and Obama-isms to the Democratic Party (21:27)
The...
Published 08/23/24
Hello media consumers! Bryan has a bonus mid-week episode with two special guests from CBS News. First he speaks with White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe, who discusses working the floors of the convention, staking out Joe Biden during his final days in the White House, and the early returns on Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (1:21)
Then he talks with the chief election and campaign correspondent, Robert Costa, to discuss his conversations with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, his thoughts on the...
Published 08/21/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show with a fun spoiler from the Democratic National Convention (0:30). Bryan is in Chicago right now and he has a few notes, including on the DNC version of radio row (8:00). Then they discuss the following:
The return of The Onion (14:28)
Press Box party at the DNC recap (15:44)
Remembering Phil Donahue (23:18)
ESPN makes a couple of cuts (31:01)
Nicolas Cage to play John Madden in a biopic (36:00)
Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke...
Published 08/19/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan welcomes The Ringer’s own Hollywood bureau chief, Alan Siegel. They both share some of their lukewarm takes on the media and the following subjects:
Donald Trump’s love affair with Hannibal Lecter (01:31).
The Donald Trump hack: documents sent to Politico emails (8:42)
A sports documentary check-in on 'Hard Knocks' and 'Receiver' (18:15)
The essence of cable news (28:01)
Australian B-girl Raygun breaks her silence (37:26)
Alan closes out with a few of his...
Published 08/15/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show by discussing the New York Times story, “Inside the Worst Three Weeks of Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign (0:43).” Then they discuss the following:
Three reasons Tim Walz was selected as Kamala Harris’s running mate (09:00).
The Harris-Trump debate is set (20:23)
Tim Walz’s couch jokes (23:40)
Then in the notebook they discuss the following:
Noah Eagle’s impressive performance in the men’s and women’s basketball gold medal games...
Published 08/12/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David stop their vacations to discuss Tim Walz being picked to be Kamala Harris's running mate and the reactions of Democrats to the selection (1:27). They also discuss the following:
Claire Malone’s profile of RFK Jr. (14:53).
Evan Gershkovich being released from Russian prison (21:09)
A botched Summer Olympics call (28:38)
Donald Trump at NABJ (37:26)
Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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Published 08/06/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the show by discussing the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which included celebrities on the sideline, AI Al Michaels, and Dwyane Wade and Noah Eagle’s commentary (0:40). Then they discuss the running auditions for Kamala Harris’s running mate (12:29). Later, in the Notebook Dump, they discuss the final stages of the NBA media rights deal (25:16) and take time to remember journalist Evan Wright (34:30).
Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of...
Published 07/29/24
On the Final Edition, Bryan welcomes Alex Thompson, a national political correspondent for Axios. They kick off the show by discussing coverage of the last two weeks, which included President Joe Biden dropping out of the race (1:14). Then he gets into the current relationship between Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (16:24), the relationship between Biden and Barack Obama over the past few weeks (27:26), and what it will look like covering Harris now (32:14).
Plus, David Shoemaker...
Published 07/25/24
Hello, media consumers! Bryan and David react to the news that President Joe Biden will drop out of the 2024 presidential race and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. They discuss the following:
How cable news moved slowly with its coverage and reactions (5:00)
Reporters who could have taken a bow after the news broke (7:55)
How Harris will be covered by political reporters (33:24)
Hulk Hogan's and Dana White's appearances at the RNC (40:35)
Then, in the Notebook Dump, they...
Published 07/22/24