House of Strauss Andrew Sharp on Anthropic, America, NBA
Mar 4, 2026
Andrew Sharp, a Stratechery writer and analyst who explains tech, China, and geopolitics, joins to unpack Anthropic's political and market troubles. He discusses the Trump administration’s actions toward AI companies. Conversation also ranges to America’s alliances and reforming the NBA, with lively stories about draft nights and media fallout.
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Lowly NBA PR Job With A Direct Line To Stern
- Andrew Sharp and Ethan Strauss discuss Strauss's lowly NBA PR job where he read every piece about the league and sent daily bullet-point emails up the chain to David Stern.
- Strauss earned $17,000, chaperoned draftees, and later said the NBA held his FreeDarko piece against him even after he quit.
Chaperoning Ricky Rubio At The Draft
- Ethan Strauss chaperoned Ricky Rubio at the NBA draft and handled awkward translator-led interviews as Rubio fell to the Wolves at pick five.
- Strauss describes sweating in a borrowed suit, sitting through the tense phone call with David Kahn, and later publishing the story to FreeDarko, angering the NBA.
Draft Logistics Left Rubio Without A Spanish Chaperone
- Strauss recounts NBA staffers doubling as draft chaperones and the awkward language arrangements for international prospects like Rubio.
- He notes the league assigned Spanish-speaking women to other expected picks, leaving Rubio stuck without a Spanish-speaking chaperone.