Edge of Sports
Episodes
The Atlanta Braves or the Atlanta Bravest? Also, the March for Mumia
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Chris Buccafusco about his organization, Atlanta Bravest, and what they are doing to combat indigenous mascoting. Also, sound f...
Moses Malone Gets Biblical
22 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Paul Knepper about his new book, Moses Malone: The Life Of A Basketball Prophet. Also, we talked to the hoops savant Arya Shira...
How Lacrosse and Boxing Explain The USA
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Scott Price, author of the new book The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse. I interview Scott along...
Boxing's Rings of Dissent and NBA Awards Predictions
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk to David Leonard, co-editor of the new book Rings of Dissent: Boxing and Performances of Rebellion. We also go into Part III of ou...
Tom Alter & Eastern Conference Preview
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk to labor historian Dr. Tom Alter, fired from his teaching post at Texas State for speaking at a socialism conference and whose case ...
Black History is for EVERYONE and a Western Conference Preview
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Edge of Sports podcast, we speak to Brian Jones, author of the new book Black History is for EVERYONE. Also, we are back with hoops ...
How Ireland Views the NFL & Mumia’s Lawyer Speaks
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Edge of Sports podcast, we talk to Noelle Hanrahan, founder and director of Prison Radio, as well as attorney for Mumia Abu-Jamal, wh...
Live from Occupied DC
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Body: This week on the Edge of Sports podcast, we have a special episode from occupied Washington, DC, a town currently rife with armed National Guar...
The New DC Football Stadium Is A Bad Deal Plus Little League Magic
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Edge of Sports podcast, we are speaking with Evan Brown, a fellow with the Sports Fans Coalition, about the brewing stadium deal for ...
Emergency NBA Finals Pod! Why Achilles' Tears Matter! Or Do They?
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we chop it up with Arya Shirazi to discuss the NBA Finals. We also discuss SGA’s place among the best in the league, and what to make of ...
Sarah Alami On Hollywood's Palestine Blacklist
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Palestinian-American actor Sara Alami (Guardians of the Galaxy) about navigating Hollywood in a time when speaking out against ...
Thibs Fired! What Are The Societal Implications? An Emergency Pod
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a special emergency pod, Arya Shirazi joins the show to chop it up about the New York Knicks' decision to let go of Tom Thibodeau.Zirin, Trump ...
Bobbito’s Hoop Dreams
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to the legendary Bobbito Garcia about his new book, Bobbito's Book of B-Ball Bong Bong!: A Memoir of Sports, Style, and Soul. ...
The Book MLK Historians Are Learning From
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Jeanne Theoharis, author of the groundbreaking new book King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life of Struggle Outsi...
The End Times NBA Playoffs
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week is our long-awaited 2025 NBA preview with hoops savant Arya Shirazi. Even in difficult times, the NBA playoffs remind us of what’s good. C...
The Rhythm of DC’s Resistance & What's The Deal With UFC?
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk to Dr. Maurice Jackson, author of the new book Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience: How Black Washingtonians Used Music and Sport...
What To Learn From A Yearbook
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk to Michael Messner, author of the fascinating new book, about what we can learn by looking at sports and yearbooks over the course ...
Rabbis for Justice in Palestine
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Rabbi Brant Rosen of the Tzedek Chicago Synagogue, a synagogue that claims anti-Zionism as a core tenet of their beliefs. We ta...
Journalist and Trans Athlete Karleigh Webb & Great Point Guards of Yesteryear
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to Outsports journalist and Connecticut Ambush football player Karleigh Webb about her journey and insights on trans issues in spo...
Mapping A US Men’s Soccer Revolution
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to US-born, Rio de Janeiro-based visionary Robert Wilson, whose short volume A Football Manifesto is a brilliant excavation of the...
“Sports Under Fascism & All-Time NBA Injury What-Ifs”
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a talk I gave two years ago about the social function of sports in an authoritarian society. It rings more true today, and I wanted...
Former NFL Player Chris Kluwe On His Arrest Protesting MAGA
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to former NFL player Chris Kluwe. Kluwe made news this week for his protest of MAGA at a Huntingdon Beach city council meeting, g...
The Sports Doc We’ve Been Waiting For And the NBA at the All-Star Break
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to executive producer Arif Khatib and director Steven C. Bernier about their new documentary, Because They Believed: Minority Ath...
Heavy Luka Theories with Kiese Laymon
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's being called the most shocking trade in basketball or even sports history: All-NBA guard Luka Doncic was sent from the Dallas Mavericks to t...
The Legendary Robert Lipsyte: His New Book Rhino Run, And How YA Novels Can Save The World
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak to the legendary New York Times journalist and acclaimed Young Adult writer Robert Lipsyte. We talk about his new book, Rhino’s ...
Trans Athletes Fight Back and The Golden Age of NBA Centers
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have two guests, Harrison Browne, and Arya Shirazi, talking about trans athletes and the golden era of NBA centers.This week, we speak to Harrison ...
“Should College Football Die?”
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Body: This week, we come from the famed Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, DC, where I interview Derek Silva on the new book he co-authore...
No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hoosiers? Slap Shot? Boxcar Bertha? Today, film savant Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk about the baseball movies that could have been. Zirin, In ...
Why Baseball Movies Matter
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak about the joy and politics of baseball movies. First, we speak to Noah Gittell, author of the terrific romp of a book Baseball: T...
Chet or Biff: What We Can Politically Learn From The Biggest Dirtbags in 80s Teen Movies?
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we join longtime, award-winning Hollywood Makeup artist Spring Super to discuss teen film villains in the 1980s and how they affect our pol...
A Basketball Look Back
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Edge of Sports podcast, savant Arya Shirazi joins Dave to discuss what they have learned ten games into the season and what predictio...
Bill Fletcher Jr on What’s Next
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we are joined by Bill Fletcher. We talk about the story, the 2024 presidential election, and what to make of it. We discuss the appeal of T...
YOUR NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we are joined by savant Arya Shirazi. We talk about the upcoming NBA season, specifically the Western Conference. Are the Thunder going to ...
YOUR NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
19 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we are joined by savant Arya Shirazi. We talk about the upcoming NBA season, specifically the Eastern Conference. How much of the needle mo...
Teaching Complicated Athletes to Children
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk to New York Times bestselling author Andrew Maraniss. His latest is a nonfiction chapter book series about athletes who have ste...
The History and Future of the Black Quarterback
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Dr. Louis Moore about his groundbreaking new book: The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans, and the Making of the Bla...
Tyreek Hill And Player Policing; NBA Off Season Intrigues
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week I have choice words about the police treatment of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and the NFL franchise owners who endorse it. We also t...
LeBron, Steph, Wemby, and the Greatest Olympic Basketball Game of All Time
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a particular installment of hoops talk with my friend Arya Shirazi, where we talk about Olympic basketball, Team USA, their incredi...
The Trans History Embedded in Hitler’s 1936 Olympics
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Michael Waters, author of the book The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports. An incredible eye...
Making Sense of The Celtics Triumph
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Edge of Sports we have our last in a series with Arya Shirazi about the NBA playoffs in the victory of the Boston Celtics over the Dallas...
The Dallas Mavericks: Mission impossible?
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Arya Shirazi joins the show to review the NBA Conference Finals and preview the NBA FinalsBody: This week basketball savant Arya Shirazi joins the Ed...
Round One Understood
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Dave Zirin brings back Arya Shirazi to discuss round one of the playoffs and what we learned.Zirin, “Macklemore Dares Others to Stand Up ...
Former A's Bruce Maxwell calls out Oakland A's owner John Fisher for Vegas move
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After more than 50 years, the Oakland A's announced their departure from the city last year, leaving Oakland bereft of its sports teams after the ...
The Meaning of Jalen Brunson and the 2024 Playoffs
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we discuss why New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson should not be seen is anybody’s underdog. Also, we break down who is going to win the fi...
The Magic of Luka and Kyrie
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dallas Mavericks’ backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie is the most thrilling guard combo in the league and perhaps ever. Yet very few thought their co...
The NBA Road to International Greatness
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Arya joins the pod again to talk about the rising of the international influence of the NBA, it’s early roots, and where the game may be headed. Zi...
Future of the Game
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk about the current state of the NBA, and we discuss what the implications of this game are moving forward and how w...
Irish athlete activist on organizing a sports boycott of Israel
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca O'Keeffe helped spark an international firestorm within the world of sports when she called on the Irish women’s basketball team to boyc...
Basketball Butterfly Effect: The Forgotten Stars of the NBA’s 1980s
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk about the truly forgotten players of the NBA, particularly during the 1980s, such a unique era in the history of the NBA, and...
Basketball Butterfly Effect: How the Pistons Clawed Their Way to Two Titles
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 1980s and 1990s were defined by basketball dynasties like the Lakers, Celtics, and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Yet in the midst of this unpr...
Why Haven't the Knicks Won a Championship In 50 Years?
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New York is the Mecca of basketball. So what explains the city’s inability to score an NBA championship in the last half-century. Arya Shirazi joi...
Basketball Butterfly Effect: Why Didn’t LeBron ever play Kobe in the Finals?
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are two of the most defining players of their generation and NBA history. While a considerable portion of their careers o...
Basketball Butterfly Effect: Steph Curry & the Knicks
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 6 of our series, Basketball Butterfly Effect, Arya Shirazi joins the show again to discuss the 2009 NBA draft and the Knicks coming close to g...
Basketball Butterfly Effect: 1993 Draft
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 5 of our series, Basketball Butterfly Effect, Arya Shirazi joins the show again to discuss the 1993 NBA draft and a crucial trade that takes p...
Trans athletes fight for inclusion in sports & racial economy of college football
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Inclusion for trans athletes in sports has become a flashpoint in the culture war that extends from schools to international competitions. Katie Barne...
What makes Deion Deion And Adam Mansbach Makes It Plain
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we speak to Jean Jacques Taylor author of the new book Coach Prime. With near total access to Deion Sanders program at Jackson S...
Len Bias and the 1980s War on Drugs
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we welcome back Arya Shirazi to discuss another basketball butterfly effect: what if the NBA had handled the death of Len bias d...
Why Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Didn't Stand For The Anthem
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 90s, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf had a promising career ahead of him in the NBA as an up-and-coming star. That all changed in 1996 when he refus...
Northwestern's hazing scandal and sports culture w/Byron Hurt
16 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Officially, hazing is illegal and unwelcome just about everywhere you turn—but it continues as an open secret in far too many fraternities, sports t...
Chamique Holdsclaw on Depression and Fame
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chamique Holdsclaw's legendary status was apparent from the moment she entered professional sports. After helping the US National Team win the Gol...
Basketball Butterfly Effect Part III: MJ in Portland?
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Edge of Sports Podcast, part three of our discussion with basketball savant Arya Shirazi about basketball butterfly effects. This tim...
Basketball Butterfly Effect Part II: The Ballad of Kobe Bean
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Edge of Sports Podcast, part two of our discussion with basketball savant Arya Shirazi about basketball butterfly effects. This time,...
Basketball Butterfly Effect: The 2003 NBA Draft
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to basketball savant Arya Shirazi about what could have happened if the Detroit Pistons had drafted Carmelo Anthony instead of Dark...
The Women's World Cup and the fight for equal pay w/ Julie Foudy
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As two-time defending champions, the US is the team to beat in this year's FIFA Women's World Cup. Long considered one of the best soccer team...
What Happened to Black Activism in Professional Sports?
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The growth of the Black Lives Matter movement through the 2010s catalyzed a resurgence of Black activism in professional sports that had its climax in...
150 years of Black activism in sports w/Dr. Harry Edwards
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The central place of sports in American life lends immense influence to athletes to shift the culture of the country—and for more than 150 years, Bl...
Solomon Hughes on playing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 'Winning Time’
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From 1979 to 1991, the Los Angeles Lakers would become a dominant force in the world of professional basketball and in American culture more broadly. ...
1968 Olympian Dr. John Carlos on the legacy of the Black Athletic Revolt
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Body: The year 1968 was a time of rebellion across the US and the wider world. Tremendous demonstrations and rebellions shook American cities in oppo...
Aaron Maybin: "Athletes aren't superheroes, we're human beings"
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After four years as a professional linebacker for football teams in the U.S. and Canada, Aaron Maybin put down his helmet and picked up a range of new...
W. Kamau Bell, the reluctant optimist | Edge of Sports
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Edge of Sports, host Dave Zirin highlights two takes on the gender politics of sports culture. Dr. Cheryl Cooky joins the Ask a S...
Shine On, Denver Nuggets
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we look with the great Washington Post journalist Michael Lee at what makes the Denver Nuggets and their star player Nikola Jokic so special...
Lamar Jackson And The State of the Black Quarterback
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode of the Edge of Sports podcast, we talk to Prof. Louis Moore, author of "We Will Win The Day," about Lamar Jackson&#...
David Aldridge on the end of Dan Snyder
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Washington media legend David Aldridge about the forthcoming sale of the Washington football team by its much-loathed owner Dan ...
A Radical Retelling of NBA History
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Theresa Runstedler, author of the book Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul ...
Why the NBA World Lost Its Joy
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Edge of Sports, we speak to Michael Lee of the Washington Post about why this has been the most dispiriting NBA season in recent h...
Ja Morant on the Edge
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the Edge of Sports podcast, we speak to Daily Memphian columnist Chris Herrington about the personal troubles of Memphis Grizzlies ...
Hooked On Women's Hoops with Kate Fagan
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the Edge of Sports podcast, we speak to author and sports opinionist Kate Fagan about her new illustrated history of the women in b...
Remembering David Jolicoeur aka Trugoy the Dove
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Program Manager for KGNU Community Radio, and founder of the decades strong Hip Hop group Council of Word, Dave Ashton about th...
KD, LeBron and WNBA Shockwaves
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to commentator and hoops legend Christy Winters Scott about the shockwaves that have roiled the worlds of hoop in both the WNBA and...
When Fighting Racism, Do Sports Matter?
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk to Ian Kennedy author of the new book On Account of Darkness: Shining a Light on Race and Sport. We also speak to Michael Lee of ...
Kendrick Perkins on Biography, Basketball, and Black History
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode of Edge of Sports, we speak to 14-year NBA veteran and basketball analyst Kendrick Perkins about his new book, The Educati...
Damar Hamlin and the Year That Was
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about the sports year that was 2022, in all its pain and promise. We also have ‘Choice Words’ about Damar Hamlin, the NFL’s re...
Pete Carroll's Magic Shoes and Griner's Freedom
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode of the Edge of Sports podcast, we interview radical educator Jesse Hagopian and how a crew of Seattle activists were able t...
The Political Story of Charles Barkley
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Tim Bella author of the new “definitive” biography of hoopster and hall of fame talker Charles Barkley. We talk to Bell abou...
Is NFL Football A Blood Sport?
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to documentarian Isaac Solotaroff about his new project on Al Jazeera English, Bloodsport, a harrowing look at concussions and the ...
Unpacking Kyrie Irving
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to New York City youth basketball coach - and one time NYC Marathoner - Arya Shirazi about the state of the NBA. We also have ‘C...
Why Did The Football World Reject Geno Smith?
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we spoke to sportswriter Chuck Modiano about shock NFL MVP candidate Geno Smith, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, Chuck predicted this...
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Speaks!
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talked to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, former NBA player and legendary athlete-activist about his new book In The Blink of an Eye, his new memoir...
Racism and the College Athlete
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talked to Derek Silva, co-author of an article in the Guardian about racial epithets, college athletics, and what occurred at BYU when Du...
Playing Through Fire: Athletes in an Age of Reaction
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Social movements tend to arise within the world of sports during periods of upsurge and upheaval. But what about times of authoritarianism, dictatorsh...
Soccer’s Impact on the Middle East
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk to Prof. Abdullah Al-Arian, editor of the new book Football in the Middle East about everything from the Qatari World Cup to Palesti...
David Maraniss On the Politics of Jim Thorpe
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to David Maraniss, one of the great journalists of our time, who has written a new book on the extremely well-known but frankly lit...
This Is America With Howard Bryant
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to author Howard Bryant about his recent column on the state of this country as well as his new book on the great Rickey Henderso...
50 Years of Title IX
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Kim Turner, the Director of the Gender Equity Initiative at the national nonprofit Positive Coaching Alliance about the impact ...
On Baseball’s Hidden Resistance
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk to Robert Elias, author of two books, Baseball Rebels and Major League Rebels. Both are about hidden histories of resistance athlete...
Are Colin Kaepernick and the NFL Going to Reunite?
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we explore the significance or lack thereof, of Colin Kaepernick's tryout with the Las Vegas Raiders. We also talk about Gabe Kapler'...
Toni Smith-Thompson Travels Full Circle
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2003, a Manhattanville College basketball player named Toni Smith caused a media frenzy when she turned her back on the National Anthem during Pres...
Michael Lee on the Fall of the 76ers
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The collapse of the Philadelphia 76ers has been one of the more curious dramas in sports. We speak to Michael Lee of the Washington Post about what th...
David Dennis, Jr. on “The Movement Made Us”
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we speak to Andscape’s David Dennis Jr. about his new book “The Movement Made Us: A Father, a Son, and the Legacy of a Freedom Ride.”...
Life of a Minor Leaguer
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's show, we talk to Simon Rosenblum-Larson, a minor league baseball player with the Tampa Bay Rays about the ugly realities of playing...