Episode 194: Magic in the Air with Mike Sielski

The Other 51

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4M ago 34:20

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“I didn’t want this to be 300 pages of highlights. I wanted this book to surprise people in its depth and in the way it’s written and in the topics we cover.”

Mike Sielski returns to the show for a deep dive into the writing and reporting of his new book, “Magic in the Air.”

We start with the book’s subtitle: “The Myth, the Mystery and the Soul of the Slam Dunk.” Mike, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and friend of the show, talks about he was inspired by Tyler Kepner’s book K and how he wanted to do a book where each chapter was its own entity

Mike describes how his reporting had him dodging rattlesnakes in Amarillo Texas teetering on the rabbit hole of finding the first person to dunk. He talks about why he wrote some of the book in first person, what it’s like to stretch that writing muscle, and how he used it to dunk on the NCAA.

We also talk about his favorite dunk of all time and the surprising role N.C. State plays in the history of the dunk. And no, Olean is not the birthplace of the dunk.

“What I wanted to do is take the dunk and use it as a vehicle to understand how basketball has changed and how American culture and society have changed over time.”

Links

Pre-order Magic in the Air:

Amazon

Bookshop.org

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (The best thing Mike’s read lately)

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Apple Podcasts

Spotify

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