New World Notes - Dave Zirin on American Football

This week on New World Notes: Program #447, September 27, 2016, Tuesday from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. (and on Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m.), host Kenneth Dowst reprises a talk on sports originally aired in October, 2012 (program #243).

For many people, sports offers a welcome respite from politics and economics. But sports journalist Dave Zirin has come to see that the world of sports is not immune from the big forces that determine the rest of American life. In fact, professional sports are a laboratory of the struggle between capital and labor. The uproar over football referrees is only one recent example.

Dave Zirin is an American political sportswriter who is currently the sports editor for The Nation. He has authored a number of books, including A People's History of Sports: From Bull-Baiting to Barry Bonds, Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2008.

In this recorded talk, the noted sports commentator tells of the upper-class origins of American football; its connections with "muscular Christanity" and with 19th century US imperialism. The game has always been violent and has caused countless player injuries and deaths--but Zirin argues against those who would ban the sport. Zirin's solution: for all jobs--including NFL football--support the workers in their struggle to control workplace rules and working conditions. A witty and interesting talk.

You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both A-Infos Radio Project and (from #90 onwards) the Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chronological listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page; each page has links to the recorded audio; and a handy table of contents will quickly find the installment you want.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want--and what they're trying to make us settle for.

Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern): 

• Sundays, 12:30 to 1:00 PM, WIEC-LP, FM 102.7 (Eau Claire, WI). Repeats Mondays at noon.
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• Tuesdays, 8:30 to 9:00 PM, WWUH FM 91.3 (West Hartford, CT). Same time on WJDW FM 89.7 (Somers, CT) and WWEB FM 89.9 (Wallingford, CT).
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• Various days & times (multiple times per week), KGIG FM 104.9 (Modesto, CA) & online. Same on KHCF FM 89.9 (Gilroy, CA).

Any time: Listen to or download any installment. Just go to New World Notes and click a link to the audio at the top of the page. (Every installment has a page on the Web site, and every page has links to the audio.)