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sportsintersections · 4 years

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13 Podcasts about Sports & Intersectionality Every Athlete and Sports Fan Should Listen To

These podcast episodes range from short, ten-minute segments to hour-long deep dives, but what they have in common is that all of them explore an issue and how it intersects with sports in an interesting and thought-provoking way.

Trigger warnings listed at the end of episode descriptions (but please let me know if I missed anything).

That’s What She Said with Sarah Spain, “Sexism in Sports”

Sarah Spain talks to all kinds of guests on her show, many of them athletes, but I particularly recommend her episode “Sexism in Sports”, where she talks to women about sexism they’ve faced in sports. TW: discussion of sexual harassment.

TED Radio Hour, “Pat Ferrucci: How Does the Language of Sports Journalism Reveal Racial Biases?”

In his TED talk, journalism professor Pat Ferrucci talks about how, even though sports is supposed to be “the great equalizer,” the language used by sports journalists reveals their prejudice and makes it harder for athletes of color to succeed.

Radiolab, “Gonads, Dutee”

This fascinating episode features an interview with Dutee Chand, a world-class runner from India who was disqualified for failing a “gender test,” and also delves into the history of female athletes at the Olympics and the problems with various tests for “gender.” TW: description of invasive tests by doctors, discussion of misgendering of women athletes, and discussions that assume that “biological” (assigned at birth) sex and gender are the same thing.

The Outside Podcast, “XX Factor: How the Sports Bra Changed History”

The Outside Podcast has many interesting episodes, but a personal (surprising) favorite is one about “how the sports bra changed history.” You may have not given much thought to the sports bra, but its invention was actually a huge deal, completely revolutionizing women’s participation in sports!

The Takeaway, on Trans High School Athletes

This segment for WNYC’s “The Takeaway” explores the obstacles that trans teens face in high school sports. Although it’s only about 10 minutes long, it does a great job examining the issues involved, and the ESPN reporter who the host talks to, Katie Barnes, is non-binary, and has written about trans athletes for ESPN. TW: discussions of transphobia.

The Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin, “Maya Moore Talks Mass Incarceration”

This podcast, by The Nation magazine, focuses on “where sports and politics collide.” Almost any episode from this podcast would be applicable to this blog, but I especially recommend “Maya Moore Talks Mass Incarceration,” in which the WNBA star talks about her inspiring work to raise awareness about prosecutorial misconduct and other issues in the justice system.

Disabled Sports USA’s Challenge Extended, “Paralympian Tricia Downing”

Challenge Extended is another podcast where every episode is great and relevant to this list! One that I especially enjoyed is this interview with Tricia Downing, who was the first female paraplegic competitor in an Ironman triathlon, has completed over 100 races, and is also a disability rights advocate.

NPR Weekend Edition, “Olympic Runner Who Once Competed Against Caster Semenya Weighs In On Testosterone Ruling”

In this short segment, Madeleine Pape, a former Olympic runner who once competed against Caster Semenya, talks about why the exclusion of female athletes with high levels of testosterone is unfair, and how homophobia, racism, sexism, and other issues play into these discussions.

Code Switch, “A Thousand Ways to Kneel and Kiss the Ground”

This episode of Code Switch, a podcast hosted by journalists of color that features all kinds of conversations about race, reports on the 2018 NFL policy to punish players who kneel during the national anthem, looking back on how this fits into the history of sports and black political protest.

Let’s Talk About It, “Sport”

The very first episode of Irwin Mitchell’s podcast Let’s Talk About It, which discusses what it’s really like living with a disability, is all about sports. The host talks to wheelchair tennis star Alfie Hewett, Paralympic gold medalist Hannah Cockroft, and “amateur action man” Ed Buckley, who recovered from a serious brain injury. Note that Irwin Mitchell is a for-profit business, and this is part of their “campaign to get more people into disability sport,” some aspects of which tend towards what disability activists sometimes call “inspiration porn.” However, I think this particular podcast episode is great, and it focuses on #ownvoices representation.

Only A Game from NPR, “[…] U.S. Gymnast Speaks Out […]”

Only A Game is a sports news and issues podcast that tackles multiple topics each episode, so it’s hard to point to a specific one that’s most relevant, but check out this recent episode and skip to minute 20:32 to hear a heartbreaking and essential conversation with gymnastics star Jennifer Sey about abuses in the sport. She also has a book, Chalked Up, about her experiences. TW: discussion of emotional/verbal abuse (including body shaming & restrictive diets and resulting in injury & suicidal ideation) & sexual abuse.

Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy, “Inside the US Soccer Equal Pay Fight”

Soccer-star-turned-commentator Julie Foudy hosts Laughter Permitted, an interview podcast where she has intimate and funny conversations with other female athletes. This fantastic episode breaks that mold and has Foudy speak candidly about the US Women’s National Team’s fight for equal pay and how the US Soccer Federation’s defense against the suit relies on sexism.

Champions of Change: The RISE podcast, “Celebrating PRIDE Month: Track & Field athlete Nika Ouellette”

Pretty much any episode of this podcast, which discusses issues of race, social justice, and community-building in sports, would be relevant here, but a personal favorite of mine is one from June 2019 with out lesbian javelin thrower Nika Ouellette, who’s an ambassador for Athlete Ally, an organization that champions LGBTQ+ equality in sports. She talks about diversity and intersectionality in sports and the role that the athletic community should play in encouraging inclusivity for LGBTQ+ athletes.

[The rights for all the logos in this post are reserved by their respective podcasts.]

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