two dreams:

The NBA entered the Chinese market in the early 1990s as the country welcomed foreign investment. While China's economy boomed, the NBA became a widely beloved brand and the country's most popular sports league. In some ways, they were strange bedfellows. China had a complicated history of human rights abuse allegations while the NBA was considered one of the most socially progressive leagues in all of sports.

The tension between these competing interests exploded into the public discourse in 2019, when then Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sent a controversial tweet during massive protests in Hong Kong, and the NBA found itself at the center of a storm.

Two Dreams is the story of the ultimate goal tend: how a free flowing game collided with a rising empire and got rejected. It's the story of how sports, politics, and business combined to form a multi-billion dollar tornado.

• Part I: An Opportunity for the Ages
• Part II: The Dream Team
• Part III: Collective Strength

This story is part of the documentary anthology series, Sports Explains the World, a production of Meadowlark Media in collaboration with Campside Media, distributed by Wondery.

shanghai sharks – yao ming finds a coach:

Bob Donewald Jr. is a journeyman coach who has lived out of a suitcase most of his adult life. His coaching career took him all over the US, UK, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. In 2009, he met Yao Ming, moved to China, and for a brief moment, his career became white hot.

This podcast episode is part of the documentary anthology series, Sports Explains the World, a production of Meadowlark Media in collaboration with Campside Media, distributed by Wondery.

hometown roots:

In a community garden in Beaverton, a friendship grows. This essay was adapted from the Alta Journal newsletter.

the voice of rip city:

Remembering the Portland Trail Blazers’ broadcaster Bill Schonely. This essay was adapted from the Alta Journal newsletter.

a little bit higher:

Li Wenping is a star student at one of the best high schools in the county. She is poised to become the first person in her family to attend college.

letters to thien:

This award-winning documentary video tells the story of Thien Minh Ly and his community. In January of 1996, Thien Ly was the victim of a hate crime murder while rollerblading near his family home in Tustin, CA. A portrait of how Thien's life and death live on in his community one year after the murder, LTT has appeared in five film festivals in the US and Canada, and was a finalist in the 1998 Cascadia Festival of Moving Images.

citizen filmmakers:

Li Jinghong and Zhang Hua are independent filmmakers. Their bottom-up documentaries probe the social and emotional problems of ordinary people. Some of their works have been shown on China's state-run television.

Citizen Filmmakers is one dispatch from Beijing Beat, a series of intimate reports produced in the Bay Area and Beijing by a team of digital journalists from the Center for Digital TV and the World at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

raw emotions on display at hong hong march:

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents and a smaller group of Filipinos held peaceful but emotional demonstrations in Hong Kong Sunday to honor eight locals killed in a bus hijacking in Manila and to express anger with how the Philippine government handled the matter.

This story originally appeared on WSJ.com.

manila tragedy highlights hong kong's status

While the murders of eight Hong Kong tourists in Manila have united Chinese in Hong Kong and the mainland in grief and indignation, the killings are also drawing attention to Hong Kong's identity as part of sovereign China.

This story originally appeared on WSJ.com.

the skies of old beijing:

Zhao Tongqing is alone in life. At 57, he's never married, never had children, never worked. He lives in a tiny Beijing apartment. He says he doesn't see his family much. His only company is the flock of more than 100 homing pigeons he keeps on his roof.

The Skies of Old Beijing originally appeared on OregonLive.com as part of the site's special coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

ping-pong nation:

Today Chinese table tennis superstar, world champion and defending two-time gold medalist Zhang Yining made her first appearance in the Beijing Olympics. The city has spent years grooming her to continue China's dominance of the sport.

Ping-Pong Nation originally appeared on OregonLive.com as part of the site's special coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

the survivor:

Tacuma King grew up in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes housing project. He says that in his lifetime he has known more than 100 people who have died from gun violence. He lives in Oakland, California which was experiencing a violent crime wave in the summer of 2007. In the middle of all that pain, King lashed back with music.

This story aired on NPR's All Things Considered 8/20/2007.

Listen to mp3.
The Survivor | (4.9Mb).

the future of smoking:

Big tobacco's quest to develop a cigarette with fewer associated risks is butting heads with the states' attorneys general.

This story aired on NPR's Justice Talking 11/2006.

Listen to mp3.
The Future of Smoking | (2.6Mb).

juvenile sentencing:

The day juvenile offenders are committed to the care of the state is a day none of them will ever forget.

This piece was produced in collaboration with Blunt Youth Radio Project. This story aired on NPR's Justice Talking and WMPG's The Local Option 04/2006.

Listen to mp3.
Juvenile Sentencing | (4.73Mb).

poverty on trial:

Poverty on Trial: WMPG producer Jessica Lockhart recalls Portland's first ever Economic Human Rights Truth Commission, sponsored by Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights (POWER).

This piece was produced in collaboration with Jessica Lockhart. This story aired on WMPG's The Local Option 01/2006.

Listen to mp3.
Poverty on Trial | (7.45Mb).

my criminal life:

Time is running out for Mark. After being in and out of the Long Creek Youth Development Center six times for various drug-related offenses, he is about to turn nineteen and age out of the system. Mark feels stuck in his life, unable to make significant changes.

This piece was produced in collaboration with Mark and Blunt Youth Radio Project. This story aired on WMPG's Blunt Youth Radio 10/2004.

First Place Feature, Maine Association of Broadcasters Radio News Awards.

Listen to mp3.
My Criminal Life | (4.2Mb).

ann meets mr. ellington:

Ann Searcy is a 76-year-old jazz singer. She grew up as one of the only people of color in Old Orchard Beach, Maine where music legend, Duke Ellington, became her mentor.

Versions of this story aired on Maine Public Radio's Maine Things Considered 1/13/2003 and on NPR's All Things Considered 4/29/2003.

Listen to mp3 (extended version).
Ann Meets Mr. Ellington | (6.9Mb).

one last haircut:

Norman Millett has run the Senior Citizens' Barbershop for forty-one years. As Norman has learned, there are some perils unique to catering to seniors (they just might pass away in your shop).

This story aired on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday 4/26/2003.

Listen to mp3:
One Last Haircut | (3.02Mb).

the way it looks from here:

In a time of great economic uncertainty, Mel Clarrage, a legally blind vocational counselor, is looking for work.

This story aired on NPR's All Things Considered 12/25/2002.

Listen to mp3:

The Way it Looks From Here | (5.9Mb).

adam ekberg, bocce enthusiast:

2004 was a record cold winter in Maine. Wind chill readings of -20F to -40F even prompted the Governor to declare a state of emergency. That of course did not stop Adam Ekberg, Bocce Enthusiast, from hitting the beach to play bocce.

This story aired on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered 1/24/2004.

Listen to mp3.
adam ekberg, bocce enthusiast | (2.7Mb).