Sports memoirs tend to have a certain arc: the odyssey of the triumphant athlete. But every now and then, a retired athlete—like Jerry West, Abby Wambach and Gale Sayers—tells a more complicated story.
John W. Miller
John W. Miller is a Pittsburgh-based former Wall Street Journal staff reporter and co-director of the PBS film “Moundsville.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Nine ways to get American kids to fall in love with baseball (again)
From smaller teams to a “two strikes and you’re out” rule, there are ways to make youth baseball faster and more fun. They may help save what used to be America’s favorite sport.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The only Trappist brewery in the U.S. is closing (and IPAs are to blame)
Belgian-style beers are out and India pale ales rule, so the brothers at St. Joseph‘s Abbey in Massachusetts will need to find other sources of revenue.
Posted inFeatures, Politics & Society
How America Sold Out Little League Baseball
In the United States, baseball is becoming a mostly white country-club sport for upper-class families to consume, like a snorkeling vacation or a round of golf.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Pope Francis says to cherish the elderly. Kane Tanaka, who recently died at age 119, shows us why we should.
“Please cherish the elderly,” Pope Francis says. “Because they are the presence of history.” Kane Tanaka, who died in April at the age of 119, is an example of what Francis is talking about.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Trump was never popular with young voters. So how did Marine Le Pen win over France’s youth?
If Marine Le Pen pulls off an upset in France next weekend, it may be because young voters do not share their parents’ fears about the far right.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
It’s time to bust up the Major League Baseball monopoly
It’s time for baseball season, and that means games that are too long, teams that aren’t competitive and the exploitation of minor league players. Blame the major leagues and their monopoly status.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Is inflation just telling us that our way of life is too expensive?
Our natural impulse is to do whatever it takes to keep gasoline and other prices low. But should it be cheap to further endanger our planet?
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The defense industry will profit from war in Ukraine—with your money
When war erupts, the weapons industry benefits from the fears that motivate politicians to budget more money for the military—and investors to sink more capital into armaments.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The dystopian Superbowl ad for the metaverse raises serious metaphysical questions.
Virtual reality is taking off, and it is more than a game: The metaverse promises relief from human pain and longing. But can it become just another addiction?