We All Have a Number

EPISODE 309: Human rights — and a visit with Zohran.

Last month, I was invited to give a keynote speech at a remarkable organization: the University of Connecticut’s Dodd Center for Human Rights. Whose focus for their biennial conference, this time around, would be sports.

This is how I wound up spending an evening with Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and my old friend William C. Rhoden:

Many moons ago, Bill Rhoden drove me in his convertible, with the top down, from Bristol to Manhattan after taping The Sports Reporters. Bill rules.

I would’ve made the trip to Storrs for that opportunity alone, honestly.

But Prof. James Waller — a wildly accomplished author and international scholar — had apparently been listening to our show. Which frequently touches on issues relating to human rights, as you may have noticed, but almost never articulates that throughline across our many, many episodes. Not in one place.

And so I figured it might be cool if this episode, taped in front of a live audience at Sue Bird’s alma mater, was that throughline.

ALSO:

Last Sunday, in Astoria, Queens, I sat down for five good minutes with then-candidate Zohran Mamdani — making his second appearance on PTFO — and New York governor Kathy Hochul, who’d gathered to watch the Bills beat the Chiefs at Murphy’s Bar. We contemplated sports trauma and the alternate universe in which Donald Trump actually bought the Buffalo Bills:

Zohran won the election, obviously.

And one of his first decisions was to appoint former chair of the Federal Trade Commission— and noted Friend of PTFO — Lina Khan to his transition team.

All of which is to also say: I am glad Zohran will be our mayor.

Sincerely,

Pablo