The Press Box

The New Yorker’s Richard Brody on Movie Critics, the Complaints About Hollywood, and the Future of the Written Review. Plus, His Five Politically-Relevant Summer Movies.

The Press Box

Show Notes

Today on The Press Box, Bryan sits down with New Yorker film critic Richard Brody. The duo discuss Brody’s career reviewing movies, being a filmmaker in the early ’90s (while also working at a detective agency), and how exactly he shifted careers and got hired at The New Yorker.

The guys also talk through the main complaints consumers have about movies these days and how warranted they are.

To close things out, Brody gives his “Five Politically Relevant Summer Movies.”

Host: Bryan Curtis

Guest: Richard Brody

Producer: Ben Cruz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More from The Press Box

Oct 22, 2026

Bryan Curtis and David Shoemaker break down CBS’s decision to elevate J.J. Watt to its top NFL broadcast team alongside Jim Nantz, assess Watt’s development as an analyst, and consider what the network shuffle could mean for Troy Aikman’s future in the booth. They also examine an increasingly ugly Ohio governor’s race, the wider midterm media narrative (16:31), and Blake Griffin’s new media-criticism show, 'The Step Back,' including whether its John Oliver-inspired format makes the best use of Griffin’s perspective as a former player (37:58).

Oct 19, 2026

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and Joel kick things off by talking through more of the Joe Buck-Troy Aikman drama at ESPN (6:20).

Oct 16, 2026

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David discuss all the reports around the tension between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the 'Monday Night Football' booth. They talk about how we got here and what could be next for Troy and ESPN (13:16). Then they talk about the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia (33:57). After that, Bryan is joined by Peter King to talk about his long career covering the NFL and his new book, 'The Game' (47:05).

Oct 13, 2026

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and Joel take a look at nine interesting Senate races and tier them in order of Democrats' confidence that they'll win (9:39). They end with talking about ESPN's new 'Saban' documentary (47:22).

Oct 7, 2026

Today on The Press Box, Bryan and David discuss potential retirements on 'Inside the NBA,' the Paramount–Warner Bros. deal finally going through (9:09), and potential Halloween costumes for the pod (21:34). Then Bryan is joined by Lachlan Cartwright from Breaker to talk about James and Lachlan Murdoch (27:15).

See all episodes →