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Entrepreneur and influential Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel steps in front of the camera for the first time with Rushmore, a new podcast co-hosted with Ben Persky. Launched as an original series on X (formerly Twitter), the show invites big names to debate their “greatest of all time” across culture, sports, music, and more.
A Hollywood titan takes the mic
Best known for shaping the careers of stars as the executive chairman of WME and the CEO of TKO Group, Ari Emanuel is now moving into a more visible role—quite literally. Rushmore, his debut as an on-camera host, feels like a natural pivot for someone who’s spent decades talking to the world’s top talent. Alongside music executive Ben Persky, he turns these conversations into friendly and passionate debates that many of us have around dinner tables or in group chats. Only here, the guests are a little more famous.
The show is built around a simple premise: each guest discusses who belongs on their personal “Mount Rushmore” of greatness across areas like sports, music, art, tech, and pop culture. The result is a mix of opinionated ranking, deep cuts from personal experience, and unexpected overlaps between worlds. Whether you’re into basketball, hip hop, or video games, chances are something said will make you nod—or want to shout back.
A-list guests with even bigger opinions
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- Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, two quarterbacks with very different styles and legacies
- Elon Musk, who doesn’t just own the platform airing the show, but offers his own take on greatness
- Music heavyweights Rick Rubin and Jimmy Iovine
- Sports legends like Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller
- Renowned artists and thinkers such as Jeff Koons and Jon Meacham
These aren’t lightweight chats. The idea is to bring together people who’ve shaped culture and ask them to reflect on who inspired them—or who deserves to be immortalized. For someone like Jeff Koons to weigh in on the GOATs of video games or for Doris Kearns Goodwin to reflect on sports icons offers a fresh mix of perspective that feels more personal than polished.
Produced by insiders, hosted by insiders
Rushmore is produced by Pat McAfee, whose own sports media brand has become a powerhouse in recent years. His team, along with Pantheon Media Group (a WME brand), handles the behind-the-scenes work. This adds a quality layer to what could otherwise feel like just famous people chatting. It’s well-produced, but it doesn’t lose its spark.
In a recent interview, Mitchell Smith, head of original content at X and a former WME mailroom alum himself, highlighted how the series fits with the platform’s new direction: promoting conversations that audiences want to weigh in on. That interaction may be key: fans can respond with their own rankings, creating dialogue around pop culture’s biggest names.
The personal twist behind the project
Rushmore isn’t some corporate brainstorm. It actually stems from long dinners and vacations where Emanuel and Persky would argue passionately about albums or basketball dynasties. That blend of laid-back setting and intellectual ambition is what makes the show appealing. You feel like you’re eavesdropping on a particularly spicy round of friendly debate—not a stiff interview.
In a way, what makes the project exciting isn’t just who shows up on the mic or what names they drop. It’s how open the format is. There’s no definitive answer, just stories and instincts. Sometimes, that’s how we learn the most about someone: asking which four faces they’d carve into their personal Mount Rushmore and why. To read Taylor Swift opens up in final Eras Tour docuseries episode
Emanuel, always in the background until now, reveals another side of himself—curious, sharp, and unafraid of playful disagreement. As someone who spends a lot of time watching interview formats, it’s refreshing to see one that doesn’t pretend to know everything. Just like in life, greatness is up for debate.
