Back in 2013, for Deadspin, Drew Magary attended the annual Scripps Spelling Bee, in which 11 million kids spell off across America in a bid to become the brainy few who land onstage for the final round, and learns how such a simple contest has been sullied by the need to keep the event exciting […]
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Posted inFeature, Sports, Story
The Gymnast’s Position
Aimee Trepanier was proud to showcase the pose that started her 1993 gymnastics floor routine in a billboard ad off I-15 in Salt Lake City. But when Utahns looked up, that’s not what they saw.
Posted inEditor's Pick
NFL Scoops From Heaven
Whether ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski is dropping #wojbombs, or Adam Schefter is piling NFL scoop after scoop into his Twitter timeline, there are certain reporters who seem to always be the first to know who signed where and for how much money. That is, until Sports Spectrum, a burgeoning Christian website, began to beat the […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Deep Six: Jamele Hill and the Fight for the Future of ESPN
Bryan Curtis profiles Jamele Hill, the ESPN Sportscenter host under fire on Twitter, and from the White House, for calling President Donald Trump a white supremacist.
Posted inArts & Culture, Culture, Current Events, Essays & Criticism, Feature, Media, Nonfiction, Story
When American Media Was (Briefly) Diverse
An economic downturn in 2008 shuttered numerous publications and further marginalized people of color in an already minimally integrated industry. But in the 90’s and early-aughts, multicultural publications flourished, providing an alternative model for journalism that bears remembering.
Posted inNonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Lizzie Presser, Kathleen McGrory, Bryan Curtis, Anna Merlan, and Amalia Illgner.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Meet Spitty, the Whippet Who Holds Five World Records
“Science has proven the impossibility of the human brain to register self-pity, or maunder on about the generally sorry state of things, while in the presence of canine bellyflops.”
Posted inBlog Post, Current Events, Sports
Jemele Hill Was Doing Her Job
ESPN Sportscenter host Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for simply doing what she was hired to do: provide commentary on the news.
Posted inBlog Post, Quotes, Unapologetic Women
Jemele Hill Knows What You Really Want to Call Her
The host was brought on to help redefine the floundering ESPN brand. Now she’s under attack, and the channel is nowhere to be seen.
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Sports
Inside ESPN’s ’30 for 30 Podcasts’ Launch
Producer Jody Avirgan transforms the visual medium of sports into compelling audio stories.
