Episode 267 with Keith O'Brien, Author of Charlie Hustle and Award-Winning Journalist Who Skillfully and Faithfully Shows and Tells Well-Rounded Stories

Notes and Links to Keith O’Brien’s Work

 

 

   Keith O'Brien is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist. He has written four books, been a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting, been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and has contributed to multiple publications over the years.

   O’Brien’s work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and on National Public Radio. His radio stories have aired on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition, as well as Marketplace and This American Life.

   The Wall Street Journal calls his latest book, CHARLIE HUSTLE, "compulsively readable and wholly terrific." Publishers Weekly calls it "definitive and elegantly told, this is a home run," and Kirkus Reviews hails CHARLIE HUSTLE as a "masterpiece of a sports biography."

   A midwesterner by birth, O'Brien grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Northwestern University. He now lives in New Hampshire with his wife, two children, two dogs and two cats.

Buy Charlie Hustle

 

Keith O'Brien's Website

 

New York Times Review of Charlie Hustle

At about 2:00, Pete asks Keith about the medium of radio, and Keith talks about how he loves radio and how it works different “muscles”

At about 3:40, Keith traces his early reading and writing life and his love of sports stories, Sports Illustrated, and more, including David Halberstam’s stellar work

At about 5:45, Pete and Keith fanboy over great work from The Best American Sports Writing of the Century

At about 7:05, Keith shouts out Mirin Fader and Andrew Maraniss and Jonathan Eig, among others, as writing inspirations

At about 8:55, Keith talks about how work in Japan helped to ignite his love of and skill for writing

At about 10:45 (13:50), Keith discusses how he views storytelling, showing/telling, as well as objectivity in writing, as well as expectations for readers

At about 14:50, Pete quotes a meaningful excerpt from the beginning of Charlie Hustle, and Keith expands upon how “stunned” he was by the crying and emotional responses from those talking about Pete Rose’s impact in their lives

At about 17:20, Pete alludes to the Author’s Note, and asks Keith about his childhood outlook on Pete Rose and the Reds as a native Cincinnatian

At about 21:05, Pete gives some exposition from the book and summarizes the “high point” from the Introduction 

At about 22:00, Keith paints a picture of Pete Rose’s childhood growing up on the Westside of Cincinnati, and talks about “Big Pete” Rose and his legendary exploits, including a 

At about 26:40, Keith explains the significance of two events in the summer of 1956 and how it shaped Pete

At about 29:15, Keith recounts an emblematic story involving Pete Rose and boxing

At about 30:45, Pete picks up on the aforementioned story and asks Keith if he sees the same mindset in Pete Rose in denying his betting later in life; Keith talks about a lack of vulnerability for Pete Rose

At about 32:45, Keith charts the importance of Pete Rose’s Uncle Buddy in jumpstarting Pete’s career 

At about 37:15, Keith gives background on Pete Rose’s iconic nickname and its “mythology”

At about 39:55, The two reflect on the “juxtaposition” between those who gave Pete Rose his nickname and Pete Rose

At about 41:10, Keith talks about racism and the treatment of Black players in the Major Leagues, as well as how Pete viewed/spoke about race 

At about 44:35, Keith expands on the ways in which Pete was seen as a “white, working-class hero” in the media and among fans 

At about 48:15, Keith reflects on the echoing importance of Pete Rose’s collision with Ray Fosse

At about 52:15, Keith responds to Pete’s questions about how Pete Rose’s upbringing may or may not have been “seeds” for his later gambling and vice

At about 56:35, Decree Rule 21(d) and its ubiquity in baseball clubhouses is discussed 

At about 57:10, Pete talks about how skillfully Keith shows Pete Rose’s impending fall at the end of Part III

At about 58:35, Keith responds to Pete’s questions about Pete Rose and whether he felt remorse over the way he treated women and his children

At about 1:00:20, Keith reflects on how the same qualities that made Pete Rose great also were his downfall

At about 1:01:40, The two discuss “credible allegations that Pete Rose had had a relationship with an underage girl in the 1970s and its impact on his baseball analyst job

At about 1:03:20, Keith responds to Pete’s questions about the importance of a homecoming in 1986 to Cincinnati

At about 1:06:50, Keith expands upon the inextricable links between Bart Giamatti and Pete Rose

At about 1:09:10, The two discuss Pete Rose’s last years and prodigious autograph signing and the ways in which his fans continued to be moved by meeting him and talking to him; Keith shares his personal experiences in being amazed by the awe of the fans he witnessed in person

At about 1:11:45, Keith reflects on the “crucial” and “poigna[nt]” ending of the book, an ending that Pete is highly complimentary of 

At about 1:13:30, Keith discusses how he felt upon learning of Pete’s death and the sadness associated with Pete “being defined by his greatest mistakes”

At about 1:15:00, Pete and Keith reflect on connections between Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull and Pete Rose and the “fleeting” nature of fame

At about 1:16:15, shoutout to Ellen Adar for the audiobook

At about 1:17:10, Keith shouts out places to buy the book, including Waterstreet Books in NH, and gives social media/contact info

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      Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. This week, his conversation with Episode 255 guest Chris Knapp is up on the website. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.

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    Please tune in for Episode 268 with Dax-Devlon Ross, who is the author of six books. His journalism has been featured in Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, and other national publications, and he won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts. His most recent book, Letters to My White Male Friends, is a call to action and a reflection on race.

   The episode airs on December 31.

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