House of Strauss

Latest Episodes:

HoS: Tim Kawakami Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Coming off Sunday’s thrashing of the Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers are riding high. Naturally, we had to have 49ers +/- host Tim Kawakami on to discuss a variety of Niners and Niners adjacent topics. Of course, given Tim’s status as the best sports writer in the state over the last two decades, we also had to get into why the industry isn’t doing a better job delivering a product TK’s succeeding with. Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Why LA-based sports writers tend to leave sports writing

* Tim wrote a Brock Purdy column that might be his most read ever

* TK’s thoughts on 49ers fans getting mad at Purdy doubters like Steven Ruiz

* Is Trent Williams the most valuable Niner? Do offensive linemen get their proper due?

* If customers are flocking to this Niners content and John Canzano is crushing it in the Pacific Northwest, then what is the sports writing industry missing?

HoS: Andrew Bogut Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

We booked Bogut. Then Australian NBA news items popped up and the Warriors lost a 24 point lead on national TV. Just as we got Henry Kissinger killed earlier in the week, it seems HoS has had a negative impact on all issues adjacent to our wonderful guest.

No matter. It was a great talk, especially when we went down Warriors memory lane. Before all that, we, of course, discussed whether this is the end for that storied core Bogut once played alongside. Oh, and we also talked Josh Giddey, the firing of Daniel Moldovan, and Gregg Popovich grabbing the PA microphone to scold his crowd.

HoS: Michael Moynihan Nov 28, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Michael Moynihan is one of my favorite podcasters. I always enjoy him at his Fifth Column home and, of course, when he visits HoS.

The genesis of this pod is Michael’s 2018 Vice interview with Open AI CEO Sam Altman, which was on the topic of UBI (Universal Basic Income). To give a sense of how the interview went, here’s Moynihan’s recent Instagram description of the exchange, posted in the aftermath of Altman’s firing (and before his rehiring):

So OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired. This is apparently news requiring a New York Times homepage takeover, with three (!) stories speculating about the reason for his ouster. Allow me to offer an alternate theory: Altman was fired because he’s an insufferable asshole. I interviewed him back in 2018…one of the most pompous, absurd, unpleasant people I’ve ever spoken to on camera. You see, Altman suffers from that most common Silicon Valley delusion…the one convincing billionaires that because they are very clever with computer code, they can also solve the world's most vexing social problems. Altman is a proponent of universal basic income and believes that when jobs are automated away, a more socialist government can make it all better with UBI-like transfer payments to the newly unemployed. I gently pushed back on this idea. He didn't handle it well. Here are two clips from the tail end of my interview with Altman.

So that’s our jumping off point to questions about the damage well meaning utopians can cause, whether AI will replace journalists, and, obviously: Would people prefer AI Sports Illustrated writers or AI Sports Illustrated swimsuit models? Also we get into an Israel/Gaza detour and address whether the culture war has ended. Great talk, hope you enjoy.

HoS: Ashlee Vance Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

If you wanted to follow the Open AI debacle in depth, Ashlee Vance’s articles in Bloomberg have been mandatory. Lucky for us, he took a moment out of his busy reporting schedule to hop on HoS and discuss the bigger picture questions connected to the corporate crackup. Also, there’s quite a reason for his proximity to the situation, which he reveals in the podcast.

I’m not even sure how to timestamp this one, as the conversation jumps around to a lot of abstract places. I’ll just say that it’s a discussion I personally can’t stop thinking about since we had it. Vance is my favorite writer on the topic of the imminent future and there are some staggering possibilities afoot. Should we be terrified? Should we be inspired? Can we, fairly soon, become immortal? Do we want that? We discuss all this, plus talk about Ashlee hanging out with a community of brain-implant augmented monkeys

HoS: Ross Barkan on Israel and U.S. Politics Nov 17, 2023

Show notes

We’re rejoined by Ross Barkan, the best New York politics reporter, plus an overall astute commentator on many matters. This time, we’re talking about how the Israel/Gaza situation has shaken up U.S. domestic politics and revealed a massive generation gap between TikToker and TV watcher.

I’m aware that not everyone necessarily comes to HoS for this conversation, but I aim to channel what’s interesting to me, in hopes it might be interesting to you. Oh yea, and towards the end, Ross and I discuss his confusion about the In Season Tournament. Enjoy…

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

HoS: Pablo Torre Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

We talk to Pablo, host of Pablo Finds Out, proprietor of the Pablo Torre Substack, and all around media man. I’m very intrigued by his recent interviews, including but not limited to Larsa Pippen + Marcus Jordan. We discuss this inquiry into forbidden love, Dan Le Batard’s Trump tapes, Stephen A. Smith’s sex advice and much more regarding the modern sports media landscape.

HoS: Vincent Goodwill Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

Mr. Goodwill is, to borrow a phrase from Colin Cowherd, a young man who’s covered the NBA forever. He currently writes and podcasts about the league at Yahoo!, but he once was a beat writer, cutting his teeth while following terrible teams. In this episode, we take a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about what the NBA media industry was like, and what our lives were like. Did we live in a golden age without really knowing it?

House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.houseofstrauss.com/subscribe

HoS: Light Years Boys Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

This podcast is unlike the other podcasts. Why? Because Super Producer Anthony Mayes spliced in our reaction to Adam Silver talking on another podcast. Beyond and because all that, a great conversation among pod friends. Topics include but aren’t limited to…

* We all watch Adam Silver talking about the ways NBA Twitter influences league policy (2:40)

* We spend many minutes doing a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 on this Adam Silver interview with JJ Redick

* Redick + Silver on the science changing with load management (12:35)

* The NBA’s “Hawkeye” issue is pissing teams off (33:00)

* Why are Warriors fans so interested in the Chris Paul addition? (40:00)

* How do the Light Years boys feel about Media Bob Myers? (56:40)

* Klay and the Warriors going to breakup? (104:14)

* Andy doesn’t like how Jordan Poole is getting blamed for last season (110:30)

* Lack of Warriors developing young players not Kerr’s fault? (112:10)

* Why did Saam and Andy both tweet about the Mean Girls reboot? (115:00)

HoS: Dumb NBA Questions for Big Wos Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Big Wos wears many hats, but chief among them is all encompassing NBA analyst. So I brought back the gimmick I used for Nate Duncan and asked the man some dumb normie questions. Then, because it’s Wos, we couldn’t help but break away from that conversation and touch on a range of sports culture topics (including the insanity of the LeBron Decision Era, college football culture and pro athletes cheating on their wives). No time stamps because this one flew around a lot. Also, we recorded prior to Victor Wembanyama using Thursday night to warp everyone’s sense of what’s possible in the sport. Enjoy!

HoS: Andrew Sharp on the Adam Silver Era Nov 01, 2023

Show notes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Andrew Sharp is the co-host of three great and wholly different podcasts. He’s an NBA diehard, but also an Adam Silver Era skeptic, which makes him unusual among current podcasters. Obviously, I share something in common with such a perspective.

In this episode, we end up cathartically venting about the Silver era, discuss the in season tournament experiment that’s upon us and consider whether LeBron James is viewed positively by normies. Podcast topics include but aren’t limited to…

* Is ESPN more uptight than FS1? (0:00)

* Why is Andrew so negative on the NBA’s in season tournament? (10:00)

* Why can’t the NBA be like England’s FA Cup? (16:00)

* At what point is a sport’s brand diluted? Is the NBA risking it? (23:10)

* Does a new tournament need a raison d'etre? (34:00)

* Does the NBA’s new CBA hurt the ability for teams to feel familiar? (46:00)

* The James Harden trade saga (53:50)

* Why don’t Steve Ballmer and the Clippers get ripped by media? (58:50)

* How the NBA should have handled its War on Flopping (109:30)

* Does the normie love LeBron James? (119:00)