Mike Pesca on Eileen Gu and Patriotism Decline

Mike Pesca on Eileen Gu and Patriotism Decline

Author: Ethan Strauss February 19, 2026 Duration: 1:09:24

Mike Pesca wrote a fine piece for the Free Press on how oddly not controversial the supposedly very controversial Eileen Gu is. She’s from the United States, but competes for China, and yet receives…mostly glowing mainstream American coverage? What’s with that? And beyond Gu, what’s the elite American consensus on China? But before the topics are introduced…

Per the new Substack/Polymarket partnership, I’m posting an Eileen Gu involved competition. As someone incapable of accurately pricing Winter Olympics events, I’m interested in whether bettors reflect Gu’s true odds for winning the Ski Halfpipe. As of this writing, Polymarket has her favored to triumph. Fame halo effect, or accurate probability?

And onto the Pesca pod topics…

* Would we bet that Chuck Klosterman has a secret North Dakota accent?

* Eileen Gu is certainly beautiful, but does she also look a little terrifying?

* Is the lack of elite anger towards China rooted in corporate considerations?

* America is less patriotic now, especially among the young. Bad thing?

* Is the United States the best country?

* Per the Jeremy Carl congressional dustup, is there such a thing as White American culture?

* Stuffwhitepeoplelike was a great website

* Is there such a thing as a “white guy basketball assist”?

* Is it plausible that Spike Lee’s All-Star Game Palestine outfit had nothing to do with Deni Avdija?

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Ethan Strauss hosts the House of Strauss, a podcast that operates on a simple premise: the games we watch are never just games. They are reflections of our culture, our politics, and our rapidly evolving relationship with technology. Each episode digs into the collisions and convergences between these seemingly separate worlds. You might hear a deep analysis of an NBA dynasty followed by a conversation about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the media that covers it, or a debate on a political headline examined through the lens of a stadium funding fight. The discussions are built on the understanding that the playing field, the voting booth, and the Silicon Valley boardroom are increasingly part of the same conversation about power, money, and the future. This isn't about hot takes for their own sake, but about tracing the deeper connections that explain why we care so much about sports and what they tell us about everything else. Tune in for thoughtful, often unpredictable explorations where a debate about league policy can easily spiral into a discussion about societal change, all guided by Strauss's curious and contrarian perspective. The House of Strauss podcast is where the passion for competition meets a critical examination of the forces shaping it.
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