#145: Bill's Impressive Career, Using Bill/Ringer to Bond IRL, The Divisive Derek Thompson, Anduril Hat Theories, Which Ringer Creators Would Run for Office & Predicting Future Internal Ringer Issues

<p>Welcome to Episode #145! We bring on friends Nathan and Jon for a 3-man weave covering a wide variety of topics in the world of Bill Simmons.</p><p><br></p><p>(0:00-25:30) We start off reminiscing about becoming fans of Bill many years ago. The sports media landscape was vastly different and Bill&#39;s writing, and later podcasting, were revolutionary. We identify what enabled him to surpass peers, stay ahead of those emulating his style, and how impressive it&#39;s been that Bill&#39;s been relevant for three decades across several mediums. Plus, he&#39;s done an excellent job of cultivating and coaching talent.</p><p><br></p><p>(25:30-46:00) We next discuss how the guys have bonded with peers in DC by referencing Bill, including attending events in a Heat movie poster t-shirt. In a highly political world, especially living and working in the nation&#39;s capital, The Ringer&#39;s content is an escape from the day to day, and the shows are a refreshing alternative to Rogan, hitting on more varied topics. We do wonder, though, why Bill sat out the &quot;podcast election&quot; in 2024 and whether The Ringer will change that in 2028 and beyond.</p><p><br></p><p>(46:00-59:00) We contrast Barstool and The Ringer and identify how the latter has more interesting and nuanced takes on sports and pop culture which keep listeners coming back, compared to Barstool&#39;s more inconsistent shock value attempt at entertainment. We get into Russillo&#39;s move and why fans of him and Bill together haven&#39;t followed him to Barstool; he&#39;s a great #2, but the roster at his new home doesn&#39;t have the same depth of people he can play off of like he used to have.</p><p><br></p><p>(59:00-1:17:00) Next we get into one of Bill&#39;s most divisive guests, Derek Thompson - who Nathan knows in real life, yet is blocked by him on Twitter. While we at times enjoy Derek on Bill&#39;s pod, we have issues with how he presents his guests and their views and how he often clouds the audience of knowing his and his guests&#39; bias. He will also buy into the hype on topics before doing a quick 180. We have a spontaneous review of Derek and Ezra Klein&#39;s <em>Abundance</em> book and discuss the movement in general (1:07:50) before articulating why we like &quot;big ideas&quot; guests Gladwell and Klosterman over Derek.</p><p><br></p><p>(1:17:00 -1:24:45) Speaking of Klosterman, we look back on his epic Sophie Cunningham call. Jon, who is a WNBA fan and thinks the product has ne