Author Archives: Paul Knepper

https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-kaepernick-effect In 2016, amid an epidemic of police shootings of African Americans, the celebrated NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began a series of quiet protests on the field, refusing to stand during the U.S. national anthem. By “taking a knee,” Kaepernick bravely joined a long tradition of American athletes making powerful political statements. This time, however,Continue reading “Podcast with Dave Zirin about his book The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/ben-guest-zen-and-the-art-of-coaching-basketball-a-namibian-odyssey-2021 Pressure plays, buzzer-beaters, and mindfulness meditation: A team of teenagers goes for the championship in Namibia’s professional basketball league. Ben Guest takes a high school coaching gig on the other side of the world. On the first day of practice one of the ten players can’t complete a simple defensive slide. Follow their journeyContinue reading “Podcast with Ben Guest, author of Zen and the Art of Coaching Basketball: A Namibian Odyssey”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/egypts-football-revolution Both a symbol of the Mubarak government’s power and a component in its construction of national identity, football served as fertile ground for Egyptians to confront the regime’s overthrow during the 2011 revolution. With the help of the state, appreciation for football in Egypt peaked in the late 2000s. Yet after Mubarak fell, fansContinue reading “Podcast with Carl Rommel, author of Egypt’s Football Revolution”

I spoke with the great Dave Zirin about my book on the Edge of Sports Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-about-the-knicks-of-the-90s/id280938935?i=1000539597545

https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-war The battle between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns is remembered as one of the greatest fights of all time. But in the months before the two finally collided on April 15, 1985, there was a feeling in the air that boxing was in trouble. The biggest name in the business, Sugar Ray Leonard,Continue reading “Podcast with Don Stradley about his new book The War”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/our-team In July 1947, not even three months after Jackie Robinson debuted on the Brooklyn Dodgers, snapping the color line that had segregated Major League Baseball, Larry Doby would follow in his footsteps on the Cleveland Indians. Though Doby, as the second Black player in the majors, would struggle during his first summer in Cleveland,Continue reading “Podcast with Luke Epplin, author of Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series That Changed Baseball”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/boxed-out-of-the-nba The Eastern Professional Basketball League (1946-78) was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the northeast and featuring the best players who just couldn’t make the NBA—many because of unofficial quotas on Black players, some because of scandals, and others because they weren’t quite good enough in the years when theContinue reading “Podcast with the authors of Boxed Out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/shake-and-bake Shake and Bake is the story of Archie Clark, one of the top playmaking guards in the 1970s pre-merger NBA. While not one of the game’s most recognized superstars, Clark was a seminal player in NBA history who staggered defenders with the game’s greatest crossover dribble (“shake and bake”) and is credited by his peersContinue reading “Podcast with Bob Kuska about his book Shake and Bake: The Life and Times of NBA Great Archie Clark”

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/mikesafo/2021/06/01/mike-safo-with-paul-knepper-author-of-knicks-of-the-nineties