The Press Box

For the 'Press Box: Final Edition,' Bryan is joined by Washington Bureau Chief at Semafor, Benjy Sarlin. One month out from the Iowa Caucuses, they discuss Nikki Haley pulling in front of Ron DeSantis in the polls (2:21), and the low ratings for the campaign debates (19:49). Later, they react to Draymond Green’s latest flagrant foul that got him suspended indefinitely, and his apology to Jusuf Nur...

Bryan and David start the show discussing Shohei Ohtani’s blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and how it was the first spoiler-free signing since Adrian Wojnarowski joined X. (00:30) Then they discuss the Washington Post union staff’s walkout (9:16). Later in weekend audio, they react to Patrick Mahomes's meltdown after an offensive offsides takes the game-winning play off the board—and...

For the Press Box: Final Edition, Bryan is joined by Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay. They discuss the Person of the Year awards from both Time magazine and Sports Illustrated, with Time selecting Taylor Swift and SI selecting Deion Sanders (2:21). Then they dive into the coverage of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes and how this is projected to be the biggest free-agent signing in MLB history...

Bryan and David start the show by discussing George Santos being kicked out of Congress and the gift he was to political reports. (00:30) Then, in weekend audio, they discuss the College Football Playoff selection and ESPN’s Booger McFarland’s reaction to Florida State missing the tournament despite being undefeated (7:57). Next, they discuss the scuffle on the sidelines where Chad Greenlaw suplex...

Bryan and David revisit Chip Gaines's recent used-book purchase, with clarification on why this purchase was made (0:33). Then, they kick off the show with some audio—from a weekend full of football from the Hail Mary turned “Hell” Mary during the Jets-Dolphins game to the record breaking pick-6 by Cowboys cornerback, Daron Bland (7:30). Later, they talk through news from Futurism that claims Spor...

Bryan and David discuss the companies that have withdrawn ads from Twitter due to Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post and what the next move should be for journalists (00:34). They then go over Charissa Thompson’s remarks on ‘Pardon My Take’ regarding fabricating sideline reports, the outrage from most of those in sports media, and more (06:10). After, they do a quick round of weekend a...

Bryan and David rehash football notes from this weekend starting with the Michigan-Penn game and the Dallas Cowboys’ second win against the New York Giants (0:40). Then, they review the guidelines that ESPN employees will have to follow once their new sports-betting app launches (6:20), before then dissecting the intersection between journalism and fandom, as Gannett Media has hired a Taylor Swift...

Bryan and David dissect the week's goings-on and a poll that could spell bad news for Joe Biden. Then they dive into the weekend audio, including Benny Hill as well as a college football coach's call-in radio show, and their thoughts on the NBA's new tournament (10:45). Then in the notebook dump, they weigh in on the Bobby Knight obits (26:30) And later, HBO has a message for its TV critics, one t...

Bryan and David dissect what’s happening at ‘The Messenger’ with a recent partnership with an artificial intelligence firm and news that the publication is out of money (0:33). Then, they tackle another round of ‘Weekend Audio’ that touches on Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt’s comment about Miguel Castro, as well as NC State football coach David Doeren firing shots back after a recent comment about his orga...

With the start of the NBA season underway, Bryan and David address the new ESPN lineup, with Doc Rivers, Doris Burke, and Mike Breen, and discuss where exactly you can catch the game (0:33). Then, they touch on Weekend Audio, including baseball announcers, Brian Anderson vouching for the sport, and Joe Davis calling Altuve's home run in the ninth (11:19). Lastly, Vox’s Peter Kafka joins to talk th...

Bryan is joined by Ringer senior writer Katie Baker to discuss her reporting of the ongoing Sam Bankman-Fried trial, which can be found here. They delve into the biggest components of the case, what it’s like to be inside the courtroom as a reporter, the testimony of Caroline Ellison, and Michael Lewis’s depiction of Bankman-Fried. Host: Bryan Curtis Guest: Katie Baker Producer: Eduardo Ocampo Lea...

Bryan and David talk through the news that Aaron Rodgers is receiving a paycheck in exchange for his interviews on 'The Pat McAfee Show' (0:36). Then, they further discuss Twitter’s approach to covering the war in the Middle East with actions such as removing moderators and promoting accounts with a blue check mark (15:44). Later, they get into more Weekend Audio, where they highlight a few interv...

Bryan is joined by Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay to run through some media topics, including the Braves’ clubhouse controversy over a writer quoting an overheard conversation (01:13). Then, they discuss the report that Pat McAfee is paying Aaron Rodgers for his weekly show appearances (14:12), the idea of the NFL buying a television network like ABC (23:06), and a few writers who are say...

Bryan and David touch on Twitter’s approach to excluding news headlines on the platform and debate whether this will contribute to the rise of big art (0:31). Then, they discuss CNN’s ongoing coverage of the war in the Middle East and touch on reporters and correspondents on the ground (11:05). Then, they switch gears and review more Weekend Audio, from Georgia Tech's win over Miami to Kirby Smart...

Bryan is joined by Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay to talk about the no. 1 topic in all of the NFL right now: Taylor Swift (01:46). Then, they discuss the historic ousting of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, negative press surrounding Michael Lewis, and the six months that have passed since Russia's unjust detainment of Jason’s WSJ colleague Evan Gershkovich (19:36). Host: Bryan Cur...

Bryan and David offer some bonus takes from the second Republican debate, including some jokes from the candidates that didn’t quite stick the landing (00:32). Then, they listen to some of their favorite moments from the weekend in football, including the NFL’s ‘Toy Story’ broadcast (08:33). Later, they discuss the online coverage of the Damian Lillard trade, Joe Biden’s image makeover, and the la...

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...