The Press Box

I’ve listened to The Press Box for a while because when they stick to media, journalism, sports, and how stories get covered, they can be really good. But the political conversations have become increasingly hard to listen to. I’m conservative, and I don’t expect the hosts to share my politics. That’s not the problem. The problem is how often the conversation seems to come from a very Democratic worldview while being treated like it’s just the obvious, neutral way to see things. The Texas political talk is a perfect example. As someone who actually lives in Texas, I get tired of hearing heavily Democratic media people repeatedly talk about Texas turning blue or analyze the state like Republican voters are some strange phenomenon that needs to be explained. There’s a huge difference between thoughtfully examining demographic and political changes in Texas and sounding like you’re personally rooting for the state to flip. I’d enjoy the show a lot more if there were a little more ideological curiosity and a little less assumption that everyone listening shares the same political baseline. You don’t need a conservative co-host or forced “both sides” arguments. Just recognize when analysis starts sounding like advocacy. Still a smart podcast with genuinely good media discussion. I just wish the political coverage had the same self-awareness and skepticism they regularly apply to everyone else in the media.

I listen to this pod to hear Joel, Bryan is great too but more JOEL please

Love Joel on the pod, great addition

They show is often Brian’s vanity project with softball interviews and shooting the breeze with Shoemaker, but the addition of Joel Anderson affirms that this is one of the few podcasts doing thoughtful media criticism. Worth trying!

Used to be a great podcast. The hosts *are* great. The effort to do more politician interviews and mine it all for video clips has made it forgettable. Really too bad.