Pablo Torre Finds Out
Pablo Torre takes listeners beyond the headlines in sports, culture, and politics with in-depth reported episodes and conversations. The show features 'talkumentary' style stories, interviews with figures like Sue Bird and U.S. Senators, and segments like Share & Tell with friends. It is part of The Athletic Podcast Network and has won multiple journalism awards.
Episodes
Uncovering Phil Mickelson's Misconduct Allegations, with Alan Shipnuck
After months of rumors, journalist Alan Shipnuck investigates why Phil Mickelson has basically vanished from the LIV Golf Tour — and social media. Leading us down a rabbit hole of hidden misconduct claims and exits from three different golf clubs. Not to mention 19 sources, an off-shore oil pipeline and an ex-friend's ex-wife: Ashley Perez.Read Alan Shipnuck’s reporting at Skratch Golf: https://ww
The Sporting Class: Hydration Breaks, FIFA Trials and a Condo Full of Cats
Ex-ESPN president John Skipper was once the most important soccer fan in America. But then he lost the World Cup to FOX — and became a federal witness. So we wanted to know what it’s been like to watch America fall in love with the very tournament Skipper wasn’t allowed to win. And whether federal corruption trials, nine figures worth of commercials and a Trump Tower apartment full of cats can slo
“Please Enjoy It Or You Are Fired”: Inside PTFO, with Dan Le Batard
PTFO keeps winning awards. But what do we do for an encore? How do you make something special without losing our standards — or our minds? Do you guys even enjoy this? Pablo visits Miami to see his friend/boss, Dan Le Batard, and Dan’s producer, Chris Cote. They discuss balancing real life; perspective in the face of grief; Oprah; and figuring out how to serve an audience without missing the point
The Missing Ambassador of the World Cup
He covered soccer before it was cool, promised to go WikiLeaks on FIFA, then got detained and mysteriously collapsed in Qatar. If there was ever someone we needed to hear from, as a global conduit during this corrupt World Cup on American soil, it's Grant Wahl. So his former co-host, Chris Wittyngham — along with his family and one of the many stars he inspired — helps Pablo listen back to Wahl's
What the World Cup Can Teach the American Fan, with John Green and Daniel Alarcón
We are numb, as Americans, to the attention of the globe and the power structures of our sports leagues. But what if love of country could be simple again? And what if fans had more power than we thought? Pablo feels the football osmosis from the (banned) bestselling author and his old friend turned MacArthur Genius, as they offer a liberal-arts education in the beautiful game — from the fault in
Sarah Jessica Parker on the Seductive Power of Sports and the City
New York is palpably horny right now. And happy. So we invited the patron saint of sex and this town to chase euphoria, appreciate the romance of the American idea, advise these young Knicks, remember the halcyon days of HBO... and make the case for reading books in the crowd.• Previously on PTFO: Celebrating These Knicks Title Vibes, with Desus Nice• Subscribe to The Athletic Hosted on Acast. See
USMNT's Tim Weah on World Cup Dreams, the American Idea... and Wu-Tang
He is the realest member of Team USA — an activist athlete, from Brooklyn and the African diaspora, choosing to represent a divisive nation as it tries bringing the globe a little closer together. In a rare sit-down ahead of the U.S. men's national team match against Australia, Timothy Weah explains the pressure of this moment, the power of soccer over politics... and why the Knicks' good-luck cha
The (Summer School) Sporting Class: Sex, Dolan and Contract Haircuts
Did the Knicks owner's pump-up speech help them win it all? Did their players stop fornicating because of it? How much do billionaires matter to championships anyway? And should superstars sacrifice millions for the greater good? David Samson and Domonique Foxworth chart the power and powerlessness of the billionaire class.• Subscribe to "The Domonique Foxworth Show"• Subscribe to "Nothing Persona
"Reverse 9/11": Celebrating These Knicks Title Vibes, with Desus Nice
Transcendence on the court. Dancing in the streets. And a drunk Instagram Live for the ages. Why wait 'til the parade? Pablo raises a glass (while devouring an egg-and-cheese) with Desus — his fellow New Yorker and bard of Knicks nation — to the commute of a champion and the beauty of a bandwagon; to the drip of Landry Shamet and the sweat of Patrick Ewing; to KAT and OG and Wu-Tang and, yes, even
UFC at the White House: How Dana White and Donald Trump Cashed In
The president's birthday-party fight card is straight out of central casting — and chock-full of political favor-trading. Who stands to gain the most? Luke Thomas unapologetically explains why everyone, from MMA fans to D.C. pundits, is missing the real story... then unearths fresh evidence of a purely transactional relationship.• Take the PTFO audience survey• Subscribe to "Morning Kombat" with L
America Signed Up for the World Cup. FIFA Stuck You with the Tab.
The biggest party in global sport is underway, and soccer's governing body stands to profit nearly $9 billion. How did FIFA squeeze U.S. taxpayers with so many hidden costs? The Athletic's Adam Crafton crunches the numbers on wasted public money, as Pablo dissects comically absurd demands upon host cities — from "clean" stadiums and super-V.I.P. treatment... to a pop-up jail.• Take the PTFO audien
Linsanity Is Dead. Long Live Linsanity: Jeremy Lin on the Finals, the Garden and the Healing Power of These Knicks
Madison Square Garden hasn't felt this alive since a little-known point guard from Harvard became the most popular person in New York City. On the occasion of his grand return, Jeremy Lin sits down with Pablo, who's been covering him since their dorm-room days, for a full-circle conversation about pressure, toughness, fleeting fame, the end of his run with the Knicks, squashing the beef with Carme
Ballmer's Secret I.O.U., Aspiration's "Web of Lies" and the Zenith of Fraud: Kawhi-Gate, Part XI
As Adam Silver calls for the NBA's Kawhi Leonard probe to wrap up and Aspiration's co-founder gets 14 years behind bars, Pablo investigates how Steve Ballmer covered his tracks on a side deal of his own — and with the SEC on the case. Former DOJ prosecutor Lou Manzo returns to make sense of the relationship between a billionaire and a fraudster, while David Samson is finally convinced that the ric
Do Not Mess with the Reporter Who Took Down Jeffrey Epstein
Julie K. Brown went from working in a bell factory to ringing the alarm on masters of the universe and (finally) winning a Pulitzer. The Miami Herald reporter visits Pablo to shed light on the culture of silence that protected Epstein for so long, the legal dream team that struck his secret deal, then how Epstein pulled out all the stops... to stop her investigation. Plus: the whistleblower who ga
Exclusive: Inside Zohran Mamdani's NYC Sports Equinox (feat. Adam Friedland)
Pablo visits the mayor of New York in his backyard, on the eve of the NBA Finals — and the cusp of heartbreak for his Arsenal F.C. — to discuss Knicks joy, soccer pain, hair loss, Donald Trump, Charles Oakley, Victor Wembanyama's Eid fit and, yes, flopping. Plus: Fellow Arsenal die-hard Adam Friedland checks in, on the state of socialism... and optimism.• Take the PTFO audience survey!• Subscribe
Share & Eat the Rich & Tell with Tim Miller and Stephanie Ruhle
Can Trump ruin these Knicks vibes? Why are billionaires so sensitive? Just how much of the White House is for sale? And is the pope radical? Or can decency levitate? Plus: the joylessness of a luxury box and… Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a war criminal.Further content:• The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. (ProPublica)• The Trader in the Oval O
Exclusive: The Harambe Tapes, Revealed
Ten years ago today, one gorilla's death broke the internet, from sports and politics to million-dollar memes. But Harambe's life was a tragic battle over name, image and likeness — including files the Cincinnati Zoo worked to suppress... until now. Desus Nice and Katie Nolan help Pablo get to the bottom of what gorillas in our midst can teach us about ourselves.• Subscribe to PTFO on YouTube to w
"Celebrity Jeopardy!" Film Study (Championship Edition) with Mina Kimes and Domonique Foxworth
How is preparing for a game show like playing in the NFL? What's the first rule of "Jeopardy!" Fight Club? And why would you bet zero dollars with a million on the line? Plus: Katie Nolan's secret pep talk, Daily Double brain glitch, Spygate... and a buzzer bibliography.Previously on PTFO:• "Celebrity Jeopardy!" Film Study with Mina Kimes and Timothy Simons• Behind the Scenes of Pablo's History-Ma
Unlocking the State Secrets of College Football, with FOIAball's "King of the Bros"
He dug up Dianna Russini's playlist for Mike Vrabel. And Osama bin Laden's p*rn stash from the CIA. He even got a DM from Bill Belichick's girlfriend on the prowl. Now, David Covucci is shattering the illusion of coaches' power — and the unfathomable pastimes of the billionaire booster class — one embarrassing document bomb at a time. Pablo finds a kindred spirit... and Jessica Smetana makes histo
Share & Walk Alone & Tell with Mike Schur and Joe Posnanski
Have billionaire owners left us in the twilight of American fandom? Are crying Liverpool fans actually the cure for male loneliness? And is the NFL offseason running out of juice? Would you get married during the Super Bowl on Valentine's Day? Plus: Jim Thome's farm adjacency, Regis Philbin analytics, Gerry and the Pacemakers, institutional investors, the worst pandemic crowd... and feeding a sand
Cheap Trick: Debunking the "Magic" of Mentalist Oz Pearlman
He's wowed presidents, pro athletes and podcasters. But magicians tell us Oz Pearlman's viral act has crossed an ethical line. Stevie Baskin, after obsessively studying Pearlman's tricks, explains to Pablo how influencers from Charles Barkley to the White House were in on the act — and why he thinks this brand of "mind-reading" amounts to fraud.• Much more from Stevie Baskin's YouTube video• Previ
The Sporting Class: Is the NFL Killing the Golden Goose?
What do the tech titans of Silicon Valley and the old heads of traditional broadcast television have in common? Answer: they all need to kiss the ring of Roger Goodell. But will the NFL get too greedy in their continued pursuit of maximum return on their media rights? And why is Rupert Murdoch secretly meeting with Donald Trump? The Sporting Class — aka “Rich Guys OnlyFans” — returns…Read Vanity F
"Be Like Satoshi": We Unmask Scottie Pippen's A.I. Crypto Slop
Why is the Bulls legend hawking "the Mona Lisa of sports" as a talking Web3 meme-coin NFT? And who are the secret weapons turning the 60-year-old Hall-of-Famer into a crypto bro, with a last-ditch effort to cash in on The Last Dance? Pablo breaks out the folders for Jordan family friend Wyatt Cenac and former Pippen colleague Amin Elhassan, featuring revelations on MJ's son, Benihana, Lil Hippo...
It's the End of LIV Golf as We Knew It (and Trump Feels Fine)
The president may have ended his favorite sport's civil war — by waging a war of his own. But what did we really learn from Saudi Arabia's multibillion-dollar golf experiment? Journalist Alan Shipnuck explains what insiders are texting about but won't say out loud: that golfers are the most overpaid athletes on Earth, that peacetime is suddenly more complicated for the PGA Tour... and that sportsw
"Did You Hear That, James?" We Survived MSG Surveillance... with Edward Snowden's Lawyer
The Knicks are surging. But politicians are condemning owner James Dolan and his tax breaks, after our investigation with WIRED. So Pablo tests the limits of facial recognition with his playoff ticket plug Ben Wizner, who just happens to be the Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU — and one of America's foremost experts on modern privacy. Which makes him uniquely (if begrudgingly) qualified to break
Share & Anti-Pulitzer & Tell with Michael Cruz Kayne and Sam Reich
What does Mark Cuban think of Pablo's big Pulitzer Prize win? Did A.I. write that JPMorgan threesome lawsuit? And are the steroid Olympics in fact the Apollo mission of RFK Jr.'s America? Plus: third-tier "Mad Men" characters, self-canonization, the polymath of punch-ups, the lifespan of an inbred beagle... and Zoop.Further content:• Pablo Torre left the worldwide leader in sports to start a podca
Steve Ballmer's Victim Impact, the Man Who Prosecuted Aspiration and the Abacus of Incarceration: Kawhi-Gate, Part X
As the Clippers await punishment, their owner is big mad at Pablo — and appears worried about what Aspiration's founder might have told the NBA. So Pablo and David Samson (finally) sit down with a special guest: Lou Manzo, the former DOJ prosecutor who investigated this whole tree-planting fraud in the first place, to go inside the courtroom, comb through footnotes and focus on the end game.(Addit
Failure to Report: How Harvard Whitewashed Jeffrey Epstein's Millions (Part 2)
Epstein wasn't just funding women's sports or creeping around campus. Our new files — and Harvard's own audit — show how a billionaire pedophile used the biggest brand in academia to launder his reputation. Pablo and The Harvard Crimson's Dhruv Patel continue their investigation, with exclusive internal files, letters and interviews with athletes who say the university normalized a monster — and s
"The Jeffrey E. Epstein Fund for Women's Athletics": We Investigate Harvard's Hidden Epstein Files (Part 1)
How did an unforgettable donation from the most notorious pedophile in America get past the most prestigious university's self-investigation? And why did Harvard allegedly ask to keep it confidential? Pablo and The Harvard Crimson's Dhruv Patel unearth internal financials, the secret role of president Lawrence Summers, plus new Jeffrey Epstein correspondence — and speak to the team that "never ask
The Man Who (Relentlessly) Sued the NFL Has Receipts: A Sitdown with DeMaurice Smith
Secret salary caps. Accidental email attachments. Truth-serum texts from owners. Slide decks for ESPN. If anyone knows how to dork-out on billionaires taking your money — and documenting their greed — it's the former NFL Players Association boss who negotiated $100 billion for athletes... and sued the sh*t out of The Shield. With his union now plagued by scandal — and America as unregulated as eve
The Sporting Class: Affairs, Private Eyes and the All-Seeing Eye
What are the business ethics of sh*tting where you eat? Can you be a journalist and an "insider" at the same time? And what happened after the Knicks' owner doxxed the man threatening his arena's beer? David Samson — the Marie Kondo of sports infidelity and the watchful eye of Florida baseball — helps Pablo decode the messy stories of Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel... and James Dolan versus his en
"Celebrity Jeopardy!" Film Study: Share & Buzz & Tell with Mina Kimes and Timothy Simons
How does the game-show game clock move so fast? Why do you become 30% dumber when the cameras roll? And is Mina part of a sociopathic conspiracy with Ken Jennings? Plus: Andy Richter, button analytics, the dais height advantage, Daily Double anxiety, tanking board games for your kids... and a Stat Boy cameo.• Subscribe to "The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny"• Watch "Nobody Wants This" with Timoth
Exclusive: How The Onion Finally Shut Up Alex Jones for Good
The notorious conspiracy theorist profited from his vile Sandy Hook conspiracy. Then America's finest (fake) news source decided to troll the world's greatest troll. Ben Collins — who transformed from reporting on the historic Infowars defamation trial to buying out his "ideological enemy" in a Storage Wars-style auction saga — tells Pablo why The Onion committed to the ultimate bit: doing the rig
We Got Inside Knicks Surveillance — and MSG's Deep State Is Stranger Than You Think
Tracking players. Monitoring kids. Allegedly watching a fan enter the bathroom. The panopticon of notorious owner James Dolan has been caught in glimpses. But a WIRED investigation — revealed in collaboration with PTFO — lifts the veil on the Orwellian scope (and occasional clown show) of MSG security, from The Garden and The Sphere to the streets of New York and out across America. Correspondent
The Right-Wing Takeover of Combat Sports Is Upon Us
Donald Trump's comfort zone. Coercive deals. Saudi funding. In the era of American favor-trading, a company called TKO Group Holdings is dominating the fight game. (Welcome, Zuffa Boxing.) And as longtime MMA dean Luke Thomas dares to explain, UFC boss Dana White may be in denial — and it may not be good for fans or fighters — but it pays to be in bed with a transactional regime.• Subscribe to "Mo
The Fandom of the Opera: A Linebacker, a White Whale... and a Secret
We get it: As Timothée Chalamet said, "no one cares" about opera. But you should listen, instead, to former college linebacker Brandon Jovanovich — whose impossible rise from cater waiter to Captain Ahab proves that the artform that used to rule the world has way more in common with sports than you realize. (And that's even before you realize what he's been playing through, onstage.) Also: wh
Bobbleheads on Spikes: The (Selfish) Case for Rules, with David Epstein
Whether it's A.I. companies pirating millions of books or NBA owners violating the salary cap, the most powerful entities in America are trying to circumvent laws created to restrain them. Bestselling author and investigative journalist David Epstein (no relation!) makes the case for why rules are not obstacles to progress, but the opposite: the very things that make a society — and a market — fre
The Banned Prince Documentary: Director Ezra Edelman Speaks (PTFO Vault)
America's best documentary filmmaker spent nearly five years making a nine-hour masterpiece for Netflix. Which you'll never see. Edelman sits down with Pablo in search of catharsis — if not closure — in the battle for truth and control over the life story of one of the biggest control freaks ever.(This episode originally aired March 4, 2025.)• Previously on PTFO: When Docs Cry https://www.you
Perhaps Our Last Hour on Earth, with Katie Nolan and Michael Cruz Kayne
Civilization had a pretty good run. Will the astronauts be the last ones living? Will Jordon Hudson sue Pablo and/or beat him in a foot race? Could Sam Altman be bigger than Madoff and/or complete our curse on A.I.? And is your fiancé in the Epstein files? WHO KNOWS? But we f'd around and took your questions, live. So, come with us if you want to live. So mote it be.• Vote for PTFO at The Webby Aw
Share & Squirrel & Tell with Elle Duncan and Desus Nice
Do we need robot umpires more than we thought? Is Netflix the Yankees of media? What's the best kind of catfishing? And have we finally evolved beyond pizza rat? Plus: Aaron Judge choking, Teanna Trump choking, an old man smoking with a crowd... and the price of free p*rn.• Vote for PTFO at The Webby Awards: Best Sports Podcast + Experimental & Innovation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
"Don't Go to the Lakers": We Unraveled the Case of the Mob Hit That Saved Vegas
When the body of a Vegas power broker showed up in the back of a Rolls Royce in 1979, the new sports capital of America was born. Why the hell did superstar UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian's guy really get whacked? Correspondent Sean Carey unearths police reports, a thrown fight against Sugar Ray Leonard... and a bag man on the skim who re-legitimized Sin City — and proves HBO's hit show wrong.(Additio
"The Meanest, Most Arrogant, Obnoxious Little Brat I Have Ever Met in My Life"
What is a documentary now? Would you turn against your alma mater? Why did a fan throw a beer bottle at Dan Le Batard's head? And is America just Miami? Child star turned muckraker Billy Corben knows. Plus: Night Court, 2 Live Crew, Jughead Jr., corruption, cocaine... and pool boy cucking.Further content:• Watch "The U" and "The U Part 2"• Watch "30 for 30: Broke" on Netflix• Watch "Cocaine Cowboy
The Sporting Class: Are NFL Players Ready to Strike?
Domonique Foxworth ran and — Mamma Mia! — lost in last week's secretive election by the NFL Players' Association. As he explains to Pablo and David Samson, unions may be more corporate than ever — but the fight against billionaires has never been more consequential. And the implications may turn nuclear for an MLB lockout.• Subscribe to "The Domonique Foxworth Show"• Subscribe to "Nothing Personal
"That's Just Corruption": Sen. Chris Murphy on the Prediction Market Crackdown and Profiteering in Youth Sports
Kalshi and Polymarket have created a Wild West for sports, war and politics in a shamelessly unregulated era. But the U.S. Senator from Connecticut (and Huskies homer) tells Pablo that it's time to turn back the clock on insider trading, as leagues are "knowingly corrupting" the game. And that a return to the roots of rooting for our home teams (and families) requires Congress protecting against a
The State of the (NFL) Union, with Mike Florio
Maximum scandal, maximum secrecy. Now that the NFLPA's game of thrones has sent football back to the future, and new executive director J.C. Tretter back to office, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio says Roger Goodell and the bean-counters at the league office are ready to pounce on an 18-game regular season — and football every night of the week.• Subscribe to PFT Live with Mike FlorioPreviously on
"Who Is Going to Pull a Pablo Torre on Pablo Torre?"
How did a firing at ESPN birth this show? Can you be anti-establishment within the establishment? And will the principles of journalism survive, when billionaire principals keep contaminating the newsroom? Dan Le Batard and Human Battery Chris Cote join Pablo for another navel-spelunking edition of Share & Tell. Plus: making Jay Bilas play the race card, a Nazi poker hand with Joan Rivers, the
Eyes Wide Open: The Consequences of Finding Out, with Tom Junod
From 9/11 and Ali to sharing a bed with Nicole Kidman and outing Kevin Spacey, he was already one of the greatest — and most confrontational — magazine writers of all time. Then Tom Junod decided to investigate his own father's "Mad Men"-Lib of a secret life. What could possibly go wrong? What would Mr. Rogers think? And what the hell was in that briefcase?• Read "In the Days of My Youth I Was Tol
Exclusive: The NFL Players' Union, the Silenced Top Cop and the Cabal of "Strip-Club Dreams"
As the NFLPA plots to restore its scandal-plagued leader to power, the labor group's outgoing lead security officer sits down with Pablo. And Craig Jones — the conscience of a billion-dollar union — does not hold back.Previously on PTFO:• Part I: The NFL's Secret Collusion Case Revealed• Part II: We Sparked an NFL Union Crisis. Here's the Sequel.• Part III: We Followed the Money in the NFL Union S
Meet the Edge Lord: Secrets of a Gambler Winning America's Money
He's a hedge-fund exec by day... and a blacklisted sports-betting savant by night. On the eve of your March Madness pool, Galen Hall breaks down his Oceans 11-style strategy that dominated a ruthless, $18.7 million NFL pick-'em contest — including game-theory negotiations with a multi-national syndicate and speaking through the podcast void to "Juicy K." Turns out, optimizing for underdogs across
Share & MMAmerica & Tell with Wyatt Cenac and Tim Miller
Is an (alleged) MMA fighter-in-chief less bad than Evil Barbie on her love plane? Is Washington just performative sadism now? And are you still Stephen A.-curious? Plus: Chuck Lidell's workout room, a re-patriated blankie, Benihana, Huggie Bear, Bernie Sanders as a bouncer, Dean Cain as a football player... and Frank Ocean gossip.• Subscribe to The Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller• Previously on PT
How Billionaires Call the Shots in the NBA (and America), with TrueHoop's Henry Abbott
In an era devoid of accountability for the Epstein class and sports owners (and in-between), Pablo finds a kindred spirit in the OG blogger turned ESPN insider turned fellow independent muckraker who's not afraid to call out the backroom dynamics of Adam Silver during wartime: If billionaires can't police themselves, does cheating matter? Do the people who run the sport... really love the sport? I
Ballmer's Tree-Money, the Whistle-Blowers and the Document You've Been Waiting For: Kawhi-Gate, Part IX
How did millions travel from the Clippers to Aspiration to Kawhi Leonard? Amin Elhassan and David Samson join Pablo — live onstage at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, right where Adam Silver was just sitting — to examine new and extremely credible evidence.Previously on PTFO:• Part I: The Silent Superstar and the Rotten Apple Tree• Part II: An Argument with Mark Cuban• Part III: The Myst
Share & Bubble & Tell with Mina Kimes and Derek Thompson
Is A.I. gonna boom, bust or just become Excel? And how screwed are we either way? Plus: Peyton Manning, Lamar Jackson, Geraldo Rivera's vault, a young Tim Pawlenty, vibe-coding NFL scouts... and Filipino Jell-O. Further content:• "A.I. as Normal Technology" (Columbia University)https://knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-as-normal-technology• "The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis" (Citrini Research)
The Big Gay Myth of Masculinity in Sports, with Mississippi's Own Jay Jurden
Sports and comedy are America's prisms for progress, allegedly. But this queer comedian from SEC football country can smell the lies. In the locker rooms of the NFL and the NBA. In the homoeroticism of Joe Rogan's world. And in the boxes of manliness we put up all around us, more than ever. Plus: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Caleb Williams, Derek Jeter, Timothée Chalamet, RFK Jr., butt-scouting... and t
Roy Wood Jr. Will Not Let This Interview Go Viral
America's podcast guest is a little burned-out. And yet the do-it-all comedian turned method unc is also a bard of modern content creation. So Roy Wood Jr. sits down with Pablo, on-stage at On Air Fest, to make sense of working under a hostile merger, while persevering the algorithm, learning from live-streamers and still focusing on himself enough to tell jokes as the chef intended — all without
Co-Conspirator 1: We Investigated the NBA Betting Scandal's "Original Sin"
As Terry Rozier and Co. return to court, Pablo spans the globe — and the nether regions of the basketball internet — to reveal the unnamed player who turned a cup of coffee into the NBA's worst nightmare. Amin Elhassan helps connect government clues to red flags, obscure movie references to entourage Instagram posts... and one really dirty recruiting trip to a new guarantee in the economy of legal
Share & Free Skate & Tell with Katie Nolan and Michael Cruz Kayne
Did the Olympics just restore our faith in humanity? Even though America is still the bad guy? Even though penis injections? And even if we think A.I. might just be 60 Filipino guys? Plus: Greased Lightnin', flop sweat, deposition water bottles, the Waymo of cash registers, the ephemera of pickup basketball... and other dick-related news.Further content:• "I Hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI — and It
The Sporting Class: Corrupt Union Bosses, the Dark Arts of Ownership & NBA Draft Abolition
Is the MLBPA screwed because its (outgoing) leader allegedly had an affair with his sister-in-law? Is a salary cap a red herring? How much does winning a Super Bowl boost the valuation of the Seahawks? And can we ever stop tanking? John Skipper and David Samson return for our semi-regular panel on sports business — and taking down Big Pharma.• Subscribe to "Nothing Personal with David Samson"• Pre
One-on-One: The Untold Story of the Game That Made Magic
It was a pickup game for the ages. Finally, former Miami Heat center — and current DJ — Rony Seikaly opens up to correspondent Foster Kamer about his shocking decision to do what nobody in the NBA would, in the midst of HIV/AIDS paranoia. And how Seikaly was fated to become the person that Magic Johnson credits with changing his life.• Subscribe to Foster Kamer's Substack • Listen to "Basketb
He Finds Music Stars. Now He's Helping Us Save the Life of a Wrongfully Convicted Man
He used his instinctual superpower to sign an all-star roster of everyone from Stone Temple Pilots and Katy Perry to, yes, Kid Rock. Now, record executive Jason Flom (with a little help from the spirit of Muhammad Ali) is performing a different kind of miracle, with his obsession to get innocent people out of prison. This is why the unbroken, indomitable grace of Charles Flores is far from alone i
Share & Bezos & Tell with Ezra Edelman and David Remnick
What does the death of The Washington Post sports section mean for the future of sports, journalism and propaganda? Was "Melania" a movie — or crypto? And how does LeBron guarantee his story now? Plus: Tony Kornheiser, Paul Thomas Anderson, Nuke LaLoosh, New Yorker clickbait, Carmelite nuns, the glue of commonality... and the uselessness of despair.Further content:• "Democracy Dies in Broad Daylig
"You're Gonna Get Me In Huge Trouble": Adam Friedland Is a League Source Now
The alleged Jon Stewart of his generation steps down from his YouTube throne and into our studio to discuss what LeBron's agent taught him; why the hell Pablo watched the Super Bowl with socialists; how it felt to audition for the role of SBF; and what PTFO revealed to his dad (about how Democrats can be evil, too). Plus: Clavicular, Bob Kraft, David Stern, Lena Dunham, the real-life Rod Tidwell..
Uncle Dennis, Ballmer's $50 Million Sprint and the Side Deal That Wouldn't Die: Kawhi-Gate, Part VIII
As the Clippers host NBA All-Star Weekend, Pablo's "thorough due diligence" leads down a trail of LLCs and lawsuits that Kawhi Leonard and the richest owner in sports probably don't want you to know about. David Samson and Amin Elhassan return with a new prescription and — if the Aspiration whistle blows again — judgment day.Previously on PTFO:• Part I: The Silent Superstar and the Rotten Apple Tr
Sir Mix-a-Lot Finds Out
He is a Seattle sports legend. Also: butts. At 62 years young, the rapper reveals how a Super Bowl ad inspired "Baby Got Back," why he was live-tweeting a Seahawks comeback at 80 miles an hour... and what happened to that viral lady grinding with him at the symphony.• Previously on PTFO: The NFL Coach and Sir Mix-a-Lot's Mercedes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We Visited Death Row for the Super Bowl. You Can Help Save This Fan's Life.
A wrongfully convicted football fan is running out of time. So Pablo travels from the free world to Texas, to sit with Charles Flores for the one hour a day when he's not in solitary confinement. To learn what it feels like to watch the NFL through the bars of a super-max prison. To understand why Charles continues to await execution, a decade after the real killer went free. And to find out how t
From "Reveal": Bad Bunny, Billionaires and the Business of Sports
On the award-winning podcast by our friends at The Center for Investigative Journalism, Pablo sits down with host Al Letson to discuss what it’s like investigating the complicated world of sports — from financial scandals to transgender rights, to DEI and the Super Bowl halftime show and beyond.• Subscribe to "Reveal"• Previously on PTFO (with The Center for Investigative Journalism): "All-America
The Prop-Betification of Everything, with the Forefather of Prediction Markets
He is the accidental creator of a phenomenon eating our world and wallets alive. So how does James Surowiecki feel about Kalshi, Polymarket and the wisdom of the crowd, now that even the market for a missile launch can be manipulated? On the eve of the Super Bowl, he re-traces the rise of the casino in your pocket, debunks the cult of the CEO... and forecasts the disturbing possibilities when insi
Share & Tell-ichick (Super Bowl Edition) with Mina Kimes and Dan Le Batard
Who gets to take pride in football, even (and especially) if Sam Darnold is your quarterback? Who gets to lock the gates on excellence, even if you're snubbing Bill Belichick? Did Tom Brady only get better in the booth... because he couldn't get much worse? And do people only care when you're wrong? Plus: brrrtue-signaling, the pageantry of nonsense, The Polian Dimension and the Kraft family syndi
The Sporting Class: All the President's Grizzly Men
What does being Robert Pera's "co-owner" even mean? Why can't a sports executive wear his team's uniform? And what do the layoffs at The Washington Post and CBS News suggest about the business of journalism? Former Marlins president David Samson joins Pablo, one-on-one, to decode the sagas of the Memphis Grizzlies and mainstream media.• Previously on PTFO: The Invisible NBA Owner and "Crimes Again
Exclusive: The Invisible NBA Owner and "Crimes Against Humanity"
A dunking tech bro in Memphis. A drone massacre in Ukraine. How did America's backyard beams end up in Putin's network of underground buyers? And how on Earth do Ja Morant, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Hart and "The Grindfather" get us to an illegal trade war? Hunterbrook Media's Sam Koppelman breaks down how his reporters investigated from a bird's-eye view, to a high-end Moscow dealer, to undercover
National Treasure: The White House's Dirty Takeover of Public Golf Courses
Golf can be for the people. But politics has come to the tee-boxes of D.C., as Trump literally takes a dump on public courses, with a gilded mission to re-shape the people's fairway — and a historically Black home of the sport — in his own image. Garrett Morrison of Fried Egg Golf explains the rubber-stamp meetings, pimp-my-ride addendums and bros in the ear of a president chasing faux-luxury wate
Chuck Klosterman Isn't Even Here Right Now
One of America's foremost cultural critics steps out of the writer's cabin and into the studio to predict the future of a game that seems too big to stop: What happened to the egghead prophecy of Peak Football? Is 11 minutes actually the perfect amount of hyper-connective, violent action? And, in a Post-Winning Era, will the relentless gold-mining of fandom threaten the NFL's dominance, as soon as
Battle of the Bulge: We Expose a Crotch Conspiracy Rocking the Olympics
Deflategate. Sign-stealing. Lance Armstrong. The competition is stiff, but no dynasty comes close to trying this hard to get ahead. In a soup-to-nuts collaboration, The Athletic's Matthew Futterman reports from the nether regions of the Winter Games on a national nightmare, a Zapruder tape and a confidential investigative report that will redefine the integrity of sport — no matter how impossible
The Sporting Class: Woke NFL Media Mob, How Netflix Wins & MLB's Life-Changing Mistake
Has the media establishment become so politicized that it won't let a beat reporter be human? What does "maybe" mean in the proxy fight for Warner Bros.? And did old white men change the trajectory of baseball... because they don't know how to use the internet? A shockingly woke David Samson and a Pam Bondi'd John Skipper join Pablo to test the limits of truth, screwing and their fiduciary duty.Fu
The Man Who Can Find Anywhere
He is a god of Google Maps — an internet legend for matching a single image with a far-flung location, in the blink of an eye. But Trevor Rainbolt never wanted to be an influencer. And for a while there, he'd never even left the United States. The 27-year-old college dropout who helped us find Bill Belichick's Ring camera finally links up with Pablo to tell the sports origin story of a modern crea
Mercy for Sale: Inside Trump's Pardon Machine, with TrueAnon's Brace Belden
What do Darryl Strawberry, NBA YoungBoy and a plastic-surgery "slush fund" have in common? They're all beneficiaries of the president's cottage industry to sell access, buy freedom and redefine the meaning of crime. We explore an exclusive social network of dustbin characters, including a heavenly visit with Mel Gibson and Pete Rose.• Subscribe to "TrueAnon" with Brace Belden Hosted on Acast. See
The Briefcase, Ballmer's Social Network and Aspiration's House of Cards: Kawhi-Gate Part VII
As the NBA's investigation heats up, Pablo goes behind closed doors — and emerges with fresh sunlight: What exactly did the Clippers know about Kawhi Leonard's no-show deal? When did Steve Ballmer really get to know the fraudster who paid him off? And what do Doc Rivers, the Ritz-Carlton and a topless fashion shoot have to do with the origin story of a "match made in heaven" that the richest owner
The Congressman Who Unlocked the Epstein Files
He's got Silicon Valley billionaires up in his mentions. He got Trump to release more Epstein files — and forecasts "a bombshell month" ahead from Rape Island. But now Rep. Ro Khanna wants to fend off nothing less than a populist revolution, with a moral reckoning for unaccountable people who occupy their own islands of prosperity. The rising Democratic star joins Pablo in-studio for a look inside
The Points You Shouldn't Score: A New Year's Resolution
Everyone complains about cellphones. But there's something bigger and more insidious going on, from football teams and Netflix shows to law schools and Instagram. So philosopher C. Thi Nguyen offers some gamified advice for 2026, to plug the downside of data into the upside of your mind: Metrics help you win at work, but can you free yourself from the algo? Hyper-optimization has changed the NBA,
The Last Bromance: How Wrestling Corrupted the NBA Finals (PTFO Vault)
Did Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone blow the 1998 NBA Finals by promoting their pro-wrestling match... on the court?! Should there be an asterisk?! Is it time for Michael Jordan to relinquish the throne?! Correspondent Neil Punsalan enters a sports marketing wormhole to present Pablo with a box full of evidence, grill eyewitnesses and put to rest — once and for all — if The Mailman always rings twic
