Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century

The First 10 Years Of The NWSL, And What It Shows About American Sports Culture

Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century speak with Meghann Burke, executive director of the National Women's Soccer League Player's Association

It's Tough To Get A Man To Understand Something When His Salary Depends On His Not Understanding It

Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century

An LGBTQIA+ Affirming Athlete Ministry

Super Bowl 56

It's our annual Super Bowl episode - but this one comes in stages. The day after John and our show's producer recorded it, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination, sham interviews for coaching positions, and more. We recorded a second time to include that in the show, plus we also feature part of an earlier Going Deep episode where John and Marcia explained why coaching in the pros is far more difficult than in college.

Concussions In Contact Sports: A Solvable Problem

In this episode of Going Deep, our hosts go back to an issue they've spent much of their recent years discussing - concussions in contact sports. They catch up with two engineers - Eric Nauman and Tom Talavadge - whom they first met while John was coaching at Purdue University. They've talked with Eric and Tom before about their work on microconcussions, and they get the latest on what the pair have discovered in their research, and how it can be applied to sports like football.

From The Archives: Origin Stories & The Coaching Rollercoaster

This episode of Going Deep goes deep into our archives for two conversations that are just as topical now as they were when they were recorded in 2018 - Origin Stories Part 1 & Part 2, and The Coaching Rollercoaster.

The Jon Gruden Experience

This episode is not really about Jon Gruden, whom John Shoop worked for with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004. It isn't really about Bruce Allen either, who was the general manager of that team. It isn't about the email exchanges between Gruden and Allen that were recently revealed that led to Gruden's resignation as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on October 11th, 2021. They're all just actors in the play. This episode of Going Deep is really about the characteristics of white supremacy cul...

More On Mental Health

In their last episode, John and Marcia only scratched the surface about mental health in sports. They go deeper in this show, and they bring in an expert to help - sports social worker Natalie Graves of Chicago.

Unforgiving Contexts

In this episode of Going Deep, our hosts take some time to slow down and dive into two topics in the sports world which are getting varying degrees of news coverage - athlete mental health (a lot) and race-norming in the NFL (very little).

Youth Sports

Our hosts tackle a topic they've long wanted to in this episode - youth sports - and in particular, the trend toward having teens specialize in one sport at younger and younger ages. Their guests include Jon Solomon of the Aspen Institute, which will release a 'children's bill of rights in sports' on August 12th. Three members of the city of Asheville's parks and recreation department also join the program to discuss what's happening locally.

The 2020(21) Summer Olympics Special

On July 23rd, the 2020 Summer Olympics get underway a year late in Tokyo. Because of COVID-19, these games are already unlike any other in the history of the Olympics. To get ready for the games, our hosts showcase plenty of stories and facts from Olympic history - some well-known, and many not. Their guest is David Wallechinsky, who wrote the definitive history of the Olympics The Complete Book of the Olympics, and served as president of the International Society of Olympic Historians from 2012...

NIL, NCAA Inertia, And The Continuing Movement For Collegiate Player's Rights

On July 1st, six states will see 'name, image, and likeness' bills go onto the books - allowing collegiate players for the first time to make money during their college careers. Will others follow suit, or will the NCAA be able to hold off the changes as it has since the verdict in the Ed O'Bannon case? John and Marcia speak with Micahel McCann. He's a professor at the University of New Hampshire, and a writer for Sportico.

MiLB Is Back (But It's Much Different Than Pre-Pandemic)

In this episode of Going Deep, we mark the beginning of the minor league baseball season this week with an episode that looks at the growing differences between the minors and college baseball. Our guests include the manager of the Asheville Tourists Nate Shaver, and the head baseball coach at UNC Asheville Scott Friedholm. And for the first time, we take questions from our listeners!

Not So Fast: Former Ivy League Runner Challenges Universities On Racial Justice

Rusell Dinkins ran track at Princeton. He knows firsthand how the sport can help Black athletes get into college. That's why he's made it his mission to stop universities from around the country from cutting track & field and cross country programs - like at Brown, William & Mary, and Minnesota. Dinkins joins our hosts to talk about his latest fight - to save track & field at Clemson #SaveClemsonXCTF

New Job At An Unprecedented Time - Alex Gary's First Year As An Athletic Director

In February of 2020, Alex Gary was announced as the new athletic director at Western Carolina University. By the time the former Catamount baseball player started the job a few months later, the whole world had changed. Gary recounts his first year as AD in this episode with John and Marcia, and what it was like to address all the challenges that arose. He's the first Black athletic director at both Western Carolina and the Southern Conference.

Super Bowl 55

Super Bowl 55 takes place Sunday in Tampa, Florida. It closes a season like no other in the NFL - something just about everyone can say for themselves too. Our hosts in their annual Super Bowl episode talk how the league responded to the pandemic, plus how the results of the NFL's call for more diverse head coaches remain lackluster - a discussion that pivots to the language white people use when talking about race.

Hello 2021 - Now What?

For Going Deep's first episode of 2021, John and Marcia delve deeper into the focus of their show - how sports in the U.S. mirrors American society. Just a few hours after we taped their discussion - which mostly focused on college sports - the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol only underscored our hosts' message further.

From The Archives: Patton Robinette

For this episode of Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century, we dip into our archives for a previously two-part show where John and Marcia tell us the story of the greatest quarterback you never knew.

The Intercollegiate

In this episode of Going Deep, John and Marcia talk with Daniel Libit and Luke Cyphers the founders of The Intercollegiate. It's an online media outlet that focuses on investigative college sports journalism and analysis.

How Much Power Do Athletes Really Have?

The stature of athletes has always been apparent. But how much power do they actually have in achieving social change? Bomani Jones examined this in an August 2020 article in Vanity Fair. The ESPN host and podcaster joins John & Marcia to talk about the power of athletes in this episode.

Chris Borland

As a rookie linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers in 2014, Chris Borland registered 107 tackles, even though he didn't start until Week 7. He was even NFL Rookie of the Week that year. With a seemingly long and successful career in the league in front of him, Borland retired after his rookie season over concerns about long-term brain trauma. He joins John & Marcia discuss why he stepped away from football, plus his-post NFL life of preaching the benefits of meditation and his internship wit...

Should There Be A College Football Season This Fall? (And Is That The Right Question To Ask?)

Two of the 'Power 5' NCAA conferences - the Big 10 and Pac 12 - have already postponed their football seasons due to the pandemic. The three others - the ACC, Big 12, and SEC - are forging ahead...for now. Should there be a season? Dr. Victoria Jackson says asking that glosses over so much of what ails college athletics and the athletes themselves. She's a professor of sports history and religious studies at Arizona State University, and former college athlete herself at UNC Chapel Hill. She and...

The Twin Pandemics And How They Intersect With Sports

We at Going Deep had to take some time off due to the pandemic, but we're back with a new show in a newly-expanded time slot. The twin pandemics affecting the U.S. - racial injustice and the coronavirus - intersect with sports in so many ways. The Shoops examined that in an op-ed for the News & Observer this summer. In this episode, John and Marcia discuss those intersections with Dr. Deb Stroman, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill and former college basketball player at the University of Virgin...

Start At Fair & Go From There Part 1 - Baseball

A fundamental question - not just in sports but life - is 'what is fair?' Our hosts are going to start looking for answers. John begins by looking at 'what is fair' in baseball, a sport that has to be asking that question now given the Houston Astros cheating scandal, which seems to produce new revelations each day. His guest is former MLB manager Clint Hurdle. (Music featured includes Gizmo by Podington Bear)

Super Bowl 54

This is our third annual Super Bowl episode of Going Deep. One topic in these shows has been constant - race. Ahead of Super Bowl 54, we look at the NFL's Rooney Rule, and how the number of minority head coaches in the NFL has decreased over the last decade. We also examine gender roles in football. (Music featured includes Enchanted Forest by Audiobinger and Atmosphere by Borrtex)

Inside The World Of Women's Elite Running Part 2

This episode of Going Deep picks up where the last one left off, with Olympic hopeful and NCAA Division III steeplechase record holder Annie Rodenfels commenting on the Alberto Salazar scandal. She and our hosts discuss the unfortunate significance of body types in women's running, and the rigors of training at an elite level. (Music featured includes Coin Op by Chad Crouch)

Inside The World Of Women's Elite Running - Part 1

The world is learning more about women's elite running. Unfortunately, that's due in part to the Alberto Salazar scandal, but there is far more to the sport than that. And in this episode, our hosts delve into the world of women's elite running with NCAA Champion, NCAA Division III steeplechase record holder and Olympic hopeful Annie Rodenfels. She shares how she got into running, and how training, coaching, and inner will pushed her to records during her time at Center College. While at the sch...

Does This Really Change Anything Part 2

We continue the conversation from our last episode on the October 29th, 2019 decision by the NCAA's top governing board to allow college athletes the opportunity to 'benefit' from the name, image, and likeness while in school. After John and Marcia finish scrutinizing the bullet points the NCAA put out after its decision, they focus on two factors that play into the collegiate sports model - race and geography. (Music featured includes Kumaon Foothills by Scanglobe)

Does This Really Change Anything Part 1

On October 29, 2019, the NCAA's top governing board voted unanimously to allow college athletes 'the opportunity to benefit' from their name, image, and likeness while they're in school. That sentence - plus the bullet points that follow it in the NCAA release - have John and Marcia skeptical...very skeptical. They express that skepticism and why they have it in the first of two episodes on the topic. (Music featured includes Clusticus The Mistaken by Doctor Turtle)

Name, Image, & Likeness

California's Senate Bill 206 - which allows college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness while in school - could be the legislation that breaks the NCAA prohibition on player compensation. It passed both chambers of the California State Legislature unanimously in September, before being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Given their history in fighting for player's rights, both of our hosts are quite excited by this. In this episode, John and Marcia talk with Ramogi Hum...