March 28, 1939. Two teams are facing off for the final game of World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago, the first professional tournament to feature both white and black basketball teams. This is several years before the start of the NBA, and Jim Crow segregation was still the law of the land in many parts of the country. The New York Rens, an al ... Show More
Oct 12
Audubon’s Birds Come Home to Roost
October 12, 1820. John James Audubon—a failed shopkeeper, grist miller, and steamboat investor—sets off from Cincinnati on a flatboat down the Ohio River. He is bankrupt. The bank has taken everything except his clothes, his gun, and a portfolio of 62 bird drawings. His plan is t ... Show More
33m 7s
Feb 2025
Selects: How the Negro Leagues Worked
A decade before the U.S. officially segregated in 1896, baseball banned black players. A decade before the US integrated, baseball broke the color barrier. Between, the Negro Leagues produced some of the finest players to ever take the field. Explore this important piece of Ameri ... Show More
55m 8s
Sep 2016
How the Negro Leagues Worked
<p>A decade before the U.S. officially segregated in 1896, baseball banned black players. A decade before the US integrated, baseball broke the color barrier. Between, the Negro Leagues produced some of the finest players to ever take the field.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ... Show More
54m 39s
Sep 2023
The Road to Modern Basketball, Part One: Naismith and "The Incorrigibles"
These days basketball is a billion dollar cultural phenomenon -- but where did it come from? In the first part of this week's series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the origins of basketball, starting with the moment a young James Naismith was asked to distract a bunch of "incorrigibl ... Show More
40m 25s
Mar 2023
Theresa Runstedtler on 'Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA'
Larry is joined by professor and writer Theresa Runstedtler to discuss her new book 'Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA'. They begin their conversation by discussing how Dr. Runstedtler's connection to the NBA via t ... Show More
1h 1m
May 2020
MJ vs. the World, Quarantine Month Three, the 2017 Warriors, and 1995 Magic-Bulls Myths With Ryen Russillo | The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Ryen Russillo to discuss episodes 5 and 6 of ESPN's docuseries 'The Last Dance' (2:40), getting restless in quarantine, all-time NBA teams, the "time-traveling athletes" argument, and more (40:55). Finally they revisit Game 6 of the 1995 Eas ... Show More
2h 20m
Feb 2016
The Yin and Yang of Basketball
<p>In 1891, a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts invented the game we would come to know as basketball. In setting the height of the baskets, he inadvertently created a design problem that would not be resolved for decades to come. The … <a href="http://99pe ... Show More
19m 17s
Aug 2020
The NBA Makes History and Discussions With DeRay Mckesson, Chris Mannix, and Chiney Ogwumike
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by civil rights activist and podcaster DeRay Mckesson to discuss the great strides made by Campaign Zero in police reform, the NBA players’ decision to pause the playoffs in wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, how NBA teams could make the grea ... Show More
1h 50m
Feb 2024
How college footballers led the fight against racism in 1969
It's 1969 at the University of Wyoming, where college football is treated like a second religion. But after racist treatment at an away game, 14 Black players decide to take a stand, and are hit with life-changing consequences. From our play cousins across the pond, our own B.A. ... Show More
32m 30s