Baseball season is officially in full swing, and with every home run robbery, oppo taco, and walk-off eruption, it feels like, even for a few hours, baseball restores our faith in humanity. But outside of the stadium, life is anything but calm.
A country gripped by fear, a heightened sense of political suspicion, and athletes pulled into the discourse. Any of this sound familiar? This week, we talk with award-winning sports historian Howard Bryant to take us into the moment America asked its biggest sports hero to prove his loyalty
We also sit down with Tim Lambert, a Pittsburgh sports writer, to talk about the irrational hope that all of us feel at the beginning of baseball season and ask the question on everyone’s mind: could this be our year?
Show Notes
- ‘The most dangerous man in America’: how Paul Robeson went from Hollywood to blacklisted | The Guardian
- Paul Robeson Biography | PBS
- The Story Behind Jackie Robinson’s Moving Testimony Before the House Un-American Activities Committee | TIME
- Venezuela’s historic WBC title fueled by power, pitching — and passion | The Athletic
- Kings and Pawns | Howard Bryant
Show Credits
Host: David Greene
Executive Producers: Joan Isabella, Tom Grahsler
Senior Producer: Michael Olcott
Producer: Michaela Winberg
Associate Producer: Bibiana Correa
Talent Booker: Britt Kahn
Engineer: Mike Villers, Adam Staniczeski
Tile Art: Bea Walling
Sports in America is a production of WHYY, distributed by PRX, and part of the NPR podcast network.
