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
This week I surveyed the history of evangelical responses to capital punishment and reflected on joining historians, philosophers, and political scientists in a single department. Elsewhere: • With Independence Day approaching, Christianity Today ran several thoughtful essays suggesting how American Christians can think about this holiday, including John Wilsey reviewing a new book on patriotism and … More That Was The Week That Was
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
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 (?)
Perhaps because we’re taking next week off, this week’s episode of The 252 is bursting at the seams with interesting conversation. • Chris Moore and I started by reporting on the results of a public policy simulation we just finished in our History and Politics of Sports class at Bethel: students played different roles in a fictional … More Thursday’s Podcast: Stadium Funding, the NCAA, and More
What does the spread of the coronavirus mean for sports? We started to talk through that big question on this week’s extended spring break episode of The 252. In our first segment, we briefly discussed the postponement of the Olympics, how the absence of sports changes our perception of the passage of time, and Paul … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Sports in the Age of COVID-19
As usual, this week’s episode of The 252 touches several bases, including the impact of COVID-19 on college and professional sports and the historic rise and fall of boxing’s popularity. But this week we were most excited to talk to our special guest, Jason Jennings of Mortenson Construction. In our History and Politics of Sports class, students are starting … More Wednesday’s Podcast: Building Sports Stadiums
Today’s episode marks the end of our second season at The 252, “talk radio as done by academics.” So Chris, Sam, and I started by looking back at what we thought were the most memorable and most significant sports moments of 2019. Remarkably, we talked a lot about horse racing, golf, soccer, and basketball, but … More Wednesday’s Podcast: The Best Sports Moments of 2019
I considered a Twitter controversy about plants, the notion of “comfort colleges,” and the impact of the First World War on Native American identity. Elsewhere: • “America is at an awkward age,” began Elizabeth Stice’s thoughtful essay on history and heritage. “We are old enough to be embarrassed by our parents, but not mature enough … More That Was The Week That Was
Classes are up and running, so it felt like a good time to start podcasting again. This morning Chris Moore, Sam Mulberry, and I recorded the season 2 premiere for The 252, our podcast previewing themes from Chris and my new course on the history and politics of sports. Last spring we put out weekly podcasts. … More Wednesday’s Podcast: The Best Sports Years Ever
