Keep the Flame Alive

We had Independence Day here in the U.S. this week, so we've put together a series of lightning rounds for your enjoyment. If there's time at the end of our interviews, we ask our guests five questions--and they're pretty similar--in a lightning round format. Because it's us though, it's never so lightning fast. That's what makes them interesting though! That said, we're joined by anti-corruption...

So much has been happening in the world of the Olympics that this week we're catching up on all of the news. We start with the continued saga of boxing and the International Boxing Association (IBA) vs. the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  We then take a look at the IOC's eSports Week, which was held in Singapore on June 22-25. Will eSports be a bigger part of the IOC's plan to reach youth?...

This week we're going back to the Munich 1972 Olympics and the massacre that happened there. Author Warren Perrin knew David Berger, the Israeli weightlifter, and he recently wrote a book called The Weight of History, the Power of Apology: Remembering Lifter David Berger 50 Years after the Munich Olympics to memorialize his friend and reflect on what it means to receive an apology for a devastatin...

We're excited to have Craig Spence, chief brand and communication officer of the International Paralympic Committee, back on the show with us. In part 2 of his interview, we learn the latest on the situation with Russia and Belarus, and we also learn what keeps Craig up at night (sadly, it might be us at the moment). Craig's a great follow on social! Find him on Twitter , Insta and LinkedIn . WARN...

Book Club Claire is back to discuss a memoir we've been excited to read: The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph (affiliate link) by Oksana Masters, a 6x Paralympian who is one of the major faces of Team USA. Will this book live up to our expectations? Don't forget to follow Claire on Twitter ! She's a great follow! In our Seoul 1988 History Moment, Jill has part 2 of her sailing stories....

Craig Spence, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at International Paralympic Committee, joins us to discuss the IPC's new strategic plan--or at least some of it. Plus, we get into how the IPC is different from the International Olympic Committee, what goes into revamping the classification system and the making of the We the 15 campaign. Follow Craig on Twitter , LinkedIn and Instagram .  In o...

We're getting ready for summer movie season! Film Buff Fran joins us to talk about "Zero to Hero," the 2021 Hong Kong biopic of So Wa Wai , Hong Kong's first Paralympian to win the gold medal. Our next movie will be "A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story," which you can watch for free on Crackle and Plex . Will this be a made-for-TV movie that's so bad, it's good? For a transcript of this episode...

On the whole, women's sports have been downplayed throughout history, and even in ancient times, some societies didn't want women to compete. Was it just because of the "falling uterus" theory? We talk with author Alexandra Allred about her book When Women Stood: The Untold History of Females Who Changed Sports and the World and the audacious women who dared to compete. In our history moment, we l...

t's always great when we can take someone off our never-ending list of people we'd love to talk to. It's even better when we manage to do the interview without completely fangirling. This week we talk with wheelchair rugby legend Chuck Aoki. Chuck has been to three Paralympics--London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020. He's racked up hardware at all three, with a bronze and two silvers respectively....

On this episode of the show we get to take someone off the list! We're so excited to have the opportunity to talk sitting volleyball with five-time Paralympian Lora Webster. With Team USA, she has won a bronze, 2 silvers, and gold in Rio and Tokyo. She is also a mom of 4 and became a big story in Tokyo because she was competing while 5 months pregnant. We talked with Lora about how sitting volleyb...

e're thrilled to have Olly Hogben, Olympic Broadcasting Service commentator, back on the show this week! We talk about his experiences commentating at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022, and what makes the Olympics so special. Olly's a great follow on social media! Check him out on Twitter and Insta , and you can learn more about him at his website . Since we're talking broadcasting, Alison too...

Pole vault is an athletics discipline that we have really had questions about, so we're thrilled that Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist Katie Nageotte--now Katie Moon--could join us to talk about her sport. We talked with Katie about poles (ever wonder how much a pole vault pole costs? Try seven of them), spikes, and what it feels like if a pole snaps while you're mid-vault. Follow Katie on TikTok...

We love it when a TKFLASTANI comes back to visit--and it's even better when they bring someone along! We're excited to have Paralympian Ness Murby back on the the show. You may remember Ness' first visit, soon after he came out as transmasculine . Two-plus years later, he's fulfilled his dream of being a husband and father--and now he's trying to become the first openly out transgender Paralympian...

We've got spring fever this week, which means it's a great time for a Lightning Round episode! This time we're gymnastics-forward, so put your hair in a scrunchie and get ready for some Olympic-level insight from The Magnificent Seven creators Gordon Leary and Julia Meinwald, gymnastics choreographer Nicole Langevin, and athletic trainer Wayne Lamarre. If you ever wondered what KT tape is good for...

During Tokyo 2020 coverage, Olly Hogben became one of our favorite OBS commentators, so we're thrilled to have him on this week. Olly talks with us about how he switched careers from teaching to commentating, how to work with a co-commentator, and what being at an event in person does to enhance the viewer experience. Plus, we have big announcement about Paris 2024! Olly's a great follow on social...

We're headed to the boccia court this week to learn more about the sport from 2x Paralympian Alison Levine. Alison competes for Team Canada in the BC4 category in both individual and pairs competitions. We talk about how the sport works, plus, a healthy dose of ball talk!   Follow Alison on Twitter and Insta , and check out her website .   In our history moment this week, Jill looks at the goalbal...

We are thrilled to talk para archery with three-time Paralympian Matt Stutzman. Matt, who is also known as the Armless Archer, won a silver at London 2012, was 4th at Rio and placed 9th at Tokyo. He has also competed and medaled at multiple world championships. We talked with him about how the sport works, what strategies competitors use and the advice Olympian Michael Johnson gave him. Follow Mat...

It's Women's History Month, so it's only appropriate that our first book club selection of 2023 celebrates female athletes. Book Club Claire is back to discuss Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women's Olympic Basketball Team by Andrew Maraniss. We're having a free virtual Q&A with Andrew on Monday, March 27 at 9pm US Eastern Time. If you'd like to join us, please email flamealivep...

It's two interviews for the price of one! On this episode, middle-distance running coach and in-stadium announcer Geoff Wightman joins us to talk about how to run a 1500m, as well as what it's like to keep a crowd entertained during an athletics competition. You can follow him on Insta and Twitter . Geoff also has a series of e-books on Amazon that tell about his life and stories in sport. In our...

We love learning about the people behind the scenes who help expand the visibility of the Paralympics. On this episode we're talking with Alexis Schaefer, the former Commercial and Marketing Director of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Alexis talks with us about marketing the Paralympics, attracting major sponsors, and broadcasting the Games. More importantly, we've got feed beefs exp...

It's always fun talking with people about the Olympics and Paralympics. In this episode, we bring one of those conversations to you! We sit down with Ben Waterworth and Colin Hilding, two of the three hosts of Off the Podium, an Olympics podcast from an Australian and Canadian perspective. Learn about the moments that sucked us into the excitement of the Olympics and find out about some key Olympi...

We joke about people peddling steaks and watches as influence, but megasporting events do have some very public issues with corruption. Could the International Olympic Committee create reform when it comes to anti-corruption and human rights? Law professor Andy Spalding, head of the independent group Olympics Compliance Task Force joins us to talk about the work his group is doing to develop a new...

Film Buff Fran is back to discuss  "Jappeloup" -- how do the French do with sports biopics?  In our Seoul 1988 history moment, we stay in the world of equestrian. Jill looks at the dressage competition and the emergence of Nicole Uphoff and her horse Rembrandt. We travel to TKFLASTAN to get some news from: Shooter Tim Sherry Wheelchair curler Steve Emt Short track speed skater Ryan Shane Beach vol...

This week we've got part two of our conversation with Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee. Dick worked on the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency, so we start today's conversation with one of our favorite topics, doping. Then we get into Dick's work with broadcast rights negotiation, as well as the Winter 2030 bid and legacy. In our Seoul history mom...

We are so excited to have Dick Pound on today's episode. Dick is one of the most influential people in the Olympic Movement. This is the first part of our interview with Dick, in which we talk about his Olympic experiences and some details about his involvement with the Olympic Movement. We also have an announcement about a SPECIAL EVENT that's coming up in March! In our look at Seoul, Jill delves...