Hooks & Runs

Professor Langston Collin Wilkins (Wisconsin-Madison) joined us this week to talk about his newly released book "Welcome 2 Houston: Hip Hop Heritage in Hustle Town" (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2023), exploring "the relationship between music creation, place attachment and local heritage within Houston, Texas’ hip hop music scene." We talked about the role of neighborhoods, the "chop and screw sound that is sy...

Rock journalist Bob Ruggiero (Houston Press) joins the show this week to talk about his latest book, "The Classic Rock Bob Reader," released earlier this year. The book compiles interviews Ruggiero has conducted in over a quarter century in journalism. We talked about the classic rock's (and rock's) future as a genre as well as some of the many interviews in the book including Eddie Van Halen, Doug Clifford, Ron...

Film historian and critic Noah Tsika, Professor of Media Studies at Queens College, City University of New York has a new book, "I'm Not There," being released on November 14. The book reflects on director Todd Haynes' 2007 film "I'm Not There," a wonderful, creative film about Bob Dylan. Professor Tsika joins us this week to discuss the book, the film and much, much more. 

The episode be...

The Houston Astros 2023 season came to a close this week with Houston once again losing 4 home games in a 7 game series. Houston! We have a problem and the problem is playing in Houston! Also in this episode, the Hooks & Runs post-season awards, the Rolling Stones new album, "Hackney Diamonds," our third quarter new music picks and Craig review the Deer Tick, Country Westerns show at the Houston Heights Theater from l...

Bob LeMoine is the author of "When the Babe Went Back to Boston: Babe Ruth, Judge Fuchs and the Hapless Braves of 1935." The book recounts the story about Babe Ruth's final MLB season - about two months with Judge Emil Fuchs' Braves. Ruth by then was 40, out of shape and wholly at loss on the baseball field. Ruth hit .181 in 92 plate appearances for a financially strapped Braves team that finished 38-115 for the...

On July 18, 1994, the Houston Astros overcame an 11-0 deficit in the Astrodome to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 15-12. Houston Astro outfielder, Mike Felder, drove in the tying run in the Astros' 11-run sixth inning and later in the frame scored the go-ahead run. Felder, a 10-year Major League veteran, joins the show this week to talk about that game, his career and how to hit a knuckleball among other things. Felder went on ...

The Houston Astros were in first place in the American League West only 18 game days in 2023, but they ended the year with another divisional title and a first round bye. In this episode Craig and Rex look at the Astros furious final weekend run to the title, Kyle Tucker's bizarre did he or didn't he chase to a 30/30 season and the four wild card match-ups. We wrap up the episode discussing the movement to retire Roberto ...

Adam Lazarus (https://www.adamlazarusbooks.com/) joins the show this week to discuss his wonderful new book, "The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams" (Citadel Press, 2023). This is a fast-paced discussion starting with Glenn and Williams in battle as fighter pilots during the Korean Conflict through the space program, Williams' legendary post-conflict career in ...

Katie S. Sanders (www.katiessanders.com) is a freelancer based in New York City who writes about innovation, history, and fascinating people/things overlooked by history and media. She joined this podcast this week to discuss the enigmatic and mysterious Moe Berg, a long-time back-up catcher for five Major League teams in the 20s and 30s who later earned a Medal of Honor for his spy efforts for the Office of Strategic Services  dur...

Gabey Lewis is a Seattle based writer, editor and stand up comic who contributes to UW Dawg Pound, a Washington Huskies football blog on SB Nation. She joins us this week to discuss the Pac-12's implosion, the aftermath and the outlook for the 2023 college football season.

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Gabey Lucas on Substack (The Everett Flabbergasters)
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Go see Gabey Lucas at the Hell Yes...

Doug Rau pitched 9 seasons in the Major Leagues compiling an 81-60 record with a 3.35 ERA. He was a starter for the Los Angeles through their 1970s heyday, playing for managers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda and with great Dodger players like Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker, Rick Monday and many, many more. In this episode Rau reflects on growing up  in rural Texas west of Houston, achieving All-American status at Texas A&M, and spe...

J. Daniel is our guest this week to talk about his new book "Suds Series: Baseball, Beer Wars and the Summer of '82." The Book is a comprehensive look at baseball and the larger culture in the season following the sport's first major labor conflict and its 1981 split season disaster. Daniel weaves the season's developments with pop culture references and the high-stakes battles between Budweiser and the Car...

In this week's episode, Andrew, Craig and Rex discuss Colorado's sudden decision to bolt to the Big 12, some early trade deadline musings, Bartolo Colon's retirement announcement almost 5 years since his last Major League appearance and bands we would like to see come out of retirement.

Episodes Mentioned;
152 - R.E.M.'s Murmur at 40 w/ Tony Fletcher

Errata: The New York Yankees were 14 gam...

This week, Professor Michael T. Friedman (Univ. of Maryland) is our guest to discuss his book "Mallparks: Baseball Stadiums and the Culture of Consumption" (Cornell Univ. Press 2023).  We analyzed the future of baseball stadiums by looking at the past, from Union Grounds in the 1860's to Fenway Park (1912), Dodger Stadium (1960), Camden Yards (1993) to the newest parks & developments proposed for Las Vegas and Ta...

With less than two weeks to go until the 2023 trade deadline, the question on everyone's mind is -- what will the Angels do with Shohei Ohtani? Andrew and Craig weigh in an also look at whether the Astros should deal from their bare farm system for pitching help. Also in this rare music-free episode, more on the All-Star game, plus what's the deal with old people gatekeeping who gets to wear classic rock band t-shirts?

With summer vacation travels upon us, this week's episode mixes a little old with a little new. In part 1, our 2020 interview with Bill Rogan, author of "Life Ain’t the Same in the Pecos League: A Rookie Manager Navigates Baseball’s Most Notorious Independent League." Bill wrote the book about his 2019 season at the helm for the  Tucson Saguaros  in the independent Pecos League.  This interview was a blast to do and ...

This week the Hooks & Runs, giddy from Houston's thrilling 12-11 win over Texas Monday afternoon, examine the complaints and criticisms against Dusty Baker. Is it possible that after owning the American League West lock, stock and barrel since 2017 Astro fans have become spoiled by success? Texas is not going to give this race away -- Houston will have to earn it, there will be bumps along the way, and Dusty Baker will for...

Old photographs offer "the hidden history of the game in plain sight," and no one knows that better than Jim Chapman, the author of "Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era.” Chapman also operates the website Chapman Deadball Collection which includes some photographs with commentary from his captivating collection. In this interview, Chapman provides a fascinating and comprehensive look at how photography and photo...

This week we discuss the continued drama in Oakland and Las Vegas, whether Luis Arraez is a legitimate .400 threat, the Houston Astros' dire injury situation, and a new Beatles song on the books thanks to artificial intelligence - will AI be good, bad or indifferent for musicians and music fans?

Errata: The Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 2015 ... The Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) lost in the Stanley Cup final...