The Press Box

Today on The Press Box, Bryan Curtis and Joel Anderson discuss the end of Graham Platner's campaign for the U.S. Senate seat in Maine. Then they talk about Mitch McConnell's whereabouts and health before checking in on the Texas Senate race. Plus, they react to the New York Times' competition with AI slop and Alexi Lalas's take on youth soccer in America. (00:00) Intro(01:13) The end of the Platne...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan sits down with New Yorker film critic Richard Brody. The duo discuss Brody’s career reviewing movies, being a filmmaker in the early ’90s (while also working at a detective agency), and how exactly he shifted careers and got hired at The New Yorker. The guys also talk through the main complaints consumers have about movies these days and how warranted they are. To clo...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David recap their experiences watching Team USA’s run at the World Cup come to an end. Then they discuss Politico's story about Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner (14:30). They also talk about LeBron James taking his time with the latest version of "The Decision" (36:50) and the guest list at the Taylor Swift–Travis Kelce wedding (43:14). Plus, the O...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and Joel have a Senate race check-in. They take a look at multiple high-profile senate races in different states and provide their thoughts. Then, they check back in on the World Cup after the U.S. beat Bosnia-Herzegovina to advance to the Round of 16 (35:18). They also discuss the New York Times piece about Dianna Russini (40:38), NPR’s Supreme Court mishap (59:20),...

Today on The Press Box, the Press Box primaries roll on with Bryan and Joel being joined by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. They discuss the potential ideological shift in the Democratic Party, the through line for voters that vote for Trump and Shapiro (19:08), lessons from Meek Mill (34:25), and much more. Hosts: Bryan Curtis and Joel AndersonGuest: Josh ShapiroProducers: Isaiah Blakely and...

Today on The Press Box, it's the June Issue! Ahead of what could be LeBron James's last free agency decision, Bryan is joined by ESPN's Brian Windhorst to look back at LeBron's past decisions and how they were covered by the media. Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Brian WindhorstProducers: Isaiah Blakely and Sarah Reddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David start by updating the list of announcers with no fans that Bryan made with Joel last week. Then Bryan shares his big takeaways from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s book, ‘Regime Change.’(14:56) Then they talk about longtime ESPN anchor Linda Cohn retiring, discuss a Nancy Guthrie update, and say farewell to The New Yorker’s Mark Singer (47:33). Plus, Dav...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and Joel discuss how the media covered the Iran deal, despite the administration initially not letting anyone see the deal. Then they discuss an ESPN fight and what other ESPN figures could pick a fight with a colleague (10:25). Later, they dive into some World Cup thoughts and discuss the discourse around Alexi Lalas (29:00). After that, the two are joined by New Yor...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David share some thoughts from the first few days of the World Cup. Then they dive into UFC Freedom 250 at the White House and discuss the event and Trump's attraction to UFC (15:30). Then they give a few notes from the NBA Finals (35:05). Finally, Bryan is joined by Peter Kafka, chief correspondent for Business Insider, to talk about Fox's $22 billion purchase of...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David start with their thoughts on the Knicks' historic comeback over the Spurs to take a 3-1 lead, and Bryan gives his notes on ESPN’s coverage of the game down the stretch. Then they talk about the New York Times excerpt from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's upcoming book about how the White House has been handling the Epstein files (16:23). They also talk ab...

Today on The Press Box, Joel takes over the Tuesday slot. Bryan and Joel start the show by discussing Pat McAfee’s reported extension with ESPN (01:11) before talking about Trump’s attendance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals (14:52). After that, the guys dive into the Scott Pelley–'60 Minutes' situation, including Pelley’s interview with The New York Times (26:02) and what Bryan would have asked Scott...

Today on The Press Box: '60 Minutes,' the NBA Finals, and the California primaries. Joel and Bryan react to the latest news regarding '60 Minutes,' including the hiring of Nick Bilton, Scott Pelley's departure, and more (01:20). Then, ESPN's Vince Goodwill joins from San Antonio, sharing his observations from Game 1 of the NBA Finals (25:30). Plus, Gustavo Arellano breaks down the California prima...

Today on The Press Box, it's the May Issue! Bryan and David create the 2026 version of an Esquire magazine feature from 60 years ago, called "The Unknockables." They talk through a bunch of categories and nominees across society and culture, and they pick people in 2026 who are unknockable. Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David ShoemakerProducers: Ben Cruz, Isaiah Blakely, Jon Roemer, and Oscar De La Luz...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and Joel talk about Ken Paxton winning the Republican Senate nominee runoff in Texas, setting up a showdown with Democratic nominee James Talarico. They also talk about Jill Biden’s interview on CBS, another Bari Weiss story, and a sports Emmys snub. Then, they are joined by ESPN and Sirius XM’s Frank Isola to discuss his tales of covering the New York Knicks for 22 y...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David kick things off by discussing Bryan's Memorial Day trip to the movie theater and why the ‘Star Wars’ discourse has become more interesting than the movies themselves. Then they offer a side-by-side comparison of the NBA playoff coverage on ESPN versus NBC (19:10) and analyze the recent reporting surrounding Donald Trump's health (44:52). Then they debut a br...

On today’s bonus episode of The Press Box, Bryan sits down with the Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell to discuss her early thoughts on the 2028 political landscape, starting the Bulwark (29:09), and much more. Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Sarah LongwellProducers: Isaiah Blakely and Sarah Reddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on The Press Box, Joel is back, and he’s here with Bryan to talk first about the sale of New York magazine. Then they talk about the changes coming to the Google search bar (9:13), whether sports journalism is dead like Dan Le Batard said (21:53), and more. Then they are joined by San Antonio Express-News sports columnist Mike Finger to discuss what it’s like covering Victor Wembanyama (58:2...

On today’s bonus episode of The Press Box, Bryan is joined by bestselling author Jon Krakauer. It’s the 30th anniversary of his book ‘Into Thin Air,’ so they talk about climbing Mount Everest, the quick writing process of the book (21:25), why he stopped writing books (38:34), and much more. Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Jon KrakauerProducers: Donald LoBianco Isaiah Blakely, and Oscar De La Luz Learn m...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David react to a wild Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Spurs and Thunder, and they talk about how to revamp postgame interviews. Then they talk about another Bari Weiss story at CBS (15:28), the decline in “dad books” (22:01), a breakfast taco controversy (36:16), and much more. Then Bryan is joined by New York Times critic Jason Zinoman to disc...

Today on The Press Box, Joel is out, so Bryan is back with David and they start by discussing another Bari Weiss and CBS story. Then, they move to the discourse around Nick Kristof’s recent column (23:17), they say goodbye to a legendary sports broadcaster, and much more. Then, Bryan is joined by Vox’s senior editor for politics Benjy Sarlin to do a midterm elections check-in (37:10). Hosts: Bryan...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David start by talking stand-up comedy, specifically Bryan’s time at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival. Then they talk about what’s going on with the NFL TV rights negotiations (12:30), The Daily Wire fading away (24:33), Draymond Green vs. Charles Barkley (31:13), and much more. Then Bryan is joined by Politico’s California bureau chief, Melanie Mason, to talk about...

Today on The Press Box, Joel is in L.A. with Bryan, and they are joined by Van Lathan Jr. He’s back this time to run through his GOP nominee depth chart. They discuss all types of potential candidates, including members of the current administration, former contenders (22:08), up-and-comers, outsiders (52:35), and more. Then, at the end, Van reveals who he thinks will most likely be the nominee (1...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan is joined by The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay to discuss Ted Turner's legacy following his death at the age of 87. They talk about the creation of CNN (8:40), what he meant in the world of sports (19:43), how his legacy will carry on (32:49), and much more. Host: Bryan CurtisGuest: Jason GayProducers: Bruce Baldwin, Isaiah Blakely, and Sarah Reddy Learn more about...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David talk about oxpeckers in the media. They talk about the news of James Murdoch being in talks to buy parts of Vox Media and New York Magazine (11:03). Then, they talk about Trump almost giving a press conference in front of a bunch of golf reporters (26:13). They also discuss Adam Mockler vs. Scott Jennings(28:58), Tucker Carlson (32:02), some sports TV update...

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David start with some follow-up stories on the Russini-Vrabel situation before talking more about the White House Correspondents' Dinner and the work reporters and influencers did at the event (13:12). They also discuss a Michigan Senate candidate's old tweets (28:33), another attempt at cancelling Jimmy Kimmel (38:42), and more. Then, Bryan is joined by Katie Bak...