Five years ago, Americans woke up on March 11 2020 in one reality and, by the time they went to sleep that night, they were living with a new one. Hear the story of the day everything changed — the day the NBA shut down and the pandemic became real — as told by those who lived it.

This episode originally aired December 21, 2020.

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Race Day arrives. Nicole travels to Big Hill Lake, Kansas to compete in a 50-mile race against horses. All the training, medications, and strife have built up to this moment.

The trail opens and Nicole begins the race of a lifetime. But can she beat even one horse?

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In order to run a 50-mile race against a horse, Nicole must first figure out how to safely train by herself and how to run next to horses.

Her epilepsy makes this challenging. Some days are good and some days are bad. So Nicole does what most athletes do when they hit a low: she gets a trainer.

Enter Coach Sarah Scozzaro. 

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With her epilepsy somewhat under control, Nicole sets her sights on racing a horse. She begins by exploring a theory known as “The Endurance Running Hypothesis.”

To understand how this theory works, Nicole explores the long history of humans outracing four-legged animals, like persistence hunters that track and chase kudus in Namibia.

Then she travels to Arizona to witness the human vs. horse races of today: meeting horse riders and ultramarathoners who compete alongside each other in impressive, 50-mile runs. 

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Meet Nicole Teeny, a long-distance runner with a wild dream: to outrun a horse. It all started with a book, Born to Run, a theory, and an epilepsy diagnosis.

After experiencing several life-altering seizures, Nicole must come to grips with a new normal and a new body.

In this reality, the seizures begin to take on a greater significance, like raging animals—horses—inside her mind.

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Runner Nicole Teeny wants to do something possibly absurd: race an ultramarathon against a horse. It all started with a theory and a diagnosis.

In GIRL v. HORSE, a four-part podcast from 30 for 30 Podcasts, Teeny comes to terms with being diagnosed with epilepsy, and hating the loss of control, decides to push her body to the limit. 

In the process, she investigates how evolution drove humans to become runners—and what horses have to do with it—all while training to beat a steed and settle the battle between mind versus body and girl versus horse.

Who will win? 

Coming September 24th on your favorite podcast player.

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As WWI rages, Hobey arrives in France to prepare for aerial combat. He embraces being a fighter pilot, finding the adrenaline-fueled commonality between war and sports.

While in Europe, Hobey exchanges dozens of affectionate and loving letters with Percy Pyne. And during his off-duty forays into Paris, Hobey experiences the city’s lively cultural scene – including a reignited friendship with famed songwriter Cole Porter.

After proving his combat valor in the air, Hobey – now a captain - receives his orders to return home, but he insists on taking one last flight. It would turn out to be his last one.

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His Princeton glory days behind him, Hobey moves to New York and begins a job at JP Morgan Bank. A member of what would be called the Lost Generation, Hobey misses the adrenaline rush of his college sports stardom and becomes despondent.

But he soon finds himself in the social circles of the flamboyant and extremely wealthy Percy Rivington Pyne 2nd, who invites Hobey to live with him in his Gilded Age Manhattan mansion.

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After Hobey Baker makes his triumphant Princeton hockey debut against Williams, we travel back to his early days attending St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire. He develops a reputation as both an athletic phenom and a kind, generous sportsman.

After the economic crash of 1907, his father struggles to send him to college at Princeton where he becomes a two-sport star in football and hockey.

After graduation, Hobey embarks on a summer motorcycle trip around Europe – a grand experience interrupted by the ominous clouds of conflict circling the continent.

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Every hockey fan knows the name Hobey Baker - collegiate hockey’s most prestigious trophy is named after him - but very few know the real story of this all-time great athlete. Using an archive of personal letters and source materials provided by the Mudd Library at Princeton University, as well as original research, the series charts Hobey’s glory days as the best collegiate hockey and football player in the nation, his post-grad ennui in Gilded Age New York City, and his exploits as a WWI fighter pilot, which ended tragically in a mysterious crash in 1918. Beyond Hobey’s adventures on the ice and in the air, this podcast also re-contextualizes the hockey legend through the lens of his lesser known struggles as a queer man in the early 20th century.

Listen to the three-part series wherever you get your podcasts June 12th.

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