It’s been a while since I’ve (a) posted here as opposed to Substack or (b) recorded a new podcast. So today I’m happy to announce the premiere of a three-episode run of The 252, the podcast about the history and politics of sports that I co-host with my Bethel colleagues Chris Moore and Sam Mulberry. … More Tuesday’s Podcast: The Political History of the World Cup
Our sports podcast, The 252, returned to today with a new episode that looked back, at what’s happened since our Tokyo Olympics preview, and ahead, to the coming NBA season. In segment one, Chris, Sam, and I reviewed some favorite Olympic events and talked about what to expect in Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. We … More Tuesday’s Podcast: The Ministry of an NBA Chaplain
Next spring I’ll be teaching History and Politics of Sports for the second time. It’s hard to know how much change to make, given that the inaugural class was forced online halfway through semester by a global pandemic. But one difference is already evident: I’ll be leading the course by myself, since my friend and … More Thursday’s Podcast: The Politics of the Olympics
Although I just wrote a biography about a man dedicated to the art of practical joking, I can’t stand April Fool’s Day. Because even if I were clever enough to come up with hilarious practical jokes, I’d feel guilty about making other people to look foolish. But driving to work today, it struck me that … More In Praise of Folly
It’s been a few months since the last time we shared an episode of our sports podcast, The 252. So I was glad when Chris Moore stuck his head in my office earlier this week and asked if we could record a “micropod” about the latest iterations in the debate over sports, protest, and the … More Wednesday’s Podcast: The National Anthem
Like most everyone else, I’ve found it hard to tear my attention away from the unfolding election drama. That story is obviously important, but today I’m here to provide some measure of distraction, with a couple of posts having absolutely nothing to do with Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or the future of American democracy. First, … More Friday’s Podcast: College Sports after COVID
Even as he grieves over the loss of Ohio State football for the fall, Chris Moore joined Sam Mulberry and me for a new episode of The 252, “sports talk radio as done by academics.” While Chris and I won’t be teaching our History and Politics of Sports class again until 2022, we mean to continue producing occasional … More Saturday’s Podcast: Checking In on Sports under COVID
Warning #1: today’s post has absolutely nothing to do with the typical themes of this blog, save that it’s about a kind of history. Warning #2: today’s post will reveal me to be far nerdier than already is widely assumed. If you’re still here… I’m excited — and a little bit horrified — to report … More The Greatest Players in Baseball History: A Simulation
On the 2019-20 season finale of The 252, Chris Moore and I reflected on what we learned from our first time teaching History and Politics of Sports at Bethel. Then Sam Mulberry joined us to talk about how different professional and college sports are planning to resume play — or already have done so. We talked about everything … More Thursday’s Podcast: The Return of Sports (?)
As we reach the last week of spring classes at Bethel, Chris and I devoted part of this week’s episode of The 252 to talking our students through their final exam. But the rest of you will want to listen in for what follows: a conversation about e-sports with our Bethel colleague Adrian Smithee, who has … More Thursday’s Podcast: E-Sports
The Pietist Schoolman 