House of Strauss

Topics on this podcast include: * Why did Tyler write so much about sports in a book that was mostly anchored in the business world? * Is there a way to improve at writing? * Is there a way to anticipate a paradigm shifting talent like a Kevin Durant or Steph Curry? * Why email response time is such a huge indicator of top tier talent * How ambitious are you? * What’s up with NBA defensive superst...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com On this pod, we discuss: * Matthew’s got a branding pitch for me. * How does a man with five kids possibly do this job? * How did the groundbreaking Fantasy Focus Podcast come to be? * How Matthew was a genius at navigating Bristol bureaucracy * Trades are about listening * At ESPN, Bill Simmons was outside in and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com We’re not quite done with Warriors’ Punchgate, and I’ll seize on any reason to speak with independent GSW-centric podcasters Andy Liu and Saam Esfandiari. In this episode, we discuss: * Draymond and The Punch * Is the Bay Area media soft? Compared to what? * Toy Story is like Draymond/Poole * Why it was tough for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Ryan covers sports media topics at the New York Post and often joins me on Callin sessions where we speak with listeners. This time, we decided to do a House of Strauss podcast about the fascinating, messy, mysterious Udoka Celtics scandal . On this pod we discuss: * How ESPN seems to be burying the Udoka/Celtics...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Warriors populist podcast host turned Startup Man Sam Esfandiari is back, providing his insights. On this pod, I wanted to approach the heady topic of Gen Z sports engagement, as per Sam’s new venture . We got there, but were also distracted by all the juicy topics out there in the winds. Those include but aren’t...

The audio version of this article is up. 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.com In this episode we discuss: * Is First Take choreographed or wholly improvised? * Stephen A. Smith’s approach * Why we don’t see a lot of in person political disagreement on TV * The incentives behind the Don’t Apologize Double Down PR approach * The BYU-Duke media hysteria * Why did Jay Bilas back the Duke player...

On Saturday evening, the great Jonathan Tjarks passed away from a rare sarcoma. You can donate to help his family at this GoFundMe . Jon was brilliant, grounded and endlessly curious, in addition to many other great qualities. In summation, he was one of the highest quality people I’ve ever met. This is a deeply sad occasion, but I’m also reminded of how Jon offered so many notes of inspiration du...

Casey Keirnan started from the bottom of standard NBA media before becoming a big success on Youtube . Today his channel has 203K subscribers and it’s growing. What secrets does this man hold? On the pod, we discuss: * How Casey turned his life around after nearly dying from a drug overdose in 2005 * Why people get addicted * Is it okay that Youtubers rip off reporters? * Why he works as a Youtube...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Wosny Lambre and Nate Jones know a lot about the sneaker industry, a massive business that casts a large shadow over the NBA. In this podcast, which was one of my favorites, we discuss: * Upshot of Kanye West’s public breakup with Adidas and Gap. * How Kanye West, a non basketball player, became a uniquely powerfu...

All hail returning HoS champion Rob Henderson , astute analyzer of human behavior. In this episode, we look at the Work From Home revolution’s massive impact on our lives, plus discuss Our Decade of Tinder. Some topics broached: * Why Zoomer athletes got sad * Young people are detaching from sports * Whether I’m right or wrong about Work from Home * Are cities in trouble? * Can rurals make a comeb...

Daman has two public roles: Helping out Ben Thompson with Thompson’s world-beating tech newsletter, Stratechery , and troll-fully supporting the Lakers on Twitter . He’s a brilliant guy, with a mind trained for optimization, so I hit him up when I have business questions. This discussion is in that vein. In it, we discuss: * Why do tech bros love narrated articles? * How Daman trained his mind to...

First, a quick announcement: As of today, we’re number 1 in sports newsletters. Who knows how long that lasts, but I’m thankful to the subscribers who got us there, all within the span of a year. Though I almost always paywall narrated articles, I’m unlocking this one to celebrate, in the spirit of generosity/discoverability. Thanks again, readers and listeners. This is a public episode. If you'd...

First Things First host Nick Wright stopped by and didn’t hold back. We discuss: * How Colin Cowherd’s analogy game ruined local talk radio. * How Zach Lowe’s greatness led to failed imitators. * Nick’s take on Redick vs. Russo . * Nick’s take on Richard Deitsch vs. Skip Bayless. * Why Kevin Durant underestimates Nick. * Nick gets honest on his insecurities among writers. This is a public episode....

Matt Johnson is press coordinator for Direct Action Everywhere, the organization behind the animals rights protests that are disrupting Minnesota Timberwolves playoff games . I asked Matt about the protests and about Wolves owner Glen Taylor, the factory farming tycoon whom the protests are aimed at. Matt’s is a subculture I’m not entirely familiar with, so I wanted to ask some questions and get h...

For the longer pods, I’m trying my best to find the most interesting people I can, even if their purview isn’t necessarily sports. Culture writer Rob Henderson , who’s gone from Red Bluff to the military and onto to the Ivy League, is one such person, and he’d qualify even without that idiosyncratic biography. Rob’s a great writer and one aspect of his focus is, of all things, television. We get i...

I recall Michael Moynihan saying that the benefit of working in journalism is that you can talk to anyone who fascinates you. It’s a good thing to remember, especially since, for all the modern era’s depravations, striking up a conversation is easier than ever. A few weeks back, I idly bought Chuck Klosterman’s new book on the Nineties and found myself fascinated by his insights and framing. Then,...

The Fifth Column co-host + Paloma Media co-founder stops by to discuss HBO’s Winning Time and finding success between ideological worlds. 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

Free audio version of this article is up. 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

Non sports content here… Top level Substacker Freddie DeBoer is back on HoS, I’m happy to say. We covered a lot of ground in this one, such as: * The meaning of the San Francisco school board recall * How and why the system is discriminating against Asian students * Why the post-Gawker NYC media set can’t digest political rebukes * Why are many of these people more anti-anti-woke than woke? * Why...

Narrated version of this article . 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

Erich Schwartzel is a veteran film industry reporter who might have just written the most important book of the year (He’s a friend, but hey, the book is getting rave reviews ). If you’re curious about the inside story of Hollywood getting coopted by China, by all means order “Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy.” In this episode we discuss, among many other...

Last time, we went serious . This time, we’re all over the place. We talked about, among other things: * Why Tjarks is an NBA lifer and I am not. * How basketball’s necessary unselfishness ironically inspires more selfishness. * Sports and warfare. * Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich. * Chet Holmgren. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo...

Here’s the free audio version of this article . 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

Ross Barkan is an extremely sharp journalist, independent thinker and seasoned Substacker . Offline we got to compare/contrasting political vs. NBA media and decided to make a podcast for ya out of it. I asked: Which world, political or NBA media, is more corrupt? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstraus...