Athletes and advertising seems so synonymous these days that it can be hard to imagine a time when the two didn't go hand in hand. But everything has to start somewhere. And in this case it all started with a small German shoe company that grew into the global corporate megaliths Adidas and Puma. The inner-family grudge that divided the original company in two may have started with brothers Adi and Rudolf Dassler, but it came to its existential conclusion with their sons: Horst and Armin.

Be sure to watch Chris Silber's excellent series of films about the Dassler brothers: Rivals Forever.

And read Naomi Braithwaite's fascinating research into shoe design.

Nowadays, the shoe game may have reached unprecedented heights. But modern sneaker heads might gasp at the realization that the options for dripped-out kicks were, at one point, severely limited. In the mid-twentieth century, between World Wars, even metal cleats on a futbol boot were an unfathomable innovation. That was until brothers Rudolf and Adi Dassler founded a company that, through a combination of athletic competitiveness, sibling rivalry and genuine paranoia, split into two titans of the sportswear industry: Puma and Adidas. And this schism was so deep and festering, that it would linger well after both men were dead and gone. poisoning the generation to come.

Be sure to watch Chris Silber's excellent series of films about the Dassler brothers: Rivals Forever.

And read Naomi Braithwaite's fascinating research into shoe design.

Long before Marvel and DC started digging through their archives for whatever semi-recognizable spandex-clad heroes they could squeeze into FunkPop form, the people saving the day in Hollywood were just that: people. Everyday ordinary joes, off-duty cops, and cooks who were really former Navy SEALs in disguise. Back in the 80s and 90s, when blockbusters were all about bazookas and brawn, some of the biggest movie stars in the world were guys who looked good in a bloodstained tank-top. Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme were never the major A-listers. But they certainly knew how to sell a few well-time karate chops. And their verbal sparring brought the two of them close to blows at the height of their fame.

Be sure to read James Kendrick's insightful texts on the action genre: Hollywood Bloodshed: Violence in 1980s American Cinema and A Companion to the Action Film.

Sexual imagery and erotic content are nothing new. Whether for artistic enjoyment or pure carnal pleasure, humans have been obsessed with watching each other "do it" since the dawn of time. But the forms this has taken in the public sphere have transformed greatly. Nowadays, with the advent of the internet, Western society seems to take the almost ubiquitous nature of pornography for granted. But in the mid-twentieth century, magazines like Playboy and Penthouse weren't just publishing nude pictorials. They were the vanguards of the sexual revolution and the free speech debate. And their creators Hugh Hefner and Bob Guccione were engaged in a game of brinkmanship to determine just how much was acceptable to print.

Dive into former Screw editor-in-chief Mike Edison's fascinating history of the industry Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!: Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers An American Tale of Sex and Wonder. And then pick his most recent book about The Rolling Stone's iconic drummer Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters.

Also read Carrie Pitzulo's fascinating analysis of the impact of Playboy: Bachelors and Bunnies: The Sexual Politics of Playboy

Pirates have long fascinated us as a society and have been a cultural touchstone for anyone who dreams of a life free of rules and full of high adventure. But the reality of life as a 17th century buccaneer in the Caribbean was far harsher and much bloodier than most popular fiction depicts. There is one swashbuckler who cheated death time and time again, though, in addition to foiling the Spanish Empire's attempts to maintain a stranglehold on the riches of "the New World." His name was Captain Henry Morgan, and was brave, brutal and brilliant.

To learn more, dive into Graham A. Thomas's excellent book "The Buccaneer King: The Story of Captain Henry Morgan."

Also check out Robert C. Ritchie's newest book "The Lure of the Beach."

Whether you're a lifelong fan or just a casual observer of the cultural zeitgeist, there's a good chance professional wrestling has entered your orbit in some capacity. There's an undeniable appeal to seeing enormously muscular men and women fly at each other from the top ropes to deliver a precision flip kick that actually does little harm to either party involved. The overblown theatricality of the "backstage" storylines and larger-than-life characters also creates an atmosphere of sincere joyfulness. But in an industry this large, there are bound to be egos at play, and more cynical motivations afoot. And no two wrestlers ever demonstrated the outcome of these internal forces colliding better than the legendary fighters Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Shawn Michaels, a.k.a. "The Heartbreak Kid" during an event called "The Montreal Screwjob."

Pick up a copy of Keith Elliot Greenberg's latest book about wrestling: "Follow the Buzzards: Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19."

Check out Sharen Mazer's book: "Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle"

Soul music is a wholly unique genre that evolved out of many areas of African American cultural heritage and tradition. It may have taken years for white audiences to grow accustom to eventually appreciate it. But soul music also produced some of the most widely-beloved and iconic artists of the 1950s, 60s and beyond, not the least of which was the Mr. Dynamite: James Brown. Yet while Brown may have dubbed himself the "hardest working man in show business," he was not the only performer with drive, style and undeniable talent to come out of the Chitlin Circuit. Joe Tex danced, sang and wrote songs just like James. Though to this day only one of them bears the title of Godfather of Soul. A title that was earned in blood.

Pick up a copy of Dr. Portia Maultsby's book African American Music: An Introduction.

Check out her work on Carnegie Hall's "Timeline of African American Music."

Advice columns have been a part of our culture for almost as long as there have been newspapers to print them. People of all backgrounds have turned, anonymously to these sources of cultural wisdom for help with all manner of personal issues. There have been few advice dealers more prominent than Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren a.k.a. Dear Abby, In the latter half of the 20th century, they were two of the most influential columnists in the word. But what you might not know about them is that in real life they were known as Esther and Pauline Friedman, twin sisters who counseled millions and hated each other's guts.

Check out Dan Savage's award winning podcast Savage Love:

Pick up David Gudelunas' book Confidential to America: Newspaper Advice Columns and Sexual Education.

BEEF is an original scripted non-fiction storytelling podcast where Business Wars meets pop culture history.

Award-winning host Bridget Todd tells the stories of legends in their fields and how they tried to stomp out their competition only to find that their enemies become the driving force behind their success, ultimately changing the world as we know it.

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Bridget Todd BIO: Bridget Todd is a frequently cited expert, trainer, and speaker on combating disinformation and extremism online, advocating for social media platform accountability, creating safer digital experiences for women and other marginalized people, and celebrating and amplifying marginalized people’s contributions to tech and the internet. 

Her critically acclaimed podcast, There Are No Girls on the Internet, explores how marginalized people show up online in response to the lack of inclusion in conversations around the internet. The hit podcast earned “Best Technology Podcast” at the iHeart Radio Podcast Awards and a Shorty Award for “Best Podcast Miniseries”.

As Director of Communication for the national gender-justice advocacy organization Ultraviolet, Bridget regularly meets with leadership from platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok to advocate for and develop policy recommendations to make digital experiences safer and more inclusive. Bridget’s writing has been featured in the Atlantic, Newsweek, the Nation, and the Daily Show.