Two Writers Slinging Yang

On trying to make it in the music biz in 2025. On driving 2 1/2 hours to play a gig in front of 10 people. On how a song goes from idea to reality. On the difference between good songwriting and epic songwriting.

On the glorious days and nights of old-school Philadelphia basketball. On whether money has killed the joy of covering the game. On Villanova and Georgetown and Temple and St. John's and ... Delaware.

On the audacious attempt by a group of female adventurers to climb Denali. On why the topic moved an author. On why ones covers those who climb, dive, scale, crawl, attack the elements.

On throwing yourself into a subject and refusing to let go. On whether living biblically resulted in biblical living. On the high of a TV show made from your book and the low of it sucking. On surviving the magazine apocalypse.

On last week's arrest at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting. On standing up for democracy and being unafraid of the word "Nazi." On taking a stand for LGBTQ rights while playing in the NFL. On how we survive this hellscape.

On receiving the dreaded Elon Musk notice that his job might no longer be his job. On the importance of helping veterans tell their stories. On interviewing men and women who went through hell—and giving them to space to speak freely. On the highs and lows of the written word.

On covering the tragic death of Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau; on receiving a kidney from a team employee; on witnessing decades upon decades of mediocre hockey; on the good ol' days of Jeff Juden and minor league baseball.

On why she left the Wall Street Journal and why journalism is testing her patience. On the need and use of beat writers in 2025. On life at Deadspin. On surviving.

On what it was like covering Donald Trump's recent inauguration. On why fools continue to believe Trump cares about them. On whether American democracy can survive. On his early journalism days at Gawker.

On the jerkiness of Reggie Jackson and the trash talk of Michael Jordan. On rising from Tennessee Vols walk-on wide receiver to ESPN superstar. On joining ESPN The Magazine. On teaching journalism in 2025.