In case you happen to be at or near the campus of Bethel University this morning, Sam Mulberry and I are going to give a talk in Bethel’s library at 11:15. While our presentation is ostensibly about how we’ve experimented with podcasts and blogs for the last thirteen years, I really mean to address some … More The Problem of Trust in Christian Higher Education
This week The 252 welcomes sports historian Paul Putz of Messiah College. We asked Paul about the history of “Sportianity” — Frank Deford’s term for the fusion of sports with evangelical piety, plus the role of faith in recent protests by African American NFL players, Paul’s experience teaching undergraduate courses like the one our podcast previews, and … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Sportianity
It’s March, and that means it’s time for The 252 to devote most of an episode to college basketball! With the help of guest philosopher/Indiana booster Sara Shady, we nominated eight players and coaches for a college hoops Mount Rushmore. You can vote for your four favorites in the poll below. Before we wrapped up that segment, … More Wednesday’s Podcast: College Basketball
This week on The 252 we welcomed Bethel journalism professor Scott Winter and Bethel Clarion sports editor Jared Martinson to our studio. Mostly, they were there to talk about the practice of sports journalism, including the impact of ESPN and digitization, the similarities and differences between reporting and broadcasting, and the economics of covering sports. But since Chris … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Sports and Journalism
When better to focus on America’s National Pastime than the day that Minnesota shatters its February record for snowfall? Yes, it’s our spring training episode of The 252! • Chris Moore suggested some ways that baseball is both shaped by politics and helps us to think about politics. • Then we discussed who belongs on … More Wednesday’s Podcast: The Mount Rushmore of Baseball History
On this week’s episode of The 252, Sam, Chris, and I talked about: • The death of Hall of Fame baseball player — and pioneering manager — Frank Robinson. • The cancellation of a football program at one of Bethel’s sister schools. • The relative greatness of Lindsey Vonn’s recently concluded skiing career, which yielded 3 Winter Olympic … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Sports as Religion
I was home with a sick child yesterday, which meant rescheduling a few things at work. None of that reshuffling was too hard, but I was surprised just how disappointed I was at having to put off recording the third episode of The 252, my new sports history podcast with Sam Mulberry and Chris Moore. That … More Why I Enjoy Podcasting
On this week’s episode of The 252, Chris, Sam, and I talked about: • WNBA superstar Maya Moore’s decision to sit out the 2019 season and concentrate on Christian ministry. (Clarification: on the episode, we discuss some earlier speculation about Moore’s contract status and the possibility that she might not want to stay in Minnesota… After … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Why We Love Sports
Today I’m happy to announce the debut of The 252, a new weekly podcast from Chris Moore, Sam Mulberry, and me. As you may recall from my post earlier in the week, Chris and I are developing a new general education course at Bethel University: HIS/POS252L History and Politics of Sports. While not a field of expertise … More Thursday’s Podcast: The Super Bowl
Almost from the moment I got to Bethel University (sixteen years ago!), I started dreaming about developing two new courses. The one on World War II launched five years ago, with its fourth iteration starting next week. But aside from one independent study, I’ve never quite been able to follow through with a History of … More Coming Soon… The History and Politics of Sports
The Pietist Schoolman 