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. 251: The Chosen One -- From Pat Robertson and The 700 Club to Donald Trump the Christian Fascist
Ep. 250: Chris Arnade on Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America/Sam Quinones on Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic
Ep. 249: Dr. Justin Frank Warns That Donald Trump's Mental Pathologies are Encouraging a Plague of Right-wing Violence in America
Ep. 248: Tim Alberta on "American Carnage" and How Donald Trump Seduced a Very Eager and Willing Republican Party
Ep. 247.5: The Truth Report with Chauncey DeVega: Tim Wise on White Rage, Donald Trump, and America's "Race War"
Ep. 247: "Babylon 5" Creator J. Michael Straczynski on Adversity, Triumph and His New Autobiography "Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood"
Ep. 246.5: The Truth Report with Chauncey DeVega: Dr. Bandy Lee Warns That Donald Trump is Emotionally Empty Inside and Spiraling Even More Out of Control
Ep. 246: Joy-Ann Reid Explains How Donald Trump Represents Everything Wrong With America
Ep. 245: Eve Ensler on Righteous Anger, Forgiveness and Her New Book "The Apology"
Ep. 244: Human Rights Attorney Hope Frye on the Evils She Witnessed Inside of Trump's Concentration Camps
Ep. 243: Bryan Edward Hill on "American Carnage" and the Age of Trump
Ep. 242: Michael Wolff on "Siege: Trump Under Fire"/Dr. John Gartner on Donald Trump the Mad King
Ep. 241: Jared Diamond on His New Book "Upheaval' and How Countries Choose to Succeed or Fail
Ep. 240.5: Introducing The Truth Report with Chauncey DeVega: Dr. Bandy Lee on How the Mueller Report Shows That Donald Trump is Mentally Unfit and Should Have His Presidential Powers Taken Away
Ep. 240: W. Kamau Bell on Truth-Telling in This Divided United Shades of America
Ep. 239: Ben Fountain Explains How American Democracy is Broken and the Country is Burning
Ep. 238: Malcolm Nance Warns That Post-Mueller Report America May Not Survive Donald Trump's Assaults on Democracy
Ep. 237: Is Game of Thrones Racist and Sexist?
Ep. 236: Ira Steven Behr Reflects on the Legacy and Meaning of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the new documentary What We Left Behind
Ep. 235: Jonathan Metzl on Being Targeted by neo-Nazis/Tim Wise on White Privilege and White Christian Terrorists
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