Sean Fennessy is the editor-in-chief of The Ringer and a former Grantland editor. He hosts The Big Picture.

"What I try to do is listen to people as much as I can. And try to be compassionate. I think it’s really hard to be on the internet. This is an internet company, in a lot of ways. We have a documentary coming out that’s going to be on linear television that’s really exciting. Maybe we’ll have more of those. But for the moment, podcast, writing, video: it’s internet. [The internet] is an unmediated space of angst and meanness and a willingness to tell people when they’re bad, even when they’ve worked hard on something. That’s like the number one anxiety that I feel like we’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis with everybody, myself included."

Thanks to MailChimp, Mubi, and "Dear Franklin Jones" for sponsoring this week's episode.


@SeanFennessey
Fennessey on Longform
[01:45] On Air Fest 2018
[02:20] The Big Picture
[02:40] Fennessey’s Archive at The Ringer
[03:10] The Bill Simmons Podcast
[03:45] Longform Podcast #62: Malcolm Gladwell, Longform Podcast #204: Malcolm Gladwell
[05:50] Longform Podcast #196: John Favreau
[10:15] "An Oral History of Michael Bay, the Most Explosive Director of All Time" (GQ • June 2011)
[12:05] Fennessey’s Archive at Pitchfork
[13:50] Chauncey Billups
[14:30] "Don't Front on Kanye" (Complex Magazine • Aug 2005)
[14:30] "The Business of Carmelo Anthony: How Baltimore's Finest Plans to Take Over the World" (Complex Magazine • June 2005)
[17:40] Longform Podcast #66: Andy Ward
[23:00] Longform Podcast #268: Jim Nelson
[23:55] Longform Podcast #257: Jay Caspian Kang
[26:50] "Derek Jeter’s Diary" (Mark Lisanti • Grantland)
[27:50] Longform Podcast #44: Jonathan Abrams
[37:00] "How LeBron Can Finish His Fairy Tale Better Than MJ" (Bill Simmons • The Ringer • Feb 2018)
[40:45] "Yance Ford Made ‘Strong Island’ to Face Down the Past" (The Big Picture • Feb 2018)
[41:10] "Greta Gerwig on ‘Lady Bird,’ One of the Year’s Best Movies" (The Big Picture • Nov 2017)
[47:42] Longform Podcast #183: Jia Tolentino
[48:00] "Calm, Well-Adjusted Nation’s Reading Comprehension Hits 100 Percent" (Rob Harvilla • The Ringer • Oct 2016)
[64:00] "If You Want to Have a Staring Contest With the Oscars, You Will Lose: On a Historic Set of Nominations" (The Ringer • Jan 2018)