On this episode of Up Close, how baseball influences, and is influenced by, the broader American culture.

First, Sports Illustrated Associate Managing Editor Kostya Kennedy talks about the banning of Pete Rose from baseball and whether he should or should not be eligible for entry into the hall of fame. His book is Pete Rose: An American Dilemma.

Then, pop-culture historian and journalist Dan Epstein discusses his book, Stars and Strikes: Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of '76, which looks at the revolutionary changes that happened in baseball that year, as the nation was celebrating the 200th anniversary of its own revolution.

Watch the complete episode on TJC on-demand on cable in the TJC Original Series/Interviews category. You can also watch highlights from the episode in the video above, or listen to the complete audio of this episode at the top of this post or by subscribing to our weekly audio podcast at http://feeds.feedburner.com/tjcupclose or on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tjcs-up-close/id807702211.