Mark Leibovich, "Big Game"

Mark Leibovich discusses his book, "Big Game", at Politics and Prose on 9/6/18.

Best known as an uncompromising political journalist, Leibovich, the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, is also a fiery sports analyst, and his latest book does for “peak football” what This Town did for Washington politics. A lifelong fan of the New England Patriots, Leibovich wrote a profile of Tom Brady that led to his shadowing the team for a season and then to a more expansive look inside the NFL. He gives a full report on the scandals of the Brady/Belichick era, charts their polarizing effect, and considers the larger role of professional football in American culture, noting that even as the sport grows ever more profitable and fans flock to lavish new stadiums, concerns about players’ health have led to a creeping anxiety that this could be the moment the whole enterprise starts to lose its luster.

MARK LEIBOVICH is the Chief National Correspondent for the New York Times Magazine. He is the recipient of the National Magazine Award for profile writing. Leibovich is the author of three books, including the #1 New York Times best-seller This Town, about the political culture of 21st-century Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the Times magazine in 2012, Leibovich covered national politics in the New York Times' Washington Bureau. He previously worked at the Washington Post and San Jose Mercury News. He lives with his family in Washington, D.C.

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Produced by Tom Warren