Sports As A Weapon Podcast

Miguel welcomed Mike McGuinness (@beardedcynic473 ), co-host of the Beyond the Red Zone Podcast (Recorded on March 7, 2022, but it is still relevant). Miguel and Mike get into the increasing Russophobia that has infected sports because of the Russian-Ukraine war. First, we discuss CCM Hockey ending their partnership with Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Miguel also discusses New York Ranger...

On the first day of Black History Month, former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores decided to fight back against the NFL's white supremacy power structure and anti-black head coach hiring practices. On February 1, 2022, Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against three teams and the league. This critical and courageous move by Brian Flores to stand up for himself and other Black and non-w...

For this episode, Miguel did something a little different. First, Miguel read the article he wrote last month on Antincopquista.com called " Paper Tiger Imperialism and the US-Beijing Boycott ." If you missed it, on December 6, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a Diplomatic Boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which will begin in 10 days, on February 4, 2022. The Boycott i...

Miguel welcomed Dr. Jennifer L. Rudolph to the podcast to discuss Baseball as Mediated Latinidad, including racist Latino Threat Narratives in baseball that are a microcosm of US white supremacy society. Dr. Rudolph is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at Connecticut College and author of Baseball as Mediated Latinidad: Race, Masculinity, Nationalism, and performance of Identity. Dr. Rudo...

We are back! Miguel welcomed Independent Journalist Danny Haiphong (@SpiritofHo ) to discuss Enes Kanter, Sinophobia, and Anti-China Narratives in sports. Danny Haiphong is an anti-imperialist independent journalist and researcher in the US. He is a contributing editor to the Black Agenda Report , co-host of the Left Lens , and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China . Subscribe to Danny Haiphong’...

It's October, which means postseason baseball! This week, Miguel had three guests on the podcast to talk playoff baseball and the topic of unionizing minor league baseball players. Miguel was excited to welcome Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner, who hosts one of our favorite podcasts, the Tipping Pitches Podcast (@tipping_pitches ). Miguel was also joined on the podcast by comrade Justin Williams...

Miguel spoke to Dr. Tracie Canada (@tracie_canada ) this week, a socio-cultural anthropologist and assistant professor at Notre Dame (Department of Anthropology and Africana Studies). Dr. Canada’s ethnographic research uses sport to theorize race, kinship and care, gender, and the performing body. Her work focuses on the lived experiences of Black football players. Dr. Canada is currently working...

Happy International Podcast Day! We have a Breaking News bonus mini-episode! Miguel spoke with Unite Here Local 2 Organizer Ted Waechter about the San Francisco Giants/Oracle Park food service workers' labor victory announced on September 29, 2021. The workers are voting and ratifying their new bargaining contract with their employer, Bon Appetit, today, September 30, 2021.    However, as wor...

This week, Miguel spoke to Dr. Jennifer McClearen ( @jmcclearen ), a feminist media scholar whose research examines sports, difference, and consumer culture. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Sports, Media, and Culture in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. McClearen published her first book, Fighting Visibility: Sports Media and Female Athlet...

This week, Miguel spoke to Dr. Johanna Mellis, Professor of World History at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and one of the End of Sport Podcast co-hosts ( @EndofSportPod ). Dr. Mellis's research focuses on the interactions between Hungarian athletes, socialist sport leaders, and the International Olympic Committee as a microcosm of relations between society, the socialist state, and internat...

This week, Miguel spoke to Toronto-based sports journalist and TSN.ca columnist Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_ ). Shireen is a mother and is an award-winning sports activist focusing on Muslim women in sports and the intersections of misogyny and racism in sports. Shireen is also co-creator and co-host of the feminist sports podcast, the Burn it All Down Pod (@BurnItDownPod ). First, Miguel asked...

This week, in Part Two of the Cancel the Olympics series, Miguel spoke to Political Scientist Dr. Jules Boykoff ( @JulesBoykoff ) about the Tokyo Olympics being held later this month despite concerns with COVID-19, the spectacle of the Olympics sacrificing lives in the name of capitalism, the potential of athletes protesting the games, and much more! Dr. Jules Boykoff is the author of four books o...

After a week off, Miguel shares Part 1 of his Cancel the Olympics series this week. In Part 1 of the series, Miguel spoke to Eric and Taylor, 2 members of NOlympics Los Angeles , "launched by the Housing & Homelessness Committee of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America in 2017. The coalition has since expanded to include over two dozen partner organizations based...

This week, Miguel speaks to Dr. Jose Alamillo  ( http://josealamillo.cikeys.com/ ), professor of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Channel Islands. Dr. Alamillo is a cultural historian who teaches and writes about immigration, labor, race, gender, leisure, and sport. Dr. Alamillo is also the author of Deportes: The Making of a Sporting Mexican Diaspora.  Miguel spoke to Dr. Jose Al...

This week, Miguel speaks to Bay area Chicano Poet and writer Alan Chazaro  ( @alan_chazaro ). Miguel spoke to Alan about becoming a poet and writer, Bay Area sports fandom, his love for Golden State Warriors basketball, and more!    Miguel also gives you his Molotov MVPs for the week, Naomi Osaka and Kyrie Irving. Miguel ends the podcast with this episode's Xicano sports history segment. Migu...

This week, Miguel is honored to speak to Dave Zirin ( @EdgeofSports ), Sports Editor at the Nation Magazine, and host of the Edge of Sports podcast. Miguel spoke to Dave about various politically entangled sports topics such as pro athletes and Palestine, LeBron James and the LAPD, the Tokyo Olympics, Tim Tebow, and much more!    Miguel also gives you his Molotov MVPs for the week and highlights t...

This week, I am joined on the podcast by Irvin Castellanos ( @TwittIrv ), who covers the Dallas Mavericks for WFAA ABC 8-Dallas. He is also the co-host of the Eat My Shorts: A Simpsons Podcast ( @eatmyshortspod ). So, this episode was mostly fun, and we both break down the 2021 NBA playoffs that start tonight, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Unfortunately, bigger things are also going on around the world,...

On May 9, 1959, Los Angeles Sheriff Deputies forcefully removed and arrested Aurora Vargas, daughter of Abrana and Manuel Aréchiga. The City of Los Angeles displaced the Aréchiga’s and the communities of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop to build a new stadium for the Dodgers. The Dodgers had just arrived in LA from Brooklyn in 1958. The 62nd anniversary of this event was this past Sunday, May 9, 20...

Feliz Cinco De Mayo! I am joined on the podcast this week by Xicano poet and author, Matt Sedillo, of Tele-Jaguar; and by Rudy Mondragon, co-host of The Split Draw Podcast. The episode is all about "Mexican-Style" boxing, and Matt and Rudy discuss their ongoing project on “Mexican-Style” boxing. They both get into the actual boxing style, the narratives, stereotypes, and contradictions a...

I am joined this week on the podcast by Dr. Frank Andre Guridy, historian of sport and society at Columbia University.  Frank is also the author of the new book, The Sports Revolution: How Texas Changed the Culture of American Athletics . Frank provides a  well-researched and historical analysis of how Texas revolutionized sports in the U.S. during the civil rights era. For example, the University...

I am joined this week on the podcast by Dr. Derek Silva, Sociologist from Kings University College in Canada. Derek is also the co-host of the @EndofSportPod with Dr. Johanna Mellis and Nathan Kalman-Lamb. Please check out their podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Derek broke down the exploitation of NCAA College Athletic Workers and their March 2021 article in The Guardian, ‘I signed my life t...

I'm joined by my friend Mke O of the Sci and Tell Show Podcast again and we do a 2021 MLB Season Preview. This was recorded on March 29, 2021, so it's a week later...but better late than never, right? We preview each division and pick our division winners alongside each team's 2021 Fan Graph projections (and Mike had some PECOTA projections as well).  Since we are both diehard Dodge...

I talk to New York Times best-selling author, Andrew Marannis ( @TruBlu24) . His new book, Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke, is out now! Glenn Burke was the first openly gay MLB player and was the inventor of the high five. Burke deserves to be rightfully revered as an important social justice sports icon like Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali before him, and Colin Kaepernick after him. ...

This is our Part 2 interview with WFAA ABC 8 Mavericks reporter Irvin Castellanos ( @TwittIrv ). This episode is a little late but we talk about Mark Cuban not playing the national anthem and then playing it once the NBA found out about it. We also talked some baseball since he grew up a Texas Rangers fan and I grew up an LA Dodgers fan; which leads to a discussion on the MLB Word Series bubble th...

In today's episode, I'm joined by Irvin Castellanos ( @TwittIrv ), who covers the Dallas Mavericks for Dallas ABC-affiliate WFAA 8. He is also the co-host of the Eat My Shorts: A Simpsons Podcast ( @eatmyshortspod ). First, we get into crazy Texas Governor Greg Abbott ending the statewide mask mandate that goes into effect on March 10, 2021. Then, Irvin and I breakdown The Texas Tribune&...