On November 7, 1991, Magic Johnson held a press conference announcing that he had contracted the HIV virus, effectively ending his Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers. The news sent shockwaves through popular culture, as well as the more narrow subculture of millionaire athletes and the woman who pursue them. Magic Johnson was not only one of the most famous men in America on the court and on TV, he was the Hugh Hefner of professional sports. If Magic could get AIDS did that mean the party was truly over? Not for the intrepid woman profiled in E. Jean Carroll’s rollicking 1992 feature, “Love in the Time of Magic.” Carroll, longtime sex columnist for Elle, joins host David Brancaccio to discuss the virtues and sorrows—and above all, the sisterhood—of the beautiful women who pursued star NBA players like hunters chasing their prey.
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