Throwing the First Punch

Stories about what it means to be a person who throws the first punch, and how hard it is to give up. Prologue: Pierre, a ten year old who boxes in an amateur team on Chicago's south side, and what Muhammad Ali had to do to psych up to win a fight. (3 minutes) I'd Probably Slug Jesus: Manny Howard talks with Paul Tough about why he loved fighting in bars and on the street, and about how hard it is to quit. Manny is the author of My Empire of Dirt: How One Man Turned His Big-City Backyard into a Farm. (20 minutes) Yom Kippur with Gloves. The Kitchen Sisters — Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva — explain how the whole town of Kodiak, Alaska, used to fight. It was cathartic. (4 minutes) To Boldly Go Where No Woman Has Gone Before: Meema Spadola follows Maritza, a New Yorker who loves to box and has the skill to go pro, but who's not going pro. (14 minutes) Hard Work: Frankie Cruz Junior takes on all contenders at a nightclub in Chicago, and nearly always wins. It's a terrible job that pays badly and has no insurance or other benefits. Why he stays at it. Julie Snyder reports. (14 minutes)