On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss

Historian and author Lou Moore joins the show to discuss his acclaimed new book: “The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans, and the Making of the Black Quarterback"

Vanderbilt students Callie Drake and Paige Peters join the show to discuss their interest in mental health support for athletes, including their leadership with the Morgan’s Message nonprofit chapter campus. They discuss the pressures on athletes, the challenges in seeking support, the importance of open conversation, and the legacy of the organization’s namesake, Morgan Rodgers. For more informat...

Vanderbilt student-athletes Coleson Messer (basketball) and Jackson Heis (football) join the show to discuss the new Athletes in Business student organization they have co-founded. Former high school teammates at Highland Park HS in Dallas, Messer and Heis are looking to prepare other student-athletes for life after sports.

Michael Gold, co-founder of Future Fans, discusses how sports connects families and how his company’s “activity boxes” are creating a new generation of fans at a time when younger generations are less interested in sports.

CNN Senior Political Commentator on the '62 and '69 Mets, '24 White Sox, Jordan-era Bulls, and an accidental hard foul on Barack Obama in a pick-up game the day of a debate

National Champion bowler and MVP of the 2023 NCAA Tournament Jennifer Loredo talks about receiving an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to attend law school + her future career as an immigration attorney

Sarina Samuel, a member of the Vanderbilt rowing team, discusses life as a club sport athlete and her team’s recent national championship.

National Association of Alumni Bands ambassador Byron Cain joins the show to discuss the history and current state of the college marching band. Byron says that bands are not immune from the changes taking place in college athletics.

Yussuf Khan of FirstandPen.com joins the show to discuss the NAACP’s call for Black athletes to take a stand against the state of Florida’s “anti-Black policies.” Black athletes, Khan says, have power and must use it.

Fisk University’s Jeremiah Armstead was recently named the recipient of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s annual ‘Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award.’ Armstead experienced homelessness for many years before arriving at Fisk with the help of Stephen Bernstein’s We Educate Brilliant Minds nonprofit. Armstead and Bernstein join the show to discuss this remarkable journey.

Carl Suddler, associate professor of history at Emory University, discusses his recent conversations with 1968 Olympian John Carlos and present-day European soccer players on activism in athletics.

Jesse Sanchez is working to build a pipeline of diverse candidates for internships, fellowships, and entry-level jobs at MLB.com. Learn more from Sanchez, Director of Talent Development and Diversity Outreach on MLB’s content side, as he discusses his career path and what he’s looking for in job candidates.

Adam Giardino, founder of the Black Play By Play Fund (blackpxp.com), joins us to discuss how his nonprofit is providing opportunities in sports broadcasting. Andrew Allegretta, Vanderbilt’s play by play broadcaster, recently co-hosted a first-of-its-kind hands-on conference for the Fund. Errington Truesdell, a Vanderbilt student, was one of the participants.

Former Major League star Ben Zobrist, MVP of the 2016 World Series, joins the show to discuss his new nonprofit focused on mental health for athletes, coaches and parents. He also shares information on a free mental health seminar taking place in Nashville on Jan. 28, 2024 where he and other athletes and entertainers will share lessons learned and resources for young athletes, coaches, and caretak...

Vanderbilt Blair School of Music’s Carrie Tipton joins us to discuss her new book, From Dixie to Rocky Top: Music and Meaning in Southeastern Conference Football. Carrie talks about the roots of SEC fight songs, the frequent links to the Civil War and minstrel shows, the rise in popularity before World War II, and the state of the SEC football soundscape today.

Jordan Scheidecker, wheelchair basketball coach at St. Clair County Community College, joins the show to discuss trends in adaptive sports.

Tom Lee, vice chair of the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, and Matt Holt, president and founder of US Integrity, discuss the state of sports gambling in Tennessee and nationwide. Are the risks of addiction, harassment of players, coaches, and officials, and performance-fixing outweighed by revenue, greater fan interest, and the fun of this $150+ billion dollar vice?

Former Commodore quarterback Bernard Nomberg has made an intentional effort to connect with other former players from across the decades. Through a Facebook page and YouTube interview series, Nomberg, now an attorney in Birmingham, keeps a growing network of Commodores connected and informed

Joe Kennedy, co-founder and Executive Director of The Team, joins the show to talk about his nonpartisan organization’s mission to help coaches, student-athletes, and teams become civically involved in their communities. A former college basketball player at Northwestern and member of the Obama administration, Kennedy says student-athletes are highly motivated, competitive, and influential leaders...

Producer/director Ben West and producer Yancey Burns join the show to discuss their award-winning documentary, Imagining The Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting.

Former Vanderbilt football player James Threalkill joins the show to discuss his career as an artist and the role of art in education and society. 

Playwright Tyrone Robinson joins the show to discuss his work bringing the story of Vanderbilt and SEC pioneer Perry Wallace to the stage. 

Vanderbilt associate athletic director Alison Wenzel and assistant athletic director Ricky Thrash join the show to discuss the lasting lessons of international trips they made this summer with Commodore student-athletes.

Dr. Jason Zaremski, chief of the sports medicine division at the University of Florida Medical Center, joins the show to answer every parent’s questions about throwing injuries in baseball. Pitch counts, weighted balls, when to throw breaking balls, Tommy John surgery – we touch on it all with the expert in the field.

Ethan Scheiner, professor of political science at UC-Davis, joins the show to discuss his new book, Freedom to Win, a classic David & Goliath tale, complete with colorful heroes, cold-hearted villains, and nail-biting games—with the hockey rink serving as an arena for a nation’s resistance. During the height of the Cold War, a group of small-town young men would lead their underdog hockey team...