About Bruce Berglund

NBN Episodes hosted by Bruce:

Tony Collins, "The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby" (Bloomsbury, 2015)

March 19, 2017

The Oval World

Tony Collins
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

The 2017 Six Nations rugby tournament concluded this weekend. England successfully defended its championship, despite losing the last match against a …

Jules Boykoff, "Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics" (Verso, 2016)

August 11, 2016

Power Games

Jules Boykoff
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Since the birth of the modern Olympics movement in the late nineteenth century, its leaders have attempted to maintain a strict separation of athletic…

Yago Colas, "Ball Don't Lie! Myth, Genealogy and Invention in the Cultures of Basketball" (Temple UP, 2016)

June 8, 2016

Ball Don't Lie!

Yago Colas
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Leading up to this year's NBA Finals, sports media outlets offered their take on the most important storylines of the series between the Cavaliers and…

Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith, "Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X" (Basic Books, 2016)

April 30, 2016

Blood Brothers

Randy Roberts &amp
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Is there a figure in sports more admired and beloved than Muhammad Ali? Widely revered not only as one of boxing's greatest champions but also as one …

Howard P. Chudacoff, "Changing the Playbook: How Power, Profit, and Politics Transformed College Sports" (U Illinois Press, 2015)

April 11, 2016

Changing the Playbook

Howard P. Chudacoff
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

March Madness is big business. Each year the NCAA collects $700 million for television rights to the men's college basketball tournament, under the te…

Julie Des Jardins, "Walter Camp: Football and the Modern Man" (Oxford UP, 2015)

February 7, 2016

Walter Camp

Julie Des Jardins
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

In anticipation of Super Bowl 50, Sports Illustrated and WIRED magazines teamed up to speculate about the state of football fifty years from now, at t…

Andrew Denning, "Skiing into Modernity: A Cultural and Environmental History" (U California Press, 2014)

December 30, 2015

Skiing into Modernity

Andrew Denning
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

With El Nino and the Arctic Oscillation bearing down this December, plenty of us will be wishing for a white Christmas. We have the antidote - a podca…

Charles Fountain, "The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball" (Oxford UP, 2015)

November 20, 2015

The Betrayal

Charles Fountain
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Gambling and sports have been in the news lately in the US. Authorities in Nevada and New York have shut down the fantasy sports operatorsDraftKings a…

David Zang, "I Wore Babe Ruth's Hat: Field Notes from a Life in Sports" (U Illinois Press, 2015)

October 13, 2015

I Wore Babe Ruth's Hat

David Zang
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

How would you write your sports memoir? Maybe you'd recall a memorable trip to the stadium when you were young, or even getting an autograph from one …

David Snowdon, "Writing the Prizefight: Pierce Egan's Boxiana World" (Peter Lang, 2013)

September 4, 2015

Writing the Prizefight

David Snowdon
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

When ESPN anchor Stuart Scott passed away from cancer this past January, he was widely hailed for his innovative style, which mixed heavy does of Afri…

Samir Chopra, "Eye on Cricket: Reflections on the Great Game" (HarperCollins India, 2015)

June 27, 2015

Eye on Cricket

Samir Chopra
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Samir Chopra describes himself as a "cricket exile." For three decades, he has lived in country where most people not only pay little attention to the…

James A. Holstein, Richard S. Jones, George Koonce, Jr., "Is There Life After Football? Surviving the NFL" (NYU Press, 2014)

March 17, 2015

Is There Life After Football?

James A. Holstein, Richard S. Jones, and George Koonce, Jr.
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

The health of former NFL players has received plenty of attention in recent years. The suicides of Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, along with stories of…

Jules Boykoff, "Activism and the Olympics: Dissent at the Games in Vancouver and London" (Rutgers UP, 2014)

December 22, 2014

Activism and the Olympics

Jules Boykoff
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

A new chapter in the history of the Olympic Games appears to be opening. As one city after another has dropped out of the bidding for the 2022 Winter …

Eric Allen Hall, "Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2014)

November 4, 2014

Arthur Ashe

Eric Allen Hall
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

When he died from AIDS in 1993, Arthur Ashe was universally hailed as a man of principle, grace, and wisdom--a world-class athlete who had transcended…

Matthew Algeo, "Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport" (Chicago Review Press, 2014)

September 4, 2014

Pedestrianism

Matthew Algeo
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Once upon a time, before baseball drew crowds to America's ballparks and English workers spent their Saturdays at the football grounds, one of the mos…

Stefan Rinke and Kay Schiller (editors), "The FIFA World Cup 1930-2010: Politics, Commerce, Spectacle and Identities" (Wallstein, 2014)

August 1, 2014

The FIFA World Cup 1930-2010

Stefan Rinke and Kay Schiller (eds.)
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

The history of globalization is found in more than international political organizations and multinational corporations, free-trade agreements and for…

Roger Kittleson, "The Country of Football: Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil" (U California Press, 2014) and Joshua Nadel, "Fútbol! Why Soccer Matters in Latin America" (UP of Florida, 2014)

June 24, 2014

The Country of Football

Roger Kittleson and Joshua Nadel
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Passion. Flair. Instinct. Improvisation. As the World Cup advances to the knockout stage, you'll hear these terms associated with the football styles …

Travis Vogan, "Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Media" (U Illinois Press, 2014)

May 16, 2014

Keepers of the Flame

Travis Vogan
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Last weekend was the NFL Draft, the annual event when teams select college players who have shown the talent to advance to the professional ranks. Sta…

Lucia Trimbur, "Come Out Swinging: The Changing World of Boxing in Gleason's Gym" (Princeton UP, 2013))

April 25, 2014

Come Out Swinging

Lucia Trimbur
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Imagine a boxing gym. What probably comes to mind is a large, run-down room on the upper floor of an old brick building, somewhere in a trash-strew…

Lincoln Harvey, "A Brief Theology of Sport" (SCM Press, 2014)

April 4, 2014

A Brief Theology of Sport

Lincoln Harvey
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Does God care who wins the game? According to a recent survey, plenty of American fans think so. The Public Religion Research Institute found that a q…

Brett Hutchins and David Rowe, "Sport Beyond Television: The Internet, Digital Media and the Rise of Networked Media Sport" (Routledge, 2013)

March 20, 2014

Sport Beyond Television

Brett Hutchins and David Rowe
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Twenty years ago, when I was studying abroad in Europe, the only way to keep track of my teams back in the US was to sneak looks in The International …

N. Jeremi Duru, "Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL" (Oxford UP, 2011)

March 6, 2014

Advancing the Ball

N. Jeremi Duru
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

Each year, following the end of the NFL season, there is a blizzard of activity as teams with disappointing records fire their head coaches and look f…

Jules Boykoff, "Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games" (Routledge, 2013)

February 7, 2014

Celebration Capitalism and the Olympic Games

Jules Boykoff
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

The 22nd Winter Olympics are underway. It's safe to say that the lead-up has not gone smoothly. Of course, there have been the obligatory cost overrun…

John Matthew Smith, "The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball" (U Illinois Press, 2013)

January 29, 2014

The Sons of Westwood

John Matthew Smith
Hosted by Bruce Berglund

One of the great dynasties of American sports are the UCLA men's basketball teams of the 1960s-70s. In a twelve-year span, the Bruins won ten national…