Audio Trailer Announcing Topics Debuts Today Across ESPN Podcasts

ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 podcasts will return for a second season in November with five all-new audio documentaries. The first episode will debut on Tuesday, Nov. 14, with the other four premiering every Tuesday through December 12. Additionally, the season two audio trailer debuted today in the 30 for 30 podcasts feed as well as across all ESPN podcasts. Listen to the trailer and season one episodes now at 30for30podcasts.com.

Episode Summaries:

“Hoodies Up” (produced by 30 for 30, reported by Jody Avirgan)

On the night of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. Five weeks later, his hometown team the Miami Heat took a photo wearing hoodies to protest his killing. The photo spread widely on social media and helped shape the conversation about gun violence, race, and the deaths of young black men. “Hoodies Up” takes listeners behind the scenes of the idea and execution of that photo, how the world reacted and its impact on a nationwide conversation. Featuring interviews with: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Gabrielle Union; Tracy Martin, father of Trayvon Martin; Wesley Morris, New York Times; Bomani Jones, ESPN

“No Rules: The Birth Of UFC” (produced by Pineapple Street Media)

In the early 1990s, salesman Art Davie and Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Rorion Gracie set out to answer a simple riddle: Who is the ultimate fighter? A wrestler? A boxer? A martial arts master? The answer, in the form of the first-ever ‘Ultimate Fighting Championship’ (UFC), was more violent and electrifying than anything else on TV. In the aftermath, a multi-billion-dollar sport was born, but Art and Rorion were left to watch others get all the credit. Featuring interviews with: Art Davie, co-creator of UFC; Rorion Gracie, co-creator of UFC; Royce Gracie, UFC Hall of Famer; Ken Shamrock, UFC Hall of Famer

“The Lights Of Wrigleyville” (produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister of Long Haul Productions)

When the Tribune Company bought the Chicago Cubs in 1981, its executives saw nighttime baseball as a way to turn around the club’s fortunes. The only problem? Scores of Wrigleyville residents were ready to fight against it. This is the story of the decades-long wait to bring lights to Wrigley Field, and a battle pitting a giant media conglomerate against a scrappy neighborhood— a neighborhood that both loved baseball and feared the disorder nighttime games could bring.  Featuring interviews with: Former Cub Rick Sutcliffe; Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Bleachers bar; Mike Quigley, U.S. Representative for Illinois’s 5th District

“Madden’s Game” (produced by NFL Films)

Throughout his hall of fame career, John Madden’s passion wasn’t just for playing and coaching football— he was driven to bring the nuances of the game to the masses. In the late 1980s, a golden opportunity fell into his lap via an upstart video game company called Electronic Arts (EA). Seeing the potential for the ultimate football teaching tool, Madden invested his time—and name—into EA’s vision. In the process, he helped build a video game empire that has perpetually endeared him to generations of football aficionados. Featuring interviews with: John Madden; Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts;

“Project Space Jump” (produced by 30 for 30, reported by Keith Romer)

How far can you fall? That was the question an Austrian daredevil named Felix Baumgartner tried to answer starting in 2007. Together with a team of engineers and scientists, he set out to break the record for the highest free fall in human history. But skydiving from “the edge of space” proved to be a more complex technical and psychological problem than any of them had imagined. As Baumgartner’s volatile temper and debilitating claustrophobia became apparent, the team members realized their leader might actually be their downfall. Featuring interviews with: Felix Baumgartner; Ret. Col. Joe Kittinger, former USAF test pilot; Michael Gervais, sports psychologist

30 for 30 podcasts, which first debuted in July 2017, tell original sports stories in the likeness of the acclaimed 30 for 30 documentaries, but made exclusively for audio. Each episode explores and reports on a new sports story that combines original interviews and archival sound. Fans can subscribe for free wherever podcasts are available. 30 for 30 podcasts is presented by MINI in partnership with Blue Apron, Blue Moon, Delta Air Lines and ZipRecruiter.

The next project out of the ESPN Films group will be the highly-anticipated 30 for 30 documentary “Nature Boy,” premiering Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

About ESPN Films

ESPN Films has been an industry leader in documentary filmmaking since its inception in March 2008, producing more than 100 documentaries that have showcased some of the most compelling stories in sports. The high quality of storytelling, highlighted by the Peabody and Emmy-Award winning 30 for 30 series and the Academy-Award winning documentary “O.J.: Made in America,” has led to record viewership as well as multiple honors and critical acclaim. Additional projects from ESPN Films over the years have included 30 for 30 Shorts, Nine for IX and the SEC Storied series.

About ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio, the country’s largest sports radio network, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPNRadio.com, and ESPN Podcasts comprise ESPN Audio. ESPN Radio, which launched January 1, 1992, provides more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually, reaching 20 million listeners a week on 500 nationwide stations, including more than 375 full-time affiliates and clearance in the top 25 markets.  ESPN owns and/or operates stations in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. ESPN Radio programming is also available on SiriusXM and via digital distributors Apple Music, Slacker Radio and TuneIn. ESPN Audio launched its first podcast in 2005 and tallied nearly 293 million downloads in 2016.  ESPN Audio podcasts cover the spectrum of sports content and most popular titles include Fantasy Focus Football, The Lowe Post and FiveThirtyEight Politics, as well as podcast versions of Mike & Mike, The Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz, First Take, Pardon the Interruption, Baseball Tonight, and Around The Horn.  Listeners spend more than 2 hours and forty minutes per week listening to ESPN Podcasts.

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