Advertise on podcast: Dear Adam Silver

Writer, author, thinker, storyteller and True Hoop mastermind Henry Abbott makes his debut on Dear Adam Silver as we move ahead into our next 100 episodes. Henry is a friend of the show and I am so excited to have him on to discuss his 2025 book Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance among other things. This is a great book and truly written for anyone with a body! Thanks to my dear co-host Kyle for joining the show and adding his wit and sparkle.

Hello everyone! We are officially well into the second century of Dear Adam Silver. Episode 200, here we come. This month's episode features a conversation with  Lou Matz who is the Department of Philosophy Chair at University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. We talk about many things on this show, including his personal experience with sports growing up (including playing basketball in college and abroad in Germany), his take on why a game is not just a game, and we discuss the details of his paper The real ethical problems with strategic fouling in basketball. We had fun with Lou and we hope you all enjoy this conversation. Please subscribe, listen, share etc!

This is a big one! Dear Adam Silver is officially 100 episodes old! And to celebrate, we brought on some past, recurring guests who have always supported the show and whose work I admire! Join for some banter, strong feelings, and our expansive takes on sports. It has been great putting out these episodes and I so appreciate everyone for listening! We love you! Guests include: Glauco AdornoRafi KohanMaria Molteni  Tunisha SingletonBrian Tran  Bradley Robert Ward

Sister of the Co- Host, Meg Smithson, is on to discuss her own journey with basketball and her on the ground takes on Knicks fever! Works Cited: Link to article about Mitchell Robinson's political beliefs. Please share, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

We are excited to welcome back Emmy Award-winning writer, comedian and producer ⁠James Hamilton ⁠to the show! James is the host of the Posters Basketball Show (season II coming soon...) and has worked with NBC Sports, VICE News, PBS, The Moth Radio Hour. He is on the show to discuss his experience covering the Winter Olympics and the nitty gritty behind producing a show like Posters. You can find James on both Instagram ⁠@thejamham⁠ and X ⁠@thejamham⁠ too. And ⁠Youtube ⁠and ⁠Tiktok⁠! Please share, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Dear Adam Silver favorite Maria Molteni is back on the show! Previously a guest on episodes 32 (and introduction to their art practice) and 85 (featuring a conversation about the collaborative Senda/Sedna zine), Maria joins to discuss their ever evolving multifaceted art practice, often made in dedication to and appreciation of basketball, a game they played growing up in Tennessee . This conversation focuses on the ongoing arc of their "Altars to the Sky" (intricate, symbolic and place based basketball court paintings which laid the foundations for a national public art movement), their near swish with the WNBA, and how their dreams were crushed by corporate cowardice.” Maria is magical. An artist's artist and a player's player. And it is always a pleasure to have their thoughtful and earnest voice on the show. You can follow Maria on Instagram @strega_maria and @mariamolteni_studio And check out all their work on their website here and support their work by purchasing a jersey or a ball! Click here to check out the work of New Craft Artists in Action (Maria is team captain) and you can follow the collective on Instagram here.  You can follow their Substack Joan's Ark here Learn about and support the work of Arab Resource and Organizing Center here, which organizes to fight for racial and economic justice and the dignity and liberation of our Arab, and Muslim communities. You can also support the Muslim Justice League by clicking here.

Blake Gillespie, H-O-R-S-E nemesis and the thinker/writer behind Spirit of Hoops is on the show to discuss his recent essay Will Basketball In Concentration Camps Wake You To Action? This episode focuses on a call to action to push back against the ongoing incarceration of undocumented people across the country, based on their country of origin, the language they are speaking, and the age-old American tradition of discrimination based on skin color. As basketball courts pop up at the camps, Blake has used his history with and love for the game to consider how these spaces are being weaponized to help execute the current administration's immigration policy. In this essay, Blake weaves history into current events in a beautiful, captivating way that creates dots for the viewers to connect and opens up possibilities for response.  Blake is an artist, writer, a dedicated basketball player and most importantly, a human who cares about the world and often understands it through basketball and his experience of the game. You can follow Blake's newsletter ⁠here and follow his instagram Spirit of Hoops here.  Works cited:Pacific Rims  by Rafe BartholomewBig Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure by Alexander Wolf Ways of Seeing by John BergerLarry Nance Jr. anti ICE t-shirtJapanese American Former Basketball Star Inspired On And Off The CourtNSPM 7Trump urges Australia to give Iran's Asian Cup players asylum

Author and editor Rafi Kohan returns to the show to discuss some recent happenings in regards to a keynote speech he gave this past fall at a conference for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Rafi was first featured on the show in Episode 88 where we discussed his book Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn't Total Garbage. He is a prolific writer and editor who has written for the New York Observer, Atlanta Magazine, Slate, The Ringer and Men’s Journal among other publications. You can follow Rafi's Substack, where he explored the reaction to his keynote here . And where he also regularly gets into many other topics related to trash talk. Aways an interesting read! Tunisha Singleton and Kyle Green were co-hosts for this episode Works cited: James by Percival Everett

Artist and educator Ivan Salcido is back on the show to discuss his artwork about basketball, how his family history informs his work and his all time favorite logo design. Ivan was first featured in Episode 59 of Dear Adam Silver. His work is also currently featured in the Get in the Game exhibition that is traveling around the United States. I highly recommend checking out this show if it is coming to a museum near you. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate, review and share!

Maryam Amirvagehfi is back on the show (first featured in episode 28) to discuss her art practice in the context of a book that Abigail and Kyle are writing about basketball and art (more on this soon!!!!). Maryam's work is is quirky, pointed, playful and heavy with the language of sports. It is always a pleasure to discuss her process and approach. Thanks for listening! Please subscribe, rate, review and share!

Kyle Green cohosts as we welcome Emmy Award-winning writer, comedian and producer James Hamilton to the show. We talk about aging as a basketball fan and player, favorite jerseys, dusty GOAT lists and what keeps us coming back for more. James has worked with NBC Sports, VICE News, PBS, The Moth Radio Hour and his new podcast, Posters, will be dropping soon, so be sure to keep an ear out! You can find James on both Instagram @thejamham and X @thejamham too. And Youtube and Tiktok! Share, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Austin Bell joins the show to talk all about his project and book Shooting Hoops, where he documented 2,549 in Hong Kong. Whew. That's a lot. We dig into the process, the visuals, the energy of each court and what is up next for Austin, including the release of some Shooting Hoops shirts, which we desperately want! You can find Austin @austinwonderland on Instagram and you can buy his book here. The book is a beautiful object besides being educational about basketball in Hong Kong and the larger region. Get a copy! And check out his other projects here and here. Kyle Green co-hosts and we are here to laugh and talk about bball. Share, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

The collaborative team from Whereas Hoops, Noah Cohan and John Early,  are back on the show to discuss the recent opening of basketball courts in Forest Park. Are you interested in history? Public space? Social practice and engagement with place? St. Louis? And of course, basketball? Listen now! This project is wonderful and I am grateful to have Noah and John back on the show (check out Episode 80 for our first conversation) to discuss this exciting work and all of the nuanced experience, research and collaborations with many people from across St. Louis that went into making the courts possible,

Hey Dear Adam Silver listeners! We are back with a new interview with writer and New York Times Bestselling author Mirin Fader who is on the show to talk about her new book Dream: The Life and Legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon, which was released earlier this week! Hakeem Olajuwon is of course a former professional basketball player who was a 2 x Defensive Player of the Year, a 2 league MVP, a 2 x NBA Champion and a 2 x Finals MVP, and a 12 x NBA All star among many other things on and off the court. Mirin’s first book Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion, was a New York Times best seller and was featured on many other best selling lists. Mirin is a Senior Staff Writer at The Ringer where she writes long-form, human-interest sports features. Before that, she wrote for Bleacher Report and the Orange County Register. This is a fascinating book that has seemingly endless interesting stories about Olajuwon's life and experience moving from Nigeria to the United States to play basketball. But also, it is just a book about the world and where basketball fits in and all of the ugliness and joy that can come from the game and institutions. Purchase a copy of Dream: The Life and Legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon ⁠here⁠. You won't regret it! If you are curious about the video compilation of NBA stars Kyle was referring to, you can watch here. You can follow Mirin on Twitter @MirinFader, Kyle is @kylethegreen and Abigail is @DearAdamSilver. Kyle also produces and hosts the Give Methods a Chance and Give Theory a Chance podcasts. Check them out too!

Dear Adam Silver listeners! It has been awhile. After a cross country move and settling into my new home in northern northern California, we are back with our 88th episode. Author Rafi Kohan joins the show to discuss his new book Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn't Total Garbage (PublicAffairs 2023). Dr. Kyle Green of SUNY Brockport's sociology department is back to co-host and we laugh a lot during this episode, all while getting into some heavy ideas and concerns. Rafi's book is an entertaining and informative read and it was fun to get into it and talk a wee bit of trash too! You can purchase the book here. Follow us on Twitter: Rafi, Kyle and Abigail