Two Writers Slinging Yang

On jumping onto a huge beat at a huge newspaper at a young age; on the awkwardness of the clubhouse approach; on life without Bryce Harper and life with Juan Soto; on surviving an eternal season of Major League Baseball.

On whether family drama is fair game in poetry; on the incredible power of the word "meat"; on the chance meeting with a long-ago girlfriend on a Brooklyn street and a sprig of lavender.

On her past life as a heroine addict and dealer who spent two years in prison; on witnessing executions; on seeking to improve life for people behind bars—and having the empathy and experience to do so.

On proposing, then writing a political book in a year of 800 other political books; on arranging an interview with the president of the United States, then sitting across from him for 40 minutes; on catching political figures off guard and having them open up; on the never-to-be Super Bowl champion Detroit Lions.

On the details and complexities behind his marvelous Boston Globe Magazine profile of Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley; on trying to convince a subject to allow you to drive along for a ride; on his time as a 24-year-old editor.

On how one turns his words into hip-hop; on mixing and matching sounds; on what it is to stroll a Kentucky stage naked while holding a stuffed penis; on whether it's OK to rap about shooting the president; on finding meaning in music and the overrated non-joy of appearing on MTV.

On leaving the magazine after 25 years; on interviewing people as they face death; on the gun store hostilities of a late Yankee relief pitcher; on the legacy of SI and learning how to write while working for America's best sports magazine.

On his past career as a singer/songwriter, and the parallels between two genres; on the Texas Rangers' pitcher whose story needed to be told—via notebook paper; on looking for small, overlooked stories and making them great.

On the aging scribe; on writing 22,000 words and having it cut down; on adjusting to a Netflix writers' room and looking back at Roger Ebert and "The Things That Carried Him."

On approaching Glenn Burke as he was dying of AIDS and writing his autobiography; on a final interview with Bill Buckner and craziness with Len Dykstra.

On covering Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run; on writing an amazing profile on the woman who (famously) chopped off her husband's penis; on rising from the University of Texas to a fantastic career in journalism.

On what we can read into in The Athletic's new dedication to WNBA coverage; on women's college basketball programs hiring no male coaches; on starting a tennis blog and having that morph into a magical sports journalism career.

On the process behind his classic 2014 profile of a dementia-afflicted Y.A. Tittle; on the torture and pain that comes with quality writing; on his Academy Award-worthy non-scenes with Kevin Costner in "Draft Day."

On covering the 2020 Democratic field; on driving through Manhattan with Mayor Pete; on whether a writer can cover politics without having an opinion on Donald Trump; on the transition from sports to news; on Joe Flacco trumping Wayne Chrebet.

On the highs and lows of college journalism; on whether to print or not to print; on what journalism programs need to be offering students in 2019.

On deep diving into the crappy, pre-glorious Yankee years of Brien Taylor and Mel Hall and Andy Hawkins; on when to knock on a subject's door, and whether five phone calls are too many; on seeking out jacket blurbs and landing a literary deal on a less-than-obvious subject matter.

The absolute craziest journalistic experience of my lifetime. On Dec. 27, 1999, Sports Illustrated published "At Full Blast," my profile of then-Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker. His life changed. So did mine. For the 100th episode of Two Writers Slinging Yang, here's a detailed look back.

On the potential ugliness of social media interactions gone wrong; on writing about QAnon and the threats that followed; on political writing in the most heated of times. 

On talking golf with Eddie Van Halen; on why Deadspin exists alongside Slam Magazine and Bill Simmons in innovative sports lore; on TV fame transforming people into assholes; in staying busy as a modern scribe.

This is a special episode of Two Writers Slinging Yang, in honor of the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I roamed the event (held on the campus of USC), seeking out interesting people. I found Daynabelle Anderson, who lost her 19-year-old son three years ago—and decided to speak to him via daily letters. She pieced the notes together into a book, then self-published. Remarkable woman wh...

On covering the best college football team in America; on finding Trevor Lawrence's best friend at a small-town Burger King; on what one learned from a summer in the New York Yankees' clubhouse.

On how a blue-collar kid with no journalistic aspirations became one of America's great football writers; on covering athletes fairly, compassionately; on the death of a defensive back and the downfall of a daily newspaper.

In the first-ever Two Writers Slinging Yang recorded before a live audience, we travel to Ohio University to discuss Tom Brady's sadness after a Super Bowl setback; ways to write about 9.11 in the immediate aftermath; rules all young writers should consider following.

On finding new material about a beloved championship team from 50 years ago; on ghost writing athlete autobiographies and bringing unique voices to Mariano Rivera, Carli Lloyd and R.A. Dickey; on discovering depth and meaning via a former baseball phenom whose life was forever changed by 9.11.

On profiling Adrian Peterson and dealing with the detractors; on making a brief time with Antonio Brown count; on wearing jerseys in Instagram posts; on understanding the plight of the young African-American athlete.