The Best of SBS: 2025 (ft. Patton Oswalt, Tony Reali, Hasan Piker, Josh Johnson, & William Shatner)

I handed the book to pros because I was shattered, but Michelle coined the name that gripped the public and pushed the case back into view, and we laughed darkly watching officials deny her impact while using it; she even floated familial DNA early on.

Finding any humor there feels like a tribute, and helping usher in this true‑crime wave must have been gratifying in its own way.

She wanted the spotlight on investigators and victims, not on turning killers into brooding antiheroes; look at Bundy, a mediocrity treated like a tragic talent while survivors watched in disbelief.

What do you make of murder stories booming as a cultural outlet in such a bleak time?

People crave worlds where justice lands, because in ours shameless villains keep winning; stories that end with accountability feel like relief.

How did you climb from crushing grief to loving again?

Others who’d been there told me despair softens to numb, and then one day hope returns, so run toward it and ignore the chorus judging your timeline; loss burned into me what an extraordinary person is, and I recognized it when love showed up.

How long did the numbness last?

After months of nonstop terror I went half a year feeling nothing, then a late‑night message thread with a friend of a friend became the quiet company I needed and slowly turned into romance before we even met.

I’d assume you think the show should still be on and you should still be doing it.

It should, and the network should want a range of voices, not just star vehicles; I kept pushing the format to be different.

They also freed you to stretch beyond the safe confines of TV, which can be a gift.

I had to ask who I am beyond sportscaster while rumors flew even as ratings rose, and learning to speak plainly for myself was part of the work.

There was some early swagger, like yelling at intramural refs, but you outgrew it.

A blog calling me a jerk stung enough that I quit playing publicly, and online I started sharing my intent and moved from habit to intention.

How many bans, and do you ever take a real day off?

I’ve been banned a bunch, I rarely stop, and I keep my private life out of it for safety.

What’s the tax on doing it this way?

It hits your mind, body, privacy, and relationships, yet choosing your time beats punching someone else’s clock; freedom can feel like a cage, but it’s one I prefer.

I imagine what you love most is the impact of your voice.

Yes, seeing people organize after tuning in is the point, and I treat the show like a daily briefing I owe to the audience.

Do your parents see you as a teacher in a new classroom?

To a degree, though I’m too brash for their taste; during COVID we were both teaching through screens, and I try to make it fun and digestible while channeling my obsessive streak into healthy work.

You mentioned your father never saw you perform; what did he mean to you along this path?

He championed me early, and losing him taught me to tell people exactly what they mean while they can still hear it; I wish he’d seen more of this.

Did that push you toward therapy?

Therapy gives you a safe ear and forces you to say things out loud, but it only works if your behavior changes; we’re lonely, and sometimes you need that space when community falls short.

The loneliness after the pandemic feels new and widespread.

It was building and the lockdown exposed it; our phones create constant pings with little intimacy, and that phantom reach shows how wired we are until screen‑time stats tell the truth.

You came back from space with a sadness you expressed beautifully; what did you expect, and what actually happened up there?

Preflight I saw hydrogen venting and thought of that infamous airship broadcast, then heard pauses for an “anomaly” and even a last chance to get off, which made the adventure feel very real.

Beyond the rush, what were you looking for?

Weightlessness lacks a true comparison and our language barely has words for it, so when I floated free I skipped the showy stuff and glued myself to the window, stunned by the vast, unknowable universe I’d only studied from the ground.