The most popular sport in the US is savage, creative, brutal & balletic. Love it or loathe it, it’s a touchstone of the American identity.

Source: American Football

Radiolab, a radio show distributed by NPR, had a very interesting episode on football. The first half discussed the history of the game, particularly the roots in post-Civil War men needing to display masculinity, how the forced assimilation of Native Americans influenced the game, and how Pop Warner’s trickery is responsible for half of the rulebook.

As a football fan, this tackled football in a manner completely new to me. It is worth the listen, especially the first half.