Will the United States get a baseball season this year? Do we deserve one? What is at stake—economically, emotionally, mortally—in the effort to start up sports again? On Episode 8 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk to David Roth, a former editor of Deadspin and a frequent contributor to The New Republic, about the challenges and questionable wisdom of reopening sports in a country still battling a pandemic.
Later in the episode, Laura and Alex consider the plight of the New York City subway system, which recently suspended late-night service. Given the MTA’s drastic budget shortfalls, it’s hard not to wonder whether New Yorkers will ever ride trains at night again. What is the post-Covid future of public transit?
Further Reading:
• One of Alex Shepherd’s favorite things about South Korean baseball is that it isn’t beholden to the same “oppressive dogmas” as baseball in the United States: “Bat flipping, for example, is frowned on as flashy and unsportsmanlike in America but celebrated in South Korea.”
• For the sports fan at a loss for entertainment, Josephine Livingstone recommends snooker.