Deviate

Baseball writer Rany Jazayerli on fandom, and growing up Muslim in America


Listen Later

“When you are more focused with how other people are practicing their faith than how you are practicing it yourself, you have gone down the wrong path.” – Rany Jazayerli

Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) is a Chicago-area dermatologist, sportswriter, and co-founder of the Baseball Prospectus website. In 1998 he developed the statistical concept of Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP), which evaluates the impact of high pitch-counts in baseball.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf talks to Rany about growing up the son of Syrian immigrant parents in Wichita (3:40); Rany’s move to Saudi Arabia at a young age, and his relationship with Islam, Syria, and America (14:30); the renowned 19th century Arab religious and military leader Abd el-Kader (19:00); perceptions and realities surrounding the Islamic faith and its place in American society (27:00); and Rany’s predictions for the upcoming baseball season (47:30).

For more recent articles from Rany, check out his Ringer article archive.

Notable Links

  • A plea for tolerance, by Rany Jazayerli (ESPN article)
  • Does This Suit Make Me Look Terrorist To You? (This American Life segment)
  • Rany on the Royals (baseball blog)
  • K.C. Masterpiece, by Rany Jazayerli (Grantland article)
  • The Sweet Superstition of Rooting for the Royals, by Rolf Potts (Atlantic essay)
  • Kansas City Star oral history of the 2014 AL Wild Card game
  • David Schoenfield (ESPN editor)
  • Obama’s Biggest Mistake, by Rany Jazayerli (Ringer article)
  • Abd el-Kader and the Massacre of Damascus, by Rany Jazayerli (essay)
  • Commander of the Faithful, by John W. Kiser (book)
  • Emir Abd el-Kader (religious and military leader)
  • Elkader, Iowa (town named for Abd el-Kader)
  • Al-Assad regime (Syrian ruling family)
  • Sunni Islam (denomination of Islam)
  • Wahhabism (Islamic doctrine and religious movement)
  • Nation of Islam (African-American religious movement)
  • Dave Chappelle (American Muslim comedian)
  • Lupe Fiasco (American Muslim rapper)
  • Anti-Catholicism in the United States
  • Islamophobia in the United States
  • Mao II, by Don Delillo (novel)
  • The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

    Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at [email protected].

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    DeviateBy Rolf Potts

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    161 ratings


    More shows like Deviate

    View all
    Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast by Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot

    Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

    268 Listeners

    TED Radio Hour by NPR

    TED Radio Hour

    22,085 Listeners

    Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan by Chris Ryan

    Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan

    2,064 Listeners

    Tricycle Talks by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

    Tricycle Talks

    361 Listeners

    Zero To Travel Podcast by Jason Moore

    Zero To Travel Podcast

    826 Listeners

    The James Altucher Show by James Altucher

    The James Altucher Show

    2,501 Listeners

    Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

    Hidden Brain

    43,883 Listeners

    The Next Big Idea by Next Big Idea Club

    The Next Big Idea

    1,275 Listeners

    The Overland Journal Podcast by Scott Brady, Ashley Giordano, and Matt Scott

    The Overland Journal Podcast

    268 Listeners

    Deep Questions with Cal Newport by Cal Newport

    Deep Questions with Cal Newport

    1,299 Listeners

    All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins by Chris Hutchins

    All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins

    1,603 Listeners

    PsycHacks by Orion Taraban

    PsycHacks

    79 Listeners

    You Be Trippin' by Ari Shaffir

    You Be Trippin'

    808 Listeners

    AI For Humans: Making Artificial Intelligence Fun & Practical by Kevin Pereira & Gavin Purcell

    AI For Humans: Making Artificial Intelligence Fun & Practical

    254 Listeners

    How I Write by David Perell

    How I Write

    78 Listeners