House of Strauss

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Richard 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 la...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Spike 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...

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...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com This 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 po...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Late collapse against the Clippers on Wednesday notwithstanding…the Warriors suddenly look pretty good. Given the recent vibe shift, I figured I’d ring up Light Years co-host Saam Esfandiari to discuss the Draymond-fueled run of good play plus a variety of other topics in media. Discussion includes but is not limi...

We love having Ashlee on because he’s always covering a fascinating topic. Today it’s how AI is being used to decipher ancient Roman scrolls that were damaged by the Vesuvius eruption. Thanks to the technology of the future, we might be on the precipice of learning about the mysterious past. What knowledge might we gain here? Why is the Catholic Church perhaps worried about the implications? And w...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Ryan Glasspiegel, our nation’s preeminent sports media critic, is back, and trying to explain this “ESPN, Fox and Warner Team Up to Create Sports Streaming Platform” story. We’ve both got some questions, but the main one is this: What type of person is going to pay for this service? In the second half of the pod,...

I love Guy, and should have had him on sooner than this. In his day job, he’s an expert play-by-bay man for a variety of sports. In his burgeoning other career, though, he’s a rising force on San Francisco 49ers Youtube. We discussed this upcoming 49ers-Chiefs Super Bowl, talking Brock Purdy (of course) and whether Purdy haters or Purdy evangelists were more to blame for the insane discourse surro...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com One of my favorite conversations on this site, if I do say so myself ( Subscribe today!). Many of you are familiar with Kmele Foster’s work on The Fifth Column and other platforms, but I’d say it’s rare to get him in an interview setting. Obviously, Kmele did not disappoint. Few in media think deeply on as wide a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Last time the great Rob Henderson was on we discussed his incredible memoir, Troubled . In it, he takes you on a journey from his youth in foster care to and through his Yale admission. An inspiring story, right? Turns out that not everyone wants to be inspired . So why are certain bookstores blocking Rob, a guy w...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Bomani took issue with my “ What if Brock Purdy Had Jordan Love's Saturday Performance? ” article, which was a good excuse to bring back an HoS favorite. What followed was, in my opinion a highly enjoyable conversation. Topics included but weren’t limited to… * Why Bomani has more hardcore fans than similarly well...

Former NFL scout and current rising YouTuber John Middlekauff takes on NBA vs NFL media culture, plus he delivers a BOLD prediction for NBA TV rights. Among other topics, we discuss how taboo it is in sports media to think about the most important person: The customer. House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid sub...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com The world’s preeminent sports media critic was ATTACKED by Dave Portnoy for breaking a story. We talk to Ryan right after he defended himself on Kirk Minihane’s Barstool-affiliated show. Topics mentioned: Ryan’s defense under fire, journalism best practices, Barstool as a business, plus my theories on incoming Pea...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Friend of Pod Amin Elhassan is here to discuss the following: * A vigorous defense of Jerry Krause * Is it acceptable for Warriors fans to boo this team? * Is Michael Jordan to blame for anti Krauseism? * Zach Lowe giving up his NBA awards vote . What’s the secret reason? * Taylor Swift on the football broadcast v...

First Things First co-host and Friend of Pod Nick Wright respectfully and angrily disagrees with my Rodgers vs. Kimmel take . He’s got a viral take of his own that he felt I’d slighted by extension. We decided to hash it out and after much vigorous disagreement, arrived at some fascinating topics I didn’t anticipate. This started as an argument, then turned into a cathartic journey into how the pa...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com Wos alarm and this one is turbo-paywalled. We start off talking different sports and the perils of drafting QBs high. We eventually move on to Aaron Rodgers vs. Jimmy Kimmel, what Pat McAfee vs. ESPN means, DEI and Harvard, genius of Druski, plus Bon Appétit breakup retrospective. Enjoy!

Certain stories just grab you and Erich Schwartzel ’s “Behind the Tragic, Instagram-Perfect Life of an Ex-Disney Executive,” is such a tale. After I read it, I knew we needed to have a conversation about the now deceased Dave Hollis, a man whose seemingly perfect life was upended by the project of broadcasting it. Erich is a star entertainment reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Friend of Pod, a...

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.

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...

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...

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 r...

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 d...

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...

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’...

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...