The Chills at Will Podcast

Episode 256 with Andrew Maraniss, Author of Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke, Strong Inside, Beyond the Game Series, and Other Empathetic, Inspiring, and Enlightening Works


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Notes and Links to Andrew Maraniss’ Work

 

   For Episode 256, Pete welcomes Andrew Maraniss, and the two discuss, among other topics, carefree days of baseball card trading, formative writers and social justice activists, seeds for his latest series on inspiring contemporary athletes and their fights for justice, “writing” versus “sportswriting,” Glenn Burke and his singular fight for equality, how Andrew views writing about social issues in ways that young people can understand, and the restorative and challenging power that books hold.

 

   Andrew Maraniss is the New York Times-bestselling author of narrative nonfiction; his first book, Strong Inside, about Perry Wallace, the first African-American basketball player in the SEC, won the 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award. He has recently launched a series of early chapter books for young readers, BEYOND THE GAME: Athletes Change the World, which highlights athletes who have done meaningful work outside of sports to help other people.

 

 

Buy Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke

 

Andrew Maraniss’ Website

 

Buy Andrew’s Books

 

At about 1:30, Andrew talks about his family legacy of writing, and his early writing and reading

At about 4:40, Andrew talks about his baseball love and love of other sports

At about 5:50, the two discuss spreading baseball love in their families 

At about 7:15, Andrew responds to Pete’s questions about formative sportswriters and how Andrew sees “sportswriting” versus “writing”

At about 10:25, Pete and Andrew lament missed opportunities with valuable sports memorabilia 

At about 13:10, The two begin to discuss Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke  and highlight Dusty Baker’s key role 

At about 14:10, Pete highlights the bold and moving way that Andrew starts th book in 1977, with Glenn struggling on the streets of San Francisco’s Tenderloin 

At about 18:30, Pete asks Andrew about the “double life” he writes about with regard to Glenn’s minor league and major league careers 

At about 21:50, Andrew recounts the story of the purported first high-five and Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke’s roles

At about 25:50, the two discuss Al Campanis’ offer to Glenn and Glenn’s last days as a Dodger

At about 30:50, Andrew discusses the homophobic reactions that led to the shunning by the A’s of Glenn

At about 32:45, Pete compares Glenn’s behaviors to that of a later career Jackie Robinson and Andrew talks about how Glenn had a tenuous amount of agency

At about 34:00, Andrew details Glenn’s time with Bay Area softball, and up and downs in his life, and how life in the Castro District in SF turned horrendous 

At about 36:00, Andrew cites Dusty Baker as a great interview and a great guy

At about 37:05, Andrew responds to Pete’s questions about moments of joy in Glenn’s painful last years and reflects on Glenn Burke’s legacy

At about 38:50, Andrew talks about Tommy Lasorda, Jr., and connections to Glenn’s story; Pete and Andrew both cite an engrossing article by Peter Richmond

At about 41:10, Pete is highly complimentary of Andrew’s work and its progressive nature and  

At about 42:00, Pete asks Andrew about seeds for his Athletes Change the World series, and Andrew cites book bans and hopes for his Glenn Burke book to be more widely-read; Andrew also details his books and connections to social issues

At about 45:20, Andrew riffs on his books on LeBron James and Maya Moore and an upcoming book on Pat Tillman

At about 47:00, Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Whetstone is discussed, in connection with murdered indigenous women and Andrew’s book about her

At about 48:10, Pete highlights a philosophy that Andrew uses in his books and his calls to action

At about 49:15-LeBron love! Andrew details what he learned about LBJ through his book

At about 52:40, Pete compliments the “surrounding infrastructure” of Andrew’s work and asks him about difficulty in writing fewer words and for children with serious topics

At about 56:30, Andrew details an imminent YA/adult book on the first Special Olympics

At about 58:30, Andrew shouts out contact info, places to buy his books, and social media info

 

 

       You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.

      I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.

   Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl

    Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!

   This month’s Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work.

      This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

   The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

    Please tune in for Episode 257 with Mirin Fader, a senior staff writer for The Ringer. I was honored to talk to her for Episode 76, about her first book, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion, which was a New York Times Bestseller. Her newest book Dream: The Life and Legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon is out on this day, October 15, when the episode drops.

   Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

 

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