Dave Portnoy has leveraged his digital media empire — Barstool Sports — to amass so much political influence that there’s a term for it: "Barstool Conservatism." This episode retraces the story of Portnoy’s life and career to explain how he made millions combining sports entertainment, reactionary politics, and pizza reviews. It also reflects on Portnoy’s influence within the broader MAGA movement and “manosphere.”
Mike and Jared are joined by Robert Silverman, a feature writer who has covered Portnoy and his media empire at excruciating length. Practically everything you’ll hear on this episode comes directly from his reporting. (Listeners will remember Silverman from April’s “Who the Hell is Tim Pool?” episode.)
Some tip jar contributions this week will help us thank Robert for his work on this episode by taking him to a New York Mets game. (As if he has not suffered enough.) If you loved this episode, show your appreciation by tossing in a few bucks: https://tiptopjar.com/postingthroughitpod
Links to Robert’s reporting:
Inside Barstool Sports’ Culture of Online Hate: ‘They Treat Sexual Harassment and Cyberbullying as a Game’ (The Daily Beast, 2018)
Barstool Sports ‘Hemorrhaging Money,’ Top Editor Flips Out at Writers (The Daily Beast, 2020)
How Barstool Built an Empire by Swiping Sports Highlights (The Daily Beast, 2023)
Transition Music: “Sports” by Viagra Boys
Get 50% off your first Magic Mind subscription using the code THROUGHIT50 at https://www.magicmind.com/throughit50. #magicmind #mentalperformance
“Who the Hell?” is an unofficial longform series that examines the lives and careers of prominent right-wing social media personalities. Prior episodes in this series covered Jack Posobiec, Tim Pool, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes.
