The End of Sport

*Content Warning: this episode explores the topics of physical, mental, and sexual abuse in sport*   In the second episode with Georgia Cervin on the international history of women’s artistic gymnastics, we tackle the topic of abuse and especially sexual abuse in the sport. Georgia explains how contrary to contemporary popular media portrayals, American gymnastics’ coaching culture was rife with a...

**Content warning: this episode explores the political and cultural foundations of gymnastics that helped open the door to the abusive nature of the sport that we know well today.** In the first of a two-episode interview, Johanna dives into a crucial conversation with Dr. Georgia Cervin that is almost completely left out of ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast account of gymnastics culture in Heavy Medals: h...

In this episode, Derek, Johanna, and Nathan speak with Kelly E. Wright about linguistic racialization in the world of sport and sports media. Kelly E. Wright is a Ph. D Candidate in Linguistics at the University of Michigan, where she studies Sociophonetics, Neurolinguistics, and Historical Sociolinguistcs, focusing on the link between Linguistic Production and Perception. Her work on linguistic r...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan are joined by Jacqueline Keeler to discuss Native mascotry in light of recent developments that such teams like the Washington football team, Edmonton football team, and Cleveland baseball team may finally change their racist names. Jaqueline Keeler is a Dine/Yankton Dakota writer and activist, co-founder of Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry, and editor-in-chi...

In this episode, Johanna and Nathan speak with Dr. Samantha White about her research on the discourses about African-American girls sport and physical education. Samantha White highlights the contradictions between the trivialization of youth sport and child athletes by the contemporary media and even academia one the one hand, with the history of the immense racialized attention and harmful disci...

In this episode, all three hosts are joined by Hamilton Nolan to discuss all things labor and sport. Hamilton Nolan is a labor reporter for In These Times and the Columbia Journalism Review’s public editor for the Washington Post. Previously, he worked on staff at Gawker, Deadspin, and Splinter. His work also frequently appears in The Guardian.   The conversation begins with a discussion of sport...

**Content warning: this episode explores the disturbing and pervasive issue of sexual abuse in sport. Please make an informed decision about listening to the episode. What Reid details, however, is necessary listening for athletes, parents, coaches, fans, and academics alike to understand one of the darkest sides of contemporary sports. This episode was also recorded before the release of Athlete...

In the show's first mailbag, Derek, Johanna, and Nathan respond to a range of terrific listener questions about youth sport, disability during the pandemic, grad school, MMA, European football, and teaching the labor of sport. Before that, the hosts get a little ranty about the pandemic, particularly in relation to college sport.   You can find more about Dylan Alcott and the US Open here. You can...

In Johanna's first episode as co-host, she joins Derek and Nathan in conversation with Samantha N. Sheppard about the films Hoop Dreams and High Flying Bird and the ways they anticipate, explain, and address the moment of rebellion unfolding around us. Samatha Sheppard is the Mary Armstrong Meduski ’80 Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the Department of Performing and Media Arts a...

**HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Tune into this week's episode for a BIG announcement about the future of The End of Sport!** In this episode, Derek and Nathan speak with Dr. Johanna Mellis, Assistant Professor of History at Ursinus College, to discuss her brilliant recent scholarly articles “From Defectors to Cooperators: The Impact of 1956 on Athletes, Sport Leaders, and Sport Policy in Socialist Hungary” a...

In this episode, Nathan speaks with Jay M. Smith and Ted Tatos about the various academic/athletic scandals that have beset the University of North Carolina and what they reveal about the NCAA system more broadly. Jay M. Smith is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of four books, including most recently, with Mary Willingham, Cheated: The UNC Scandal, the Edu...

In this episode, Nathan is joined by Dave Zirin to examine recent events at the intersection of the pandemic, uprisings against white supremacy, and the world of sport in light of the recent history of Black athlete activism. Dave Zirin is sports editor at The Nation, host of The Edge of Sports podcast, and author of a mind boggling ten books on the politics of sport, including, with recent guest...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan are joined by Shireen Ahmed for a lengthy and ranging discussion of both the complex politics of how sport is interwoven with the current uprisings against white supremacy and the challenges more broadly of reconciling a love for sport with relentless critique. Shireen Ahmed is a writer, public speaker and an award-winning Sports Activist focusing on Muslim women...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan speak with Hemal Jhaveri, editor and columnist at USA Today's For The Win, about how the uprising against police violence and white supremacy is affecting the world of sport. The three discuss the myriad statements of solidarity on offer from athletes and sports organizations alike and break down the difference between a meaningful gesture and worthless pablum. Th...

On this special episode to address the unfolding resistance against racist police violence and white supremacy, Derek speaks with Michael Bennett, a Super Bowl champion and three-time pro-bowl defensive lineman in the National Football League. Michael is the author, with Dave Zirin, of the wonderful book Things That Make White People Uncomfortable with Haymarket Books and co-host of the podcast Mo...

In this episode, which begins with a brief statement of solidarity with the uprising across the United States against white supremacy and racist state violence, Derek and Nathan break down the recent ESPN Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance with Louis Moore.  Louis Moore is Associate Professor of History at Grand Valley State University and author of I Fight for a Living: Boxing and t...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan are joined by Kathleen Bachynski, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Muhlenberg College and author of the essential 2019 book No Game for Boys to Play: The History of Youth Football and The Origins of a Public Health Crisis with UNC Press. This is a crucial conversation that ranges from the health risks and ethics of US football itself to the conflicts of int...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan speak with Courtney Szto about the ways in which race, multiculturalism, and gender in Canada shape the country's most prized sport. Courtney Szto is Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University. She is the senior editor of Hockey in Society, associate editor for Engaging Sports, and author of the forthcoming book with Rutgers Univer...

In this episode, we get a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the world of US professional baseball. Nathan speaks with Dirk Hayhurst, a former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres, as well as a long-time Minor Leaguer. He is a former Sportsnet and TBS broadcaster and the author of four books: The Bullpen Gospels, Out of My League, Wild Pitches, and Big...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan speak with Andrew Stoeten, Toronto Blue Jays (Major League Baseball) columnist at The Athletic and co-host of the Birds All Day podcast (and formerly of Drunk Jays Fans (DJF) and Blue Jays Nation). Andrew explains how he got into baseball writing and then the three delve into the tensions of having personal investments in fandom while working in a profession conne...

In this episode, Nathan has the privilege of speaking with Elizabeth Williams, a center-forward for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA and, until as recently as one unattended game during the beginning of the pandemic, Fenerbahçe in Turkey. She is sixth in WNBA history averaging 1.8 blocks per game and was the league's 2016 Most Improved Player. She is also a former Duke University Blue Devil. Most imp...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan are joined by Victoria Jackson and Andy Schwarz to discuss amateurism in the NCAA and recent name, image, likeness developments that have been getting a lot of ink.  Victoria Jackson is Clinical Assistant Professor of History in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University where her work focuses on the history of sport...

In this unusual episode, Derek and Nathan talk with Maximillian Alvarez and Ryan Boyd, two leading commentators on higher education, work, and precarity about where sport and fandom fit in their lives. Maximillian Alvarez is a dual-Ph. D candidate in Comparative Literature and History at the University of Michigan. His work has appeared in countless venues, including The Nation, The New Republic,...

In this episode, Derek and Nathan conduct their first *athlete interview.* They chat with Liz Knox, a retired professional hockey goaltender, CWHL Clarkson Cup champion, CIS Brodrick Trophy winner, CWHL all-star captain, and former co-chair of the CWHLPA, and, currently, one of nine players on the board of the PWHPA. The interview breaks down the complex world of women's hockey and frankly examine...

In this episode, Nathan goes solo and sits down with Dr. Christine Baker-Smith, the Managing Director and Director of Research at the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice in Philadelphia and member of the Department of Education at Temple University to discuss the pervasiveness of homelessness and food insecurity among undergraduate students in the United States, including college athle...