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 World Series Champs. Following this discussion is a preview of Brenda's interview with Dr. Jennifer...
Oct 26, 2021•46 min
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 Austin, Texas. Visit wseries.com to find out how to watch. This episode was produced by Tressa Vers...
Oct 21, 2021•20 min
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 unable to add teams in recent years despite the remarkable talent. Following this discussion, there i...
Oct 19, 2021•47 min
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. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podca...
Oct 14, 2021•26 min
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 interview with Jashvina Shah and Evan Moore about their book, "Game Misconduct: Hockey's Toxic Cultu...
Oct 12, 2021•38 min
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 was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It ...
Oct 07, 2021•48 min
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's college volleyball, men's college football, global football/soccer, hockey, baseball and the WNBA...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 1 min
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 Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, transcripts, and more info about BIAD...
Oct 04, 2021•29 min
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 the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, transcripts, and more info about BIAD, check out our we...
Oct 01, 2021•22 min
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 our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network....
Sep 30, 2021•25 min
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 with softball legend Cat Osterman. Then, they burn the worst of sports this week on the Burn Pile. Ne...
Sep 28, 2021•53 min
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 movements. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website spec...
Sep 27, 2021•50 min
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 celebrity and cultural capital, and the joy -- and pains -- of coaching your kid’s sports teams. This epis...
Sep 23, 2021•38 min
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 to wear athleisure and how these apparel companies still have a long way to go in providing safe an...
Sep 21, 2021•54 min
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 and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, tra...
Sep 16, 2021•38 min
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. Following this discussion is Thursday's interview preview of Lindsay's talk with Courtney Stith and André...
Sep 14, 2021•53 min
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 weeks, with the help of Human Rights for All in Australia. This episode was produced by Tressa Vers...
Sep 09, 2021•31 min
**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 professional leagues and individual organizations to address DVSA reports, which has oftentimes prote...
Sep 07, 2021•57 min
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 and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network. For show notes, tra...
Sep 02, 2021•31 min
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 Games wrap up on September 5. Be sure to checkout Kelly's podcast Inside ParaSport, which she co-ho...
Sep 01, 2021•23 min
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 slow and difficult. You'll also hear from African football scholar Gerard Akindes. Following this disc...
Aug 31, 2021•51 min
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. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podc...
Aug 26, 2021•32 min
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 compete in a specific sport based on their ability, impairment and/or disability. Listen to the...
Aug 25, 2021•18 min
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 also hear from disability activist Katelyn Steele and 2x gold medal Paralympic swimmer Kelly Crowley....
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 4 min
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 Last In Gym Class. They discuss their athletic journeys, disability in sports and impact of COVID-19. F...
Aug 23, 2021•53 min
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 2020/21 Olympics. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and...
Aug 19, 2021•37 min
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 discuss player unions and labor organizing, how loyalty between an athlete and a team is not a two-way st...
Aug 17, 2021•52 min
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 Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part...
Aug 12, 2021•32 min
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 garbage in sports this week on the Burn Pile. Then they celebrate those shining light and changing spor...
Aug 10, 2021•58 min
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 Diaspora United women's football/soccer podcast. They discuss the ways the Diaspora is on display at the Ol...
Aug 05, 2021•48 min
