S7 Ep. 25: Ivy Pochoda on Iowa Basketball Star Caitlin Clark and Women Athletes in Popular Culture

Following a record-smashing performance by University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark, now the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball, novelist and former professional squash player Ivy Pochoda joins host V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about portrayals of women athletes in media, literature, and film. Pochoda considers the gender binary that continues to divide most sports and how athletes from Serena Williams to Lynette Woodard to Clark have been treated differently due to systemic bias. She discusses the lack of adult literary fiction featuring women athletes, as well as her new favorite novel in this category, the Booker-nominated Western Lane. Pochoda also reflects on how her athletic training helps her as a writer and reads an excerpt from a middle grade fantasy book she wrote with Kobe Bryant, Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof, in which sports play a central role. 

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Ivy Pochoda

Sing Her Down

These Women

Wonder Valley

Visitation Street

Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof (with Kobe Bryant)

Others:

“Caitlin Clark's record-setting night fuels No. 6 Iowa in 108-60 win at Minnesota,” by Marielle Mohs |CBS News

“Fox Sports to Feature Caitlin Clark Solo Camera on Tiktok for Iowa-Maryland Game,” by Tim Capurso | Sports Illustrated

“We did not help build women’s tennis for it to be exploited by Saudi Arabia,” by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova |The Washington Post

“Caitlin Clark passes Lynette Woodard for major-college record,” by Michael Voepel | ESPN

Nyad |Official Trailer

A League of Their Own | Official Trailer

“‘Western Lane’ Finds Solace From Grief on the Squash Court,” by Ivy Pochoda |The New York Times

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

"In This Satire, Televised Blood Baths Offer Prisoners a Path to Freedom|You can’t applaud Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s thrilling debut novel, 'Chain-Gang All-Stars,' without getting blood on your hands." by Giri Nathan, April 28, 2023 | The New York Times

Borg vs. McEnroe | Official Trailer

"R. R. Knudson, a Writer Whose Subject Was Sports, Dies at 75," by Dennis Hevesi, May 10, 2008 | The New York Times

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson White

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