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In the early 2000s, rampant steroid use across Major League Baseball became the biggest scandal in the sport's history. But fans didn't want to hear the difficult truth about their heroes – and the league didn't want to intervene and clean up a mess it helped make. We look back at how the scandal unraveled with our colleagues from the podcast Crushed from Religion of Sports and PRX. Their show revisits the steroid era to untangle its truth from the many myths, examine the legacy of baseball's so-called steroid era and explore what it tells us about sports culture in America. We start during the 1998 MLB season, when the home run race was on. Superstar sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled to set a new single-season record, and McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, was portrayed as the hero baseball needed: part humble, wholesome, working man and part action hero, with his brawny build and enormous biceps. So when a reporter spotted a suspicious bottle of pills in his locker in the middle of the season, most fans plugged their ears and refused to acknowledge that baseball might be hooked on steroids. Joan Niesen, a sportswriter and host of the podcast Crushed, takes us on a deep dive into an era that dethroned a generation of superstars, left fans disillusioned and turned baseball's record book on its head. The story takes us from ballparks and clubhouses to the halls of Congress to explain how baseball was finally forced to reckon with its drug problem. This is a rebroadcast of an episode that originally aired in July 2021. Support Reveal's journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/weekly Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
In the early 2000s, rampant steroid use across Major League Baseball became the biggest scandal in the sport's history. But fans didn't want to hear the difficult truth about their heroes – and the league didn't want to intervene and clean up a mess it helped make. We look back at how the scandal unraveled with our colleagues from the podcast Crushed from Religion of Sports and PRX. Their show revisits the steroid era to untangle its truth from the many myths, examine the legacy of baseball's so-called steroid era and explore what it tells us about sports culture in America. We start during the 1998 MLB season, when the home run race was on. Superstar sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled to set a new single-season record, and McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, was portrayed as the hero baseball needed: part humble, wholesome, working man and part action hero, with his brawny build and enormous biceps. So when a reporter spotted a suspicious bottle of pills in his locker in the middle of the season, most fans plugged their ears and refused to acknowledge that baseball might be hooked on steroids. Joan Niesen, a sportswriter and host of the podcast Crushed, takes us on a deep dive into an era that dethroned a generation of superstars, left fans disillusioned and turned baseball's record book on its head. The story takes us from ballparks and clubhouses to the halls of Congress to explain how baseball was finally forced to reckon with its drug problem. This is a rebroadcast of an episode that originally aired in July 2021. Support Reveal's journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/newsletter Connect with us onTwitter, Facebook and Instagram
Joan Niesen, the host of Crushed, is back with a bonus episode exploring baseball's latest steroid controversy. Find the entire seven-part series in season one of this feed. Today, on the rare occasion that a pro baseball player tests positive for anabolic steroids, it's widely assumed that he's a cheater and few people ever pause to consider that there might be more to the story. But, is there? What if testing has gotten too good, and MLB policy has gotten too rigid? And what if innocent players are seeing their careers derailed as a result?
Sports writer Joan Niesen goes deep on baseball's steroid era in her podcast, Crushed.” Her conversation with Sarah Fenske originally aired on April 9, 2021.
Joan Niesen talks with Tim Rohan, host of False Idol, the latest narrative podcast from Religion of Sports and PRX. The new series re-examines the story of Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic sprinter who killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day 2013. False Idol launches with two episodes in this feed on August 26th.
In the early 2000s, rampant steroid use across Major League Baseball became the biggest scandal in the sport's history. But fans didn't want to hear the difficult truth about their heroes – and the league didn't want to intervene and clean up a mess it helped make. We look back at how the scandal unraveled with our colleagues from the podcast Crushed from Religion of Sports and PRX. Their show revisits the steroid era to untangle its truth from the many myths, examine the legacy of baseball's so-called steroid era and explore what it tells us about sports culture in America. We start during the 1998 MLB season, when the home run race was on. Superstar sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled to set a new single-season record, and McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, was portrayed as the hero baseball needed: part humble, wholesome, working man and part action hero, with his brawny build and enormous biceps. So when a reporter spotted a suspicious bottle of pills in his locker in the middle of the season, most fans plugged their ears and refused to acknowledge that baseball might be hooked on steroids. Joan Niesen, a sportswriter and host of the podcast Crushed, takes us on a deep dive into an era that dethroned a generation of superstars, left fans disillusioned and turned baseball's record book on its head. The story takes us from ballparks and clubhouses to the halls of Congress to explain how baseball was finally forced to reckon with its drug problem.
In the early 2000s, rampant steroid use across Major League Baseball became the biggest scandal in the sport's history. But fans didn't want to hear the difficult truth about their heroes – and the league didn't want to intervene and clean up a mess it helped make. We look back at how the scandal unraveled with our colleagues from the podcast Crushed from Religion of Sports and PRX. Their show revisits the steroid era to untangle its truth from the many myths, examine the legacy of baseball's so-called steroid era and explore what it tells us about sports culture in America. We start during the 1998 MLB season, when the home run race was on. Superstar sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled to set a new single-season record, and McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, was portrayed as the hero baseball needed: part humble, wholesome, working man and part action hero, with his brawny build and enormous biceps. So when a reporter spotted a suspicious bottle of pills in his locker in the middle of the season, most fans plugged their ears and refused to acknowledge that baseball might be hooked on steroids. Joan Niesen, a sportswriter and host of the podcast Crushed, takes us on a deep dive into an era that dethroned a generation of superstars, left fans disillusioned and turned baseball's record book on its head. The story takes us from ballparks and clubhouses to the halls of Congress to explain how baseball was finally forced to reckon with its drug problem.
It’s the last off-day before the All-Star break, and the Cardinals are set for a 3-game series at Wrigley. We start by talking about how we can still enjoy the season even if the team remains less than competitive. From there, we move on to talk about Cardinals All-Star Alex Reyes. Despite the honor, the saves and the low ERA, we both see warning signs and think “selling high” might be the (unlikely) right thing to do.From there, we focus on the Cubs. A coin flip determines sides for a debate over “who sucks more,” the Cardinals or the Cubs? And for our box score of yore, we look at a very unusual Cardinals/Cubs game at Wrigley from 1930.Ben Humphrey recommends the episode of the Starkville podcast with Andrew Miller, focused on “the sticky stuff.” (Starkville is available via a subscription to The Athletic.)Ben Godar also recommends a podcast: Crushed, from Joan Niesen. It’s a highly-bingeable 7-episode series looking back at The Steroid era. Even for those of us who lived through it, Crushed provides rich context and deeper insights into everything from the Andro in Big Mac’s locker to the infamous testimony before Congress. Niesen is a St. Louis native for whom the ‘98 HR chase was a formative moment, so there’s lots of great content for Cardinals fans in the series. Get on the email list at cardinalsoffday.substack.com
Writer and podcaster Joan Niesen of Religion of Sports joins host Kevin Wheeler to talk Cardinals baseball, MLB's sticky substance scandal, the accusations against Dodgers' pitcher Trevor Bauer and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What are baseball fans, their interest set ablaze by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and the brawny dizzying home run race of 1998, supposed to think about a summer that was so electric at the time -- and so inauthentic in hindsight? That was a question sportswriter Joan Niesen, a St. Louis native who spent years writing for Sports Illustrated, set out to ask in her podcast 'Crushed.' What she found was how baseball players on the brink of the majors faced a similar, uncertain and nebulous question, and that Steroid Era's scar on the game is more complex than a few stars dragged before Congress. Niesen joins the Best Podcast in Baseball host and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the genesis of her podcast, the revelations from a former Cardinals farmhand who faced a common fork in his career -- to use PEDs, or not -- and her own personal reckoning with the summer that captivated her imagination as a baseball fan. 'Crushed' is a seven-part series produced by Religion of Sports and PRX and it is available wherever you find podcasts. So is BPIB. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the final hour, Matt Spiegel was joined by Joan Niesen, the host of "Crushed," a podcast from Religion of Sports and PRX. They discussed the steroids era and the state of performance-enhancing drugs in MLB in 2021. After that, Spiegel introduced a new segment called Bloop Hits, where he covered the news and notes from the national games throughout the week. Later, Spiegel discussed the White Sox's bullpen and MLB.tv blackouts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Brady sits down with Joan Niesen of "Religion of Sports" to talk about her new podcast docu-series on Steroids in baseball and the 1998 home run chase. They also discuss if that that period of time in baseball's history in any way impacted today's game and if the steroid era divided clubhouses and much more.
Sports writer Joan Niesen goes deep on baseball’s steroid era in her new podcast, Crushed.” She explains how she fell in love with baseball as a 10-year-old in St. Louis, and how subsequent revelations affected her fandom
Sarah talks to journalist Joan Niesen about how her love of baseball was passed down from her paternal grandmother, her path from an economics degree to feature writer for Sports Illustrated, and her new podcast where she reckons with the steroid era in baseball and the home run chase of 1998 after seeing it through innocent eyes as a ten-year-old.
It's opening day for baseball season! The White Sox start out on the road tonight against the LA Angels, while the Cubs take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. As baseball fans eagerly look ahead to a more “normal” season, we're looking back at a pivotal moment in MLB history. Joan Niesen is the host of the new podcast Crushed. The show explores the 1998 home run race between the St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire and the Cubs' Sammy Sosa, and the fallout after fans learned the stars and many other players had been using steroids. Jacoby talks to Niesen about how that summer both captivated and disappointed a generation of baseball fans. Guest: Joan Nieson, Host, Crushed (@JoanNiesen) Opening day schedule: https://bit.ly/2PF2OGl Follow us on twitter: @CityCastChicago Sign up for our newsletter: citycast.fm/chicago
7:00 – The Final Four is Set! 7:15 – Ask Uncle Randy 7:30 – 8 Burning Questions: #8 – What Cardinals are capable of winning awards this season? 7:45 – TIOLI 8:00 – Fresh Take: Religion of Sports' Joan Niesen on her new podcast "Crushed" 8:15 – Karl Ravech, host of ESPN's Baseball Tonight 8:30 – The Fight 8:45 – 8 Burning Questions: #8 – What Cardinals are capable of winning awards this season? YOUR Texts 9:00 – Today's Big Thing: 2021 MLB Questionnaire 9:15 – You're Killing Me Smalls 9:30 – Brad Thompson of 101 ESPN's 'The Fast Lane' 9:45 – The Crossover with Danny Mac
info@podcastone.comc5270537-1a1f-4312-9a3b-6be77621eeadWed, 31 Mar 2021 09:07:24 PDT00:12:12
Longtime college football writer Joan Niesen of the “Outside the (Press) Box” newsletter and the Religion of Sport podcast network joins host Chris Hrabe to discuss how unpredictable the coronavirus’ impact has been on the Cardinals and to compare how different college football conferences are navigating the fall 2020 season. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.
Episode 95 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is ESPN play by play broadcaster Sean McDonough, who has called major sports for three decades including national championships in college football and basketball; Monday Night Football, and the World Series McDonough was scheduled to return this year as one of the voices of Boston Red Sox, whose games he also called from 1988-2004. In this podcast McDonough discusses what he is doing now amid COVID-19; his time at Monday Night Football and why it did not work with Jon Gruden; the cancelation of his spring broadcasting schedule; how he feels about the prospect of calling games without crowds; working in college football with two great broadcasting teams over the past two decades; the Syracuse University play by play pipeline; and much more. McDonough is followed by Kalyn Kahler, most recently of Sports Illustrated and The MMQB and Joan Niesen, a writer for The Guardian, podcaster for Religion of Sport and a former Sports Illustrated writer. Kahler and Niesen discuss being laid off by SI/The Maven and how that process went down; how Kahler was informed last week of her layoff; the prospect of finding work in this market; what it has been like to work at SI the past two years; what both expect from Sports Illustrated heading forward; Niesen on living in New Orleans; how to contact both for work, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.
Episode 81 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: The iconic wrestling broadcaster Jim (“JR”) Ross, who currently calls All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on TNT every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET and is a senior advisor with the promotion. Ross is also the co-host (with Conrad Thompson) of the popular podcast, “Grilling JR.” The second guest is Joan Niesen, who recently worked at Sports Illustrated, where she covered national college football, following stops at the Denver Post and Fox Sports. In this podcast, Ross discusses how AEW approaches broadcasting; whether there is an AEW style of broadcasting; the differences between how AEW and WWE broadcast their products; the art of delivering a promo and why Chris Jericho is so great at it; working into his late 60s; how he navigates social media; why it works so well with he and Conrad Thompson; how he prepares for Grilling JR; his upcoming book, Under the Black Hat, which comes out in March, and much more. Niesen was a guest on Episode 72 of this podcast as one four former Sports Illustrated staffers who were let go last week by The Maven, the Seattle-based startup that leased Sports Illustrated's media operations from the Authentic Brands Group. In this podcast, Niesen discusses the challenges of freelancing after being let go from a writing job; how the freelance market has been for her; how she views what’s happening under the Maven at SI; the paradox of wanting to support SI writers but not The Maven; her view on college football as a television product; the deification of college football coaches, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.
Episode 72 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features four former Sports Illustrated staffers who were let go last week by The Maven, the Seattle-based startup that leased Sports Illustrated's media operations from the Authentic Brands Group. The first segment features Mary Agnant, a producer and filmmaker who worked for Sports Illustrated Video for three years. Agnant worked on many video initiatives and directed one of the best things SI has ever produced – a documentary (“The Logan Effect”) about Humboldt Broncos' Logan Boulet, one of the 16 people killed in the horrible bus crash involving that hockey team. She is joined by Scooby Axson, who worked at Sports Illustrated and SI.com for seven years there, covering everything from CFB, NFL, NBA, and MLB. Axson spent 16 years in the military, serving tours in Bosnia and Iraq prior to working at SI. The second segment features Tim Rohan, who worked at Sports Illustrated for 3.5 years as an NFL writer and was previously a writer for the New York Times. The serialized podcast re-examining the death of Steve McNair that Rohan hosted and help create – “Fall of a Titan” — was recognized as one of the best sports podcasts of 2018. He is joined by Joan Niesen, a talented staff writer at Sports Illustrated for nearly six years. Niesen covered a multitude of sports and events for SI including the College Football Playoff, Super Bowl, The Masters, Stanley Cup Finals, and World Series. In this podcast, the guests discuss what they did for Sports Illustrated; how they and the SI staff learned of the layoffs; whether they had any indication it was coming; the callous nature of how they and their colleagues were told they were losing their jobs; whether they hoped for a different resolution for SI; what working for SI has been like for the best couple of years; what they think the future holds for Sports Illustrated under The Maven; what they hope to do in their careers heading forward; how you can contact them if interested in hiring them, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more
On the end of her time at the legendary magazine; on the future of SI and the future of magazines as a whole; on what one does after her dream job is taken away; on the decision to skip business writing for a career in sports chronicling.
10-4-19 Joan Niesen, formerly of Sports Illustrated, joins the Zone to talk about the recent layoffs, and Mick Shaffer joins the Zone to talk Royals potential manager news and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Emily & Greg stay up late recapping the Blues Game 4 win at home. Steve Whyno of the AP (8:55) and Joan Niesen of Sports Illustrated (25:57) offer their thoughts on the game.
Draft Season returns for a second season as Sports Illustrated takes you behind the scenes of the crazy world of the NFL draft through the eyes of some of its most unique prospects. In this year's first episode, Joan Niesen goes inside the mind of Northwestern WR Austin Carr, a former walk-on turned potential draft sleeper who wears many hats: musician, comedian, master's student, part-time philosopher ... and reigning Big Ten Receiver of the Year. Some NFL teams may be skeptical, but the multi-talented Carr has a lifetime of proof that football is his primary focus.
We go in-depth with Joan, and discuss her latest piece on Taysom Hill and his recovery from his Lisfranc injury.
It takes a special temperament to handle the scrutiny of draft season with style and grace. For Vernon Hargreaves III, a cornerback out of Florida, the cool came naturally. The 11th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hargreaves has long looked and acted like a first-rounder. In the final episode of Draft Season, SI’s Joan Niesen visits with Hargreaves on draft day as he lands with his hometown team. While he couldn't have dreamed of a better spot, the journey to that point was anything but perfect.