Bowling in Chicago: friendship, racism, loyalty, and the meaning of team through the paradigm of working-class communities and bowling leagues in the late 20th century

I went to graduate school studying political science at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park starting in 1989. Soon after arriving I looked for a bowling league to join. It seemed to me if you lived in Chicago, you should be on a bowling team. I didn’t learn about 16-inch softball in Chicago until…

Beginnings: R. Carlos Nakai

The first substantive interview I ever did was with R. Carlos Nakai in 1998. I’d worked at a newspaper as a copy editor and reporter and done countless, deadline-driven get-the-job-done interviews with sports team coaches and players. Earlier, I’d met many political leaders while studying government at Georgetown and even gotten to spend a bit…