On the highs and lows and mental anguish of writing a biography. On trying to convince Hakeem to sit down for a chat. On Ralph Sampson and Pete Chilcutt and basketball glory. On how one selects a subject.

In episode 43 of The Kubelist Podcast, Kate Goldenring shares her journey from Microsoft, where she contributed to Kubernetes edge computing and the development of Akri, to joining Fermyon to work on serverless WebAssembly. She dives deep into the technical details of Spin and SpinKube, Fermyon's open-source tools for running serverless WebAssembly…

On self-publishing a 794-page opus. On how a love of Tupac Shakur drove him to a monumentally ambitious task. On how to sell an Amazon-printed book. On the legacy of a legendary artist.

On how TikTok works for journalists. On how to use the platform to expand readership. On the dos and don'ts of it all. On whether wearing makeup matters.

On what makes a great sports movie v. an all-time great sports movie; On whether "Field of Dreams" is excellent or trash. On "Teen Wolf" and "Bull Durham" and Gary Coleman as the San Diego Padres manager.

Writer and programmer, Alanna Okun, shares how video games influenced the recent decision to leave her tenured career in journalism for an education in interactive technology — a conversation through the boom and bust of the 2010s media landscape to a revelation of control and expression found in making video games. ------ Links bitsy (website) Kni…

On what to do when a subject agrees to talk to you after your biography is complete. On why we're fascinated by Aaron Rodgers. On whether people want to read about those they dislike. On having your flight experience a bomb threat.

On the deep, deep, deep dive into a subject. On being a small-town Oklahoma kid and making it big. On winning a James Beard Award. On surviving in a strange business.

On transitioning from self-starting blogged to Red Sox beat writer. On the wild and wayward path to this career. On the sadness of David Ortiz's departure. On earning respect in a rough field.

On thinking a book would take one year to complete—then having to go much, much longer. On having sex workers open up to you and your questions. On plopping down in a sink-stained motel. On the dreams/nightmares that come with crime reporting.

I talk all things book deadline hell and Tupac hell with special host, my wife—Dr. Catherine Pearlman

In episode 42 of The Kubelist Podcast, Marc Campbell and Benjie De Groot sit down with Wayne Starr from Defense Unicorns to explore Zarf, an open-source tool for continuous software delivery in air-gapped environments. Wayne shares insights into how Zarf is transforming software deployment for the Department of Defense and beyond. They also explore…

On jumping onto the Mavs beat late in their chase for a title. On life with the lowly Pistons. On his amazing LinkedIn page. On the dreams of a young scribe

On the crazy joy of covering Caitlin Clark. On the highs of an Athletic gig and the lows of losing an Athletic gig. On serving as the Indiana Fever ballboy back in the day. On what keeps him writing.

On how he went from being a hard-core Republican to the editor of an anti-Trump website. On what has to happen for Joe Biden to save his presidency. On what it is to think and write and write and think politics 24/7.

On life running Atlanta's largest (and only) Black newspaper. On the lengths political campaigns will go to woo Black voters. On the furious sheriff who wanted his daughter on a softball team. On the beauty of Waffle House.

On writing a book with Digger Phelps and projecting the greatness of Clint Hurdle; on the golden era of print magazines; on Dan Jenkins and Frank Deford and Mark Kram; on watching his beloved publication morph and change; on the legendary editor who smelled of body odor.

Pixar Creative Director (Theme Parks), Tasha Sounart, discusses her career journey, from animating at Pixar on A Bug's Life through Cars to directing Double Fine's Costume Quest, to her return to Pixar and overseeing the implementation of Pixar properties in Disney Parks. She shares how video games influence physical attractions, gaming as a family…

On the rise of the WNBA; on covering Angel Reese as she blooms into a League star; on the complications of Caitlin Clark; on where women's basketball is heading.

On the intricacies of his latest article, "A Republican Election Clerk vs. Trump Die-Hards in a World of Lies." On how to convince subjects to open up to a media outlet they don't trust. On working with a photographer.

On Kendrick, Drake and a fool's opinion of their beef; on a beautiful piece between Black-Italian cinematic ties; on Don Lemon as a voice for inspiration; on teaching those who can't write how to write.

On the joys of writing about prospects on their way up. On why Kerry Lightenberg and the 2004 Blue Jays drove him to drink. On how a non-journalist from Harvard became one of the best. On dealing with editors.

On why Gannett did what Gannett does and wrongly fired her for bullshit corporate reasons. On the importance of local media. On a bunch of crazy right-wing zealots overtaking a town's government. On the transition to Substack and the need to report.

On proudly being recognized as "The queer writer ...". On the Manhattan prison that inspired a book. On writing about people and issues who have been largely ignored and scorned. On writing and self-discovery.

On the anger of Bobby Knight and the love of Christian Laettner. On why John McEnroe was a brat and why Dean Smith only gave five minutes. On the magic of Sports Illustrated in the 1960s and the splendor of Frank Deford.

On finding joy in the aggregating of NBA info. On the fight for survival in the modern media landscape. On long-ago hockey fights and BYU-Wyoming games and dog sled races.

On whether being close to politics causes one to look less terrifyingly at politics. On whether CNN is still a worthwhile spot. On why one is better served covering sports than government. On the transition to Substack.

In episode 41 of The Kubelist Podcast, Marc and Benjie speak with Lukas Gentele of Loft Labs about vCluster. Together they dive deep on how vCluster works and some of the new use cases that the project enables when running on larger, more mature enterprises. This technical discussion explores the problems Lucas and his team set out to solve when th…

On the weird coolness of the Westminster Dog Show. On having an open mind to unique scenes and people. On why one writes a book about dogs. On writing through hell.

Award-winning journalist and non-fiction writer, Simon Parkin, discusses his journey into journalism, curiosity about video games, the transition from 2D to 3D gaming, and informing the broader culture about the medium. ------ Simon Parkin's website (with links to his books, articles, and audio) simonparkin.com My Perfect Console shows.acast.com/my…

On the word-choice decisions one must make when writing a children's book. On the (gasp!) Dodger-loving grandma who inspired a character. On why we should cut Barry Bonds a break and why Will Clark is a lovely dude. On the hyper-criticized hug of a Major League pitcher.

On the highs and lows of chasing around Barry Bonds for six days (and being blown off repeatedly); on what it was to cover Mike Tyson in his prime; on the death of boxing writing; on why he left the business and never looked back.

On the lengths he went through to track down and corner a master scam artist. On whether podcasts have a future as a journalistic medium. On what happens when you don't use material from people you interviewed.

On the heyday of the blogger and what became of the genre. On why James Van Der Beek earned her scorn. On how one becomes less cruel (for sport) with age. On whether blogs have a place in 2024.

On covering the Lady Vols as they approach yet another NCAA Tournament; on making the leap from Ferris State to the big leagues; on women athletes and the passion of self expression; on landing a sweet gig out of college.

On wrapping a career after decades of chronicling the NFL; on picking up Boomer Esiason from the airport as a rookie Bengals beat scribe; on breaking the news of Lawrence Taylor's drug suspension for Newsday; on what is good and bad about modern beat writing.

On the untold story of Indiana high school basketball and the team you need to know about; on the brilliance of a young Oscar Robertson; on whether we can still dig, "Hoosiers"; on nearly coming to blows with a Hall of Fame point guard.

On the inspiration behind the Commodores' "Nightshift" and Selena's "Dreaming of You." On that first big song for Diana Ross. On the big winners of "We Are The World." On being credited as a writer on Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up."

On the brilliance of her latest piece, "How Nikola Jokić Became the World’s Best Basketball Player." On how she navigates a subject who doesn't speak with her. On the beauty of tiny details. On whether bad writers can learn to be good writers.

Chris Plante, Editor-in-chief of Polygon and co-host of The Besties podcast, chronicles his journey into games journalism, his fondness for "7/10 (rated)" video games, and what makes video games different (and the same!) as other mediums. ------ Polygon: Gaming and Entertainment News, Reviews, and More Polygon.com The Besties (podcast) themcelroy.f…

On coming up through small daily newspapers. On whether quotes bog down stories. On dealing with prep coaches. On whether athletes read newspapers.

On knowing from a young age what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. On a string of irksome and weird conflicts with Dana White. On why interviewing UFC fighters is the best gig in the world. On the difference between wanting a career and craving a career.

On being named the first Black news columnist in the newspaper's lengthy history. On what the population misunderstands about Houston's Third Ward. On finding humanity in the recently deceased homeless man. On transitioning from fashion to news after the murder of George Floyd.

On the dispiriting demise (and end?) of his beloved magazine; on the curious case of Sidd Finch and the decision to tell Michael Jordan to bag baseball; on defending the Swimsuit Issue and a bitter divorce from Frank Deford; on Dan Jenkins and George Plimpton and William Nack and Pat Putnam and Rick Reilly and the world's greatest sports writers.…

In episode 40 of The Kubelist Podcast, Marc and Benjie speak with open source pioneer Dave McAllister. Dave shares stories and lessons from his 40-year career in tech including working for DEC, NASA, Adobe, Red Hat, Splunk, and NGINX. Additionally, they discuss Linux’s rise to popularity in the early days of open source, SGI’s contribution to moder…

On why former Expos manager Dick Williams physically assaulted him; on the bliss of writing NHL game stories; on the Canadian appeal of Gary Carter; on the demise of a beloved magazine.

On why so many Colorado-based media outlets kneel before Coach Prime; on a long and trying fight to stay afloat as a journalist; on our weirdly combative days as Nashville prep writers; on infuriating Steve Alford and Corey Dillon.

On what it's like to cover an NBA team as it loses 27-straight games; on how to approach players when they have no interest in talking; on the empathy of Cade Cunningham; on working a locker room.

On what a Black man learned about America from white Christianity; on what football players need to know about the system they occupy; on how a Facebook screed became a terrific manifesto; on the book he dreamed of writing.

My dad, Stan Pearlman, died today of pancreatic cancer. He was 81 and a great man—as well as a beautiful writer. This is his final interview, conducted last week in South Florida.