SilentPunt Podcast

About SilentPunt Podcast

Conversations with authors, athletes, and people who didn't take the straight path. www.silentpunt.com (https://www.silentpunt.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Henny Hiemenz

Category

society & culture · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Dec 2024

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

73 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Nothing to Lose, Everything to Prove

   SilentPunt Podcast 225 / October 15, 2026 “Sometimes the most powerful force in the universe is someone with nothing to lose.” That line from Mike Sielski’s new book, Going the Distance: Stallone, Philly, and the Story of Rocky (https://www.amazon.com/Going-Distance-Stallone-Philly-Story/dp/1250412234/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JJVO3DI0VIUR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0ze2lx02o0vastCdpIci4tyGnj0cFqxQEB3LfsmqPklCf-ekJg_tREbMd4v-HcSrgOvk19yGQ6L5C3rSaQonZOCpMJTOB8EQFwBCsSaQ9fY32V_-68Zx3wI8aqGBzOuKOw_Fm7ge42Vs_qPiOscjKu9PCjtHFhI0GklesGp-sJduZHip2eNQTL4wSVI9kgT67hqx4mUPvj8TY_L_-Ilrczc_7UTyN2zhHt5QrwLP1Pk.gtxXSYuIlsmR0Lg4K6PslZdjf-OXUjpE_R0Aywa1QFo&dib_tag=se&keywords=going+the+distance+book&qid=1791986796&sprefix=going+the+distan%2Caps%2C439&sr=8-1), stuck with me. This week, the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist joins me to talk about the complicated young man behind Rocky Balboa and the unlikely circumstances that brought the movie to life. We start with why Rocky arrived at exactly the right moment for a country that could use something to feel good about - a little like Ted Lasso did decades later - and work our way into a Hollywood origin story that has acquired some generous embellishments over the years. We get into Stallone’s turbulent upbringing, the financial arrangement that helped put him in the starring role, and Henry Winkler’s story about saving a script that apparently wasn’t Rocky. There’s also the invention that made those famous running scenes possible, a car battery doing some crucial supporting work, and the email that finally got Stallone talking. Along the way, Mike shares how a memorable night at Veterans Stadium with Bill Lyon helped shape his career. And we get to a question anyone who has shared a childhood favorite with their kids will understand: Does Rocky still work if you’re seeing it for the first time today? Thanks for listening! Subscribe for free below to receive future episodes directly in your inbox. 📚 Chapters 00:00 Introduction00:51 Why America Needed Rocky03:43 Making Rocky on a Shoestring Budget05:57 The Steadicam, the Steps, and a Car Battery10:17 Bill Lyon and an Unforgettable Night at the Vet13:13 Sportswriting, Access, and Accountability15:38 Does Rocky Still Work for a New Generation?18:46 Stallone’s Turbulent Childhood21:57 Separating the Facts from the Rocky Myths25:32 The Deal That Put Stallone in the Starring Role28:56 Hell’s Kitchen and Paradise Alley30:14 Henry Winkler’s Story About Saving Rocky32:09 Getting Stallone to Answer His Emails36:11 Sasha Stallone and the Interviews That Didn’t Happen37:33 SilentPunt Lightning Round: Cuff, Link, and Adrian40:40 Mike’s Book and Where to Find Him Follow Mike on X: @MikeSielski or on Substack: Mike Sielski (https://substack.com/profile/2566281-mike-sielski). Prefer to watch? Check us out on YouTube: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.silentpunt.com (https://www.silentpunt.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   4 Oct 2026

   A Small Town in a Billionaire’s League

   SilentPunt Podcast 224 / October 2, 2026 Being a Green Bay Packers owner won’t pay your mortgage. It won’t even get you season tickets. But it does give you a stake in one of the strangest arrangements in professional sports: a community-owned football team surviving in a league of billionaires. Tom Nelson, author of The Green and Gold Standard: A People’s History of the Green Bay Packers (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637278373?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback), joins me to talk about how a small Wisconsin city pulled that off - and the people who repeatedly stepped in when the team needed saving. We get into Tom’s first trip to Lambeau, courtesy of a school janitor; the complicated Curly Lambeau; a coach whose film study required an investigation; and a franchise that occasionally confused honoring its past with hiring it. We also discuss Tom’s work helping save a Wisconsin paper mill, his approach to writing history, and why he believes private equity could present a serious challenge to the Packers’ future. Football provides the setting, but the questions reach well beyond it: what makes something belong to a community, and what does it take to keep it there? Subscribe to SilentPunt for funny essays and conversations about life, sports, and the things we take a little too seriously. No stock purchase required. 📚 Chapters 00:00 Introducing Tom Nelson and The Green and Gold Standard01:12 What Does It Mean to Own the Packers?03:34 Tom Nelson: Public Service and Saving a Paper Mill06:52 A Janitor, Season Tickets, and a Lifelong Packers Fan08:30 Lee Remmel and Maria’s Packers Connection09:58 The Thanksgiving Game That Helped Save the Packers13:54 Passing the Hat—and Passing the Football15:11 The Complicated Curly Lambeau18:15 Jack Vainisi: Laying the Groundwork for Lombardi22:06 When the Packers Couldn’t Let Go of the Past25:53 Dan Devine and the Toothpick Test27:51 Bob Harlan and the Reinvention of Lambeau30:55 Private Equity and the Packers’ Future37:03 Writing Books While Holding Down a Day Job40:08 Research Rabbit Holes and an Ice Bowl Dispute43:00 Closing Thoughts 🎥 🎬 🎥 🎬 🎥 🎬 🎥 🎬 🎥 🎬 🎥 🎬 You can also watch this conversation on YouTube, where, as far as I can tell, the audience mostly consists of my mother. Come keep her company. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.silentpunt.com (https://www.silentpunt.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Spam Sandwiches and the Women Behind Lombardi’s Packers

   SilentPunt Podcast 223 / September 10, 2026 The story of Vince Lombardi’s Packers usually arrives in the voice of John Facenda: frozen breath, muddy jerseys, and giants doing battle on the tundra. But after the cameras left, a group of young women was doing much of the work that made those football lives possible. This week, I’m joined by mother-daughter authors Laura Kostelnik Biskupic and Katherine Biskupic, authors of Lambeau Ladies: The Boundary-Breaking Women Behind Lombardi’s Packers (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1976600898/?bestFormat=true&k=lambeau%20ladies%20book&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-v2_k0_1_7_de&crid=1NLXCXFI9L4TF&sprefix=Lambeau). We talk about the women who helped integrate Green Bay, created communities for young football families, cared for injured players, packed brown-bag lunches, raised children, and supported one another through a life that offered very little money or security. We also get into Marie Lombardi’s influence, the famous mink-stole photograph, Careful Drive, Packer “Holy Roller” parties, Cherry Starr’s rubber cockroach, and the Spam sandwiches that may - or may not - have fueled a dynasty. It’s a Packers story, but more than that, it’s a story about friendship, race, family, invisible work, and the people football history too often leaves just outside the picture. Send me the good Spam. Become a free subscriber of SilentPunt. 📚 Chapters 0:00 Introduction 0:45 How the Lambeau Ladies Story Began 5:15 The Drive That Inspired the Book 8:30 Researching and Writing a Forgotten History 11:40 The Cherry Starr Few People Knew 13:04 The Women Who Helped Integrate Green Bay 14:36 Marie Lombardi: The Queen of It All 16:59 Spam Sandwiches and the Work Behind the Dynasty 18:50 Lore Lane, Careful Drive and Holy Roller Parties 22:06 Mink Stoles and the Making of Titletown 24:04 The Lambeau Ladies’ Legacy 28:44 Writing Together as Mother and Daughter 30:21 Lightning Round: Cockroaches, Curfews, and Lambeau 38:32 Final Thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.silentpunt.com (https://www.silentpunt.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Who has been a guest on SilentPunt Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Lindsey Smith
• Jason Collins
• Steve Strimling
• Aaron Blackshear
• Brian Henesey

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 3 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

6

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0