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Ari Emanuel, executive chairman of WME Group and exec chair and CEO of TKO Group, is back to debate GOATs with his friend and music manager Ben Persky — with a parade of high-profile guests — in a new season of their
podcast “Rushmore.”
“Rushmore” Season 2 will be available to watch on YouTube and listen on all major podcast platforms. (Season 1 initially premiered exclusively on Elon Musk’s X
last year.)According to Emanuel and Persky, the idea behind “Rushmore” is to go beyond the typical GOAT (greatest of all time) arguments to tap into the insights — and personal stories — from top figures across sports, entertainment, media, fashion, music, gaming and more.
Season 2 premieres Oct. 20, kicking off with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and sports analyst Pat McAfee joining Emanuel and Persky to debate who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of NFL comebacks.
The season’s second episode, airing a week later on Oct. 27 in tandem with the kickoff of the NBA season, brings together Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Durant to tackle another perennial debate: the greatest starting five in NBA history. Following the first two episodes, Rushmore will move to a bi-weekly release cadence.
Later this season, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld will join Emanuel and Persky for a special episode about comedy GOATs taped during the Netflix Is a Joke festival in May 2026.
“Everyone has their own Rushmore, and everyone thinks theirs is right,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Season 2 turns up the volume with bigger debates, bigger personalities and even more people willing to tell us why we’re wrong.”
Added Persky: “The debate is what gets us started, but the fun is in the stories and history that paint the conversation. “When you dig into what makes people the greatest, with the foremost experts of those fields, you get world-class perspective about the things we all obsess over.”
Season 2 of “Rushmore” is presented with media and podcast company nativ.ly and produced by Pantheon Media Group. It’s shot primarily from WME Group’s newly renovated Beverly Hills headquarters.
The return of the podcast comes a month after Emanuel’s new memoir “Roll the Calls” was released Sept. 22. In the 432-page tome, Emanuel chronicles his rise from the CAA mailroom to become one of the most powerful people in entertainment and sports.
The first season of “Rushmore” comprised 15 episodes, with guests including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Anna Wintour, Elon Musk, Rick Rubin, Dana White, Jimmy Iovine, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, Jeff Koons, Jeffrey Deitch, Inez van Lamsweerde, Edward Enninful, Bobby Kotick and Reggie Miller.
Watch the trailer for Season 2 of “Rushmore”:
Pictured top (l. to r.:) Ben Persky, Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Ari Emanuel
