#27 Claire De Lune - Music, Tweets & Basketball

We are switching back to English as we are excited to welcome L.A. based singer-songwriter Claire De Lune to our pod. In what is probably the most unlikely mix we have had to date, Claire is also an NBA writer for the US edition of The Guardian.

After talking about Claire's musical background and her 'Tiny Deaths' project, Rob and Phil ask the obvious question. How does one go from making dreamy indie pop music to writing professionally about basketball? Well, it's not how you think.

In almost 60 minutes of pod we explore the depths (and abysses) of NBA and Lakers Twitter, the amount of sexism Claire faces when tweeting about the NBA as a woman and her unrelenting voice in times of social injustice.

We then move on to discuss the role of sports as a form of escapism and the balancing act of acknowledging and addressing real world problems at the same time. Claire explains how the NBA Breaking News business works and where guys like 'Woj' get their info. And of course we also look at the first half of the season and talk about the NBA's most surprising teams and the seemingly superhuman performances of one LeBron James before our guest names her NBA Top 5 favorite players to watch.

You see, this episode is jam-packed with goodies. Don't miss it! Get in here and listen to this!

Disclaimer: We start this episode in German, before switching to English for our conversation with Claire at the 05:40 mark. Then back again to German at 46:11 for our final thoughts.

Episode Guide:

00:00 - 01:18 // Basketball & music (German)

01:19 - 03:33 // NBA players who ventured into rap music (German)

03:34 - 05:39 // Why Claire? (German)

05:40 - 09:19 // Introducing Claire, music & 'Tiny Deaths'

09:20 - 11:52 // NBA sports writer

11:53 - 13:52 // What's NBA Twitter?

13:53 - 21:25 // Lakers Twitter, Lakers Fans, LeBron/Kobe loyalty

21:26 - 23:14 // Speaking up on social injustice & dealing with trolls

23:15 - 25:10 // Sport escapism & real world problems

25:11 - 27:25 // Dealing with sexist shit on a daily basis

27:26 - 30:19 // Conflict of interest writing about LeBron as a LeBron fan?

30:20 - 37:33 // Biggest surprises this season & potential trades (note: this was recorded before the Hachimura/Nunn trade)

37:34 - 40:56 // How do news breakers like 'Woj' get their info?

40:57 - 45:23 // Claire's Top 5 favorite players to watch

45:24 - 55:24 // Final thoughts (German)

Hosts: Robbin Barberan (@basketballlifer) & Philip Olschowa (@phlp_fil_a)

Guest: Claire De Lune (@ClaireMPLS)

Links:

https://twitter.com/clairempls

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/claire-de-lune

https://www.tinydeaths.com/