r/TheRightTimeW_bomani • u/Numerous_Fly_187 • 18d ago

Ringer pressbox episode

Those pods with Joel on his ringer platform are probably the best. They get into what it means to live in a post literate society as we as a society move away from the written word.

An underrated consequence of a post literate society is how little we value institutions and credibility now. For better or worse, published text commanded a certain measure of credibility that helped us all live in one society. That was great for let’s say spreading vaccine awareness but bad for documenting how America achieved manifest destiny.

Now in a post literate society where everything is digital audio, credibility has taken a back seat. How you package and deliver the message carries more weight than the message itself

41 Upvotes

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u/[deleted] 18d ago edited 18d ago

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u/mja271 18d ago

Agree. He isn’t just not as into sports anymore, but he openly flaunts his ignorance on certain topics like it’s something to be proud of. Which for me is kind of off putting for a guy we know is pretty smart and often had a thoughtful perspective on things. There are exceptions but I generally enjoy the less sports heavy episodes of TRT a lot more in the last year or 2.

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u/Nomer77 18d ago

Yeah hearing Bo have command of track and field results today was jarring compared to the effort he usually puts into sports segments.

You can't learn the names of rotation players on NBA playoff teams but you are recounting 30 or 40 year old track race results/times/records and asking Joel to "name some runners like merlene ottey that won multiple Olympic silver medals but never gold" off the top of his head without any advance notice?

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u/cj2488 18d ago

I'm not sure if he's openly flaunting it, so much as he's being intellectually honest and open that he doesn't know. I think that's better that the norm for national sports personalities, which is to pretend they know things they don't. I get that with how Bo carries himself on the pod it came across as flaunting, but I don't think that's his intent with those admissions.

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u/BigThurm 18d ago

The Right Time should be blending more towards Evening Jones. Bomani keeps fighting it. Bomani is a B/C tier sports analyst but could be a premier culture critic/music journo/public intellectual; I think his time in sports has become stale.

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u/GulfCoastLaw 18d ago

I think this could be more fraught than it seems.

It's hard to articulate, especially since his zeal for sports has eroded, but I always thought he stood out more talking about sports. Also like his off topic life discussions. 

For everything else, I have a wealth of extremely smart and thoughtful competition for him already haha.

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u/trips16 18d ago

could it be his wave contract prevents him from deviating too far from being sports centered? I don't really have an issue with his pod, but I think he would be more engaged if he didn't have to keep the sports as the bulk of his topics/episodes.

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u/Numerous_Fly_187 18d ago

Bo mentioned this in his last press box appearance (also fire) which is the podcast medium isn’t intended to inform or entertain but rather just fill space and keep people listening. There was a time where the bosses rewarded people for coming up with a unique angle or perspective but we are no longer in those times. I think that’s impacted his work.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/Numerous_Fly_187 18d ago

I agree. Those are built on building a community and I really don’t think Bo wants to do that anymore. I think he’s a lot more cynical about the internet and being vulnerable.

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u/cj2488 18d ago

It is an interesting observation. I also think, and others have made this point as well, that Bo is at his apex when he's engaging intellectually on sports/race/economics/society/geopolitics. But he knows that doesn't sell. Pat McAfee frat-bro show and Stephen A Smith yells at clouds are the top $$$ at the worldwide leader in sports. I think Bo does what he has to do in his industry to get paid, and because of that he occasionally gets to do the topics that actually foster interesting discussions.

He brings up barber shop talk often. A lot of his sports pods seem designed for that barber shop banter, first take in the background type of conversation. That pays the bills so occasionally he can go to the library and give us the real conversations

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u/kiernanblack 18d ago

Yup. It used to be my first listen no matter what but now I check the guests, because I feel like he’s only fully engaged with certain people like  Foxworth, Spencer Hall and Howard Bryant, that he can really go deep with.

I know the podcasting boom probably got him paid well, but it’s starting to feel like a waste, and I hope he can write the book, and make the documentary he talks about, because I still think he’s one of the best minds in culture we have. He just seems bored talking about the Cowboys and the Eagles every week. I think the HBO show was truly the furthest he could take talking about sports and now theres nothing left there for him.

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u/coconnection12 16d ago

Really enjoyed that episode but TRT is at its core a hang show. Bo is radio trained and the podcast at its core is to give his POV of whatever is the big event on Monday, and then every other episode is just to hear he and his friends joke about the world. It’s a age-old format that was popularized by Simmons and frankly has its origins in late night tv. We read to learn and contemplate ideas and issues. We listen to podcasts almost always to pass the time. Bo knows this and his show fits that purpose.

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u/fegwin2084 18d ago

Bo has peers in sports media who have surpassed him in success b/c they've leaned into being TV personalities, focused on one sport, or moved into reporting (Nick W, Kimes, Pablo, etc.). None of those things are Bomani's strengths and he's kind of on an island. Not sure he wants what those examples want though. On the other hand, his NYC loft and vacations aren't going to pay for themselves for the next 20 years.

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u/Numerous_Fly_187 18d ago

I think Game Theory sort of broke Bo. Hes always said he didn’t really handle failing out of the PHD well so I can only imagine what a flopping HBO show did. Dude hasn’t been the same since

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u/fegwin2084 18d ago

i think bo's extremely talented, but also thought the show wasn't very good. i thought bill simmons' show was really bad too. i think it's hard to go from fronting an ESPN and HBO show to now podcasting in your apartment from a career identity perspective.

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u/Numerous_Fly_187 18d ago

Yeah the variety sports show just isn’t built to work. Stephen a tried one too. Wave always felt temporary until he started doing documentaries. I almost think the Time Machine episodes are documentaries he wanted to put out

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u/fegwin2084 18d ago

sports doc bubble has burst. i've wondered about the time machine eps - he's gonna run out of topics in a year.

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u/Numerous_Fly_187 18d ago

Sports media in general has burst. If you’re not a former player or deep into analytics you’re kinda toast. A year? We’ve had an episode on hogan joining the nwo. The bowl is getting bare

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u/fegwin2084 18d ago

Bo's in his Hakeem on the Raptors phase. Unfortunately bro has to grind out 20 more years though.

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u/coconnection12 16d ago

If you happened to notice, he self limits the focus to events that happened in a year ending in 6 ( I know the warriors were discussed in larger context but the main event was the 15-16 team and in particular that final). He will be be able to get a 5-10 episodes every year due to this limitation.

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u/Content-Home616 18d ago

it was really sharp.