Baseball and Reality TV: Karen Tongson and Adrian De Leon

USC professor of English, gender & sexuality studies, and American studies & ethnicity, and chair of the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies Karen Tongson and NYU Assistant Professor of History Adrian De Leon join us to talk about their adoration of baseball and reality TV. Using their piece “Both Sides Now: On the 2025 World Series,” we discuss the affective and cultural dialogues sports media creates. Karen and Adrian draw from their own Filipino upbringings and fandom of the MLB to showcase the complexities between corporate actions, fan desires, and the influence of imperialism in athletics. We then relate the creation of narratives and societal reflections in sports to reality TV shows like The Amazing Race and Traitors. The conversation culminates in a description of how sports fandom and reality TV watchers are more strongly alike than others think. Karen and Adrian suggest that people both enjoy and be critical of sports and reality TV because they can assist with understanding the world around us. Or, they can help us laugh at social rules within romantic relationships or sports rituals. 

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

• Both Sides Now: On the 2025 World Series
• The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race
• Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries
• Journal of Popular Music Studies
• The Filipino National Anthem
• Tender Labour Migrant Care Work, Filipina/o Young People, and Family Life across Borders
• Glenn Burke, 1st openly gay MLB player, is shunned no more — 40 years after coming out
• Henry writes extensively about reality television in his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

People & Places:

• Fernando Valenzuela
• Alejandro Kirk
• Vince Carter
• Tracy McGrady
• Edwin Encarnación
• Glenn Burke
• Andy Pages
• Tyra Banks
• Kristen Kish
• Yam Yam Arocho
• Eric Nam
• Joe Hendry
• Cody Rhodes
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Malcom X
• Jackie Robinson
• Chavez Ravine
• Natalia Molina
• Lebron James
• Caleb Williams
• Alysa Liu
• Amber Glenn
• Jalen Hurts
• AJ Rafael
• Jeremy Passion
• Gabe Bondoc
• Jonathan Leal
• Miguel Rojas
• Manny Pacquiao
• George Eliot
• Hank Aaron
• Kendrick Lamar
• Drake 
• Kylie Kelce
• Jason Kelce
• Travis Kelce
• John Cena
• Stone Cold Steve Austin

Media:

• 2025 MLB World Series
• MLB 
• NFL
• NBA
• Traitors (US)
  • The Traitors Official Podcast
• American League Division Series
• The Real Housewives franchise 
• Bravo TV
• Joey Bautista's bat flip
• Kawhi Leonard’s Iconic Buzzer-Beater vs 76ers
• All-Star Baseball (Video game)
• Strat-O-Matic
• Top Chef
• Iron Chef (Japan) [YouTube, Wikipedia]
• Survivor
• The Amazing Race
• The Gaymazing Race (podcast)
• 2026 Olympics
  • Alysa Liu Gold Medal
  • CAN vs USA Women’s Hockey
• US vs CAN women’s hockey rivalry
• WWE
  • Smackdown (TV show)
• AEW
• Pope and Chicago Bears memes [Instagram, TikTok]
• Heated Rivalry

See even more links for this episode on our website!

For another perspective on reality television, check out our earlier episode with Diane Winston on Religion and Reality Television

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet  https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––