What to Learn From a Yearbook
On this episode of Edge of Sports, Author Michael Messner and friend of the pod Arya Shirazi join the show.

Where sports and politics collide, hosted by Nation magazine Sports Editor Dave Zirin
This week, we talk to Michael Messner, author of the fascinating new book, about what we can learn by looking at sports and yearbooks over the course of a century. It’s called “The High School: Sports, Spirit, and Citizens, 1903-2024.” Also, I’m talking to the savant, Arya Shirazi, about the days when March was truly mad.
The High School
https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/the-high-school/9781978839533/
Zirin, With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/ice-fifa-world-cup-north-america/
—
http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

NCAA Final Four, Villanova team victorious over Georgetown, in Lexington, Kentucky, on April 1, 1985.
(Richard Mackson / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)This week on Edge of Sports, we talk to Michael Messner, author of a fascinating new book about what we can learn by looking at sports and yearbooks over the course of a century. It’s called The High School: Sports, Spirit, and Citizens, 1903–2024. Also, I’m talking to the savant Arya Shirazi about the days when March was truly mad
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

Where sports and politics collide, hosted by Nation magazine Sports Editor Dave Zirin
This week, we talk to Dr. Maurice Jackson, author of the new book Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience: How Black Washingtonians Used Music and Sports in the Fight for Equality. We also talk to Ari Drennen from Media Matters about their recent study about the politics of the people behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Rhythms of Resistance & Resilience
https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Rhythms-of-Resistance-and-Resilience
Zirin, With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/ice-fifa-world-cup-north-america/
—
http://www.edgeofsportspodcast.com/ | http://twitter.com/EdgeOfSportsPod | http://fb.com/edgeofsportspod | email us: edgeofsports@gmail.com | Edge of Sports hotline: 401-426-3343 (EDGE)
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts
Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation
The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.
Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.
At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.
In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.
We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.
This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.
In solidarity,
The Editors
The Nation