More Than A Game (Formerly Why Sports Matter)

Mar 02 2023 264
More Than A Game (Formerly Why Sports Matter) Podcast artwork

Many of us experience sports much like religion: they give us a shared identity, a sense of community, and a common purpose. So what wisdom can we draw from the sports world to help us navigate the chaos and confusion -- and also the awakening and transformation -- happening today? Join host Varun Soni, Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California, in this limited-run series from Religion of Sports.

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Introducing: Roughhousing

Mar 02 2023 21 mins  
In Religion of Sports' latest podcast series, Host Iggy Monda takes listeners inside America’s locker rooms and field houses to explore hazing in high school sports today. Through deeply personal stories of kids who have hazed, parents who have fought for accountability, coaches who are scared of what their players do when they’re not looking, and people who have hazed others,

Play, with Salman Ahmad

Aug 13 2020 15 mins  
In difficult times, setting aside time to play feels almost frivolous. But is actually even more vital because it provides us with balance, joy and connection with one another. Host Varun Soni talks with Salman Ahmad, cricket player and one of the most famous and beloved musicians in Pakistan, about the value of play during challenging times, his recent battle with COVID, and the r

Resilience, with Victoria Garrick

Aug 06 2020 21 mins  
Volleyball player and mental health advocate Victoria Garrick is a mentor to many student athletes and others who have been inspired by her public journey of vulnerability and strength. During this time of global pandemic and civil unrest, host Varun Soni asks Garrick how she has managed to deal positively with adversity without shying away from it, and what she learned about this

Hope, with Reza Aslan

Jul 30 2020 21 mins  
Host Varun Soni and his guest, author and TV host Reza Aslan, are both die-hard, long suffering, eternally optimistic fans of two of the worst franchises in American sports: the Clippers and the Raiders. Together, they discuss how they find hope -- in their beloved teams and in the future, during what feels like a cursed time.

Justice, with Jody Armour

Jul 30 2020 18 mins  
The most recognizable symbol of solidarity with today's movement against racism and police brutality has been to take a knee, an act of protest popularized by Colin Kaepernick. He's the latest in a long line of athlete-activists whose outspoken defiance have helped push forward social and political change in America. What can we learn from these individuals and the movements they a

Introducing: More Than A Game

Jul 23 2020 1 mins  
Many of us experience sports much like religion: they give us a shared identity, a sense of community, and a common purpose. So what wisdom can we draw from the sports world to help us navigate the chaos and confusion -- and also the awakening and transformation -- happening today? Join host Varun Soni, Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California,

Jeff "Cannonball" Guerriero (Authenticity)

Jan 08 2019 34 mins  
"We are what we pretend to be, so you gotta be careful what you pretend to be." Jeff Guerriero works a desk job during the day. At night, his Death Match wrestler alter ego “Cannonball” gets cheese graters raked across his head and wraps barbed wire around his neck. It’s in the transformation from Jeff to "Cannonball" where he finds purpose and contentment. Jeff may be an ext

Journey's End (Belonging)

Dec 11 2018 41 mins  
"You can see me, right?" We follow a newly-formed soccer team of young refugees who’ve all, somehow, found their way to Buffalo, New York -- and explore what their stories tell us about sports, the human spirit, and what it means to belong. Guests Burhan Mohammad Elle Farouk Majeed Dr. Heidi Ellis Deepak Chopra

Sadie In The Woods (Resilience)

Dec 04 2018 38 mins  
"How do I get to a place like that" The episode explores resilience through two young leaders in the Native American community, and how they’ve used basketball to overcome immense adversity and build better lives for themselves, their communities, and future generations. Guests: Sadie In The Woods William Brown Otter Jr. Dr. Joseph Gone

San Quentin (Rehabilitation)

Nov 27 2018 41 mins  
"90 percent are coming back" San Quentin State Prison inmates have an organized baseball team that competes against local Bay Area rec teams, which are bussed in from the outside. San Quentin's baseball team is not without controversy and begs a larger question central to prison administration and reform -- are prisons primarily a place for punishment or rehabilitation? In this epi