This evening at Powell’s (1005 W Burnside, 7:30 pm), Dave Zirin will read from his new book, Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports. Zirin is one of the most provocative sportswriters working today, and his new book uses professional sports as a prism through which to view issues of race, politics, and other social dilemmas. (For instance, chapter titles include “Barry Bonds is Gonna Git Your Mama: The Last Word on Steroids,” “Pro Basketball and the Two Souls of Hip-Hop,” “An Icon’s Redemption: The Great Roberto Clemente,” and “Beisbol: How the Major Leagues Eat Their Young.”)

Here is a clip of Zirin and Chuck D (who wrote the book’s forward) talkinng about Terrordome at the Schomburg Center for Study in Black Culture in Harlem last May. There’s a lot to digest here, and I expect tonight will only provide more of the same.