Podcast: Download
Have you ever wondered how you could screw up George Clooney’s couch?
Is Arizona a great place to live in your car?
And what wisdom can you glean from a self-proclaimed liar slash pot-smoker slash homeless writer?
This week we’re talking with Esquire Magazine’s Chris Jones about George Clooney, Tiger Woods, Astronauts, John McCain, runaway NFL star Ricky Williams, the band Rush, your bed, your shoes and why you shouldn’t THINK about things too much.
The tables are turned and the interviewer becomes the interviewee in this fun and surprisingly valuable discussion.
In this episode:
- George Clooney, a couch and a missing gall bladder
- The homeless writer (and girlfriend!) in Arizona
- Landing a dream job at Esquire Magazine
- Dissing Tiger Woods long before it was cool
- How Astronauts are actually humans
- Iraq and Sgt. Joe Montgomery
- Behind the curtain with John McCain
- The search for Ricky Williams in Australia
- Carlos Delgado, your bed and your shoes
- Is Rush a great band or the greatest band?
About Chris Jones
CHRIS JONES is a writer-at-large for Esquire and a contributing editor for ESPN: The Magazine. He began his career as a boxing writer for the National Post in Toronto, where he won the Edward Goff Penny Award, given to Canada’s outstanding young journalist. In 2005, he won the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing for “Home,” a story about three astronauts who were on the International Space Station when the shuttle Columbia exploded. In April, he won his second National Magazine Award for “The Things That Carried Him,” a story that documented the return of the body of Sgt. Joe Montgomery from Iraq to Scottsburg, Indiana.
His work has also appeared in the Best American Magazine Writing, Best American Sports Writing, and Best American Political Writing anthologies.
He lives in Ottawa, Canada, with his wife and two young sons.
Thanks Tripp and Chris,
I listened to this cast while I was eating a tuna sandwich for dinner. And then Chris had to mention Dorito’s in the futon and suddenly my meal was not longer complete.
I enjoyed the stories.
wow. pretty disrespectful asshole you are, making those comments about Rush. what the hell?? it’s almost as if they personally said or did something to offend YOU or piss you off. by the way…Chris Jones??? never heard of you until I saw a link to this interview with you and I listened to it. what a jerk!!
Hey Mark. Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment. As a Rush fan, it stung a bit to hear him go off like that, but I can’t say it’s the first time I’ve heard such words pointed at the trio. Even though it wasn’t pretty, I’m glad he was honest. Here’s to getting Rush on The New Man someday.
Rush is considered one of our national treasures by some of us here in Canada. They’re loved because they are unique, have balls, and lay it all out regardless of others’ opinions. I respect Chris Jones because he has those qualities too. Don’t always agree with him but if I did, his writing would be boring. Great interview Tripp. Diggin the show f’in huge bro.
Right on. Thanks!
Hi. Enjoyed the stories in this piece but felt uncomfortable about the Tiger Woods ‘I knew there was something wrong with that guy’ type comments – not because I feel like defending Woods’ behaviour, but because, for one thing, he’s an easy target at the moment. Second, with someone who’s THAT successful, there will always be a load of envious resentment and unconscious projections floating around, that one should be aware of for oneself, and challenge rather than collude with or turn him into a scapegoat for. And because Woods’ tries to control the media’s access to him, those who make their living from journalism probably aren’t going to be that enamoured of him anyway. But the most important point I want to make is that what happened to him is a human tragedy for his WHOLE family because it has broken it up. The public may like to see someone ‘godlike’ cut down a notch or two, but the human reality involves many people, including children, whose lives have been turned upside down.