

Edge of Sports
Dave Zirin / The Nation
Where sports and politics collide, hosted by Nation magazine Sports Editor Dave Zirin
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 12, 2025 • 1h 50min
The Sports Doc We’ve Been Waiting For And the NBA at the All-Star Break
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 savant Arya Shirazi about where this NBA season is going after a series of shocking trades. Zirin, How the “Subversive Genius” of Kendrick Lamar Sent Trump Home a Loserhttps://www.thenation.com/article/society/super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-eagles-trump/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Feb 6, 2025 • 1h 9min
Heavy Luka Theories with Kiese Laymon
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 trade down with none other than Kiese Laymon. The writer of books like Heavy and Long Division and a professor at Rice University, Laymon helps us break down why it may have happened, as well as some theories to help us make sense of the senseless. We look at Luka, LeBron, the executives in charge, and the very shady new Mavericks owner and bankroller of Trump, the infamous Miriam Adelson.Zirin, The Super Bowl Will Be a Spectacle of Black Excellence, but You’ll Need to Tune Out MAGA’s White Whinehttps://www.thenation.com/article/society/super-bowl-chiefs-eagles-mahomes-hurts-kendrick-lamar-maga/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Feb 3, 2025 • 49min
The Legendary Robert Lipsyte: His New Book Rhino Run, And How YA Novels Can Save The World
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/780979/let-us-play-by-harrison-browne-and-rachel-browne/Zirin, A Meteorologist Was Fired for Describing What We All Saw: “Dude Nazi Saluted TWICE”https://www.thenation.com/article/society/meteorologist-sam-kuffel-cbs58-elon-musk-nazi-salute/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jan 26, 2025 • 1h 52min
Trans Athletes Fight Back and The Golden Age of NBA Centers
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 stories are a key to defending their rights in the face of a fascist movement aimed at their elimination from public life. Also, we speak to hoops savant Arya Shirazi about the golden age of NBA centers. At least, I think it’s the Golden Age. 1985-1995! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780979/let-us-play-by-harrison-browne-and-rachel-browne/Zirin, Should College Football Die?https://www.thenation.com/podcast/archive/eos-012325/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jan 22, 2025 • 1h 5min
“Should College Football Die?”
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 the US Block a Canadian Professor From His Own Book Event?https://www.thenation.com/article/society/nathan-kalman-lamb-end-college-football-barred-entry/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jan 14, 2025 • 55min
No Diamonds: The Most Important Sports Films That Aren’t Baseball
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 Burnhttps://www.thenation.com/article/society/sports-2024-year-review/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Dec 17, 2024 • 2h 2min
Why Baseball Movies Matter
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 Boxhttps://www.thenation.com/article/society/trump-army-navy-game-daniel-penny/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)—Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Dec 9, 2024 • 55min
Chet or Biff: What We Can Politically Learn From The Biggest Dirtbags in 80s Teen Movies?
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 Electionshttps://www.thenation.com/article/politics/nick-bosa-maga-colin-kaepernick/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nov 14, 2024 • 1h 9min
A Basketball Look Back
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 Electionshttps://www.thenation.com/article/politics/nick-bosa-maga-colin-kaepernick/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nov 7, 2024 • 27min
Bill Fletcher Jr on What’s Next
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 Trump’s revanchism, why the election turned out the way it did, and what we can do. You don’t want to miss this episode.Zirin, Your NBA Eastern Conference Previewhttps://www.thenation.com/podcast/archive/eos-102124-nba/—http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy


