Cal football had big plans for 2020--until the COVID-19 virus hit. Since then director of football administration Andrew McGraw has navigated a campus shutdown, a team-wide push for racial justice and a Pac-12 player revolt emanating from Berkeley. Oh, and he contracted the virus. He’s still standing--and Pac-12 football is coming back. McGraw walks us through the madness with a smile on his face.

For the first time, former NFL standout turned political analyst Donté Stallworth shares the terrifying, blow-by-blow details of his hot-air balloon mishap of 2013, during which he endured electrocution, catching fire and medical malpractice--and somehow lived to tell about it.

Jade Bugsch, Natalie’s former soccer and field hockey teammate, now works as a firefighter during one of the most perilous stretches in California’s history. In sharing her recent experiences, from dodging falling oak trees to sleeping on the forest floor, Jade also reveals some amusing and alarming information about her close friend and provokes some fiery storytelling out of Mike.

The Aftermath returns for another season on NFL Network, beginning Monday, Sept. 14--and the show with the iconic #nopromo hashtag gets a little love on the podcast co-hosted by one of its cast members. Aftermath QB Rhett Lewis, O.G. Steve Wyche and personnel guru Daniel Jeremiah join Mike and Natalie to marvel at the show’s lopsided ratings-to-respect ratio, its legendary superfan and why one member of the Fab Four won’t put the pedal to the metal in North Dakota. We also get the backstory behind the notorious Hue Jackson sangria photo.

After more than a decade as an NFL standout, Donté Stallworth crafted a second career as a political analyst and a strategic consultant on counterterrorism issues. As the professional sports world reaches an inflection point in the fight against racial injustice and police brutality, Stallworth weighs in on the magnitude of the moment, provides incisive historical perspective and addresses what must happen to help America make real the promises of democracy.

As we near the end of the most surreal offseason ever, four esteemed football experts (well, three… plus Natalie) share their thoughts on the upcoming 2020 campaign--after attending to some important business. From the origin of Mike’s mangled Wikipedia profile to the controversial credit-snatching that went down in one of Greg’s recent podcast episodes to the most maligned junior high book report title in recent history, the Silvers slice and dice one another while talking all things football (including star turns by Robert Kraft, Bruce Arians, Jared Goff and more).

In the wake of All-Pro tight end George Kittle’s record-setting contract with the San Francisco 49ers, agent Jack Bechta--the man who negotiated the five-year, $75-million pact--explains in precise detail how the deal went down. From wandering into a woman’s airport restroom to sharing seaside margaritas with Niners GM John Lynch to celebrating with Panda Express takeout, Bechta takes us on a humorous and illuminating journey that resulted in a special deal for a uniquely wired player.

Surprise guest Steve Silver (father of Mike, grandfather of Natalie) joins the fray as more epic stories are recalled, including the surreal dinner in San Antonio that featured Switzer angrily spewing expletives at Jerry Jones--only to tearfully profess his love for the Cowboys owner--while Mike succumbed to the effects of high-end California Cabernet. Switzer also discusses growing up as the son of a bootlegger, dressing up in drag with Jimmy Johnson and playing a classic prank on Joe Paterno while sunbathing in the Caribbean.

Following a record-setting run at Oklahoma, Barry Switzer came out of exile to coach the Cowboys in the mid-’90s… and let a certain Sports Illustrated writer ride shotgun for much of the madness. Somehow, both made it out alive, and now Barry and Mike have stories for Natalie ranging from a shattered wine glass to an emergency landing to the raucous hotel suite which contained the unlikeliest Super Bowl roommates of all time.

Two people who revere Chris Cornell (both with the last name Silver) pick the brain of the man who authored the late Soundgarden and Audioslave singer’s hot-off-the-presses biography, exploring stories and backstory and everything in between. In fulfilling the promise he made to himself as a teenager to rock to the bitter end, Cornell endured turmoil and tragedy--and left behind an incredible legacy. Reiff, a former Army Sgt. who served in Iraq, fills us in on some of the juiciest details while putting up with interludes about Mike’s travails as Dennis Rodman’s co-author and Natalie’s pregame hype music as a youth soccer standout.

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