Dear Adam Silver

Artist and filmmaker Trey Cartier is on the show to discuss The Summitt, a Digital Art & Film Gallery and Women’s Sports Lounge here in beautiful Arcata, CA, where we both live!

I so admire what Trey has built and how they are dedicated to on the ground work through their art practice, work that offers something very tangible to the community, to their community and has a direct, specific benefit to those of us who have similar interests and oftentimes, values. The Summitt is a wonderful place to hang out and watch the game, have a drink (NA or not!) and spend time with the latest exhibition. If you live in or near Arcata or you are passing through, check out the schedule here for upcoming events.

Writer, author, thinker, storyteller and True Hoop mastermind Henry Abbott makes his debut on Dear Adam Silver as we move ahead into our next 100 episodes. Henry is a friend of the show and I am so excited to have him on to discuss his 2025 book Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance among other things. This is a great book and truly written for anyone with a body!

Thanks to my dear co-host Kyle for joining the show and adding his wit and sparkle.

Hello everyone!

We are officially well into the second century of Dear Adam Silver. Episode 200, here we come.

This month's episode features a conversation with  Lou Matz who is the Department of Philosophy Chair at University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. We talk about many things on this show, including his personal experience with sports growing up (including playing basketball in college and abroad in Germany), his take on why a game is not just a game, and we discuss the details of his paper The real ethical problems with strategic fouling in basketball.

We had fun with Lou and we hope you all enjoy this conversation. Please subscribe, listen, share etc!

This is a big one! Dear Adam Silver is officially 100 episodes old! And to celebrate, we brought on some past, recurring guests who have always supported the show and whose work I admire! Join for some banter, strong feelings, and our expansive takes on sports.

It has been great putting out these episodes and I so appreciate everyone for listening! We love you!

Guests include:

Glauco Adorno
Rafi Kohan
Maria Molteni 

Tunisha Singleton
Brian Tran 

Bradley Robert Ward

Sister of the Co- Host, Meg Smithson, is on to discuss her own journey with basketball and her on the ground takes on Knicks fever!

Works Cited:

Link to article about Mitchell Robinson's political beliefs.

Please share, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

We are excited to welcome back Emmy Award-winning writer, comedian and producer ⁠James Hamilton ⁠to the show! James is the host of the Posters Basketball Show (season II coming soon...) and has worked with NBC Sports, VICE News, PBS, The Moth Radio Hour. He is on the show to discuss his experience covering the Winter Olympics and the nitty gritty behind producing a show like Posters.

You can find James on both Instagram ⁠@thejamham⁠ and X ⁠@thejamham⁠ too. And ⁠Youtube ⁠and ⁠Tiktok⁠!

Please share, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Dear Adam Silver favorite Maria Molteni is back on the show! Previously a guest on episodes 32 (and introduction to their art practice) and 85 (featuring a conversation about the collaborative Senda/Sedna zine), Maria joins to discuss their ever evolving multifaceted art practice, often made in dedication to and appreciation of basketball, a game they played growing up in Tennessee .

This conversation focuses on the ongoing arc of their "Altars to the Sky" (intricate, symbolic and place based basketball court paintings which laid the foundations for a national public art movement), their near swish with the WNBA, and how their dreams were crushed by corporate cowardice.”

Maria is magical. An artist's artist and a player's player. And it is always a pleasure to have their thoughtful and earnest voice on the show.

You can follow Maria on Instagram @strega_maria and @mariamolteni_studio

And check out all their work on their website here and support their work by purchasing a jersey or a ball!

Click here to check out the work of New Craft Artists in Action (Maria is team captain) and you can follow the collective on Instagram here. 

You can follow their Substack Joan's Ark here

Learn about and support the work of Arab Resource and Organizing Center here, which organizes to fight for racial and economic justice and the dignity and liberation of our Arab, and Muslim communities. You can also support the Muslim Justice League by clicking here.

Blake Gillespie, H-O-R-S-E nemesis and the thinker/writer behind Spirit of Hoops is on the show to discuss his recent essay Will Basketball In Concentration Camps Wake You To Action? This episode focuses on a call to action to push back against the ongoing incarceration of undocumented people across the country, based on their country of origin, the language they are speaking, and the age-old American tradition of discrimination based on skin color. As basketball courts pop up at the camps, Blake has used his history with and love for the game to consider how these spaces are being weaponized to help execute the current administration's immigration policy. In this essay, Blake weaves history into current events in a beautiful, captivating way that creates dots for the viewers to connect and opens up possibilities for response. 

Blake is an artist, writer, a dedicated basketball player and most importantly, a human who cares about the world and often understands it through basketball and his experience of the game.

You can follow Blake's newsletter ⁠here and follow his instagram Spirit of Hoops here. 

Works cited:
Pacific Rims  by Rafe Bartholomew
Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure by Alexander Wolf 
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
Larry Nance Jr. anti ICE t-shirt
Japanese American Former Basketball Star Inspired On And Off The CourtNSPM 7
Trump urges Australia to give Iran's Asian Cup players asylum

Author and editor Rafi Kohan returns to the show to discuss some recent happenings in regards to a keynote speech he gave this past fall at a conference for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Rafi was first featured on the show in Episode 88 where we discussed his book Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn't Total Garbage. He is a prolific writer and editor who has written for the New York Observer, Atlanta Magazine, Slate, The Ringer and Men’s Journal among other publications.

You can follow Rafi's Substack, where he explored the reaction to his keynote here . And where he also regularly gets into many other topics related to trash talk. Aways an interesting read!

Tunisha Singleton and Kyle Green were co-hosts for this episode

Works cited:

James by Percival Everett

Artist and educator Ivan Salcido is back on the show to discuss his artwork about basketball, how his family history informs his work and his all time favorite logo design. Ivan was first featured in Episode 59 of Dear Adam Silver.

His work is also currently featured in the Get in the Game exhibition that is traveling around the United States. I highly recommend checking out this show if it is coming to a museum near you.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate, review and share!