Episode 98 with Greg Bishop, Disciplined and Voracious Reader, Profound and Thoughtful Writer, and Storyteller with Sports Illustrated, Showtime All-Access, and More

Episode 98 Notes and Links to Greg Bishop’s Work 

 

       On Episode 98 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Greg Bishop, disciplined and voracious reader and writer of all types of articles that are about sports and so much more. The two talk about, among other topics, Greg’s early love of reading, his disciplined and careful reading for his work, his mentor, Gay Talese, his work on Manny Pacquaio, Dak Prescott, and so many more personalities, as well as the current state of high-impact sports like boxing and football. 

      Greg Bishop is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated whose feature subjects have ranged from Ricky Williams to Adrian Peterson to Aaron Rodgers. He spent time as the Jets beat writer for the New York Times and the Seahawks beat writer for the Seattle Times.

 

Buy Talking to Goats: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard 

 

" 'In My Heart, I Want to Continue to Fight': Manny Pacquiao Isn't Ready to Retire, but the End May Be Near"-August 2021 in Sports Illustrated

 

"Xavien Howard’s 10 Picks: The Perfection of His Craft"

 

("Roger Federer Finds a Higher Level as Other Stars Fall" and "Federer Exerts His Power From the Ground Up") from The New York Times

 

“Dak Prescott’s Heal Turn”

Greg Bishop's Articles for Sports Illustrated

At about 1:40, Pete asks Greg about his relationship with language and reading as he grew up

 

At about 6:30, Greg outlines his daily reading process and how he comes up with story ideas, including his reading, both within his writing subject matter and without-some on his current reading list include Ryan Holiday’s work and Jake Fischer’s Built to Lose

 

At about 11:40, Greg shows and describes his reading plans as laid out in his office

 

At about 12:30, Greg details his nightly reading routine with his son

 

At about 13:10, Greg discusses his early reading interests, including Maraniss’ Lombardi, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Tender Bar: A Memoir

 

At about 14:50, Greg gives background on his mentorship from, and friendship with, Gay Talese 

 

At about 16:40, Pete talks about his connection to Gay Talese’s work

 

At about 17:45, Pete and Greg nerd out over Gay Talese’s iconic pieces on Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio as Greg talks about Talese’s writing process and aesthetic 

 

At about 21:45, Pete uses the metaphors of aging dealt with in Talese’s work to transition into Greg’s writing about Manny Pacquaio through the years

 

At about 23:50, Greg lays out his ethic in reporting on athletes, including his view on befriending writing subjects

 

At about 26:10, Greg responds to Pete’s questions about Pacquaio’s current standing in the Philippines, including his chances in the upcoming presidential election 

 

At about 30:00, Pete and Greg nerd out again-this time about Roger Federer, especially as written about by David Foster Wallace-Greg also talks about two ("Roger Federer Finds a Higher Level as Other Stars Fall"/"Federer Exerts His Power From the Ground Up") favorite articles he wrote about Federer

 

At about 33:15, Greg breaks down the ratio of articles he writes, with regards to “human interest stories” and others; he highlights an article he wrote about athletes and their relationships with law enforcement in 2020 with Michael Rosenberg, as well as an article with Ben Baskin looking at the money donated by Colin Kaepernick

 

At about 37:15, Greg analyzes his own view of “human interest stories”

 

At about 38:40, Pete and Greg discuss Greg’s important work about Dak Prescott that dealt with, among other things, mental health; additionally, Greg talks about his relationship with Dak and other athletes, post-article

 

At about 45:00, Greg talks about five tenets he uses in moving through life

 

At about 46:40, Pete shouts out Mirin Fader’s Giannis and Pete talks about the “Mirin Fader Blessing”

 

At about 48:10, Greg describes the landscape in publishing in 2021, with its fraught situation, as well as his specific situation writing for Sports Illustrated

 

At about 53:45, Pete wonders if there are any genres/writing types that the multitalented Greg avoids/isn’t cut out for

 

At about 54:50, Greg outlines a “Football in America” 2016 article series and his short lived music career

 

At about 58:45, Pete and Greg discuss the state of the NFL, particularly with regards to concussions, CTE, and the state of football overall; Greg talks about his personal conflict in following boxing and football, inherently violent sports

 

At about 1:06:15, Pete talks about the crushing blow that was the death by suicide of Junior Seau, and Greg lays out his history with the tragic death of Seau

 

At about 1:08:35, Greg talks about upcoming projects of his

 

At about 1:09:00, Greg talks about his SÍ cover collection

 

At about 1:10:10, Greg gives out his contact info and shouts out Showtime All-Access, and his work with Jim Gray for Talking to GOATs-buy his work at Powell’s in Portland or The Strand in NYC

 

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     Please tune in for the next episode, a conversation with Sara Borjas. SARA BORJAS is a Xicanx pocha, is from the Americas before it was stolen and its people were colonized, and is a Fresno poet. Her debut collection of poetry, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff was published by Noemi Press in 2019 and won a 2020 American Book Award. Sara was named one of Poets & Writers 2019 Debut Poets, is a 2017 CantoMundo Fellow, and the recipient of the 2014 Blue Mesa Poetry Prize. She teaches innovative undergraduates at UC Riverside, believes that all Black lives matter and will resist white supremacy until Black liberation is realized, lives in Los Angeles, and stays rooted in Fresno. The episode with Sara Borjas will air on January 11.