The Untold History of Sports in America
The Untold History of Sports in America
Join celebrated history professor Matthew Andrews for discussions about sports from their earliest days in the colonies all the way to their present status as culture defining billion dollar industries. Sports are more than a collection of games, much more. From Jackie Robinson to the 1968 Olympics to Mia Hamm, sports have provided a stage for important conversations about equality and justice, …Social links:
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Taking A Knee: Athlete Activism
In our final episode, Matt Andrews explores how athletes have protested in the modern era, from Craig Hodges' direct plea to President Bush to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem. Those protests, just like similar ones before it, were criticized by some Americans who told thos…
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Patriotism's Role in Sports
Why do we sing the National Anthem at sporting events? Is patriotism part of sports? Matt Andrews explains how American sports have been intertwined with national tragedies over the last century, including September 11th.
27:13Clean
Cheating and Sports
Baseball, Cycling, Golf....why are we so obsessed with athletes cheating? Matt explores this question through the stories of Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.
28:27
Mia Hamm and the World Cup
Women's soccer began to take off in the U.S. in the 1990s, culminating in the frenzy surrounding the 1999 World Cup and one of the greatest female athletes, Mia Hamm. Matt tells that story and explains how a sports bra created a controversy.
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Air Jordan
Matt Andrews tells the story of one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan, and how his relationship with Nike changed the world of sports.
28:00Clean
The Return of the Great White Hope
In the 1980s, white athletes for some Americans came to represent white excellence in a sports world dominated by black athletes. Matt Andrews illustrates this through the stories of three white sports legends-NBA player Larry Bird, boxer Gerry Cooney...and fictional fighter Rocky Balboa.
29:02Clean
The Politicized Olympics of the 1980s
The Soviets and Americans both hosted the Olympics in the 1980s. Matt Andrews explains that the fraught political situation of the time spilled into the Games, including boycott threats and fallout from a shot-down commercial airplane.
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Let's Get Physical
Before the 1970s, the average American stopped exercising after their high school days in gym class. But with modern technology came sedentary lifestyles and rising health issues. Matt Andrews breaks down the beginnings of the American fitness boom and how the jogging craze was partly about the nee…
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The Greatest Sports Movie Ever Made
We won't spoil which movie Matt Andrews declares the "greatest," but he feels pretty strongly about it. And that's because it's the first of its kind to be brutally honest. Hint: It's not Hoosiers.
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Title IX
When President Nixon signed Title IX into law in 1972, the goal was achieving gender equality and fairness in education. But it led to a women's revolution in sports, with high school and collegiate participation for women soaring in the 1970s-1990s. Matt Andrews explains the complicated story of T…
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