The Occasional Show

Thorne, Daniel, and John Hammontree give the best rankings of the best TV shows ever. 

Then Democratic strategist Jesse Lehrich of Nobody Knows Anything joins the podcast to talk about 2026 and 2028. 

Spoilers below:

Dylan's list:

One part about being an adult Daniel and Thorne both love is that you can do some of the things you loved to do as a kid but there's no adult to tell you you can't. That means eating as many gummies as you want, playing Starcraft 2 as long as you want, or reading as much R.A. Salvatore as you want.

Shoutout to never quite growing up. 

Today's guest is the duo behind the Valyrian language...and one hundred other languages. Daniel interviews Jessie and David Peterson, two linguists who have made a very successful career out of making fake languages. Jessie and David explained their process, counted some of the languages they've created, and offered a few hints on new shows and episodes (keep an eye on Lanterns, episode 7) that has their work. 

Links:

Brigitte Riesebrodt

Defiance the TV show

Stormgate

Starcraft Dominion

Journalist and fellow former Nieman John Hammontree joins the program where he confesses that despite being a diehard Alabama fan he's "the least excited" he's been about football this year. Daniel and John also discuss HBO's Lanterns and Dolly Parton's legacy. 

Today's guest is writer and journalist Adam Harris, author of The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal―and How to Set Them Right – The Definitive History of Racial Discrimination and a Daring Solution. 

Daniel and Adam talk about Adam's work as a journalist focused on higher education, his time as an Air Force brat, and going back to school season. 

Daniel's Vanity Fair article on The Midnight Boys. 

The show is back for a new season! Which is really another way of saying Daniel and Thorne finally carved out some time to podcast again.

Andrew is still trying to get Daniel to read Red Rising. Daniel remains skeptical. Andrew shares why he should be cast in the new Baywatch reboot.

Today's guest is Harvard history professor Sven Beckert. Beckert talks about capitalism, his book Capitalism, and what to make of Americans' sudden interest in socialism and democratic socialism.

Episode notes:

Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert.

"Abdul El-Sayed Lost in 2018. It Set Him Up for 2026." (The American Prospect) by Daniel Strauss.

"How The Midnight Boys Became Your Favorite Nerd’s Favorite Podcast" (Vanity Fair) by Daniel Strauss.

Daniel and Ray delayed taping so they could watch the Argentina game. They came on this episode and reacted. Daniel marvels at Toniebox technology. 

Daniel and Ray then trade questions. Ray asks Daniel if Mitch McConnell is still with us? Daniel asks Ray if Inde Navarrette is about to be the next cinema superstar. 

Guest: Author Kelsey James, author of:

The Colony of Lost Souls

The Woman in the Costello

Secrets of Rose Briar Hall

Other links:

That On Brand Brides episode. 

Vox's Dylan Scott joins Daniel for this episode of The Occasional Show. Dylan explains to Daniel why the movie Obsession is a big deal. Daniel and Dylan talk about the World Cup and why it's so fun and why House of the Dragon hasn't been bad but hasn't been great. Plus: It's really really hot this summer. 

Guest: Historian Manisha Sinha. Her most recent book is The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 (2024).

Thorne and Daniel discuss the Knicks celebrations and what's fun about the World Cup. 

Guest: McKay Coppins and Daniel talk about civic engagement and the good ol' days of blogging. 

Links:

The Obama reelection campaign focused on Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Jon Huntsman (The Hill)

McKay's book Romney: A Reckoning 

The Senegal away jersey (Footy Headlines)

Winter is Podcasting is dead, long live The Occasional Show! 

Daniel and Thorne talk all things sports: The Knicks! The World Cup! Daniel unloads about the worst show AppleTV is giving a season two. Then, Fonda Lee comes on to talk about her fantastic new book, the Last Contract of Isako. 

Plus Daniel and Thorne talk about parenting and Lee gives her own Mom Flex. 

Take a listen. 

Ray Rahman, senior editor at New York magazine's Vulture, makes his Winter is Podcasting debut. Daniel and Ray talk about streaming services, why AppleTV regularly has the best programming even when you haven't heard about it, and HBO's "shock premium" tv. Daniel and Ray disagree on Netflix's The Boroughs. Then Ray and Daniel debate whether Washington D.C. is anywhere near as good as New York. 

Today's interview is one you don't want to miss. Democratic strategist Max Glass, the longtime adviser behind Abdul El-Sayed, joins the show. Glass talks about growing up in Danville, Virginia, his years in a band, and Glass's rise in Democratic politics. 

Here's a link to that song by The Strugglers, The Cascade Range. 

This week Daniel and Thorne discuss cruise ships and the Hantavirus, Thorne's new favorite video game obsession, why the show Citadel deserves your attention, and what we know about White Lotus season 4. 

Today's guest is Theo Baker, the author of How To Rule The World: An Education in Power at Stanford University. The book is a fascinating look into the exclusive world within Stanford University told by Baker during his years as a student there. 

You can buy Baker's book here.