House of Strauss (private feed for codydweber@gmail.com)

HoS: Charles Fain Lehman on Sports Gambling Chickens Coming Home to Roost

A perfect week for a Charles Fain Lehman podcast! Back by popular demand, Sports Bet Ban Man Charles returns to pontificate in the aftermath of NBA gambling scandal. We’re taking a look at the bigger moral questions of the sports betting moment, such as whether public morality is even a thing anymore.Oh, and speaking of dubious sports prediction morality, I’ve half a mind to accuse Sid Kali of cheating after he dominated the NFL sportspredict.com contest for a second week in a row. Sid, I owe you an email. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

HoS: Mark Halperin on THE MEDIA

2Way founder Mark Halperin was a big time journalist in network television media, originally making a name for himself covering the Bill Clinton campaign. The Game Change co-author is now a YouTube success, having produced what was, in my opinion, the best coverage of the 2024 election. I know of no other person better positioned to comment on what’s happened in political media, with a 30K foot vantage. And so I asked him a range of stupid questions, mostly under the banner of, “What the hell is going on?” Topics include but aren’t limited to!* When did the Media drift into party advocacy?* The lasting impact of the 2016 election on media* What killed the earnest practice of “both sidesism”?* Were you nervous on Election Day?* Two entertainment ecosystems, boomer and everyone else* Did the Media used to be better?* Are conservatives more open to debate right now?* News as act of curation (Twitter can spotlight racialized police killings, or it can spotlight immigrant crime)* Graham Platner’s bad week and the new skeletons in candidate closets* What do you make of the male flight from the Democratic Party?* What do you make of potential senior flight from the Republican Party?* What do you make of the No Kings protests?* Why is traditional media still hard to crack for Republicans? Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Kmele Foster NBA Gambling Emergency Pod

I was talking to The Fifth Column co-host Kmele just as the big NBA gambling/poker scandal broke, and he had questions. So we decided to do a short podcast where Kmele, who’s a huge NBA fan, quizzed me about what the hell is going on with the state of the NBA and this persistent sort of scandal sports writ large is facing. Topics include…* Why would anyone place a bet on Terry Rozier?* How much gambling money is in the NBA and NBA media?* Why is LeBron James getting brought up?* Why we think LeBron is probably innocent here* What the hell is Chauncey Billups involved in?* Political component to Trump’s FBI going after the NBA? * Does the public care? House of Strauss is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

NBA Over-Under Contest with Steve Kuhn

Members of the House of Strauss community are, as noted, invited to do our NBA season over/unders contest over at Sports Predict. Personally, I am agonizing over the Warriors and their O/U of 46.5. We discuss this in the pod with Steve, plus other NBA trend subjects. Topics include…* Shoutout to Sid Kali for winning last week in NFL picks. Email me at houseofstrauss@substack.com if you wish to collect a prize* What’s my overall strategy for making NBA picks now that I’m not deep in the weeds?* Steve is trying to break the NBA with an idea that, in my opinion, broke the MLB* The Rockets’ style is gaining traction, but is it good for the sport? * That Houston Rockets O/U* I have a non analytical reason to love the Orlando Magic OVER* Steve and I disagree on the Lakers* Is weather is a HUGE underrated influence on quarterback performance?Oh, and again, details for entering the contest: The NBA Smart Predictor ChallengeThink you’ve got one of the sharpest NBA minds around?Here’s your chance to prove it — and maybe pocket up to $1,000 while doing what you already love: thinking deeply about basketball.How It WorksThis is the Season Win Totals Challenge — a simple but revealing test of who really understands the league.You’ll see the projected win totals for all 30 NBA teams for the 2025–26 season.Your job: for each team, pick Over or Under. Before the first game begins of the season begins. That’s it.Scoring• Winner: Whoever gets the most correct picks.• Tie-breaker: If multiple people nail the same number of teams, we go to total net wins differential — meaning how right you were and by how much. It’s a clean way to separate luck from skill. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

HoS: Matt Bilinsky

I’ve known Matt Bilinsky for years, knew he had an audience, but didn’t quite understand how big a deal he’d become. Today Matt schools me on how he blew up in the Instagram sphere, but this isn’t the meat of our conversation. Instead, I’m asking this newcomer to right-coded media spaces to explain how and why the Online Right went crazy over Israel/Jews. Yes, to repeat, the conversation touches on Israel, which is a topic I’m wary of for reasons discussed on the pod. Topics include but aren’t limited to…* JEWS* Instagram was jock power invented by nerds* You succeed in the mediums that fit you best* Matt rebuts idea that Twitter monetization is to blame for rise in antisemitism* What motivates Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens? * Why Trump’s victory led some on the right to turn towards Israel* How big is the red shift among Jews* The right’s crackup over Israel/Jews is CRAZY* The appeal of conspiracy theories * Why I think I never got invited back on Megyn Kelly’s show Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.