Ari Emanuel is moving from brokering deals to hosting debates, launching an exclusive video podcast on X that will assemble “Mount Rushmore” lists across sports, culture and business with A-list guests. The show, titled Rushmore and co-hosted by music manager Ben Persky, debuts September 30 on X, where new episodes will run on Tuesdays.
The first 10 episodes are already taped, with another 10 planned for early 2026, and an initial guest slate that includes Elon Musk, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Rick Rubin, Jimmy Iovine, Bob Costas and Al Michaels. Producers say each episode will land on a four-person “GOAT” roster for the topic at hand.
The project underscores Emanuel’s deep ties across entertainment and sports. He chairs WME Group and leads TKO Group, whose businesses range from UFC to WWE, giving him access to the kind of boldface names the format promises. Pat McAfee’s team is producing Rushmore with support from WME’s Pantheon Media Group, positioning the series with a hybrid of studio sheen and free-wheeling talk that mirrors McAfee’s own live shows.
For X, the partnership extends a push into long-form originals. The platform has touted hundreds of episodes and sizable view counts across creator-driven video, even as it works to regain trust with advertisers and refine a monetization model that leans on ad tools like X Amplify and experiments around Grok AI integrations. The company has publicly courted celebrity podcasts as a pillar of that strategy, framing them as culturally relevant, brand-safe attractions for sponsors.
Emanuel’s friendship with Musk helps explain the exclusive window—and Musk is slated to appear on an episode—while the series’ debate format gives participants room to mix expertise with showmanship. Promotional posts from X Originals emphasize the star wattage and weekly cadence, and trade coverage characterizes the concept as a classic sports-talk argument retooled for social video. Whether the platform’s audience converts to appointment viewing for a boardroom-meets-barstool debate show will be an early test of X’s originals pipeline this fall.
