Best-selling author James Andrew Miller and Kurt Streeter of the New York Times

Best-selling author James Andrew Miller and Kurt Streeter of the New York Times

Episode 106 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live the host of the “Origins” podcast. His latest project is a deep dive into the Cameron Crowe classic coming-of-age-film, “Almost Famous.” He is followed by Kurt Streeter of the New York Times, who has done extensive reporting on Maya Moore, the WNBA star who left professional basketball to help free a man she believed was wrongly convicted. In this podcast Miller discusses how the “Almost Famous” series came to be and why he wanted to do it; getting stars such as Kate Hudson, Jimmy Fallon and Zooey Deschanel to participate in the project; his approach to featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, who passed away in 2014; Disney’s deal with Colin Kaepernick; how ESPN will handle the intersection of race and sports from now on; how ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro will handle the upcoming social and political terrain during the Presidential Election season; Mike Golic’s legacy at ESPN; the new ESPN Radio lineup; a Golic-Greenberg return and more. Streeter discusses how he came to Moore’s story on her work toward getting Jonathan Irons, serving 50 years, released from prison for a crime he did not commit. (In 1998, a jury found Irons guilty of burglary and assault with a deadly weapon. He was 16 when the crime occurred); how he earned Moore’s trust; how much gender plays in this not being a bigger story; what he expects from Moore heading forward and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.