My sister Lauren joins us again to discuss the 2023 NBA Finals where the Nuggets dispatched the Miami Heat in 5 games. We discuss how a matchup without ESPN posterboys like Lebron and Steph Curry or a marquee franchise like the Lakers or Celtics still delivered the goods. We then praise the Nuggets' role players and question how the Heat's supporting cast got as far as they did. We talk about how these playoffs impact Jimmy Butler's legacy and finally where this Nikola Jokic playoff run compares to the most dominant in NBA history.

Basketball enthusiast (and Draymond Green-like on the basketball court) Brad Silverman joins us to talk Heat and Celtics. We discuss Tatum + Brown, Mazzulla vs Spo, and the impossibility that is Jimmy Butler. Then Vik Chakra calls in from Japan to help us breakdown Lakers vs Nuggets. We discuss Lebron, Jokic vs AD, the supporting casts, and if Jokic can shed the "lack of playoff success" narrative. We have picks. We have predictions. And we have a ton of love for Kevon Looney.

Adam Peters join us once again to talk The Last of Us. After taking 2023 by storm, we discuss the potential for The Last of Us to join the ranks of The Wire, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Succession, and the other HBO MAX masterpieces that have dominated award seasons the last 20+ years. We then discuss why The last of Us has succeeded where other video game adaptations have failed before giving our Mount Rushmore of The Last of Us Scenes and evaluating the show's spinoff potential.

Joel Embiid is like a lot of NBA superstars before him - routinely competing for MVPs and championships. The difference is injuries almost ended his career before it started. No player has ever dealt with injuries to the extent of Embiid's and come out on the other side...better? We look at others who have tried and failed like Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, Yao Ming, Tracy Mcgrady, Derrick Rose, and Bill Walton. Have the tides shifted because of new diets and hyperbaric chambers or is Embiid simply an exception to the rule?

Vik Chakra and I discuss this tantalizing opening round of the NBA post-season with massive off-season implications on the line. Will Ben Simmons get off the bench as he watches his old team thrive? Will Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant stay healthy for a full series...or even the layup lines? Can the Kings dethrone the Warriors and continue lighting the beam? Will Jalen Brunson or Donavan Mitchell be the offseason acquisition that wills their new team to the second round? Meanwhile, there are 8 play-in teams: 7 of them are looking at ugly offseasons, while one of them might win the whole thing.

Ted Lasso is questioning why he’s still coaching AFC Richmond. Nate is still the worst. Is football still life? Zach, Jacob, and I unpack the Ted Lasso season 3 opener, "Smells Like Mean Spirit" and discuss the future of Apple TV's golden child.

We may not be The Academy, but we do have Letterboxd. 

Triangle of Sadness (11:19)

Women Talking (14:46)

Tar (21:18)

Elvis (34:31)

The Fabelmans (46:44)

All Quiet on the Western Front (59:14)

Top Gun: Maverick (1:09:11)

The Banshees of Inisherin (1:20:49)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (1:36:10)

Our picks: (1:44:15)

We are joined by the one and only Rama Varanasi to make predictions for which NFL teams will have a new quarterback under center next season (1:45). We then vent about the results of ESPN's latest MVP straw poll (28:09) and discuss the biggest NBA storylines with the playoffs looming (41:12). Rama and I then praise Bill Simmons (the Podfather) and how much we love this content (1:01:58) before diving into the Yale Men's Basketball Team and their push for the NCAA tournament (1:06:50). Finally, we discuss the upcoming Academy Awards and give our takes on the Best Picture Nominations (1:11:31). 

Eagles vs Chiefs: the best team vs the best quarterback. We dive into the injury report, two star-studded rosters, our blatant lack of knowledge when it comes to non-star NFL players, and, of course, our favorite bets for Sunday.  

The Giants surprised everyone this year with a splendid trip to the divisional round of the playoffs thanks to career years from Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. Unfortunately, it's time to turn the page and figure out how they're going to pay Jones, Barkley, and a multitude of other deserving players in a salary cap league. Brian Heyman dons his general manager hat to explain where the Giants should allocate their money (3:13). Brian and I then make our picks for the two riveting conference championship games to determine who will be playing in the Super Bowl (36:37). Less than two years after tearing every knee ligament known to mankind, Brian reflects on his path to recovery (49:46). Finally, Brian discusses life as a medical student: exciting, challenging, and a social setting eerily similar to high school (55:35)?