Episode 286: The Debate over Paying College Athletes

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the Supreme Court decision to allow education-related payments to student-athletes.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: 

• The Supreme Court ruled against the NCAA’s restrictions on providing “education-related perks” to college athletes. Natalia referred to historian Taylor Branch’s 2011 piece in The Atlantic, “The Shame of College Sports.” Neil referred to this CNN piece on the ruling, and the relevant data point on the high salaries of college football coaches. 

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed Britney Spears’ testimony about her experience under her conservatorship. We discussed the “Free Britney” movement on Episode 268.
• Neil recommended Zachary M. Schrag’s book, The Fires of Philadelphia: Citizen-Soldiers, Nativists, and the 1844 Riots Over the Soul of a Nation.
• Niki talked about Dan Boyce’s NPR segment, “A Would-Be Trans and Queer Haven In Rural Colorado Just Wants to be Left Alone.”