Episodes
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Had to send word to our favorite New York Postman. Had to do it in lieu of ESPN’s Pat McAfee using his show as a platform to attack ESPN brass, by name. What the hell is happening here? What direction is ESPN going? Who is this “Norby” guy McAfee’s mad at? We get into it.
Published 01/06/24
We are joined by Spike Eskin, friend of pod, Rights to Ricky Sanchez co-host, and WFAN muckity muck. This was a wide ranging one, including but not limited to: * My shaky foray into tweeting, in defense of ratings talk * Spike and I discussing what it’s like to have a negative take and how it tilts what you want * NFL writer Bill Barnwell takes a shot at the Eagles fans * A subscriber emails me a Sam Hinkie takedown for Spike to address * Can civilians do real NFL analysis? * A reader agrees...
Published 12/29/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Jay Caspian Kang is a great writer and astute observer of Media Culture. Today, the genesis of our conversation is his podcast on whether politics has a place in sports anymore. Jay and I both agree that the Trump Era politics in sports moment has ended for now (I’m more in favor of it ending than he is). We also get into his contention that NBA media is unusually soft/cheerleading among media sectors. Jay...
Published 12/26/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Our preeminent sports media critic is back! Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post is here for a discussion that includes but isn’t limited to… * Yes, Brock Purdy vs. analysis from Steven Ruiz and others * Do we dare do a “What if Purdy was Black?” hypothetical? * Why are NFL quarterbacks usually conservative and religious? * Is Mark Cuban selling his majority Mavs stake an NBA red flag? * How the Posey San...
Published 12/20/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com I love Tyler Dunne’s approach to covering the NFL, which you can find on his Go Long Substack. Tyler chases a deeper understanding instead of low calorie clicks, so it was surprising/hilarious to see his 21,000 word deep dive on the Bills coach go viral due to one embarrassing anecdote (Hint: It has something to do with 9/11). We get into the story, the fallout, Josh Allen, and so much else about modern...
Published 12/18/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com The Gist host Mike Pesca made an embarrassing confession to me, supported with evidence: In 2023, House of Strauss was Mike’s most listened to podcast. Not only did Mike air this shameful admission, but he graciously agreed to do a Year in Review pod with me about HoS. In it, we get into many topics, including how certain interviews went, how other interviews should have gone and how much basketball do I...
Published 12/13/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Star Substacker Rob Henderson has written a spectacularly haunting memoir of his own life, titled Troubled. Consider this podcast a sneak preview, as the book is coming soon and you won’t want to miss it. Rob is not only among America’s leading millennial intellectuals, but his upbringing is among the roughest I’ve ever heard. It’s a miracle that he’s self sustaining, to say nothing of achieving so highly as...
Published 12/11/23
Steve Kornacki is, as you may know, the affable guy who gives you highly accurate election information on NBC. He’s got other projects, though, and I found this one fascinating. In this episode we discuss “The Revolution,” a podcast series on Newt Gingrich’s rise to power. Kornacki’s series argues that the Newt-fueled 1994 Republican takeover of the House is crucial to understanding our current era. Before the 1994 midterms, we were in one political reality; Afterwards, the country...
Published 12/06/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Coming off Sunday’s thrashing of the Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers are riding high. Naturally, we had to have 49ers +/- host Tim Kawakami on to discuss a variety of Niners and Niners adjacent topics. Of course, given Tim’s status as the best sports writer in the state over the last two decades, we also had to get into why the industry isn’t doing a better job delivering a product TK’s succeeding with....
Published 12/05/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com We booked Bogut. Then Australian NBA news items popped up and the Warriors lost a 24 point lead on national TV. Just as we got Henry Kissinger killed earlier in the week, it seems HoS has had a negative impact on all issues adjacent to our wonderful guest. No matter. It was a great talk, especially when we went down Warriors memory lane. Before all that, we, of course, discussed whether this is the end for...
Published 12/01/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Michael Moynihan is one of my favorite podcasters. I always enjoy him at his Fifth Column home and, of course, when he visits HoS. The genesis of this pod is Michael’s 2018 Vice interview with Open AI CEO Sam Altman, which was on the topic of UBI (Universal Basic Income). To give a sense of how the interview went, here’s Moynihan’s recent Instagram description of the exchange, posted in the aftermath of...
Published 11/28/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com If you wanted to follow the Open AI debacle in depth, Ashlee Vance’s articles in Bloomberg have been mandatory. Lucky for us, he took a moment out of his busy reporting schedule to hop on HoS and discuss the bigger picture questions connected to the corporate crackup. Also, there’s quite a reason for his proximity to the situation, which he reveals in the podcast. I’m not even sure how to timestamp this...
Published 11/23/23
We’re rejoined by Ross Barkan, the best New York politics reporter, plus an overall astute commentator on many matters. This time, we’re talking about how the Israel/Gaza situation has shaken up U.S. domestic politics and revealed a massive generation gap between TikToker and TV watcher. I’m aware that not everyone necessarily comes to HoS for this conversation, but I aim to channel what’s interesting to me, in hopes it might be interesting to you. Oh yea, and towards the end, Ross and I...
Published 11/17/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com We talk to Pablo, host of Pablo Finds Out, proprietor of the Pablo Torre Substack, and all around media man. I’m very intrigued by his recent interviews, including but not limited to Larsa Pippen + Marcus Jordan. We discuss this inquiry into forbidden love, Dan Le Batard’s Trump tapes, Stephen A. Smith’s sex advice and much more regarding the modern sports media landscape.
Published 11/14/23
Mr. Goodwill is, to borrow a phrase from Colin Cowherd, a young man who’s covered the NBA forever. He currently writes and podcasts about the league at Yahoo!, but he once was a beat writer, cutting his teeth while following terrible teams. In this episode, we take a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about what the NBA media industry was like, and what our lives were like. Did we live in a golden age without really knowing it? House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive...
Published 11/11/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com This podcast is unlike the other podcasts. Why? Because Super Producer Anthony Mayes spliced in our reaction to Adam Silver talking on another podcast. Beyond and because all that, a great conversation among pod friends. Topics include but aren’t limited to… * We all watch Adam Silver talking about the ways NBA Twitter influences league policy (2:40) * We spend many minutes doing a Mystery Science Theatre...
Published 11/09/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Big Wos wears many hats, but chief among them is all encompassing NBA analyst. So I brought back the gimmick I used for Nate Duncan and asked the man some dumb normie questions. Then, because it’s Wos, we couldn’t help but break away from that conversation and touch on a range of sports culture topics (including the insanity of the LeBron Decision Era, college football culture and pro athletes cheating on...
Published 11/03/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Andrew Sharp is the co-host of three great and wholly different podcasts. He’s an NBA diehard, but also an Adam Silver Era skeptic, which makes him unusual among current podcasters. Obviously, I share something in common with such a perspective. In this episode, we end up cathartically venting about the Silver era, discuss the in season tournament experiment that’s upon us and consider whether LeBron James...
Published 11/01/23
Because I can’t get enough of The Nineties, we had to have Chuck back to discuss its sports cultural aspects, specifically with an eye towards the evolution of college football. Chuck has worried publicly about CFB losing its soul, which it appears to be in some capacity, but the sport is also surging in popularity. What do we make of this paradox? We discuss that, plus get into the NBA’s “care deficit” problem, how sports need an illusion of realness, the myth making of LeBron vs. Kobe,...
Published 10/26/23
Friend of Pod Freddie is here because his recent posts have been very much in the HoS wheelhouse. We talked Hollywood’s collapse, the endurance of David Foster Wallace as boogeyman in media, Freddie’s differences with The Free Press over the Israel issue, and, finally, how the NFL is consumed by the public. Quite a conversation and I was glad to have it. Hope you enjoy. Timestamps come via the Astute Sam Schuette: What’s Driving Hollywood’s Collapse? (1:30) * Convincing the audience that...
Published 10/25/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post is here, following an avalanche of NBA and ESPNbusiness news. In this episode, we attempt to separate real from rumor, possibility from wishcasting. I believe we succeeded in yet another informative and entertaining podcast. Topics include but aren’t limited to… Amazon with a Thursday NBA package? (2:00) * Is this an appealing option to anyone outside the NBA? Is the NBA...
Published 10/23/23
Nikolai Yakovenko is a man of many hats (pro poker, jiu-jitsu, computer engineering, archery, baseball analytics), but the main reason we’re talking to him is because he founded an AI-generated competing newspaper. Are machines set to take over for journalists? We get into this and so much more, including whether Michael Lewis deserves critcism. Topics include but aren’t limited to… Explaining the AI newspaper (4:00) * What is DeepNews? Can an AI Successfully Write my Last Article? (6:50) *...
Published 10/20/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com First Things First is my favorite favorite sports show on TV and with the NFL season in full swing, FTF is as well. So, I figured this would be a good occasion to get more insights from co-host Nick Wright on why this is the rare sports TV show that works. We also debate that Brock Purdy guy he’s down on. Great pod all around, Nick was quite generous with his time and takes. Timestamps provided by the...
Published 10/18/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com I’ve been sick this week, but thankfully the great Marcus Thompson is here to help me discuss both local and national sports topics of interest. I really enjoyed this ep, even if it nearly killed me. Timestamps provided by the astute Sam Schuette: Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers (2:55) * McAfee paying Rodgers millions to be on podcast * Is it scandalous or friends being friends? If you could pay a million...
Published 10/14/23
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Katie Herzog, the funny and insightful co-host of Blocked and Reported is back 1) Because she has an open invite to appear on HoS and 2) Because BAR covered the Trevor Bauer saga, as I did too. Our conversation starts on the media coverage of Bauer and then gets into other journalism topics. Pod subjects timestamped by the astute Sam Schuette include… Trevor Bauer Saga (1:10) * Why did mainstream outlets...
Published 10/09/23