Episode 39: Jeremy John Kaplan and a Dispatch from NYC

Brooklyn based artist Jeremy John Kaplan is back on the pod today to discuss basketball hoops (and of course, nets) being temporarily removed from parks around New York City to discourage people from gathering together in the time of COVID-19.  Jeremy was originally a guest back on episode 20 of Dear Adam Silver where we discussed the Gold Nets Project, an ongoing body of work (est. 2005) where he spray paints basketball nets gold and then hangs them on hoops without a net or hoops that have torn, non functioning nets. This project has been a way for him to give back to the game as a dedicated fan and pickup basketball player. Now, Jeremy is going back to the parks where he has put up nets around New York City to photograph the empty, hoopless backboards that remain. We also get into a little bit of local politics in the city and the state and discuss our experiences during this pandemic and shut down.  To see more of Jeremy's work click here and to learn more about the Gold Nets Project click here.  Rebecca Solnit's essay Who Will Win the Fight for a Post-Coronavirus America? can be found here.  Please note that we recorded this episode last Wednesday, April 1.