Bill Simmons
Hosted by Bill Simmons
A veteran sportswriter riffs on the latest in sports and pop culture with a rotating cast of friends, staffers, and media personalities.
A long-running, multi-weekly conversation where Bill Simmons breaks down the latest sports news (with a heavy emphasis on the NBA) and pop culture. From his distinct Boston-fan perspective, he trades historical analogies, betting lines, and speculative theories with a familiar cast of Ringer staffers and longtime friends. It's less a formal interview show and more like eavesdropping on a very knowledgeable, and often hilarious, group chat.
“The show's longevity and Simmons' specific, unapologetically Boston-centric fan perspective set it apart. The use of recurring guests who have their own established personas (like Joe House and Cousin Sal) creates a familiar, conversational dynamic that feels more like a hang-out than a structured show.”
Who hosts this show
Bill Simmons is an American sportswriter and cultural critic who first gained fame as 'The Boston Sports Guy'. He joined ESPN in 2001, where he founded the influential sports and pop-culture website Grantland and served as an executive producer for the '30 for 30' documentary series. After leaving ESPN in 2015, he founded The Ringer, a media company and podcast network, which was later acquired by Spotify.
Credentials & credits
- Founder & CEO of The Ringer
- Founder of Grantland
- Former ESPN.com columnist ('The Sports Guy')
- Author of 'The Book of Basketball' and 'Now I Can Die in Peace'
- Creator and Executive Producer of ESPN's '30 for 30' series
- M.A. in Journalism, Boston University
Other ventures
- The Ringer (Podcast Network & Website)
- The Rewatchables (Podcast)
- Book of Basketball 2.0 (Podcast)
- Ringer Films
- Any Given Wednesday (former HBO show)
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01
- 02Who's been the MVP of the World Cup so far? 👀Jun 24, 2026 · 2 min
- 03Bill and House believe Darius Acuff Jr. will be absolutely awesome on the Kings.Jun 24, 2026 · 1 min
- 04
- 05Bill on the future of Jaylen Brown on the CelticsJun 23, 2026 · 1 min
- 06Bill reacts to the Heat's BLOCKBUSTER trade for GiannisJun 23, 2026 · 1 min
Notable episodes
- 01Bill and House believe Darius Acuff Jr. will be absolutely awesome on the Kings.
A classic example of the show's draft analysis, where co-host Joe House coins the nickname 'Dame 2.0' for a prospect, which Simmons immediately adopts.
- 02Who's been the MVP of the World Cup so far? 👀
Showcases Simmons in a solo format, using his 'MVP' segment to break down the biggest storylines of a major international tournament, from Messi to Team USA.
- 03Bill isn’t as excited about the Mikel Brown Jr. pick as the Nets draft room was 😂
Highlights the group dynamic with multiple guests (Joe House, Kyle Mann) and Simmons's signature skepticism as they mock a team's draft celebration and question a prospect's health.
What you'll be asked on this show
The style is conversational, speculative, and driven by Simmons's curiosity. He frequently uses running gags, historical analogies, and player comparisons ('comps') to frame discussions. Episodes are often multi-segmented, covering different sports or cultural topics with different guests.
Questions Bill Simmons keeps coming back to
- “What's your player comparison for [prospect]?”
- “Could [young player] be as good as [established star]?”
- “Does that [news/trade] make you feel better or worse?”
- “Who's been the MVP of [event] so far?”
- “What's the ceiling for [player or team]?”
- “Where does [player] rank all-time?”
Signature segments
- · Player Comparisons ('Comps')
- · Trade Value Rankings
- · The 'Adjacent to my Star' theory
- · Framing discussions as a list of 'MVPs'
- · Rants about a team's history of bad luck
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are a mix of recurring friends (Joe House, Cousin Sal), Ringer staffers (Kyle Mann, Chris Ryan), and other media personalities, with occasional athletes or celebrities. The common thread is a pre-existing rapport with Simmons, allowing for comfortable, free-flowing conversation.
- Kyle Mannon Bill isn’t as excited about the Mikel Brown Jr. pick as the Nets draft room was 😂
- Joe Houseon Bill and House believe Darius Acuff Jr. will be absolutely awesome on the Kings.
- Doc Riverson 2026 Finals Lessons, Giannis's Next Stop, Brunson's Apex, and Mike Brown's Magic Touch With Doc Rivers
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast features major brand sponsors like Michelob Ultra, indicating a large, engaged, and valuable audience. Sponsorships are likely high-value and targeted toward a predominantly male, sports-focused demographic.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Bill Simmons
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People also ask
- What is Bill Simmons's real name?
- His full name is William John Simmons III.
- Is The Bill Simmons Podcast still running?
- Yes, it releases multiple episodes per week, with video clips posted daily to YouTube.
- What is the show's format?
- It's a conversational podcast where Simmons and a rotating cast of guests discuss current topics in sports and pop culture.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on Spotify, iHeart, and other major podcast platforms, with video clips on his official YouTube channel.
- What is The Ringer?
- The Ringer is the sports and pop culture website and podcast network that Bill Simmons founded in 2016 after leaving ESPN.
- Who are the regular guests?
- Frequent guests include longtime friends like Joe House and Cousin Sal, as well as various writers and personalities from The Ringer network.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Bill Simmons - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [02]Bill Simmons - The Ringertheringer.com
- [03]The Ringer (website) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [04]Grantland - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [05]The Bill Simmons Podcast - The Ringertheringer.com
- [06]Bill Simmons '92 is "Boston's Sports Guy"magazine.holycross.edu
- [07]Bill Simmons - MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Speakersloansportsconference.com
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