Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN. His new book is Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last.

“If you’re going to write a profile of someone … you have to find some piece of common ground with them so that no matter how famous or good or noble or bad—or no matter how cartoonish their most well-known attributes are—it shrinks them. And once they’re small enough to fit in your hand, I think it changes the entire experience of asking questions about their lives.”

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Show notes:

wrightthompson.com

Thompson on Longform

01:00 Pappyland (Penguin Random House • 2020)

02:00 Bloodlines (ESPN Investigates • 2020)

18:00 "The Secret History of Tiger Woods" (ESPN • Apr 2016)

18:00 "Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building" (ESPN • Feb 2013)

18:00 "Holy Ground" (ESPN • Jun 2007)

31:00 ”Michael Jordan: A History of Flight" (ESPN • May 2020)

47:00 "As Clayton Kershaw Waits for Baseball to Return, a Look at His Family, Legacy and Future" (ESPN • Apr 2020)

49:00 The Big Fella (Jane Leavy • Harper • 2018)

52:00 "Pat Riley's Final Test" (ESPN • Apr 2017)

 

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