In episode 31, Kevin chats with Sarah Kustok, Brooklyn Nets analyst on the YES Network. A two-time winner of the New York Emmy Award, Kustok was the first-ever solo female analyst for an NBA team. She also does NFL sidelines on Fox and is part of CBS Sports' "We Need To Talk." Before becoming a pioneer in the game analyst space, Kustok was a player herself, a star basketball player at DePaul University. She'll discuss how she transitioned into media, a field she hadn't previously considered, and the litany of early assignments she took on, from high school football to indoor lacrosse to late nights at the local Fox station, before getting her first break at Comcast Sports-Net Chicago. Sarah offers great advice to up-and-coming broadcasters in her origin story. Hear how Sarah Kustok broke in.
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Marcus Thompson II, senior columnist at The Athletic
In episode 30, Kevin chats with Marcus Thompson, senior columnist at The Athletic in the Bay Area. Thompson is the author of "Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry" and was a 2025 nominee for the Dan Jenkins Medal in Excellence in Sportswriting. Thompson recently covered the Track and Field championships and the WNBA Finals before being there for the beginning of the Warriors season, a sign of his versatility. His love for writing began when he read newspapers with his grandma, and you'll learn about the internships that led him back to the Bay for his first job, and what it was like covering the NBA for the first time. Hear how Marcus Thompson broke in.
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Ken Rosenthal, senior MLB writer at The Athletic and Fox Sports broadcaster
In episode 29, Kevin chats with Ken Rosenthal, senior baseball writer at The Athletic and Emmy-winning broadcaster for Fox Sports’ MLB coverage, including this week’s World Series. Rosenthal has been one of the most prominent news breakers in the sport. His name is synonymous with baseball, which he has covered since the late 80’s. He’ll talk about the editor at an internship who doubted him, his first job in York, Pennsylvania, and covering a multitude of sports — including harness racing — in New Jersey. Hear how Ken Rosenthal broke in.
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Jeff Pearlman, New York Times best-selling author
In episode 28, Kevin chats with Jeff Pearlman, New York Times best-selling author of 11 books. His latest book, "Only God can Judge Me: The many lives of Tupac Shakur,” comes out Oct. 21. He has written biographies of Brett Favre, Walter Payton and Bo Jackson, chronicled the 1986 Mets, the Showtime Lakers, Kobe and Shaq, and the USFL. Pearlman also hosts the podcast "Two Writers Slinging Yang," which helped inspire this one. Before he became an author, Pearlman wrote for Sports Illustrated. In this episode, you'll learn about his first job at The Tennessean: what he learned, the stories that stick with him, and what still matters when he writes books. Hear how Jeff Pearlman broke in.
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Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports college football writer
In episode 27, Kevin chats with Tom Fornelli, college football writer for CBS Sports and co-host of the Cover 3 podcast. Fornelli has been at CBS for 15 years, and he is a fixture in their college football coverage. How did he get to CBS? It wasn't the typical writer's route, but one that speaks to the times. Fornelli blogged in his free time while working as a manager at an Osco Drug in the Chicago suburbs. That led to more blogging for Fanhouse, before getting discovered by CBS. Hear how Tom Fornelli broke in.
About Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast
Kevin Fishbain, senior writer at The Athletic, interviews sports media personalities about their origin stories. Each week, reporters, columnists, play-by-play announcers, sports radio hosts, television anchors, producers and more will tell Kevin about their first jobs in the industry, and how they broke in.
Listen to Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast, Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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