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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons hosts the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, with a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes, and media staples, as well as mainstays like Cousin Sal, Joe House, and a slew of other friends and family members who always happen to be suspiciously available.
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This week, we got DIBS on Kevin Shaw—Emmy-winning director, cinematographer, and one of Chicago’s most essential storytellers. From ESPN field producer to red carpets at the Chicago International Film Festival, Kevin has spent a career capturing the city’s heart. His latest documentary, One Golden Summer, revisits the 2014 Jackie Robinson West Little League team—how they united Chicago, what really happened when the headlines turned, and why this story is bigger than baseball.
In this episode, Kevin pulls back the curtain on making the film without easy access to TV archives, centering the players’ voices a decade later, and challenging lazy narratives about the South Side. We talk youth sports as a media product, the whiplash from hero to “cheater,” and the resilience of young men who still love the game despite the spotlight’s burn.
In this episode, we cover:
- The summer that gripped Chicago: Jackie Robinson West’s run, the joy of Williamsport, and kids sneaking in wiffle ball between interviews.
- When the cameras turned: media incentives, racial stereotyping, and how a complex residency rule became a national “gotcha.”
- Centering the players: why Kevin stepped back on premiere night, and what it means to let the team tell their own story now as adults.
- Youth sports on TV: visibility vs. exploitation; why putting 12-year-olds on a national stage can help and harm.
- Chicago myths vs. reality: Morgan Park, community, and the cost of a single-story narrative about the South Side.
- Life after the storm: mental health, rebuilding identity, and the players’ paths—in baseball, music, and beyond.
- What’s next for Kevin: a new project on Oscar Robertson, labor rights, and how the NBA changed forever.
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Listen now and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and comment; it helps us continue to bring you the voices behind the institutions, people, and places that make Chicago extraordinary.
Connect with the hosts of DIBS on Instagram Nick Sarantos and Mallory Waxman
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