Irv Muchnick is one of America’s leading sports journalists and investigative writers.
His essays and other writing have appeared in Sports Illustrated, People, The Washington Monthly, and the Sunday magazines of the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of the books Chris & Nancy; Wrestling Babylon; Concussion Inc., Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads: The American Way of Death in Football Conditioning; and Underwater: The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe.
Irv Muchnick reflects on why the recent “revelations” about Vince McMahon’s alleged Caligula-like sexual exploitation of an employee, harassment, and of creating a larger environment of sexual predation at the WWE/WWF should in no way be a surprise given what has been publicly known for decades.
Irv also offers some context from his long history of reporting on the subculture(s) of professional wrestling and other sports such as swimming and gymnastics about how and why sexual harassment and abuse are unfortunately all too common both in those spaces and across American society.
And Irv connects the dots between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon and what he describes as the “Trumpification” of American politics and life.
Chauncey reflects on nostalgia, innocence, joy, pleasure, fan culture, and how to reconcile loving professional wrestling (and other things) with knowing about the real-life drama and human cost that it brings to its participants and others in that world. Ultimately, is innocence bliss?
And Chauncey shares a story about being a hero in your own neighborhood (even when sick), thanks everyone for their support during his battle with the cooties, and in that spirit makes a public health announcement about the merits of folk medicine and the all-powerful asafetida bag.
At the end of this episode of the podcast, there is also an “Easter egg” bonus segment from the archives with writer, movie producer, and director Barry Blaustein where he reflects on making the landmark professional wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?
On Twitter:
https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega
On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega
My email:
chaunceydevega@gmail.com
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?
Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow
Ep. 154: Dallas Penn Reflects on the Black Blogosphere, Life, Collecting, and Hip-Hop
Ep. 153: There's "No Easy Way Out" When You are Bowling with Gangsters and Hustlers
Ep. 152: Lance Dodes Warns That Donald Trump is Sociopathic
Ep. 151: James Whitman Explains What Adolf Hitler and the Nazis Learned From American Racism
Ep. 150: Timothy Snyder Explains how Donald Trump will use Charlottesville to advance his fascist agenda
Ep. 149: Analyzing the White Supremacist Terrorism in Charlottesville
Ep. 148: Van Jones Explains How Best to Resist Donald Trump
Ep. 147: Randi Weingarten Explains the Dangers of Gangster Capitalism and the War on America's Schools
Ep. 146: Tom Nichols Explains How Anti-intellectualism and the War on Expertise Led to the Rise of Donald Trump
Ep. 145: Randolph Hohle Explains How Neoliberalism and the Color Line Intersect
Ep. 144: Resisting Fascism and White Supremacy in the Age of Donald Trump
Ep. 143: Joseph Baker Explores the Lives of Bigfoot Hunters, Demonologists, and UFO Researchers
Ep. 142: Jason Aaron on Writing "Star Wars", "Southern Bastards", and Reflections on the South
Ep. 141: Barry Blaustein Talks Professional Wrestling, Donald Trump, and Eddie Murphy
Ep. 140: Tim Wise Explores White Identity Politics in the Age of Donald Trump
Ep. 139: Ruth Ben-Ghiat Analyzes Authoritarianism and Donald Trump's Predatory Masculinity
Ep. 138: Bandy Lee Sounds the Alarm about Donald Trump's Mental Health
Ep. 137: Naveed Jamali Explains How Russia Could Have Infiltrated Trump's White House
Ep. 136: Rachel Dolezal Explains "Transracial" Identity and Her Journey From "Black" to "White"
Ep. 135: Scott Snyder Shares His Thoughts on Writing Batman, Politics, and "Diversity" in Comic Books
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free