Chasing Ali - Jonathan Eig's Pursuit of Muhammad Ali

This is it. The final round. Author Jonathan Eig stands among a crowd of thousands to say goodbye to the man who shook up the world. This is the funeral for the World’s Greatest, and the end of Chasing Ali. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Most people collect baseball cards or stamps, but author Jonathan Eig collected Muhammad Ali. From stories, to photos, to coveted memorabilia—including an exceedingly rare Heavyweight Champion token—the author pieced together a complex picture of Ali’s life. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Several years went by before Jonathan Eig was finally able to meet Muhammad Ali. Listen to his story of what it was like to meet the man he spent three years studying, and a lifetime admiring. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Muhammad Ali is known as “The World’s Greatest,” but not every boxing aficionado agrees. Jonathan Eig breaks down Ali’s three stages of fighting and why his final boxing tactic might have been his biggest mistake. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Muhammad Ali’s brain scans show troubling signs to modern neurologists. But is there any way to look back and trace the damage itself? Author Jonathan Eig looks for answers and uncovers shocking statistics. The fatal effects of Ali’s commitment to his sport are told in this week’s episode. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Author Jonathan Eig keeps an eye on Ebay while he writes, looking for Muhammad Ali memorabilia. As a collector of Ali’s cologne and bed sheets, when he saw a listing for Ali’s record player, he had to have it. Listen to how a childhood record player unlocked a hidden story of the later years of The World’s Greatest. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

$1,000. That was Rahaman Ali’s price for one answer about his older brother, Muhammad. Thankfully, Jonathan Eig’s persistence and connection with Ali’s manager, Gene Kilroy, earned him an interview with Rahaman, and a closer look into the personal life of Muhammad Ali. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

After one failed attempt, Jonathan Eig will stop at nothing to meet Muhammad Ali. This time, he brings a sidekick, and finds himself sitting just outside Ali’s bedroom. But will his efforts end in victory, or another vicious blow to the author’s book and lifelong dream? Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Telling the life story of Muhammad Ali meant spending a lot of time with people who knew him. But what about meeting the man himself? Jonathan Eig knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get to Muhammad Ali, and time was running out. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

For two years, Jonathan Eig tried to get in touch with Don King, and when he did, he asked him one question that could have gotten him killed. He lived to tell the tale about one of boxing’s most successful promoters. In this week’s episode find out what Don King, Muhammad Ali and a Christmas party have in common. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

Turns out that Ali didn’t limit his fighting to his time in the ring. Listen as Jonathan Eig drives around South Florida with Muhammad Ali’s second wife Khalilah—and why Shakespeare's words still ring true: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

To write Muhammad Ali’s biography, author Jonathan Eig had to start somewhere. Tune in to find out why his interview with ring doctor Ferdie Pacheco was like taking a punch to the kidneys—and what he learned about Ali’s early signs of traumatic brain injury. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.

For most of his childhood, the last face author Jonathan Eig would see each night before bed was that of Muhammad Ali, as shown in a poster hanging above his bed. Eig knew even then that Ali was a legend, but never dreamed he would end up writing his biography. Find out how this lifelong fan ended up knowing more about the greatest boxer of all time than even some of Ali’s closest friends. Visit ChasingAliPodcast.com for additional content and resources.