Dr. Stacy Sims is an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who has spent her career closing the gender data gap in sport.

Sims is building a large language model trained on female physiology and vetted by academic researchers, and she makes the case for what changes when the science finally includes her, down to the 13-year-old girl still coached like a young boy. Recorded with Karina LeBlanc at The Epicenter: Women's Global Sports Summit presented by Nike, held at Nike’s headquarters during Epicenter Week.

For female athletes and non-athletes alike, this episode will open your eyes to how much of what you have been told about your body was never studied on it, and what is being built in its place.

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Tobin Heath signed a one-day contract to officially retire as a Portland Thorn, and more than 22,000 fans filled Providence Park to send her off, the biggest Thorns crowd since 2024. The morning after, she sat down with Karina LeBlanc, her teammate from that first 2013 season, for a conversation about Portland, what they built here, and the ending she never got to have.

Tobin talks about landing in Portland almost by accident, listing it low on her allocation preferences because everyone else wanted it, and walking out for that first game to chants written specifically for her. She breaks down the ingredients she believes this city has that you cannot copy and paste: community, inclusion, craftsmanship, and pride in what is made here.

She talks about the freedom to entertain, the tension between the art and science of winning, and what made playing in front of Portland fans different from anywhere else.

The conversation also includes a surprise appearance from Christen Press, who joins to reflect on the retirement ceremony, what the moment meant, and Tobin’s legacy.

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Recorded live at The Epicenter: Women's Global Sports Summit presented by Nike, Karina LeBlanc brings four athletes to the stage who are the proof point of what investing in women's sports gives back: Hall of Famer and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley, Paralympian and seven-time U.S. champion Scout Bassett, Portland Fire forward Bridget Carleton, and Portland Thorns and Olympic gold medalist Sophia Wilson.

Dawn talks about what it means to be a servant to the game, the Nike court in her North Philly neighborhood that is still changing lives decades later, and why women in sports carry a different value system into every negotiation. She makes the case for asking, for fighting for her whole staff, and for what she would do with a seat at the ownership table. Bridget shares how the small things build a culture people want to be part of, and what she wants Portland to remember about year one of the Fire. Sophia opens up about her favorite version of herself, the one walking into the performance center with her daughter Gigi, and seven years of playing in front of the best fans in the league.

Scout tells her story of being born in Nanjing, spending nearly eight years in a government orphanage, and finding sport as an anchor in a small Michigan town. She shares what a first sponsorship from Nike meant when she was sleeping on a friend's couch, and why the road to the LA Paralympic Games depends on including athletes with disabilities in how we design, fund, and fill our sports. Together the panel leaves the room with a call to action, and a line from Dawn worth carrying out the door: treat people good and they treat you better.

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Portland Fire standouts Sarah Ashlee Barker and Megan DiLeo sit down with host Karina LeBlanc for a raw, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud conversation about faith, family, and the ultimate power of joy. Both are playing the best basketball of their careers, and it comes through in how they talk about the game, their teammates, and what drives them beyond the court.

SAB and Megan open up about what grounds them: a next-play mentality, an identity rooted in more than performance, and a genuine care for each other that shows up every possession. SAB shares how a knee injury at 13 shaped who she is today, and Megan talks about getting back to her roots as a post player and earning the trust to make the game-winning stop in last year's Finals with Vegas. They dig into Alex Sarama's constraints-led approach and what it means to get comfortable being uncomfortable, the culture Bridget Carlton sets from the top, and why this team plays with no egos and shares the ball like few others in the league.

The conversation opens up to the bigger moment women's sports is living in right now: sold-out arenas, the first performance center built for women, and what it means for the next generation of little girls to grow up thinking all of this is normal. Plus a rapid-fire round, the story behind Megan's dog Pancake, and a whole lot of joy.

Follow these women, support women's sports, and remember: the best is yet to come.

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Fresh off their wedding, Portland Fire forward Megan DiLeo (formerly Megan Gustafson) and her husband, professional basketball player David DiLeo, join Karina for their first interview as newlyweds. With teammate Sarah Ashlee Barker joining Karina, they talk about what it will be like hearing "Megan DiLeo" announced for the first time at Moda Center, the Iowa summer league that first connected their families, how the proposal went down, and life after saying "I do."

Stay tuned for Part 2, where Karina sits down with Sarah Ashlee Barker and Megan DiLeo to talk about playing for the Portland Fire, team leadership, and the lessons they've learned through the first half of the season.

Editor's note: This conversation was recorded before Sarah Ashlee Barker's injury. Everyone at Epicenter of Women's Sports is wishing Sarah Ashlee a successful recovery, and looking forward to more of these authentic moments with her.

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Reilyn Turner has wanted to play professional soccer since she was two years old. In January, the dream came true: a first USWNT cap and a goal to open the scoring, with family in the stands in Southern California. The road to that moment runs through Portland.

In this episode, Karina and Reilyn look back on what brought her to the Portland Thorns: a rookie year in Louisville, a contract extension, her first home, and the rose that waits every time she scores at Providence Park. Behind all of it are her mom and grandma, both single moms, whose work ethic shaped her. Reilyn talks about chasing the standard of the national team, what representation means to her, the header game she wants to be remembered for, and why having fun has carried her further than anything else.

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Lauren Cheney Holiday and Jrue Holiday are college sweethearts who became two of the most decorated athletes of their generation — she as an NWSL founding player, World Cup scorer, and two-time Olympic gold medalist; he as a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Long before women's sports was a proven investment, Jrue was freezing in the stands at Harvard Stadium watching Lauren play for a league that wasn't guaranteed to survive. During the NBA's COVID bubble season, the two of them pledged Jrue's remaining salary to Black-owned businesses, nonprofits, and initiatives.

In this conversation with Karina, they talk about how athletes carry a competitive edge that belongs in every boardroom and why Lauren believes women's sports has borrowed too much from the men's game. They also make the case for athletes in ownership as the bridge between what owners need and what players need — and Jrue argues that watching women's sports made him a better professional.

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KeyBank Market President Josh Lyons has a north star for his eight-year-old daughter: whether she ends up in a boardroom, at a gala in a ballroom, or chasing a pro contract on the pitch, she should never doubt she earned her way there.

That's the thinking behind KeyBank's new five-year deal with the Portland Thorns, a tripling of their previous commitment and the single largest investment in women's sports KeyBank has ever made. Karina sits down with Josh and Thorns forward Morgan Weaver to talk through what the partnership supports. This includes financial education for players, free Thorns Academy access for kids whose families can't afford club soccer, nonprofits hosted in the suite every home match, and a senior signing day for the next generation of girls coming up behind Morgan.

Morgan opens up about the two injuries that nearly made her quit and the trip to San Diego with the Academy girls that pulled her back. Josh shares insights about why 93% of women in C-suites played sports, and what that statistic means for how KeyBank shows up at Providence Park.

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For Epicenter's first-ever live taping, recorded on the concourse at Moda Center before a Portland Fire home game, Karina sits down with four of the women who built the original Portland Fire.

The night's theme was Legacy Reignited. Twenty-three years after the original Fire played its last game, Jackie Stiles, Sophia Witherspoon, Sylvia Crawley, and head coach Linda Hargrove came back to talk about what it took to play in the WNBA before the league had investment, attention, or resources, and what it means to see this franchise come back to life. A handful of former Fire players join the stage to speak to the moment.

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The conversation continues. After sitting down with Reilyn Turner, Megan Gustafson and Karlie Samuelson for a Mother's Day special, host Karina LeBlanc returns with the second half of the conversation — this time about who they are as athletes, the journeys that brought them here, and what it means to play in the epicenter of women's sports.

The trio reflects on what they're learning and unlearning at this stage of their careers, from comebacks and overseas chapters to growing into vet roles on new teams. They open up about the rivalry with Seattle, the first-ever dual-sport performance center built for women, and the responsibility of setting a new standard — one they hope cities across the country will follow.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.