The Varsity

TV’s New Gatekeepers

Super analyst Michael Nathanson returns to the pod to discuss the tectonic forces reshaping how America watches sports. He and John unpack the logic behind Fox’s bid for

Peter Schrager’s Big Day

ESPN's Peter Schrager joins John to discuss his winding road to hosting his own daytime show. The two also dig into the Rams’ rough Australia opener, the NFL’s flag footb

Nick Khan's Plan to Let the Boxers Box

WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan joins John ahead of Saturday’s Ryan Garcia-Connor Benn welterweight title fight to lay out the Zuffa Boxing strategy. The two

Jim Gray’s History Lessons

The Zelig-esque sportscaster joins John on the eve of a new NFL season to discuss why football has a stranglehold on the sports-watching public. Plus he recounts the back

Can Washington Actually Fix College Sports?

Industry consultant Marc Ganis, a member of President Trump’s College Sports Council, joins John to break down the bipartisan Senate bill aimed at saving college athletic

The NFL’s Broadcasting Shake-Up

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand returns to the pod to break down the biggest storylines in sports media ahead of the NFL season. He and John weigh Tony Romo’s odds of retu

NASCAR’s $7.7 Billion Bet

Brian Herbst, the executive who negotiated the sport’s media rights deals, joins John to assess a landscape reshaped since he signed them. The two dig into the new Chase

Life After SI

Longtime Sports Illustrated columnist Jimmy Traina joins the pod to discuss why he left the publication after 20-plus years and what to expect from his move to Underscore

Inside D.C.'s Sports Ownership Boom

Mark Ein, a veteran investor with stakes in the Commanders, Orioles, and Leeds United, joins John to trace his path from World Team Tennis owner to NFL minority owner. Ei

How Iger Got the Lakers

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, who broke last week’s big news about the LA Lakers, joins John to walk through how the $12.5 billion deal came together practically overnight. Th

Cable Bundles of Joy

John sits down with Guggenheim's Mike Morris to unpack the NFL's media rights maze and outline some worst case scenarios for the Sunday Ticket lawsuit. The pair dig into

A ’26 NFL Off-Field Season Preview

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio returns to the pod to preview the upcoming NFL season and the biggest off-field intrigue. He and John dig into the Sunday Ticket legal drama, Tony

Netflix’s NFL Booth & CBS’s Romo Conundrum

Athletes First executive Gideon Cohen joins John to take the temperature of a broadcasting market undergoing sweeping change alongside the rest of the sports media indust

Can the WNBA Survive Its Own Success?

Annie Costabile of The Athletic, who covers the WNBA and women’s basketball at large, joins John to discuss the league’s growing pains as it makes the leap from niche pro

Is the A.I. Arms Race Coming for Sports?

Analyst Michael Nathanson joins John to break down some of the biggest storylines in sports media right now—from the implications of Paramount pausing its Warner Bros. de

What ESPN’s Layoffs Really Signal

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand rejoins John to break down ESPN’s recent layoffs, which hit more than 100 employees. They explain why the NFL Network acquisition—and the m

Has the U.S. Finally Fallen in Love with Soccer?

JT Batson, C.E.O. of the U.S. Soccer Federation, joins John to lay out his vision for “the American soccer movement”—a five-year push toward two marquee moments: the 2028

Can MLB Surpass the NBA?

The Athletic’s Evan Drellich joins John to discuss MLB’s looming labor war. Evan puts the odds of a 2027 lockout at 100 percent and the chance of missed games at 75—all w

Presenting: Fantasy Football Today

Want to dominate your league and earn Fantasy Football bragging rights? Join the crew at Fantasy Football Today. Adam Aizer, analysts Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, Heath

Caught Stealing… The View?

Puck’s legal expert Eriq Gardner joins John to work through a docket’s worth of sports media legal battles—from the looming challenges to the Paramount-WBD merger to the