On landing that first book deal; on tracking down Phil Knight and a Pointer Sister for interviews; on the satisfaction of sitting in an empty book shop and knowing you've arrived.

On giving up a sought-after journalism job at age 28; on working for the ruinous evil empire that is Gannett; on what it is to be a modern newspaper scribe in a crumbling newspaper world; on Derrick Henry and Mike Vrabel and life inside the NFL bubble.

On why one would think, "You know what demands a book? Kiss without makeup!"; on delving deep into the genius that was Blind Melon; on the 1980s New York Jets and life without a literary agent.

On the repeated torture that is the life of an author; on convincing Rudy Tomjanovich to open up; on Bobby Knight's temper, Steve Kerr's decency and being confused for the Miami Heat mascot.

On the challenges of writing in another person's voice; on landing a book deal; on covering year after year of New York Mets baseball (and living to talk about it)

On covering the 2020 presidential election; on the highs and lows of being a reporter when politicians go out of their way to make your life miserable; on writing the most important story of your life on deadline from home during a pandemic.

On covering politics during the craziest of years; on his new book, "Donald Trump V. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President"; on sharing a name with the greatest third baseman in baseball history.

On her masterful piece, "The 31-day campaign against QAnon" and all the little nooks and crannies of a one-of-a-kind profile.

On covering more than three decades of (generally awful) Jets football; on life with Adam Gase; on Keyshawn-Chrebet joy and Sam Darnold struggles and chronicling games from home in a COVID world

On the stoppage of travel for a journalist who lives to travel; on understanding COVID's impact on Houston—and writing about it; on thriving as a journalist with zero journalistic training.