Sociology of Sports

Socially and racially divided, Odessa isn't known to be a place big on dreams, but every Friday night from September to December, when the Panthers play football, dreams can come true....

Sports media superstar Clay Travis wants to save sports from the social justice warriors seeking to turn them into another political battleground....

In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport - now poised to fully establish itself in the USA....

Whether running is your recreation, your religion, or just a spectator sport, Adharanand Finn’s incredible journey to the elite training camps of Kenya will captivate and inspire you....

Pro wrestling has always been wrapped in mystery. After a century of masquerading as legitimate sport, at last pro wrestling has begun to show the potential of its form. At its core, it is live combat theatre, and no one has done more to codify and analyze this art form than Mike Quackenbush....

A definitive look at the world of professional cycling—and the doping issue surrounding this sport and its most iconic rider, Lance Armstrong....

College football has never been more popular - or more chaotic. Millions fill 100,000-seat stadiums every Saturday; tens of millions more watch on television every weekend.....

The definitive account of Lance Armstrong's spectacular rise and fall....

For the past year, John U. Bacon has received unprecedented access to Jim Harbaugh’s University of Michigan football team: coaches, players, and staffers, in closed-door meetings, locker rooms, meals, and classes....

Does team chemistry actually exist? Is team chemistry as real and relevant as on-base percentages and wins above replacement? In Joan Ryan's groundbreaking audiobook, we discover that the answer to all of the above is a resounding "Yes"....

So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America's most popular sport....

Sweating may be one of our weirdest biological functions, but it’s also one of our most vital and least understood. In The Joy of Sweat, Sarah Everts delves into its role in the body - and in human history....

As the revenues generated by big-time college sports continue to skyrocket, the debate involves whether student-athletes should be paid for play. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Collin D. Williams Jr., argue that "student" has to come first: the focus should be on prioritizing a meaningful education....

The companion to Ken Burns’s magnificent PBS television series—updated and expanded to coincide with the broadcast of a new, two-part "Tenth Inning"....

A monumental exploration of soccer and society in our time - by its preeminent historian....

Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's Forty Million Dollar Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of Black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings....

This is a complex and inspiring tale of a small town becoming a global community and an account of the ingenious and complicated ways we create a home in a changing world....

Inside the Empire is a riveting look at what is really said and done behind closed doors with the New York Yankees, the most famous and wealthiest sports franchise in the world....

Are you ready to join the club? If your desire is to build a stronger and well-chiseled body naturally without steroids; then this is the book for you! It will not only enable you shape the body of your dreams, but it will also empower you to stay the course.... 

Several years ago Sam Walker set out to answer one of the most hotly debated questions in sport: what are the greatest teams of all time? Find out....

Shrill meets Brotopia in this personal and researched look at women's rights and issues through the lens of sports, from an award-winning sports journalist and women's advocate....

By winning the 2019 Tour de France, Egan Bernal became the race's youngest champion in 110 years and the first from the South American nation of Colombia....

In Pacific Rims, Rafe Bartholemew, journalist, New Yorker, and veteran baller, ventures through the Philippines to investigate the country's love of basketball....

This Is Your Brain on Sports is the audiobook for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them....

Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and the hero worship of law enforcement. As journalist Howard Bryant reveals, this has always been more complicated for black athletes....

Chuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout...then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing!) world of English soccer....

Never have the best sportspeople seemed so far removed from the rest of us. So how are these extraordinary athletes made, and what do their achievements tell us about success? The Best reveals how the most incredible sportspeople in the world got that way....

12 is the story of Tom Brady's gritty comeback. It's a drama that unfolds in the locker room, the court room, and under the brightest lights in all of sports - the Super Bowl. Now for the first time, listeners will have an exclusive look into Tom Brady's experience....

For more than a decade, golf was dominated by one galvanizing figure: Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. But as his star has fallen, a new, ambitious generation has stepped up....

The NBA has returned to prominence on the backs of phenoms like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett....

I am involved in youth sports parenting for more than 40 years, having experienced it from both sides of the coin. ParentShift, which you are about to listen to, embraces all that knowledge. The process never ends, because I am still learning; my kids teach me every day. Do you have the feeling of coming up short as a parent? Don't worry; you are not alone. It happens to me all the time, and we can fix it together. 

You Are the First You tells the story of Whitney Holtzman’s journey through the sports and marketing world as a female entrepreneur, and the lessons she learned along the way. Whitney’s career in pro sports has included stops at ESPN and Major League Baseball, in addition to working for entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk at VaynerMedia. Her passion is at the intersection of sports and making the world a better place, which was showcased when she then joined RISE, a racial equality nonprofit with every pro sports league on the board. 

Take Your Mark, Lead! is a self-help, go-to guide for people who urgently want to take charge of their lives. Leader, champion, and survivor Kelly Parker Palace delivers 11 entertaining, informative chapters chocked full of inspiring stories and actionable, practical strategies. This transformative book will empower you to triumph in all aspects of your life and to champion yourself, your business, and others. 

Are you ready to join the club? If your desire is to build a stronger and well-chiseled body naturally without steroids; then this is the book for you! It will not only enable you shape the body of your dreams, but it will also empower you to stay the course. 

Football teams create playbooks, in which they draw up the plays they will use on the field. Playbooks are how teams work and why they win. This book is about a different kind of playbook: The one coaches, teams, universities, police, communities, the media, and fans seem to follow whenever a college football player is accused of sexual assault. It’s a deep dive into how different institutions - the NCAA, athletic departments, universities, the media - run the same plays over and over again when these stories break.