On how he can dread all things climate change and still focus on amazing TV/film; on the joys of "Winning Time," the rethinking of "Veep," the small regret in "Anchorman," the highs of entertaining people; on whether bad reviews result in sleepless nights.

On why backup catchers are the coolest people on earth; on having David Wells and Jeff Juden loathe you; on covering the Shaq-Kobe Lakers; on being laid off as a columnist and bouncing back as an author; on not being Raiders WR Tim Brown.

On the magic of two words: Booty and Call; on the impact of cleaning bank toilets at 4 am; on the charisma of Tupac and the odd rear-end decisions of Madonna.

On her memories of being a young girl in a concentration camp; on how to put those memories into a book; on the pain of writing on trauma; on becoming an 85-year-old TikTok phenom.

On being let go by your beloved newspaper—then suing for age/health discrimination; on approaching athletes confrontationally; on Memphis as a rat hole and Milton Bradley as a human; on the feelings of journalistic mortality.

On the joys of covering Tony Gwynn and Kobe Bryant; on a cruel Kirk Gibson, a showering Tommy Lasorda, a furious Raul Mondesi; on the ill-advised Gabby Douglas piece; on the gazillion steps taken to reach journalism glory.

On creating greatness out of a seemingly meaningless late-season Eli Manning game; on covering Len Bias' draft night ... and the tragic aftermath; on resisting the call of hot takes; on a young Kwame Brown and an all-time great profile.

On finding her late father's ancient bucket list on a piece of crumped paper and living it out—then turning the odyssey into a book; on the desperate efforts to meet a U.S. President; on why one shouldn't eat an apple before skydiving.

On the old, glorious Sports Illustrated days of $400 hotel rooms and hanging with R.E.M.'s bass player; on gaining—and losing—a friendship with M. Night Shyamalan; on whether if matters if Tiger Woods likes you.

On creating and hosting "Killed"—the podcast about amazing articles that (sigh) never become articles; on Dakota Johnson's single salad and an angitated Kardashian sister; on whether there's any sort of future for magazines; on whether we can count on podcasts in the future.