The Untold History of Sports in America

When the fates of the enslaved captives of the Amistad are put into the hands of the Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams feels it's his duty to represent them. Adams’ son and wife would have preferred he stayed away from the case altogether. 

Founding Son is a Curiosity Podcast and is a co-production of iHeart Podcasts and School of Humans. 

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In our final episode, Matt Andrews explores how athletes have protested in the modern era, from Craig Hodges' direct plea to President Bush to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem. Those protests, just like similar ones before it, were criticized by some Americans who told those athletes to "shut up and dribble." 

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Why do we sing the National Anthem at sporting events? Is patriotism part of sports? Matt Andrews explains how American sports have been intertwined with national tragedies over the last century, including September 11th.

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Baseball, Cycling, Golf....why are we so obsessed with athletes cheating? Matt explores this question through the stories of Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.

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Women's soccer began to take off in the U.S. in the 1990s, culminating in the frenzy surrounding the 1999 World Cup and one of the greatest female athletes, Mia Hamm. Matt tells that story and explains how a sports bra created a controversy. 

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Matt Andrews tells the story of one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan, and how his relationship with Nike changed the world of sports. 

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In the 1980s, white athletes for some Americans came to represent white excellence in a sports world dominated by black athletes. Matt Andrews illustrates this through the stories of three white sports legends-NBA player Larry Bird, boxer Gerry Cooney...and fictional fighter Rocky Balboa.

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The Soviets and Americans both hosted the Olympics in the 1980s.  Matt Andrews explains that the fraught political situation of the time spilled into the Games, including boycott threats and fallout from a shot-down commercial airplane. 

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Before the 1970s, the average American stopped exercising after their high school days in gym class. But with modern technology came sedentary lifestyles and rising health issues. Matt Andrews breaks down the beginnings of the American fitness boom and how the jogging craze was partly about the need to feel in control.

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We won't spoil which movie Matt Andrews declares the "greatest," but he feels pretty strongly about it. And that's because it's the first of its kind to be brutally honest. Hint: It's not Hoosiers.  

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When President Nixon signed Title IX into law in 1972, the goal was achieving gender equality and fairness in education. But it led to a women's revolution in sports, with high school and collegiate participation for women soaring in the 1970s-1990s. Matt Andrews explains the complicated story of Title IX, including a famous naked protest and the debate over its impact.

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It's the age of women's athletic revolution, with female athletes battling on the field for equality and respect. Nothing encapsulates that more than the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.  Matt Andrews tells the story of the "Battle of the Sexes." 

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Matt Andrews tracks the evolution of professional football in America, from the origins of the Super Bowl to the celebrity of the New York Jets' Joe Namath. He rejected norms and challenged how a professional athlete can act off the field  

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When Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on the podium of the 1968 Olympic Games, it reverberated across both the political and sports worlds. Matt Andrews delves into the unrest that led black athletes to take a stand at the Olympics, including the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

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During the Cold War, black athletes were touted on the world stage by the U.S. as proof that the American system was superior. But soon, some of them chose to speak out politically against their country, and they were led by Muhammad Ali. Matt Andrews explains Cassius Clay's journey to  "The Louisville Lip" and The People's Champ.

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The Olympic Games served as a theater for the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, competing to answer the question, who has the better system for maximizing human potential? Matt Andrews delves into these Games, and how they helped to propel black female American athletes and the Presidential Fitness Test. 

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In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier as a Brooklyn Dodger. He and his family received death threats, teammates signed a petition refusing to play with him, and he was trained to ignore racist taunts from the crowd. Matt Andrews explores Robinson's career, his impact on American history, and the hidden cost of integration in sports. 

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Matt Andrews explores the legacy of professional boxer Joe Louis, one of the first black athletes that many white Americans supported. Andrews also talks about the 1936 Olympic Games, where Hitler's racist goals were refuted by the performances of American black athletes like Jesse Owens. 

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Briskly performed housework was considered an acceptable form of exercise for women in the 19th century.  Matt Andrews lays out the journey for women in sports, including the bicycle craze of the 1890s, the mother of women's basketball, and the other Babe in American sport history: Mildred "Babe" Didrikson.

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