Mike Pesca

Mike Pesca

Author: Ethan Strauss January 31, 2026 Duration: 21:07
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

Great conversation with Mike Pesca in which I, unfortunately, regressed to my old ways of pronouncing Chuck Klosterman’s name incorrectly. This is possibly our most controversial and free associative podcast yet.

* Was Alec Baldwin’s best Trump imitation actually Jack Donaghy?

* “Seinfeld sucks and isn’t funny”?

* Mike disagrees with certain Minnesota ICE takes from my podcast with Kat Rosenfield

* Berkeley made me biased against protestors

* We discuss Brian Phillips’ belief that Trump era chaos is all a devious strategy

* The oddness of initially not knowing whether the 2nd Alex Pretti video was AI

* Should the new Pretti vs. police video have any influence on how one feels about the possibly unrelated deadly encounter 11 days later?

* We aren’t conquering Canada and also, adding Alberta would look so stupid on the map

* Mike weighs in on whether the NFL should All 22 itself

* Most people agree that a man’s morality shouldn’t influence his NFL Hall of Fame case, but nobody will make the Hall of Fame case for serial rapist Darren Sharper

* Is Robert Saleh good or just good at playing the media game?


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.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

House of Strauss
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