The Press Box

Bryan is on the ground for the second Republican debate and discusses which Fox representatives he spotted at the event, where journalists watched it, and the aftermath in the spin room (0:31). Later, New York Times journalist Adam Nagourney joins to discuss his new book, 'The Times,' which covers four decades at the paper. They touch on the process of clearance for writing a book about his employ...

Bryan and David preview the second Republican debate and discuss what we can expect with only six participating candidates (0:37). Then, they are back with another round of Football Weekend Audio, where they highlight their favorite moments from the weekend, including Taylor Swift's attendance at the Chiefs game, as well as how Oregon head coach Dan Lanning vouched for his team (11:45). Later, the...

Bryan and David react to the news that Rupert Murdoch will be stepping down as chairman of both Fox and News Corporation. They talk about the Murdoch era of journalism, how he went from kingmaker to answering to Donald Trump, and what will happen to the Fox properties, including Fox News. Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker Producer: Eduardo Ocampo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...

Bryan and David discuss Jann Wenner’s meltdown involving his promo tour interview with the New York Times for his new book (0:35). They touch on the news about former NFL reporter Jim Trotter's lawsuit that accuses the league of racial discrimination (7:42), before reflecting on a collective of sports writers from different organizations leaving their jobs and assembling their own sports pages (14...

Bryan talks Weekend Headlines and starts with a Washington Post story about Senator Tim Scott’s love life. He also details his favorite call from Joe Buck during the Bills-Jets game on ‘Monday Night Football’ and talks about some negative reviews of Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography (00:31). Then, Detroit sports radio host Mike Valenti joins the show to discuss the hopeful skepticism from Lion...

Bryan and David discuss Jen Psaki taking over Chris Hayes’s Monday night primetime slot at MSNBC (00:48). Then, they listen to some announcer clips from the NFL and college football (07:03) and talk about the GOP candidates at the Iowa–Iowa State football game (15:14). They also touch on Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s 22nd year as commentary partners (21:52), the end of ‘Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel...

Bryan and David begin this week with Deion Sanders’s coaching debut at Colorado and how the team has already become a content machine and then look into the lack of horse race coverage so far in this election cycle (13:54). Later, they discuss this year’s NFL announcing booths (26:41), Walter Isaacson’s upcoming biography of Elon Musk (35:56), and more! Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Wee...

Bryan talks Weekend Headlines and begins with news of The Athletic’s acquisition of sportswriter Diana Russini. Then he discusses how news outlets are utilizing code to protect their content against AI and touches on college football’s epidemic of depth-chart withholding (0:19). Then, Richard Deitsch joins from The Athletic to review the Tony Romo backlash heading into his seventh year of broadcas...

Bryan and David discuss takeaways from the first GOP political debate, from the moderator’s performance to Ron DeSantis’s approach to Chris Christie’s role in the race (8:56). Later, they touch on the news that the Texas Tribune has made layoffs, then review the death of the magazine profile and identify more only-in-journalism words (32:48). Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David...

Bryan is back with Weekend Headlines to review a misquote from Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, then discuss sports docs' equivalence to memoir and Tucker Carlson’s biography (0:48). Later, Bryan is joined by Semafor's Washington bureau chief, Benjy Sarlin, to react to the first GOP debate. They discuss candidates’ approach to Ron DeSantis, talk through Nikki Haley’s and Mike Pence’s campaign...

Bryan and David begin the week by reviewing the new cast of 'Monday Night Countdown' (0:43) before discussing what to expect from the first GOP debate airing on Wednesday night without former president Donald Trump (8:22). Later, they talk through the ongoing situation between former NFL player Michael Oher and the Tuohys (28:30) and then touch on NFL aggregators and more! Plus, the Overworked Twi...

Bryan and David hit on the newly announced NBA ‘Countdown’ lineup and discuss its new potential format, before author James Andrew Miller joins the show to unpack the state of ESPN and how things could unfold after the Penn Entertainment deal (9:45). Later, they discuss the Hollywood Reporter’s recent incident involving an awards pundit asking for special privileges (27:07), then touch on a Kansas...

Bryan hits on headlines from the week from ESPN’s new billion-dollar deal with Penn Entertainment to the Orioles’ miscalculation with announcer Kevin Brown. Then, The New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro joins to discuss his career as a sports columnist for 20+ years. He talks about the power of a sports columnist, writing about sports in New York, and his relationship with Adrian Wojnarowski and experien...

Bryan and David begin this week by discussing the U.S. women’s national team’s loss to Sweden this weekend and how both current and former players responded to their elimination (0:41). Then, they weigh Fox News’ approach at encouraging Donald Trump to take the stage for GOP debates (12:00). Later, they state their case in defense of former NBA Finals team announcer Mark Jackson (30:00). Plus, ano...

Bryan is back with a new segment, Weekend Headlines, where he shares three stories that will get you through the weekend. Then, Matt Belloni joins to talk through Bob Iger's linear media strategy, and weigh the effects of the strikes on Hollywood and the media. Host: Bryan Curtis Guest: Matt Belloni Producer: Erika Cervantes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bryan and David preview the new NBA announcing team at ESPN (0:30) before they unpack the media face-off between 'Variety' and both 'The Atlantic' and 'Puck' (9:10). Then, they touch on Twitter rebranding to X (18:28), discuss Sean Payton’s recent comments in the media (23:40), and Ron DeSantis’s media approach. Later, they introduce a new feature, "Not About the Media," where they share a persona...

Bryan’s East Coast media tour stops off in Connecticut to sit down with ‘SportsCenter’ host Kevin Negandhi. They discuss show production and rundown (1:00), becoming a news anchor in an Indian American family (11:40), and his career path at ESPN (26:30). Host: Bryan Curtis Guest: Kevin Negandhi Producer: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bryan and David are joined by colleague Lindsay Jones to discuss her experience working at The Athletic. They review Bob Kravitz’s piece on Substack, touch on Jones’s experience at the site, and discuss how things are progressing after the merger with the Times (4:33). Later, they debate just how well our new member of the newsroom, Genesis, an artificial intelligence tool, could integrate into th...

Bryan is joined by New York Times reporter and podcaster Astead Herndon from ‘The Run-Up’ to discuss life on the campaign trail. They talk through the transition from print stories to podcasting, dive into the inner workings behind the stories reported for ‘The Run-Up,’ then unpack voters' response to candidates on the trail. Host: Bryan Curtis Guest: Astead Herndon Producer: Erika Cervantes Learn...

Bryan and David brainstorm how The New York Times and The Athletic could restructure heading into the new phase of coverage (3:40). Then, amid the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, they discuss a few more media side effects, including the loss of the celebrity profile, actor promos, and more (34:10). Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline. H...

Bryan and David discuss The New York Times replacing its sports section with The Athletic and what that means for their sports writers (2:10). Then, they talk about GQ’s column about Warner Bros. Discovery president David Zaslav (32:06). Later, they get into the latest round of ESPN layoffs and how it is now affecting the people we see on air (41:01). Finally, Bryan has some notes for David from h...

Bryan is joined by CNN’s Jake Tapper to discuss his upcoming thriller novel, ‘All the Demons Are Here.’ They begin talking through the writing process whilst being a lead anchor, discuss why Tapper chose to write a novel based in the 1970s, and touch on which characters in his novel were inspired by actual media members. Then later, they assess how CNN should define itself in the year 2023, and fi...

Bryan is joined by journalist Chris Jones to remember his 2010 piece in Esquire, "The Things That Carried Him," a true story about Sgt. Joe Montgomery’s last trip home. They discuss how Jones knew he was ready to write this particular story, the process of covering the death of a loved one, and how this story resonated with readers. Then, they touch on Jones's experience writing for Esquire Magazi...

Bryan is joined by Billy Ray, writer and director of ‘Shattered Glass,’ a movie that covers the Stephen Glass New Republic scandal, for the 20th anniversary of its release. They discuss Ray’s experience transitioning from writer to director, how he cast Hayden Christensen as the lead, what it was like writing for a protagonist such as Glass, how Tom Cruise received a producer credit, and much more...

Bryan is joined by journalist Tim Mak in Kyiv to discuss his time reporting from Ukraine. They talk through his time in the country when the invasion began, why he decided to return to Kyiv to continue war coverage, and his unique, journalistic style, which captures an immersive picture of life in Ukraine. Host: Bryan Curtis Guest: Tim Mak Producer: Erika Cervantes Learn more about your ad choices...