Best Dave Zirin Podcasts (2025)

1
Ali (2001) (Guest: Dave Zirin) (episode 41) 50:16

26d ago50:16

50:16

Muhammad Ali is widely recognized as one of the greatest athletes of all-time and one of the most important figures of the 20th century. In addition to his long and celebrated career as a boxer and three-time heavyweight champion of the world, Ali changed the conversation about race, religion, and politics in America. Ali’s refusal to be inducted i…

1
The Collision: Sports and Politics - Thursday, May 1, 2025 1:00:08

22h ago1:00:08

1:00:08

Etan Thomas, Dave Zirin & Chuck Modiano

1
On the Waterfront (1954) (Guest: Warren Scharf) (episode 42) 57:45

3d ago57:45

57:45

This episode looks at On the Waterfront, the celebrated 1954 American film directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. The film stars Marlon Brando as the ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman Terry Malloy. Malloy struggles to stand up to mob-affiliated union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) after Malloy is lured into setting …

1
The Collision: Sports and Politics - Thursday, April 24, 2025 59:48

10d ago59:48

59:48

Etan Thomas, Dave Zirin & Chuck Modiano

1
The End Times NBA Playoffs 1:18:31

11d ago1:18:31

1:18:31

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. Check out our preview. Zirin, Can Steve Kerr Light an Anti-Trump Fire in the Sports World? https://www.thenation.com/article/society/steve-kerr-trump/ — http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitt…

1
The Collision: Sports and Politics - Thursday, April 17, 2025 1:00:00

17d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Etan Thomas, Dave Zirin & Chuck Modiano

1
The Rhythm of DC’s Resistance & What's The Deal With UFC? 1:28:24

18d ago1:28:24

1:28:24

This week, we talk to Dr. Maurice Jackson, author of the new book Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience: How Black Washingtonians Used Music and Sports in the Fight for Equality. We also talk to Ari Drennen from Media Matters about their recent study about the politics of the people behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Rhythms of Resistance & …

1
The Collision: Sports and Politics - Thursday, April 10, 2025 1:00:00

24d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Etan Thomas, Dave Zirin & Chuck Modiano

1
What To Learn From A Yearbook 1:34:28

30d ago1:34:28

1:34:28

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 of a century. It’s called “The High School: Sports, Spirit, and Citizens, 1903-2024.” Also, I’m talking to the savant, Arya Shirazi, about the days when March was truly mad. The High School https://ww…

1
The Collision: Sports and Politics - Thursday, April 3, 2025 1:00:08

1M ago1:00:08

1:00:08

Etan Thomas, Dave Zirin & Chuck Modiano

1
Rabbis for Justice in Palestine 54:39

1M ago54:39

54:39

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 talk about this perilous moment when an antisemitic administration is weaponizing antisemitism to jail Israel’s critics. We also talk some sports! Brant Rosen https://rabbibrant.com/ Zirin, Jackie Robin…

1
Syriana (2005) (Guest: Peggy McGuinness) (episode 40) 1:08:01

2M ago1:08:01

1:08:01

Syriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, based loosely on former CIA case officer Robert Baer’s memoir, See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism. The film weaves together multiple storylines that involve a CIA agent, a U.S. energy analyst, a major transnational law firm, an…

1
Journalist and Trans Athlete Karleigh Webb & Great Point Guards of Yesteryear 1:56:49

2M ago1:56:49

1:56:49

This week, we speak to Outsports journalist and Connecticut Ambush football player Karleigh Webb about her journey and insights on trans issues in sports. Also, we speak to hoops savant Arya Shirazi about the long-lost days of the court general, who was the point guard. We also remember the late great John Feinstein. Karleigh Webb https://www.outsp…

1
Mapping A US Men’s Soccer Revolution 59:31

2M ago59:31

59:31

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 systemic, structural problems in US men’s soccer and a radical fan-centric approach to radical change. It’s not just a diagnosis. It’s a wholly original cure. Robert Wilson https://bookshop.org/p/boo…

1
“Sports Under Fascism & All-Time NBA Injury What-Ifs” 1:32:21

2M ago1:32:21

1:32:21

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 to share it with you all. Also, I talked to basketball savant Arya Shirazi about the injuries that changed the course of NBA history. Zirin, Why Democrats Won’t Throw a Real Punch https://www.thenati…

1
The Goldman Case (2023) (Guest: Fred Davis) (episode 39) 44:50

2M ago44:50

44:50

The Goldman Case (Le Procès Goldman) (2023), is a French courtroom drama based on the real-life 1976 trial of Pierre Goldman, a far-left Jewish militant who was accused of multiple armed robberies and four murders during a holdup of a pharmacy in Paris. The film, which was directed by Cedric Kahn from screenplay by Kahn and Nathalie Hertzberg, star…

1
Former NFL Player Chris Kluwe On His Arrest Protesting MAGA 30:04

2M ago30:04

30:04

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, garnering headlines worldwide. We discuss what led to that moment, why he did what he did, and the sports world’s reaction to this administration and what explains it. Zirin, Why Democrats Won’t Throw a…

1
The Sports Doc We’ve Been Waiting For And the NBA at the All-Star Break 1:49:49

3M ago1:49:49

1:49:49

This week we speak to executive producer Arif Khatib and director Steven C. Bernier about their new documentary, Because They Believed: Minority Athletic Trailblazers Who Broke through The Racial Divide. The film is available on all streaming platforms and it's the documentary sports and politics lovers have been waiting for. Also, we talk to hoops…

1
Heavy Luka Theories with Kiese Laymon 1:08:32

3M ago1:08:32

1:08:32

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 the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Everyone is searching for reasons why the Mavericks would throw away Doncic, a generationally great player who is only 25 years old. On Edge of Sports, we break the…

1
Mr. Untouchable (2007) (Guest: Robert B. Fiske) (episode 38) 42:28

3M ago42:28

42:28

Mr. Untouchable, a 2007 documentary directed by Marc Levin, describes the rise and fall of former New York City drug kingpin, Leroy (“Nicky”) Barnes. In the early 1970s, Barnes formed “The Council,” an organized crime syndicate that controlled a significant part of the heroin trade in Harlem. Inspired by the Italian-American mafia, Barnes became on…

1
The Legendary Robert Lipsyte: His New Book Rhino Run, And How YA Novels Can Save The World 49:24

3M ago49:24

49:24

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 Run, the relationship between high school athletes and masculinity, and the galvanizing potential of American football. Al this and more on this week’s pod! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7809…

1
Trans Athletes Fight Back and The Golden Age of NBA Centers 1:52:24

3M ago1:52:24

1:52:24

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 Browne, the first transgender pro hockey player, about a new book he wrote with his journalist sister Rachel Browne, Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes, about how their stori…

1
“Should College Football Die?” 1:04:43

3M ago1:04:43

1:04:43

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-authored, The End of College Football. His co-author, Nathan Kalman-Lamb, was denied entry to the U.S. from Canada, which we discussed. Thank you, Politics & Prose for permission to use the audio! Zirin, Why Did …

1
No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball 55:12

4M ago55:12

55:12

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 2024, the Sports Leagues Watched the World Burn https://www.thenation.com/article/society/sports-2024-year-review/ — http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb…

1
First They Killed My Father (2017) and The Gate (2014) (Guest: Melanie O'Brien) (episode 37) 1:18:15

4M ago1:18:15

1:18:15

This episode looks at two films about the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s: First They Killed My Father (dir. Angelina Jolie), and The Gate (or Les Temps des Aveux) (dir. Régis Wargnier). First They Killed My Father is based on the memoir of Loung Ung, who was a five-year-old girl when the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia in 1975. Loung Ung was …

1
Episode 162: CTE and Sport with Dr. Jesse Mez 53:56

4M ago53:56

53:56

In this episode, Nathan has the distinct pleasure of talking to Jesse Mez of the Boston University CTE Center about his team's recent study on the prevalence of CTE among hockey players, developments in the diagnosis of the disease, and the ethical and public health implications of both violent sport and research studying head trauma, among other t…

1
Matewan (1989) (Guest: Fred B. Jacob) (episode 36) 1:05:47

4M ago1:05:47

1:05:47

Matewan (written and directed by John Sayles) dramatizes the events of the Battle of Matewan, a coal miners’ strike in 1920 in a small town in the hills of West Virginia. In the film, Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his film debut), an ex-Wobbly organizer for the United Mine Workers (also known as the “Wobblies”), arrives in Matewan, to organize mine…

1
Episode 161: Academic Exploitation in College Sport 39:50

5M ago39:50

39:50

In this episode, Nathan is joined by Max Jordan Nguemeni to discuss all the ways in which college athletes are denied the academic experience they are promised as a wage in exchange for their campus athletic work. We work through the themes explored in the chapter on this topic in Nathan and Derek's new book The End of College Football: On the Huma…

1
Why Baseball Movies Matter 2:02:06

5M ago2:02:06

2:02:06

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: The Movie. Then we speak to movie savant Arya Shirazi about the five most essential baseball movies of all time and whether they will hold up in 2024. Zirin, Trump Invites a Killer to His Luxury Box htt…

1
Episode 160: The Boxing Debacle at Paris 2024 49:18

5M ago49:18

49:18

We present this recording of the talks that comprised a panel discussion on challenges to Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting's claims to womanhood hosted by the UNB Faculty of Kinesiology on Friday, November 29th. The Olympic boxing match in the welterweight category between Italy’s Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif lasted less than one minute. Th…

1
Chet or Biff: What We Can Politically Learn From The Biggest Dirtbags in 80s Teen Movies? 55:29

5M ago55:29

55:29

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 politics! Zirin, What the Bosa/Kaepernick Double Standard Tells Us About the 2024 Elections https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/nick-bosa-maga-colin-kaepernick/ — http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.co…

1
Minamata: The Victims and Their World (1971) & Minamata (2020) (Guest: Darryl Flaherty) (episode 35) 1:07:25

5M ago1:07:25

1:07:25

This episode looks at two films that examine the environmental disaster in Minamata, Japan: Noriaki Tsuchimoto’s documentary, Minamata: The Victims and the World (1971), and Andre Levitas’s Minamata (2020), a Hollywood feature film that tells the story through the famous American photographer, W. Eugene Smith. From 1932 to 1968, the Chisso Corporat…

1
Episode 159: The San Jose State Transphobic Clusterf*ck 52:35

5M ago52:35

52:35

In this episode, Nathan is joined by trans participation in sport scholar and authority Anna Posbergh to discuss the abusive treatment of an athlete on the San Jose State women's volleyball team, what it says about the current state of inclusion with respect to trans participation in sport, and also how it figures into broader trends of political t…

1
A Basketball Look Back 1:09:15

6M ago1:09:15

1:09:15

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 predictions they would do over if they had to do it again. Zirin, What the Bosa/Kaepernick Double Standard Tells Us About the 2024 Elections https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/nick-bosa-maga-colin-kaep…

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Dave Zirin Podcasts

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