Burn It All Down

In this episode, Amira Rose Davis talks with Motoko Rich, New York Times Tokyo Bureau Chief, about reporting on the 2020/21 Tokyo Paralympics. They discuss Japan being the first and only nation to host the Paralympics twice, the impacts of Covid-19 on the games as well as on the country and what disability activists in Japan want from these games. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shel...

This episode is a re-air of a 2018 interview (from Ep. 44) with an update regarding the 2020/21 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Dr. Amira Rose Davis talks with Dr. Jonna Belanger, A U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Classifier and Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Penn State University. They discuss how the Paralympic classification system determines an athlete's eligibility to...

In this episode Jessica Luther, Amira Rose Davis, Lindsay Gibbs and Brenda Elsey preview the 2020/21 Tokyo Paralympic Games, which start TODAY, August 24, and close September 5, 2021. First they discuss some of the major storylines around the games, including fights for equity for disabled athletes, who is "inspiration" for?, and how the Paralympics show disparities between nation-states. You'll a...

This week, Burn It All Down is featuring conversations about the 2020/21 Tokyo Paralympic Games, which start Tuesday August 24. This episode is re-airing two interviews from September 2020, with updates at the end. Jessica talks with Kristen Duquette, disability advocate and a 5x American Paralympic record holder and Lacey Henderson, a track and field Paralympian and host of the podcast Picked Las...

In this episode Shireen Ahmed interviews Canada Women's National Soccer Team stalwart Diana Matheson, who is responsible for the game-winning goal in stoppage time to clinch the bronze medal for Canada in the 2012 Olympics. They discuss Diana's journey into playing professionally, the building of the Canadian program, an overdue professional league, and if, in fact, history was made right at the 2...

Sparked by the conversation around football legend Lionel Messi leaving FC Barcelona after 21 years, Brenda Elsey, Shireen Ahmed and Lindsay Gibbs talk about gratitude, loyalty and the idea that athletes should owe anything to coaches, teams, organizations or fans. They discuss how the media demonizes athletes who leave teams and how often these stories are gendered and racialized. They also discu...

Lindsay Gibbs interviews Imani McGee-Stafford, WNBA athlete and law-student, on mental health in sports and society. They discuss Simone Biles' recent leadership in prioritizing her mental health in the Olympics, their own journeys to actively maintaining mental health and how American sports culture still has a long way to go in ending the stigma around mental health. This episode was produced by...

In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs, Amira Rose Davis and Brenda Elsey discuss their favorite moments of the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympic Games. From their favorite couples to World Record finishes to many athletes breaking the mold of what athletes "should" do or who they "should" be, the team revels in a little bit of Olympic joy and also dig into the darker moments of the games. Next, they burn all the gar...

Amira Rose Davis hosts a round table discussion with sports writers and scholars on the Black and African Diaspora at the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics. She is joined by Bria Felicien, writer of the Black Sportswoman newsletter, Dr. Javier Wallace, the Race and Sport Postdoctoral Associate in the African and African American Studies Department at Duke University and Courtney Stith, co-host of the Diaspor...

Amira Rose Davis, Shireen Ahmed and Lindsay Gibbs start the show with customized "twisted" triathlons. Then they dive into a discussion about the immense pressure Olympic athletes carry into these games and what happens when they they don't meet the expectations placed on them. This episode revisits, contextualizes and reclaims three historical so-called disappointments: the 2000 Sydney Olympics v...

In this Hot Take, Shireen Ahmed, Amira Rose Davis and Lindsay Gibbs talk all about Canada's 1-0 victory over the U.S. in the women's soccer Olympic semi final. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, transcripts, and more info about BIAD, check out our website:...

In this episode Jessica Luther interviews journalist Mirin Fader about her new book, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP, which comes out August 10. They talk about Mirin’s basketball skills, how she got into writing about sports, and, of course, about NBA champion and two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and we...

In this episode Shireen Ahmed, Amira Rose Davis and Jessica Luther start the show with a discussion of the Cleveland Guardians. Then, sparked by Game 4 of the NBA playoffs between the Bucks and the Suns, they discuss all things refereeing: Is it getting worse? Do we ever notice good refereeing? Why is yelling at refs so fun? How is tech impacting reffing? Are there any alternative models to tradit...

The Tokyo 2020/21 Olympics are the Pandemic Games. Even so, over two episodes (210 Part I and II) Burn It All Down will preview EVERY sport with excitement, cynicism, awe and critical thinking. In Part II, Brenda Elsey, Amira Rose Davis and Lindsay Gibbs cover who to watch and what to know about the following events: swimming, track, modern pentathlon, beach volleyball, surfing, wrestling, shootin...

The Tokyo 2020/21 Olympics are the Pandemic Games. Even so, over two episodes (210 Part I and II) Burn It All Down will preview EVERY sport with excitement, cynicism, awe and critical thinking. In Part I, Brenda Elsey, Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther cover who to watch and what to know about the following events: artistic swimming, rowing, table tennis, sailing, water polo, canoeing, golf, tennis...

In this episode, Amira Rose Davis talks with Dr. Courtney Cox, Assistant Professor of Race and Sport in the Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Oregon, about the exhaustion of the last week -- and more -- for Black women in sports, in both the media and the academy. They discuss the interconnection between Olympic qualifying snubs of Black athletes across sports, t...

In this episode, Jessica Luther, Amira Rose Davis and Brenda Elsey break-down what is happening in the wake of college athletes finally being able to use their own name, image and likeness (NIL). They discuss what the new NIL rules have meant on the ground, what guidance (or lack thereof) academic institutions and the NCAA have provided and how racism, sexism and capitalism are already impacting w...

In this episode Lindsay Gibbs interviews Anne Orchier of NOlympics LA about opposition to the Toyko 2020 Olympics from on-the-ground organizers in Japan, which is largely led by unhoused people and those who will be displaced by the games. The discuss the privatization of public spaces and the aggressive policing of poor communities that happens regardless of where the Olympics are held, and how C...

Lindsay Gibbs, Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther bring Burn It All Down back after a short break. Like it or not (it's both!) the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are coming and this week BIAD covers the the incredible, the heartbreaking and the huh?!. They discuss COVID updates in Japan, US track and field sensations and amazing athletes from around the world breaking barriers. Then, Lindsay shares a pre-view...

*Content Warning: Indigenous genocide and intergenerational trauma* In this episode, Shireen Ahmed interviews Averie Allard, a Métis woman from Treaty 1 Territory and volleyball setter of the University of Saskatchewan. They talk about how Averie has used sport for healing and to advocate for justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) in Canada and the...

Brenda Elsey brings you a special Burn It All Down episode. Horseracing is undergoing exceptional drama this year sparked by Kentucky Derby star and scandal Medina Spirit and his trainer Bob Baffert. Brenda interviews three experts in the horse racing world: Joe Drape, New York Times reporter, Dr. Megan Kerford, racetrack veterinarian, and Dr. Katherine Mooney, associate professor at Florida state...

The Montreal Canadiens are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 28 years. What is it like for their fans? Shireen chats with one partticular die-ard Habs fan: Her Maman. Dr. Tahira Ahmed joins Burn It All Down for this Hot Take on the ups and downs of being a Habs fan for almost 50 years. This episode was produced by Shireen Ahmed and Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social...

This week Jessica Luther interviews media scholar Dr. Jenn McClearen about her book "Fighting Visibility: Sports Media and Female Athletes in the UFC." They discuss the conflict of the representation of women in the UFC with the exploitation that those same women face in the sport. They also talk about the complicated effort to unionize UFC fighters and how to love women's sport and the UFC by ill...

Shireen Ahmed interviews Anastasia Bucsis, 2-time speedskating Olympian for Team Canada and CBC Sports Analyst and host of Player's Own Voice Podcast. They discuss Anastasia's transition from professional athlete to journalist and the challenges of the 2020/21 Olympic games. Anastasia also shares her experience competing as the only out North American athlete at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and publicl...

Amira Rose Davis interviews Tianna Bartoletta, track and field Olympian, gold medalist and author of the memoir "Survive & Advance." They talk about Tianna's writing process, the experiences that have impacted her life and career, this year's Olympic trials and how she's wrestling with the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and w...