Longform

  • Podcast
  • Best Of
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
  • Archive

    • Sections
    • Publications
    • Writers
    • Tags
  • Random Article
  • Contact

    • podcast@longform.org

Writers

Chris Ballard

Sports Health

How Long Can We Play?

Inside the quest to prolong athletic mortality.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Oct 2021 Permalink

Sports

"I'm 70 in Basketball Years"

Kobe Bryant in twilight.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Aug 2014 Permalink

History Sports Health

Running in the Age of Coronavirus

More than 40 years ago, pioneering author Jim Fixx’s best-selling book brought jogging to the masses, espousing its physical and emotional benefits. Now, those themes resonate more than ever with a homebound society.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated May 2020 25min Permalink

Sports

Love and Lhotse

Skiing in the shadow of Mount Everest.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Feb 2020 30min Permalink

Crime Sports

Jeff Hatch Was Dealing Fentanyl. And Helping Addicts. Then a Planned Visit from the VP Blew It All Up

Ex-Ivy Leaguer and NFL-er Jeff Hatch spent years telling audiences of his triumph over opioid addiction, to great acclaim. Then as the rehab center he worked at drew national attention, a tortuous backstory of cops, dealers and deception came to light.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Oct 2019 25min Permalink

Crime Sports Travel

Lost Soul

The inspiring life and mysterious death of NBA player Bison Dele.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Oct 2013 40min Permalink

Sports Religion

'You Can't Give In'

What former NBA coach Monty Williams learned in the wake of losing his wife.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Apr 2017 30min Permalink

Sports

A 15-Year-Old (Sorta-Maybe) Basketball Prodigy

He’s got 50,000 Instagram followers. He’s been offered several college scholarships. He just played his first high school basketball game.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Feb 2017 30min Permalink

Sports

After The Process: Meet Sam Hinkie 2.0

An ousted NBA general manager considers his next step.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Nov 2016 25min Permalink

Sports

What Happened to Robert Swift?

An NBA lottery pick and drug addict tries to rebuild his life.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Sep 2016 35min Permalink

Sports

Revenge of the Nerds

How the Caltech basketball team, losers of 310 straight conference games, figured out a formula for winning.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Nov 2015 30min Permalink

Sports

Trick Play

Australian Rocky Perone, age 21, made his minor league baseball debut with a stolen base in 1974. Except he wasn’t Australian, wasn’t named Rocky Perone and most definitely wasn’t 21.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Sep 2015 25min Permalink

Sports

Love, Loss and Survival

Last summer, Gia Allemand took her own life in a New Orleans apartment complex. The first person on the scene was her boyfriend, NBA star Ryan Anderson. This is the story of how he survived.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Nov 2014 1h15min Permalink

Fall to Earth

Shirley Dygert had never jumped before. Dave Hartsock jumped for a living. Neither of them knew what to expect when the parachute failed.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Jul 2014 25min Permalink

Sports

Haverford Hoops!

The story of a very bad basketball team.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Mar 2014 Permalink

Sports World

The Wizard Of Kabul

How a Peace Corps volunteer turned a high school basketball squad into Afghanistan’s national team.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Jul 2013 30min Permalink

Sports

Mourning Glory

A high school baseball team responds to a loss.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Oct 2012 30min Permalink

Sports

The Last Happy Man

A profile of the oft-shirtless tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Sep 2012 25min Permalink

Science

Man in Full

On Mike Powell, a Chicago-area high school wrestling coach who hasn’t allowed a life-threatening illness to interrupt his life’s work.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Feb 2012 30min Permalink

The Kiss

The Vancouver riots and an unforgettable image.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Dec 2011 20min Permalink