Hey, everybody. This is Richard Deich. My producer is Patrick Antonetti. And this week on the sports media podcast, we have a little something different for you. We're bringing you an excerpt from a podcast that we're big fans of. The podcast is called Against the Rules.

And against the rules, best-selling author Michael Lewis, yes, the Michael Lewis behind Moneyball and the Big Short,

as well as many other memorable books, takes a hard look at authority figures in American

life and tries to understand what their experiences tell us about fairness. He's talked to referees,

he's talked to coaches, and now he's taking on a new group, experts.

Michael wants to know why is a country so good at creating experts so bad at taking their advice?

Because while experts are getting better and better, we are getting less willing to hear what they have to say.

This season on Against the Rules, you'll meet oceanographers and baseball writers, nurses,

former gang members, people who don't have a lot in common, but the mixed blessing

of their expertise.

The clip you're about to hear features Bill James, the man who's at the heart of money

ball, and a baseball statistician who many of you who are sports fans are well aware of.

In many ways, thanks to Bill, it's no longer just baseball players who get dubbed the experts, but the people who study the game and analyze the data.

You hear about how Bill's childhood had a lot to do with his obsession with baseball.

And with Bill, it was never just about the sport itself.

It was about using the sport to make sense of the world around him.

Okay, here's the preview.

I hope you really enjoy it.

You can hear the full episode and more from Against the Rules wherever you get your

podcast.

We weren't loners exactly, but we just liked being together, just the two of us.

We did everything together.

...