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Great talk that’s anchored by this week’s cancellation of Very Bad Eagles Fan. As WIP host, pod friend Spike Eskin is our ambassador to all things Philly culture, plus a myriad of other pressing topics.

Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Does the NBA have a “massive negativity problem”?

* The viral Eagles fan who called a Packers fan an “ugly dumb cunt”

* This Eagles fan seems bad, but was the moment contrived?

* We’re cancelling randos off viral videos again

* Philly fans have a negative reputation. Do they like that reputation?

* “History is fake”

* There once was an ancient, burgeoning European civilization that was wiped out

One of my favorite podcasts to date…

Independent NBA Podcast Beast Nate Duncan chastises me over my pronounciation and takes. He also offers his solution to what ails the NBA, but there’s a lot more. Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Am I right to want hand checking above the arc?

* What good reforms has the NBA made?

* Are 3-pointers even the main issue?

* Does Nate send soup back?

* Is there a way to prevent Jimmy Butler situations?

* Do NFL quarterbacks get paid too little?

* Are dating apps good for society?

* Is it more uncomfortable to strike up a conversation with a random woman in a bar, or a surly athlete you have to interview?

* Nate doubts the power of conservative backlash against Caitlin Clark

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As NFL newsbreaker Ian Rapoport told the world on Friday, preeminent sports media critic Ryan Glasspiegel is leaving the New York Post for Front Office Sports. Ryan and I discuss the why of his leaving such an established legacy brand, and segue into the business of sports media coverage. Plus we talk about the lurid Fox Sports sexual harassment allegations, California wildfires, current political cultural moment and more. Enjoy!

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

Happy New Year! We start off 2025 with an in depth discussion about, what else? H-1B Visas.

In all seriousness, the visa issue has revealed fascinating dynamics within American politics and culture. Our guest Lee Fang wrote a fantastic article on the business dynamics behind a controversial policy that’s pitted Elon Musk against more traditional MAGA types. In this pod, our topics include but aren’t limited to…

* What the hell are H-1B Visas?

* Why is the “Tech Right” struggling to make a case for them?

* Is Elon Musk’s loyalty to America or Mars?

* I read the now infamous Vivek Ramaswamy tweet

* What’s wrong with 90’s sitcoms and sleepovers?

* “Market dominant minorities” and modern anti Indianism

* Is the Tech Right against racism? Or just highly specific forms of it?

* What are people in tech really like?

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Ryan thinks you can guess the two major discussion points here. Topics include…

* Why is a Gregg Popovich Trump rant going viral in conservative media over a month after it happened?

* Why is NBA ratings discourse so overwhelming all of a sudden?

* Did Adam Silver not use soft power like David Stern used it?

* Are we more pessimistic about the NBA’s cultural future than Bill Simmons is?

* The NBA’s America problem

* Why is the NBA a WOKE piñata in conservative media?

* How do we feel about Caitlin Clark clearly lying (Ryan seems fine with it)?

* Does Clark’s TIME feature influence how fans relate to her?

* Why is Hannah Hildago a potential future WNBA controversy generator?

One of our favorite cultural commentators returns to discuss men, women, politics and so much else. Great pod, in my unbiased opinion.

Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Why there was a “Sydney Sweeney is mid” discourse on social media

* Is modern dating terrible?

* Why the dating app market is bad, even for its big winners

* Single men should buy dogs

* Does becoming Republican shrink male dating options?

* Are nearly all marriages “politically mixed” marriages?

* Is the political gender divide hurting society?

* Is the Wifejak good?

* Is “toxic femininity” a real thing?

* Is the WNBA the only institution still on Earth 2? Or are there others?

* What’s with people who voted for Kamala enjoying the outcome of Trump winning?

* The meaning of Luigi Mangione support

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Non sports media edition, because a) I’m morbidly captivated by the Healthcare CEO assassination fallout and b) Any excuse to host Sarah Haider is a good one.

Beyond being intelligent and brave, Sarah has some personally informed thoughts about ayahuasca, a topic of the moment given certain rumors about the CEO killer. Conversation includes but is not limited to…

* High status people celebrating the murder of CEO Brian Thompson?

* It’s underrated how frequently high functioning people lose their minds

* Did ayahuasca compel Sarah to quit her own podcast?

* If ayahuasca kills motivation, then why did Sarah do it?

* Does living under threat of assassination, as Sarah might, inform perspective?

* Are we completely honest in our public transmissions?

* Are we more honest in real life or as writers/podcasters?

* Why don’t professors, whose system saddles young people in debt, see themselves as oppressors?

* What do we think of the politically minded tech libertarian types?

Depending on schedule, this is a potential Part 1 due to a surprise area Internet outage that cut us a bit short. Would love to discuss more topics with Tom, who’s just so easy to talk to. Like so many others, I was shocked to hear KNBR cut ties with the region’s most beloved sports radio host. Hopefully, the silver lining here is that we’ll get to hear more of Tolbert in other contexts. Dude’s a gem, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to chat about old basketball NBA with him.

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

NBA/Tech/China podcaster Andrew Sharp is here to “see where the takes take us,” and I love where it goes.

* Is Andrew buying or selling the future of BlueSky?

* The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight

* What is Netflix’s sleazy strategy with this sort of live event?

* Andrew explains how the NBA made way more TV money while in viewership decline

* What’s driving the NBA viewership drop? Andrew wrote a list

* Are we excited about Inside the NBA coming to ESPN? Are there downsides?

* Has the vibe shifted such that Charles Barkley can talk about San Antonio women?

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

Great podcast, if we do say so ourselves…

* Did Ryan lose his life savings betting Kamala Harris on Kalshi?

* The French polymarket whale who bet on Trump using the “neighbor method”

* Has the election inspired a vibe shift in sports media?

* The Ben Strauss argument that FS1 is more woke than ESPN

* The “Democrats need a Joe Rogan” trope

* Is the “Dem-friendly Rogan Bill Simmons”?

* Is Shannon Sharpe the Dem-friendly Rogan?

* The sports journo exodus to BlueSky and why it won’t work

* I don’t think the shift to the right among Zoomers has much to do with “incels”

* Inflation or culture war: What settled the election?

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe