Notes and Links to Jeff Pearlman’s Work

  Jeff Pearlman is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books. His subjects include the ’80s Los Angeles Lakers (Show­time), the 1986 New York Mets (The Bad Guys Won), the ’90s Dallas Cowboys (Boys Will Be Boys), and NFL legends Walter Pay­ton (Sweetness) and Brett Favre (Gunslinger). HBO adapted Showtime into the dramatic series Winning Time, produced and directed by Adam McKay. A former Sports Illus­trated senior writer and ESPN.com colum­nist, Pearlman is the host of the Two Writers Slinging Yang podcast and blogs regularly at jeffpearlman.com.

Buy Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur

Jeff's Website

NPR Coverage of Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur

At about 3:15 , Jeff talks about writing against hagiography and how he doesn’t “bring bias” into his writing, whether about Tupac or sports

At about 5:25 , Pete compliments the structure of the book, as it examines each of the places that shaped Tupac’s life

At about 5:55 , Rapid-fire questions! *Best Tupac collab? Best movie role?

At about 8:45 , A beautiful shout-out to friend Curtis Dorsey and Jeff’s dad, Stan

At about 10:20 , Jeff shouts out some favorite lines from Tupac’s songs

At about 10:50 , Pete and Jeff discuss Tupac’s “layering songs” and wondrous laugh 

At about 12:55 , Jeff responds to Pete’s question about Jeff’s “in”/entry point for writing about someone who has been written about so much 

At about 15:45 , Jeff expands on writing his biography of Tupac as a type of "layering" and the importance of specificity  

At about 17:00 , Jeff talks about how interviewing 652 people for his Tupac book is actually something that “[he] is supposed to do”

At about 19:55 , Jeff reflects a bit on book promotion and book release 

At about 21:25 , Jeff shouts out Dusty Baker as “maybe the coolest human being who’s ever walked the planet”

At about 22:20 , Pete asks Jeff about Set Shakur’s quote that Tupac died “alone”; Jeff reflects on the “isolation” of fame 

At about 24:00 , Jeff talks about Suge Knight and his indifference and his intriguing story

At about 25:45 , Jeff talks about Tupac’s connection or lack thereof to the Mob Piru gang 

At about 26:45 , Pete gives an incomplete and rambling answer to the best Tupac song

At about 28:10 , Davonn Hodge and his mother reuniting due to great work by Jeff Pearlman and Michelle Soulli is discussed, as Jeff gives the background on the reunification 

At about 30:20 , Jeff gives background on Afeni Shakur’s hometown, Lumberton, NC, and he gives a shoutout to Howard Bryant’s book on Ricky Henderson

At about 31:30 , Jeff recounts a story about going to Lumberton to use the microfiche, but wound up seeing Tupac’s grave

At about 32:10 , Jeff gives background on Afeni Shakur’s amazing life and highlights her accomplishments and travails 

At about 33:30 , Jeff and Pete discuss “Dear Mama” as aspirational and the sadness of Afeni’s substance abuse and how Tupac dealt with this horrible disappointment and “trauma”

At about 35:15 , Jeff talks in awe of Afeni’s defending herself in the “Panther 21” trial

At about 36:20 , Jeff discusses Tupac’s name origins

At about 37:45 , Jeff responds to Pete’s question about Tupac’s dad Billy Garland and male role models

At about 39:40 , The two discuss horrible athletic performances in movies and Tupac’s unfortunate basketball shooting motion

At about 41:00 , Jeff gives some background on Tupac’s birth name

At about 41:40 , Jeff talks about the impression that New York made on Tupac, musically and personally

At about 43:00 , The two discuss Tupac’s time in Baltimore and at the Baltimore School for the Arts, and Tupac as an actor and singer; Jeff calls Baltimore his “favorite Tupac era”

At about 45:10 , The two talk about Tupac’s Baltimore time and struggles and how “shapeshifter” didn’t quite fit him

At about 47:10 , Jeff traces the Shakurs’ move to Marin City and connections to Geronimo Pratt and his family

At about 48:15 , Jeff shares a profound statement from Set Shakur about moving vs. “relocating”

At about 48:50 , Jeff talks about Marin City and recreating the Marin City of when Tupac lived there 

At about 50:50 , Jeff expands on similarities between Tupac’s time in the creative worlds of performing arts high schools in Baltimore and Marin City/ and his mother’s downward spiral

At about 51:55 , The two discuss the significance of Marin City’s Festival on the Green 1992 and further reporting on the tragedy as a “turning point”

At about 55:50 , Jeff responds to Pete’s observation about Tupac’s first albums not being highly-received and focuses on the changes that led to his second album being disappointing for Tupac

At about 57:20 , Jeff traces an almost parallel life for Tupac as a revolutionary leader in Atlanta

At about 58:45 , Jeff talks about the awkward time with Tupac working to become a community leader 

At about 1:00:20 , Jeff responds to Pete’s question about the reactions from people who were wowed by Tupac's raps in person

At about 1:03:00 , Jeff shares what he learned in his interviews about Tupac the actor

At about 1:06:00 , Jeff shares his thoughts on the alleged second sexual assault by Tupac

At about 1:08:15 , Pete and Jeff discuss the “fan[ning] of the hip hop media/media and Tupac’s 

At about 1:09:35 , Pete compliments the skillful ways in which the last hours and days (the “banal”) were rendered in the way 

At about 1:11:10 , Pete asks Jeff about how much Death Row changed Tupac/brought out tendencies in him

At about 1:12:55 , Jeff shares information from the book on two or three parallel universes where Tupac almost avoided being in Las Vegas  

At about 1:13:55 , Jeff reflects on Tupac as a 54 year old

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   The episode drops on November 18.

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