At the start of spring training, with opening day a little more than a month away, it’s time to talk about baseball.

On this episode, theologian Carmen Nanko-Fernández, whose work focuses on the surprising connections between religion, politics, and popular culture, helps us do just that. 

Baseball, Nanko-Fernández explains, is much more than a game. That’s especially true along the U.S.-Mexico border, where sports, race, immigration, labor, and politics are all intertwined.

For further reading:

• Béisbol, Baseball, & ‘Bad Hombres,’ Carmen Nanko-Fernández
• Quit Trying to ‘Fix’ Baseball, Gregory K. Hillis
• More than Cricket, Rand Richards Cooper