The HBS hosts struggle for recognition. [NOTE: This is a REPLAY episode, first aired on August 11, 2023. The HBS hosts will be back with new episodes for Season 11 starting on September 13, 2024!] The dialectic of lordship and bondage, more commonly known as the “Master/Slave dialectic,” is a moment in a much longer and exceedingly difficult-to-rea…

In this episode of the "Are You In The Book?" podcast, we welcome Joey Greany, the head strength and conditioning coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. Joey shares his insights on developing elite athletes, the importance of tailored training programs, and the role of mental toughness in professional baseball. We dive into the unique challenges and strateg…

The HBS hosts ask Devin Shaw whether and how to punch Nazis. [NOTE: This is a REPLAY episode, first aired on Jun2, 2023. The HBS hosts will be back with new episodes for Season 11 starting on September 13, 2024!] Since at least the 2016 election the word fascism has emerged from the historical archive to contemporary political debates. This questio…

In this episode of the Are you in the Book Podcast, Eric Wubbena sits down with Darren Everson, the hitting coach for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies - AA affiliate of the New York Mets. Darren shares his journey through the ranks of professional baseball, from playing in the minors to coaching at various levels, including his role as a hitting coordi…

Welcome to the desert of the real. Hotel Bar Sessions podcast is predicated on the idea that the three of us meet up at bar, order-up some drinks, and then settle in to talk philosophy. But—spoiler alert—none of that is true. There is no bar, sadly there are not drinks, and the conversation takes place through the instrumentality of digital technol…

Does voting matter? Voting is often heralded as the cornerstone of democracy, a fundamental right that empowers citizens to influence the direction of their government and society. Proponents argue that every vote counts, that it is through the collective decisions of the electorate that leaders are held accountable, policies are shaped, and societ…

In this episode of the Are You in the Book podcast, host Eric Wubbena sits down with Cory Goff, the Head Coach at Riverside High School and a passionate advocate for American Legion baseball. Coach Goff dives into what makes the American Legion program special, from its deep-rooted traditions to its role in developing young athletes. He shares his …

What happens when AI overtakes the role of human journalists? The HBS hosts are joined this week by Dr. Andrea Guzman, one of the leading experts in human-machine communication studies, to chat about the changing landscape of journalism in the age of artificial intelligence, where AI is not just a tool, but an active participant in content creation…

In this episode of the Are You in the Book podcast, host Eric Wubbena sits down with Sam Jones, the newly hired Head Coach at Evangel University. Together, they discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with starting fresh in a new role and the importance of building a faith-based baseball program. Coach Jones shares his vision for integra…

Can queer theory overcome its ties to sexuality? Toward the end of the 20th Century, French Philosopher Michel Foucault called into question the ways in which a variety of practices, relations, institutions, and discourses came to be organized under the concept of "sexuality." The construction of sexuality as a thing, as a category, as a concept th…

The HBS hosts dig into the crisis of academic peer review. Peer review, touted as the gold standard for ensuring research quality, has come under increasing scrutiny. Decades of studies have revealed surprising inconsistencies: from papers initially hailed as groundbreaking being rejected upon resubmission, to the current “retraction crisis,” to co…

Ideology is said in many ways. Which one is emancipatory? This week, we are joined by Dr. William Clare Roberts, Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University, to discuss his recent essay "Ideology and Self-Emancipation: Voluntary Servitude, False Consciousness, and the Career of Critical Theory." This is the second part in our "Ide…

In this exciting episode of the "Are You In The Book?" podcast, presented by Baseball Bluebook, Eric sits down with Coach Traywick, the new Head Coach at the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain. Get to know Coach Traywick as he shares his vision for the baseball program, his plans for developing talent, and his approach to creating a winning cultu…

The ocean and space and "Ode to Joy" are sublime, of course... but what about an excellent lentil soup? In a confusing twist of etymology, where one would expect "sub" to mean "below," in the word "sublime" it indicates something above or even beyond. We use it as a superlative, but a superlative of what? Edmund Burke argues that the experience of …

Join Eric for a compelling episode of the "Are You In The Book?" podcast, brought to you by Baseball Bluebook, as he interviews Coach Punches, the new Head Coach at Olivet Nazarene University. In this episode, Coach Punches discusses his aspirations for the team, his strategies for player development, and his vision for building a strong, competiti…

What motivates people to live off-grid in the 21st C? And how hard is it to survive out there? This week, the HBS hosts are joined by journalist and co-host of the Our Uncertain Future podcast Eric Mack, who decided in 2020 to move his family "off-grid." Currently residing in a 100% water- and energy-independent compound in the New Mexico desert, E…

In this episode of the "Are You In The Book?" podcast, brought to you by Baseball Bluebook, Eric interviews Coach Kutelik, the Recruiting Coordinator at Mission University in Springfield, MO. Dive into the world of collegiate baseball recruiting as Coach Kutelik shares his expertise on identifying talent, the recruitment process, and what it takes …

What, if anything, is the difference between having ideological commitments and belonging to a "cult"? This week's episode is a "deep dive" into the very deep waters of ideology and ideological commitments. A couple of important notes for listeners: first, this episode was recorded the day before William Clare-Roberts' excellent essay "Ideology and…

In this episode of the "Are You In The Book?" podcast, brought to you by Baseball Bluebook, Eric sits down with Coach Grinder of the University of Texas Permian Basin. Tune in as we explore Coach Grinder's journey in baseball, his approach to developing young talent, and his vision for the future of UTPB's baseball program. Whether you're an aspiri…

Join Eric on this episode of the "Are You In The Book?" podcast, proudly presented by Baseball Bluebook, as he interviews Coach Nasby, the Head Coach of Drury University Baseball. Discover Coach Nasby's coaching philosophy, his commitment to player development, and the strategies he employs to build a winning team culture. Whether you're a player l…

The HBS hosts wonder whether ChatGPT is the least of our worries. Generative Ai is a still new and emergent technology capable of producing not only text that could be mistaken as human-generated, but also images, video, music, and "voice." For all of the amazing opportunities opened up by generative AI, however, it does not come without its own ri…

The HBS hosts are not here to make friends. They’re here to WIN. We all have our low-brow guilty pleasures and, for millions of Americans, one of those is reality TV. Only a few months ago, amidst a war raging in the Ukraine, a new regent being crowned in the U.K., and reproductive rights being stripped from women here in the U.S., the whole of the…

The HBS hosts discuss how friendships are forged, maintained, and sometimes broken. In The Politics of Friendship, Jacques Derrida invokes a statement originally attributed to Aristotle: “My Friends, there are no friends," capturing something that seems to be fundamental about friendship. Friendship is essential to human thriving, but also difficul…

In this episode of Are You in the Book? we have an engaging conversation with Matt Riser, the head coach of University of Memphis baseball. Coach Riser delves into his coaching journey, sharing the philosophies and strategies that have propelled his teams to success. He discusses his approach to player development, the importance of fostering a str…

In this episode of Are You in the Book? we sit down with Phil Shallenberger, the acclaimed head coach of Messiah University and the MAC Coach of the Year. Coach Shallenberger shares the secrets behind his success, discussing his coaching philosophy, player development strategies, and the journey that led to his recognition as one of the top coaches…

In this episode of Are You in the Book Podcast, we chat with Cam Hamsley, the new head coach at Roane State Community College. Coach Hamsley discusses the exciting journey of building a program from the ground up, sharing his vision and strategies for developing a successful team. Learn about the support he received from the NABF, his approach to p…

Welcome to another exciting episode of "Are You in the Book?" podcast, where we bring you inside the world of baseball with insightful interviews and lively discussions. In this episode, we're thrilled to have Head Coach Michael McCarry from Lackawanna College in Scranton, PA, as our special guest. Join us as Coach McCarry shares his journey, from …

What is a person? What is a thing? And what difference does that difference make? Although we tend to use the terms "person" and "human being" interchangeably, it hasn't always been the case that all human beings were considered (moral or legal) persons, nor is the case today that all persons are human beings. Here in the United States, corporation…

Join us for a lively episode of "Are You in the Book?" podcast as we sit down with Head Coach Josh Merrill from NIACC (North Iowa Area Community College). Get ready to dive into the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of collegiate baseball as Coach Merrill shares his insights and experiences from the helm. From game-winning plays to fostering tea…

What's so special about originality? Today, originality is being challenged in so many ways: comedians “stealing” jokes, cultural appropriation, remixes, not to mention the myriad ways that generative artificial intelligence has made plagiarism of all kinds possible. We value originality over imitation, creativity over copying, and novelty over the…

Michael Norton explains why “Joe Versus the Volcano” is the perfect existentialist film. Continuing our tradition of going to the movies for the first episode of teach new season, we watch the 1990 film Joe vs. The Volcano with Michael Norton from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Michael has an argument that the movie is the perfect existen…

The HBS hosts cross-examine the courts. Former President Trump is currently dividing his time between the campaign trail and the courtroom. Some Americans are outraged by what they view to be targeted prosecutions by biased and overzealous District Attorneys, while others view the same events as a lifelong con man getting his just deserts. Fascinat…

For this "mini-bar" episode, HBS introduces our newest addition to the co-host gang, Dr. David Gunkel! David Gunkel is an award-winning author, educator and researcher, specializing in the philosophy of technology, with a focus on the moral and legal challenges of artificial intelligence and robots. He is the author of a number of important texts o…

The HBS hosts chat with Caleb Cain about his experience being radicalized by the Alt-Right internet. [While the HBS hosts are on break between Seasons, we're releasing REPLAYs of some of our favorite episodes from the past. This episode is from Season 5 and originally aired on August 22, 2022.] In June 2019, the New York Times featured a story abou…

In this episode of Are You in the Book? we sit down with Brian Fay, the head coach at Fairfield University, to explore his journey and coaching philosophy. Coach Fay discusses the strategies and principles that have guided him in building a successful baseball program at Fairfield. From player development to fostering a strong team culture, he shar…

The HBS hosts discuss the many and varied ways we lie to ourselves. For our final episode of each season, we take up a text or concept in philosophy that has crept out of the discipline and made it into the wider popular consciousness and culture. This week, we're talking about Jean-Paul Sartre’s idea of “bad faith” (mauvaise foi) from his text Bei…

Landon Powell begins his 10th season as the head coach of North Greenville University baseball in 2024. During his nine seasons in Tigerville, the former Major League Baseball player and University of South Carolina standout has amassed a record of 350-116-1 (75.1%), including five Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships, four regular season …

The HBS hosts celebrate the paw-some impact of furry companions on our lives. Companion species, like dogs and cats, have been a part of human history for thousands of years. The first domesticated dog was over thirty thousand years ago, and the first cat over ten thousand years ago. So, much of what we call human civilization has always been a mul…

Coach Ryan Hunter joins the Phantoms athletics team as Head Baseball Coach at Delaware County Community College,bringing with him a wealth of experience and passion to the baseball field. With a background deeply rooted in both playing and coaching, Coach Hunter has made an impact on the local baseball community through his founding of the Michael …

Kevin Brooks has guided the Angelo State baseball program to six NCAA Division II College World Series appearances with six South Central Championships and has compiled an impressive 742-333 overall record since starting the ASU program in 2005. In 2023, the Rams claimed the Division II National Championship for the first time in program history. T…

The HBS hosts take a break from the bar and lie down on the couch. Almost from the beginning of its theoretical elaboration and clinical practice, Psychoanalysis has had a profound impact on culture, particularly in the west. We all laugh at the idea that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!” And we speak freely of “Freudian slips.” And many are at …

Lee Lipinski enters his sixth season as an assistant coach for the Broncos. This is Lipinski’s 11th consecutive year as a member of the Broncs Baseball Program, playing five years and captaining two teams. Lipinski was a part of two regular season championships (2013 & 2015) and played in three MAAC tournaments during his tenure as a player. Lipins…

Steve Murry assumed the Head Coaching job at Neosho County in June of 1986. He succeeded Carl Robb and became only the second coach in Neosho Baseball history. During his 37 year stint, the Panthers have won 1176 games,Jayhawk Conference Championships in 1994, 2003, 2006 and 2016 and Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division Sub-Regional Championships in…

The HBS hosts look for the cause of the Golden Spike. The term “Anthropocene” was coined in the 1980’s, although it wasn't until 2000 that Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer suggested that we are living in a new geological epoch marked by the impact of humans on the Earth and its inhabitants. Geological epochs are determined by profound and measurabl…

The HBS hosts consider a case study testing the limits of academic freedom. Nathan Cofnas, holder of an Early Career Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, is being threatened with losing his position because he is a “race realist” and, in particular, has stated that there is a difference in natural intelligence in people of different races. What is…

The HBS hosts discuss the style of "too late" capitalism with Anna Kornbluh. Immediacy would seem to be the defining cultural style of our moment. From video to social media and from autofiction to autotheory, the tendency is towards direct intensity of experience and away from the mediations of form, genre, and representation. What drives this tur…

The HBS hosts discuss the many paradoxes of ennui. Most of our podcast episodes are about “big” issues, “interesting” topics, “provocative” conversations, or “important” matters… but the truth is that the overwhelming majority of our day-to-day lives is dominated by ennui. Boredom. Tedium. Lethargy. Lassitude. Or, in more common parlance, “the blah…

The HBS hosts discuss how the Luddites were right about why we hate our jobs. The term “luddite” generally functions as an insult these days. It is something people are accused of, and a term that no one would claim for themselves. To adopt and adapt to new technologies is part of what it means to be progressive and modern, not to mention hip. Howe…

The HBS hosts parse the difference between mistakes, half-truths, embellishments, and outright lies. George Costanza (from the TV series Seinfeld) once insisted: “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” This seems both true and false. It's certainly wrong to claim that someone lied accidentally, so intention, and therefore knowing what you are saying is…

Coach Miller’s goal is to help players learn more about themselves, train to their strengths, reduce their weaknesses, increase their opportunities, and diminish risks to take their game to the next level utilizing science and technology. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/baseballbluebook/support Learn more about you…