House of Strauss

Jason Timpf of Hoops Tonight on the Volume Network seemingly appeared out of nowhere, thriving at the top of NBA media. Of course, like many an “overnight success story,” his rise was many years in the making. This was a great conversation wherein we discussed, among other things…* How Jason used 2020 era Twitter Spaces as the battering ram to break into media * Why Jason, as the counterpoint to Spike Eskin, loves JJ Redick* How Jason’s career was decided by Colin Cowherd’s 5 seconds of judgment* Reducing a game to a story* How much should we blame or credit luck and variance in an outcome? * Dre Greenlaw’s Super Bowl Achilles: Luck or something else? * Analytics-leaners dismiss the midrange at their peril* Steve Kerr’s secret to NBA playoff successHouse 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comProminent foreign policy writer Eli Lake, currently posting at The Free Press, dropped by HoS to talk basketball. I, of course, wanted to discuss Lake’s views on politics, culture and the ever fraught topic of Israel. I’m not sure which of us won the battle for topic allocation, but I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation (and I’ve made the NBA part of it free). Subjects include, but are not limited to…* Why Eli is “my least favorite kind of intellectual”* Eli’s beloved Sixers…getting mighty intriguing? * How to fix the Warriors* Eli, much like fellow Philly Jew Spike Eskin, has issues with LeBron’s public persona. * Why LeBron vs. Daryl Morey on China turned into a crisis at my then place of work* Is Eli, post October 7th, still friendly with Glenn Greenwald? * The Zionist case for America ceasing to fund Israel’s military* Protestors who block bridges against Israeli military action…is there a logic to what they’re doing?* Are today’s protestors imitating the legend of the 60s? Or doing their own thing?* Trump at the bodega

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comWe’ve got Andrew Bogut and Mike “Pro” Procopio of the Rogue Bogues podcast to discuss the eliminated and possibly dead Golden State Warriors dynasty. Obviously we talked about a lot of other subjects with these first grade ballbusters. Topics include but aren’t limited to…* The Warriors. What should they do? * Draymond Green as player-podcaster* Did the Warriors really screw up the James Wiseman pick? Or were there just few good options?* Jontay Porter getting banned from the NBA for prop bets* The way assistant coaches scheme against one another for power* The time I got yelled at by a media member in front of Steph Curry* Players and coaches leaking secret information to reporters* Gilbert Arenas slighting Nikola Jokic* Is it an issue at all if Luka Doncic is chubby?* Pro is the King of Feminism because he was pro WNBA before it was cool

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comTop flight Audio Man Spike Eskin is here to discuss the newest NBA podcast hits. Spike’s gotten a lot of mileage out of humorously critiquing LeBron and JJ Redick’s “Mind the Game” pod, but perhaps he should be focusing more of his energy on Michael Porter Jr.’s “Curious Mike” product? Topics discussed:* Is Spike a hater for laughing at LeBron’s Internet-lauded NBA strategy podcast? What’s wrong with two dudes drinking fancy wine and talking hoops? * Why did Spike’s “LeBron caught himself in a lie” clip go this viral? * Is the broader media afraid to have fun with LeBron’s foibles?* LeBron’s child star origins on display* Michael Porter Jr. interviewed porn star Lana Rhoades and the results are very entertaining* “Poop cookies” and the controversy surrounding Porter Jr.’s Rhoades interview* A case of “locker room” talk infuriating segments of social media * Athletes as political/social omnivores

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comBoy do we have a loaded topic docket with America’s preeminent sports media critic and New York Post newsbreaker Ryan Glasspiegel. Honestly discussed fraught topics abound. As Ryan would frame this rundown: * All things Caitlin Clark (ratings, will it translate to WNBA, the backlash from women's basketball players and the backlash to the backlash)* Why Norby Williamson's out at ESPN/who he is/what it means * Dawn Staley/Outkick: What’s with the prestige media anger over the biological male in women’s sports question? * Why Timberwolves ownership dustup should be a bigger story* Ryan loves WrestleMania. I don’t understand WrestleMania

Sports announcers and 49ers Youtuber Guy Haberman had vocal cord surgery and now sounds like Patty + Selma. I find his current predicament fascinating. He insists the subject of announcer voice issues isn’t interesting. We start talking 49ers around the 52 minute mark, for people who are into that sort of thing. Topics include:* What does a vocal cord surgery do for a broadcaster?* Which sports announcers qualify for Top 5 “All Pipes” Team* Do New York announcers have the best accent for the job? Do Midwesterners have the worst?* Why did the elite duo of Guy + John Middlekauff break up? * Is Brandon Aiyuk going to be traded? * My crazy contrarian NFL takes* Does the NFL have a good understanding of which positions actually matter?* Who should the Niners draft?* How good is the talent around Brock Purdy? Better than what the Lions have around Goff? * Why paying your QB big money is no death sentence * Oh, and subscribe today!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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comOur friend Amin Elhassan went negatively viral with his jump shot, but it’s only made him stronger. Many a fraught topic discussed in this one, including whether it’s easier to say things now vs. the recent past. Subjects include but aren’t limited to…* Amin’s crazy co-workers argued that Michael Jordan lacked charisma* Amin’s moment as Internet main character, based on a jump shot* Ben Bolch of the LA Times becomes main character over calling LSU women’s team “Dirty Debutantes,” and something about hot sauce? What happened here?* Don’t search “Dirty Debutantes” on a work computer* Is the Basketball Race War good for society?* Caleb Williams’ Nail Polishgate* Is the younger generation of athletes more into Williams’ style of personal expression?* Male feminist writers aren’t helping women’s sports when getting too defensive on behalf of players

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comIn the Elon X era, no article ever goes viral. At least that’s what I used to think. But now, of late, articles in New York Magazine and The Cut have broken through as a sort of rage bait. To assess what’s going on, we’ve called in honest and trenchant culture writer Kat Rosenfield. Topics include but aren’t limited to…* Pre mourning your old dog* Getting “serious” with your significant other early * The Andrew Huberman cover story in NY Mag* How the Huberman story, while well written, fails to hit its target* It’s hard to publicly shame a man over having six girlfriends * Kat’s piece on how nobody cares about the Christine Blasey Ford memoir* The weirdness of the Brett Kavanaugh moment* Journalists taking out high school resentments on public figures* I’m “ethnically liberal”

If you’re an NBA fan you know who Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner are, beyond being recent guests on House of Strauss. In this episode, I used my “stupid questions” approach to ask these current media members about their old jobs. The answers? Well, they were anything but stupid. 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

Joe covers sports, business and often how the two intertwine. He’s been all over the sports + gambling topic, most recently with his viral observation on live sports betting integration getting added into NBA League Pass. Basically, Joe discusses all my favorite topics, so of course we had a great conversation. Topics include but aren’t limited to…* How America and Europe are on opposite timelines with sports betting* Is the sports betting boom going to harm young peoples’ sports fandom?* Why you can somewhat easily beat the books (except they won’t allow it)* Should sports books be forced to take the bets of winners?* Should sports gambling be made illegal again?* Contradictory signals on the NBA’s TV rights prospects* What do we think really happened with Shohei Ohtani?* The future is athletes getting in trouble like Ohtani didHouse 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comThrilled to have Chris Vernon on because I’ve long been curious about his career as an NBA + overall sports podcaster. The best way I can summarize Verno for those who do not know: Think if Sam Kinison was really into the Memphis Grizzlies. Topics include but are not limited to…* Vernon used to hilariously CRUSH Pau Gasol* How Chris chose the Grizzlies as his success vehicle * Why Robert Saleh is the reason 49ers Youtube exploded * JT The Brick saved Chris’ career with some unforgettable advice * Why Tony Allen is a better NBA player podcaster than some others* Why Vernon thinks the NBA will be profitable despite losing full game watchers* Gas station boner pills?* Do the kids like the NBA?* Will this LeBron + JJ Redick podcast be a success?

Incidentally, Subscribe to my channel if you want the occasional video/Youtube experience for non paywalled articles…Tom Haberstroh has written an explosive article in The Finder about just how improbable the NBA’s post All-Star break scoring drought is. I think it’s impossible to look at these numbers and reach any conclusion other than that the NBA directed referees to call games differently. But does Tom himself think this? Discussion includes but is not limited to…* A wild free throw stat, unseen in 2000 games, happens twice on the same night* Tom gets into the numbers on a dramatic drop in fouls called* GMs don’t believe the league’s position that this is random and non directed* I say it really really really really looks like the NBA is lying* Why would the NBA lie about something so (allegedly) obvious?* Tom reveals a sneaky big benefit to the lack of foul calls * “Trying to get pregnant” is a funny euphemism.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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comThe preeminent sports media critic is here, right after breaking sports media news. We discuss, in notes cribbed from his X feed: * Ryan’s Pat McAfee vs. Stephen A. Smith story * Shannon Sharpe, digital juggernaut* The media lets it slide that Mark Cuban rips Trump nonstop yet sold his baby to partner with statistically the world's largest Trump supporter* A vibe shift where nobody cares about athletes like Joe Burrow hanging with Trump* The viral moment of LeBron getting very friendly with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss* I cost Ryan money on unders picks with my NBA scoring drop article. * National NBA media can't stand most of the stars being in small markets

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comI’m not sure how to describe this free flowing conversation with geneticist and writer Razib Khan, which was to be expected since Zeeb’s one of the most brilliant/idiosyncratic people I’ve ever met. Naturally, this talk is all over the place after beginning with, and I’m not sure there’s another way to describe this, social media reaction to “Aella’s birthday gangbang”. Topics discussed:* Razib knows the infamous Aella, who’s a rationalist data scientist between orgies. * Razib is friends with Aella, but is viscerally disgusted by her lifestyle. * Is human “disgust response” logical? * Is gene editing going to destroy sports? * Very tall people are rarer than it seems* Michael Jordan’s “mailman” theory on his own parentage * “Female sperm is heavier” * “The Sports Gene”* Why do men get autism and schizophrenia more frequently than women?* Ashkenazi really do have Middle East ancestry * Is the tech scene right wing? Left wing? * Why Microsoft is killing Google * An analysis of problems at Google

Larry Krueger, proprietor of The Krueg Show, and former Bay Area radio mainstay, might know a thing or two about succeeding locally. A couple years ago he was pushed out of his role at KNBR, at which point he started building his 49ers-centric Youtube channel. It’s been a big success, currently at over 40,000 subscribers and rapidly gaining. As a fan of his channel, I wanted insight into the comeback story behind it and Larry’s overall perspective on media. Pod discussion includes, but is not limited to: * How advice from comedian Al Madrigal helped Larry build The Krueg Show* Larry is so granular with his analysis and yet it works on a big scale* The massive gap between America’s passion for football and actual knowledge* Why people feel comfortable second guessing football coaches vs. other sports* Larry’s disagreement with Grant Cohn* Larry’s since resolved fight with “The Coach”* We both object to a Dan Patrick take on Kyle Shanahan in the Super Bowl* How the Warriors handle the media* Larry gives us his take for dream 49ers 1st round pick and realistic 1st round pickHouse 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comWhat have I been doing with my life, waiting this long to have Frank Isola on? Frank’s a famously bold New York Knicks beat writer turned multi media star. You can find him on ESPN and Sirius radio, talking NBA and a range of other subjects. Frank comes from the era (and region) where media was confrontational. The overall modern lack of confrontation was just one subject we addressed in this podcast. Topic docket: * Frank and the other Knicks beat writers seemed totally insane to me back in the day* Is Andre Iguodala an obvious Hall of Famer?* Andrew Wiggins is missing. Surrounding media gonna look into it?* Coaches should wear suits* CAA-Knicks: Is agency influence real? * Frank tortures me with 49ers Super Bowl second guessing* Draymond Green vs. Bonta Hill* Can Caitlin Clark save the WNBA?* How the lack of accepted criticism hurts the WNBA

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comRichard Hanania is, I believe, the most controversial person to appear on this podcast (though I’m curious if the subscribers can offer up some competitors for that title). Based on his public profile one might think his book, The Origins of Woke, would be a searing polemic. But it’s not. It’s really more of a law history with a focus on how legal decisions determine institutional policy and cultural norms. I think most people assume law to be downstream of culture. This book asserts that it’s mostly the other way around. Some of these legal decisions, like sports-relevant Title IX, you’ve heard of. Others are more obscure and yet massively influential. Whatever one’s political persuasion, the idea of judicial ruling as skeleton key to culture is worth discussing. And so we discuss that, plus other topics. For example…* Why did Richard want to appear on House of Strauss?* I met Richard, did not like his manner, but was intrigued* Can Richard define “woke”?* Discussing The Origins of Woke* How we overrate the importance of peoples’ secret motives* What’s the deal with Title IX?* I explain how Kenny Smith got pilloried during Sabrina Ionescu vs. Steph Curry* The Hanania vs. Yarvin debate (Democracy vs. Monarchy) * One major thing the most outraged critics of Hanania and Yarvin are right about* Republicans come off like weirdos now* Richard, Glenn Greenwald and others who fight against their own audiences * Does Matt Yglesias secretly like Richard?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.comSpike Eskin of Rights to Ricky Sanchez is here because a few of his favorite characters are in the news. Frankly, there’s no better person to cover Doc Rivers vs. JJ Redick as it plays out in the media. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Does Spike hate JJ more than JJ hates basketball fans? Topics...* Spike on where Doc is lying* ESPN’s hilariously unbelievable reporting on Doc taking the Bucks job* Why did Redick get blasted for his correct take on Doc?* Redick’s bizarre meta media critique and “54K pageviews” humblebrag* Redick’s appeal as Twitter mirror* JJ’s postseason vulnerability * Why does Spike hate JJ? * How Tony Romo went from great to less great announcer* I failed my customers by doing too much football this season* What’s with writers fearing AI replacement?

Friend of Pod Sarah Hepola is on to discuss the viral Emily Gould divorce essay. Some of you might be blessedly unaware, but this piece kicked off quite a chattering class firestorm on Valentine's Day. Many despised Gould and saw in her so many failings of millennial culture writers. Others praised her work as honest and vulnerable. Since Sarah wrote an incredible, sometimes self-lacerating book about her own battle with alcoholism, she’s well positioned to offer a verdict or two here. We discuss Gould, the past era of personal essay she spawned, millennials, feminism, and whether I should have Richard Hanania on the podcast. Many topics broached here, sports not so much. Enjoy… 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.comThis one is a lot of politics/culture, so pure sports lovers be forewarned. We also had to paywall it for standard Wos reasons. Personally, I believed this to be a very fruitful conversation with HoS favorite Big Wos. We agreed, disagreed, and eventually got to common ground on what the House of Strauss foreign policy should be. Topics include but aren’t limited to…* What’s wrong with ESPN’s coverage of the tragic shooting in Kansas City? * What specific gun law do journalists reacting to these incidents want?* Jon Stewart’s Daily Show return* Stewart’s comments about Biden’s decline and reaction in media* Does Biden at the top mean the status quo is strong right now or weak? Wos says “strong,” I say “weak.”* Tucker Carlson’s post-Fox decline in influence * Tucker in Russia* Wos wasn’t aware of the “Fidel is Trudeau’s dad” conspiracy theory * Is that conspiracy more or less believable than Frank Sinatra as Ronan Farrow’s father?