Burn It All Down

In this episode Amira Rose Davis, Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther dive into sports superstitions. But first, they start the show with some recent headlines that had them ROFL. Then they discuss some of the most infamous sports superstitions and rituals of athletes in hockey, tennis and global football as well as their own sports superstitions. They also discuss the how fans' superstitions form, t...

*Content Warning: This episode discusses sexual abuse* In this episode, Shireen Ahmed interviews TSN journalist Rick Westhead about his reporting on allegations of sexual abuse by former Chicago NHL team coach Brad Aldrich. They discuss the challenges of investigative reporting, his powerful interview with survivor Kyle Beach and how his reporting has impacted the hockey world. Following this disc...

In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs, Amira Rose Davis and Jessica Luther dive into recent reports published about gender inequity in the NCAA. But first, they start the show with dad jokes. In the main segment, the team dissects an external review of gender equity issues in the NCAA and specifically the DI basketball championships. They dive into what the report says about the lack of investment, accou...

In this episode, Brenda Elsey interviews Jennifer Doyle, professor at UC Riverside and author of Campus Sex, Campus Security. They discuss the gendered structures within society that support a culture of sexual assault in sport, and how to better understand it's pervasive and pernicious effects. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist....

In this episode, Brenda Elsey, Shireen Ahmed and Lindsay Gibbs analyze various playoff and postseason structures. But first, they share their 2021 Halloween costumes. Then, they dive into the various meanings of "postseason," breaking down the overlapping and crossover tournaments of European leagues, how different postseason styles impact men's and women's leagues, as well as predictions for 2021...

In this episode, Jessica Luther interviews Sabré Cook, a race car driver. They talk about how Sabré got into motor sports, barriers to entry for women in the sport and what she finds most challenging about racing. They also discuss competing in this year's W Series, an all-female racing championship. The series takes place across Europe and the U.S., wrapping up this weekend October 22-24, 2021 in...

In this episode, Shireen Ahmed, Lindsay Gibbs and Jessica Luther delve into expansion teams. But first, they share their favorite Halloween treats. Then, inspired by the newest NHL team, the Seattle Kraken, they discuss how expansion teams come to be, what makes them successful and how they can bring fandom to new places. They also explore challenges to expansion, including why the WNBA has been u...

In this episode, Shireen Ahmed is joined by journalists Jashvina Shah and Evan Moore to talk about their new book Game Misconduct: Hockey's Toxic Culture and How to Fix It. They discuss how they came to collaborate and write this book, pushback from fans and publishers and the importance of community for fans and players on the margins in hockey. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelb...

In this episode, Jessica Luther and Amira Rose Davis are together -- in person! -- to breakdown two (of countless) harmful myths in sport. First: that all coaches are altruistic, good and have a strong moral compass (using Urban Meyer as a perfect example of how this is not true). Second, that women's sports exist only to be inspirational. Following this discussion is a preview of Shireen Ahmed's...

This episode is a roundtable discussion about memes, teams and vaccines. Dr. Amira Rose Davis is joined by Dr. Candis Smith, Dr. Courtney Cox and Dr. Brooklyne Gipson to chat about recent comments from some NBA players about vaccinations, while considering political education, athletes' platforms, disinformation in social media and the "surprising" plot-twist of "shut up and dribble." This episode...

In this episode, the entire Burn It All Down squad reunites for a fall sports round-up spectacular! At the top of the show, Amira Rose Davis, Brenda Elsey, Shireen Ahmed, Lindsay Gibbs and Jessica Luther first share what they want to carve into a festive pumpkin. Then, they parse through the beautiful chaos that is fall sports and offer their insight and commentary on women's college soccer, women...

In this Hot Take, Shireen Ahmed talks with Kamila Hinkson, Staff Editor at The Athletic covering Major League Baseball. They discuss the wild conclusion to the MLB regular season, Shireen's heartbreak over the Toronto Blue Jays and who Kamila thinks will take the World Series crown. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All...

In this hot take, Shireen Ahmed and Brenda Elsey discuss the horrifying story that Meg Linehan and Katie Strang reported on 9/30 in The Athletic about the allegations of sexual coercion and harassments by former head coach of the North Carolina Courage, Paul Riley. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of th...

In this episode Lindsay Gibbs interviews Cat Osterman, 3x Olympian and legendary softball pitcher with many many championships under her belt. They discuss Cat's recent retirement announcement from Athletes Unlimited, Tokyo 2021 Olympics, college softball's rising popularity and her hopes for a sustainable professional softball league. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is...

In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs, Amira Rose Davis and Brenda Elsey take at the history of reproductive justice in women's sports and they ways that athletes have been leaders in this movement today. They also discuss the institutional support they'd like to see from teams and leagues for reproductive health, abortion and mothers. Following this discussion, there's a preview of Lindsay's interview w...

In this Hot Take, Lindsay Gibbs interviews Meghann Burke, former WSA and WPS soccer player, now lawyer and Executive Director of the NWSL Players Association, who is pushing for the league's first CBA. They discuss their recent #NoMoreSideHustles campaign, the need for better player health and safety, fair contracts and livable wages, and how the Players Association stands with other labor movemen...

In this episode, Amira Rose Davis interviews sportswriter Dave Zirin about his most recent book "The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee Changing the World," which tells the stories of athletes and teams across the country who contributed to rising tide of political action through sport. They also talk about what it has been like to write about sports and politics in this moment, the impact of celebr...

In this episode of Burn It All Down Brenda Elsey, Amira Rose Davis and Jessica Luther start the show with their favorite Met Gala looks. Then, prompted by the documentary LulaRich, they take a deep dive into the world of athleisure. They discuss the evolution of the athletic wear fashion, how multilevel marketing often (MLM) targets working class women with false promises, the politics of who gets...

In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs is joined by Courtney Stith and André Carlisle, hosts of the Diaspora United Podcast. This interview is all about the NWSL on-the-field action. The talk about Sydney Leroux's magic, which other players are having standout seasons and which teams they think will advance to the playoffs. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media an...

In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs, Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther start the show with a few of their favorite U.S. Open moments. Then, they discuss the off-the-field mess in the National Women's Soccer League, including a high turn over of coaches, broadcasting issues and an overall lack of transparency and accountability. They also talk about what changes are vital for the league to improve. Follo...

This episode opens with words from Khalida Popal (in an interview with CNN), former Capitan of the Afghanistan Women's Football Team. Then, Shireen Ahmed talks with Kelly Lindsey, former coach of the Afghanistan Women's Football Team about how Khalida, Kelly and a small and formidable group of people were able to evacuate Afghan footballers, other athletes and vulnerable people to safety in recent...

**TW: This episode contains content about domestic violence and sexual assault** In this episode, Shireen Ahmed, Brenda Elsey and Jessica Luther start the show with their most memorable first day of school moments. For the main topic, they discuss how Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse (DVSA) reports are handled (and ignored) in sports. They talk about the various actions and in-actions taken by p...

In this episode Jessica Luther interviews journalist Chloe Angyal about her new book Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers Is Saving Ballet from Itself. They discuss if ballet is a sport, an art or both, how gender and race impact dancers' success, and how safety and equity in ballet has a long ways to go. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media an...

In this Hot Take, Jessica Luther interviews Kelly Crowley, a two-sport Paralympic athlete -- winning two gold medals in swimming at the 2004 Athens Games and two bronze medals in cycling at the 2012 London Games. They discuss Kelly's lifelong sport career as well as what her favorite moments, so far, of the Tokyo 2020/21 Paralympics. She also shares which events she's most excited about before the...

In this episode, Amira Rose Davis and Brenda Elsey start the show with their favorite football/soccer chants. Then, the historians talk in-depth about global football academies and the intentional invisibility of what goes on at them, which is exploitation, child labor, racial abuse and sex trafficking veiled as a school. They also discuss who is benefiting from this system and why reform is so sl...