Bryan is joined by ESPN’s Marc J. Spears ahead of the Western Conference finals to discuss his time as a Denver Nuggets beat writer starting back in 1999. They reflect on past moments, from players boycotting team practice to covering the Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy while in town for work, to Carmelo Anthony being drafted third overall, and more!

Host: Bryan Curtis

Guest: Marc J. Spears

Producer: Erika Cervantes
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ESPN's Marc J. Spears on Melo's Arrival, a Practice Boycott, and Other Tales from the Nuggets' Locker Room

The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker catch you up on the biggest media stories, from sports to politics and everything in between.

Sports

Hello media consumers! On the Final Edition, Bryan is joined by Max Tani, media editor at Semafor, to discuss the following:

Biden and Trump agree to two presidential debates on CNN and ABC (01:33)

What to make of the NBA media rights negotiations (19:13)

JJ Redick: podcaster and coach? (28:20)

The succession plan for The New Yorker’s next editor (35:31)

Joe Kahn and the young reporters at NYT (44:23)

Covering the media beat (48:15)

Then, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
Host: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Max Tani
Producer: Eduardo Ocampo
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Presidential Debate Strategizing, the NBA Rights Endgame, and New Yorker Editor Succession With Semafor’s Max Tani

Hello media consumers! Bryan and David kick off the week by checking in on the Trump trial and discussing how we have been getting updates without it being televised, including real-time updates from the New York Times (0:21). They then get into a few things from NBA playoff weekend, including the following:

Shaq telling Nikola Jokic that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves to be NBA MVP (7:51)

Some very interesting sounds during Luka Doncic’s press conference (10:41)

How do NBA analysts judge teams when they keep getting blown out (12:47)

JJ Redick's intrigue over the Lakers’ coaching vacancy and whether or not he would still keep his podcast (24:22)


Later, in the Notebook Dump, they discuss the 25th anniversary of ‘Phantom Menace’ and how it changed media (35:12). Plus, the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week, Only in Journalism, and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.

Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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Checking in on the Trump Trial, Weekend Sounds from the NBA and How “The Phantom Menace” Changed the Media

Hello media consumers! On the Final Edition, Bryan is joined by Julia Turner—one of the hosts of Slate's Culture Gabfest! They get into the following topics:

Jack Shafer’s story in Politico about “journalistic swagger” (1:20).

Ben Smith of Semafor’s interview with New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn regarding the 2024 election (20:26)

The Apple ad about the new thin iPad (32:56)

An ‘Office’ spinoff, but for a newspaper company (35:26)

Reggie Miller has learned something from Bryan and other podcasters (40:00)

Kyle Chayka's, of The New Yorker, story: "The Revenge of the Home Page" (42:59)

Then, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.Host: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Julia Turner
Producer: Brian H. Waters
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The Death of Journalistic Swagger, Apple Is Crushing It, ‘The Office’ For Newspapers, and "The Revenge of the Homepage" With Julia Turner

Bryan and David start by recapping Bryan’s experience at the roast of Tom Brady. Then, they discuss the reports and negotiations around the upcoming NBA media rights, and what it could mean for the ‘Inside the NBA’ on TNT (23:37). They also talk about Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley not allowing a media member to participate in a media scrum for not subscribing to his podcast (29:11). Later in the Notebook Dump, they talk of Kristi Noem being “misquoted” in her memoir, followed by The Old Guy’s Still Got It, The Tad Friend Rule, and Only in Journalism (39:02).Plus the Overworked Twitter Joke of the Week and David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.

Hosts: Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker
Producer: Isaiah Blakely
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A Report From the Tom Brady Roast, Pat Beverley Stiffs a Reporter, and Kristi Noem’s Memoir-gate.

Hello, media consumers! Bryan welcomes Andy McCullough, a writer for The Athletic and the author of the upcoming Clayton Kershaw biography ‘The Last of His Kind.’ They start off by discussing NBC's and TNT’s bidding for the NBA’s TV rights and what the NBA would look like without TNT (01:47). Then, they discuss the ongoing college protests over the war in Gaza and the student reporters covering it from the ground (13:12). After that, they discuss recent comments from Stephen A. Smith and Charles Barkley (25:04). Finally, they delve into Andy’s career as a baseball beat writer, what it’s like to be on deadline every night, and the process of interviewing Clayton Kershaw for his new book (45:47).
Host: Bryan Curtis
Guest: Andy McCullough
Producer: Eduardo Ocampo
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NBC Vs. TNT for the NBA, College Reporters Covering the Protests, Stephen A. Smith on Mike Trout, and the Baseball Beat With The Athletic’s Andy McCullough

ESPN's Marc J. Spears on Melo's Arrival, a Practice Boycott, and Other Tales from the Nuggets' Locker Room

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