Stephen A. Smith Receives “Thumbs Down” Award, Maya Boyd Is Your New Storm, James Talarico’s Strategic Ad Campaign, and Ray J Defeats Orlando Brown in the Ring

Stephen A. Smith Receives “Thumbs Down” Award, Maya Boyd Is Your New Storm, James Talarico’s Strategic Ad Campaign, and Ray J Defeats Orlando Brown in the Ring

August 18, 2026 · 2h 43m

About this episode

The episode discusses various topics including Stephen A. Smith's award, Maya Boyd's casting in a Marvel film, and a boxing match between Ray J and Orlando Brown.

Stephen A. Smith Receives “Thumbs Down” Award, Maya Boyd Is Your New Storm, James Talarico’s Strategic Ad Campaign, and Ray J Defeats Orlando Brown in the RingVan and Rachel pay tribute to actress Hayden Panettiere and Jason Arday. They also discuss James Talarico’s campaign ad against Ken Paxton. Plus, reactions to the Ray J vs. Orlando Brown boxing match and a discussion on Stephen A. Smith receiving the “Thumbs Down” award from the NABJ. Plus, an in-depth discussion on the casting of Maya Boyd in Marvel’s new X-Men movie, coming in 2028. (0:00) Intro(0:33) Weekend pleasantries/Al Green and grits(8:19) Weekend pleasantries/Dreams(20:59) Hayden Panettiere gone too soon(29:02) Maya Boyd cast as Storm in Marvel’s new X-Men movie(46:19) Jason Arday passes away at 41(01:04:07) Pengate 2026(01:15:06) Ray J wins big(0244) Van on capitalismHosts: Van Lathan and Rachel LindsayProducers: Marco Escalante and Jade WhaleySocial Producer: Bernard MooreVideo Supervision: Jacob Cornett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Van Lathan, Rachel Lindsay

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NABJ

Books & works: Marvel’s new X-Men movie

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