Burn It All Down

Lindsay Gibbs talks with Howard Megdal, Founder and Editor of The Next and The IX Newsletter about all things WNBA. In anticipation of the 2021 WBNA season tipping off Friday May 14, they discuss in-depth each of the 12 WNBA teams' prospective rosters and who they think will be this season's gamechangers.  This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website...

In this interview Brenda Elsey is joined by Melissa Ortiz, Olympian, analyst, former professional footballer and member of the Colombian Women's National Team.  They discuss the importance of athletes speaking out against recent police violence against protesters in Colombia and the reality of the women's professional league in Colombia, contrary to a viral advertisement. Melissa also talks about...

Brenda Elsey, Amira Rose Davis and Lindsay Gibbs start the show by revealing who they would like to boo. Then, they talk about fan activism, including the recent Manchester United protests at Old Trafford, fan-led petitions pushing the NWSL and who gets included and excluded from fandom.  Next, they share a sneak peak of this week's interview -- an in-depth discussion between Lindsay and Howard Me...

Amira Rose Davis talks with cultural critic Scarlett Harris about her new book "A Diva Was a Female Version of a Wrestler: An Abbreviated Herstory of World Wrestling Entertainment." The delve into the current state of women in the WWE, including issues of power, race, gender binaries and fandom.   This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialis...

Jessica, Amira and Lindsay start the show with musings on the NFL draft. Then they dive head first into new technologies in sport: from WTF are NFTs to wearable stat trackers from DarkHorse (maybe) closing recruitment gaps to Metrica Sports' making cutting edge analytics more accessible to women's sport. They wade through the tech gobbledygook to discuss the good, bad and confusing of these new te...

In this episode, Amira Rose Davis chats with Andrea Williams about her new book "Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues." They discuss Effa's powerful role as co-owner of the Newark Eagles, her foresight of the costs of desegregating baseball, her importance in contemporary conversations about Black institutions and why Andrea wrote this story for young adu...

In this episode Lindsay, Jessica and Brenda talk about feminism and climate activism in sport, thanks to a suggestion from flamethrower Dr. Maddy Orr. They discuss the ways mega events impact the planet, how climate change disproportionally effects marginalized communities in sport and what individual athletes and teams are doing to promote more sustainable leagues and events. They also burn the t...

This episode is all about the latest mayhem in European football. First, Shireen and Brenda discuss the everchanging hot scoop on the proposed Super League "debauc-ery" (that's debauchery + debacle). This update is followed by Shireen's interview with  Fadumo Olow, women's sport journalist for the Telegraph Fadumo Olow. They go in-depth on  Super League mess and the ways the women's clubs could be...

In this episode Shireen Ahmed, Jessica Luther and Brenda Elsey discuss the (longstanding) controversy around the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup including the ongoing inhumane working conditions and indentured servitude for migrant laborers building stadiums that have led to at least 6,500 deaths, the corruption of FIFA's host-country selection and the ways that European players are now voicing op...

In this Hot Take, Amira Rose Davis is joined by ESPN and SEC Network basketball analyst Andraya Carter. They discuss their 2021 WNBA draft predictions and the bright future of the league. 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...

In this episode, Brenda Elsey interviews Andrew Maraniss about his new book Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke. Burke was the first openly gay player in MLB, playing for the L.A. Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics in the 1970s. Brenda and Andrew discuss the histories of racism, the AIDS crisis and the incredible obstacles that Burke faced. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelb...

In this episode Amira Rose Davis, Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther talk all things uniforms, from design evolution to the politics behind those changes. You'll hear about the sports bra, basketball shorts, the sports hijab and more.   They also tease Brenda Elsey's interview with Andrew Maraniss on Glenn Burke, the first openly gay Major League Baseball player.   Then they burn all the wretchednes...

Lindsay talks with Athlete Ally's Joanna Hoffman and Anna Baeth about Athlete Ally's Athletic Equality Index, which is an ongoing assessment of NCAA athletic departments' policies and practices around LGBTQ inclusion. (https://www.athleteally.org/aei/) 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 p...

This week Jessica Luther interviews Dr. Cheryl Cooky about the 30 year study she helped run that looks at the quantity and quality of TV news and highlights for women’s sports. The latest iteration is titled "One and Done: The Long Eclipse of Women’s Televised Sports, 1989–2019. They discuss the abysmal and consistent lack of women’s sports coverage, the term “gender bland sexism” and if there is...

On this 200th birthday-anniversary episode, Brenda Elsey, Amira Rose Davis and Lindsay Gibbs talk about collegiate student-athletes' rights and the recent Supreme Court Case NCAA v. Alston.   They also burn all that needs to be burned in sports and celebrate those bringing positive change, including many deserving Torchbearers in women's college basketball. They wrap up with what's good in their l...

Amira talks with professional footballer and former US Women’s National Team player Meghan Klingenberg about re-inc, the lifestyle brand she founded with Christen Press, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe. They talk about athletes redefining businesses, making gender-neutral and body-inclusive fashion, and their newest collection, Gamer, which finds connections and empowerment between sports and gaming...

In this episode, Jess, Shireen and Brenda look at the beneficial role of sports — especially soccer/football — in the lives of refugees around the world.  This episode was produced by Ali Lemer. 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: www.burnit...

This week Brenda speaks with Columbia University history professor Dr. Frank Guridy on his new book, The Sports Revolution: How Texas Changed the Culture of American Athletics, which looks at the role that Texas business interests played in the hyper-commodification of sports in the second half of the 20th century. This episode was produced by Ali Lemer. Shelby Weldon is our social media and websi...

Lindsay, Amira and Jess discuss the ridiculously unequal treatment of women athletes in the NCAA's March Madness basketball tournament. This episode also amplifies the voices of Asian-American athletes speaking out against the racist violence directed at members of the AAPI community in Atlanta and beyond. #StopAsianHate If you'd like to help the AAPI community, please see the website of Red Canar...

Shireen speaks with renowned Sports Sociologist Dr. Courtney Szto and famed basketball writer Alex Wong about the effects of anti-Asian hate on  Asian athletes, on Asian communities, and on sports.   This episode was produced by Shireen Ahmed. 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 i...

Lindsay talks to ESPN's Sarah Spain about becoming the new co-owner of the Chicago Red Stars, what ownership meetings look like, how she plans to navigate any conflicts of interest with her role at ESPN, and the future of professional women's sports. This episode was produced by Ali Lemer. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast n...

This week, Shireen, Lindsay and Brenda take a look at the crossover between sports and popular music, including arena classics, workout jams, common influences and music as resistance. Check out the Spotify list of all the songs mentioned at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66eit0eQuD2qoxdSyVtLGN?si=hqVjQKTRTbOoIjc9ZMWeCA. Become a Patreon supporter to hear bonus content, including the vocal styl...

Jessica talks to Alana Bojar and Aliya Schenck, two track athletes from Washington University, about the open letter to the NCAA they’ve written demanding that the NCAA speaks out against anti-transgender legislation. This episode was produced by Ali Lemer. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, transcrip...

Jessica interviews bobsledding legend Kaillie Humphries about her career, training and competing in the time of COVID, and the fallout from her reporting emotional and mental abuse by her former head coach when she was on Team Canada. 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. Fo...

Amira Rose Davis is joined by Shireen Ahmed and Jessica Luther to talk about the reoccurring awful issues in college sports: sexual harassment and racism. They discuss some of Jessica's reporting about LSU and Les Miles, Creighton basketball coach Greg McDermott's racist locker room speech, and the ways wealthy alumni at the University of Texas and Ole Miss keep sexist and racist traditions alive....