We're exploring the worlds of Olympic and Paralympic ice hockey this week! First, the women's Rivalry Series between Team USA and Team Canada came through Cleveland. Jill got to attend a practice and the game. Along the way, she interviewed goalie Ava Mc Naughton and defensive player Rory Guilday.

Next we have para ice hockey interviews from the Team USA Media Summit, where Alison talked with two-time Paralympic defenseman Jack Wallace, and then we both chatted with three-time Paralympian Declan Farmer and one-time Paralympian Malik Jones.

Plus so much news from Milano Cortina 2026 (kits! torch relay!), LA 2028 (competition schedules!) and Team Keep the Flame Alive.

Follow our athletes on social:

• Ava McNaughton
• Rory Guilday
• Jack Wallace
• Declan Farmer
• Malik Jones

We want to know if you are a Milano or a Cortina! Let us know by helping us raise funds to cover the production costs of our Milano Cortina 2026 coverage, which includes at least 32 daily episodes (and probably 100+ escapades that only your favorite Olympic and Paralympic aunties can get into). We need your support to make this coverage happen. Please make a contribution here: https://flamealivepod.com/milano-cortina-fundraiser/

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Rivalry Series: https://teamusa.usahockey.com/202526rivalryseries
• Canadian 2026 Kit: https://olympic.ca/2025/11/18/born-to-explore-team-canada-x-lululemon-reveal-milano-cortina-2026-athlete-kit/
• Australian 2026 Kit: https://www.olympics.com.au/news/australian-winter-olympic-team-uniform-revealed/
• Milano Cortina 2026 Volunteer Kit: https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/press-kits/press-kit-volunteers-and-workforce-uniforms-unveiling
• Closing Ceremony stage: https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/press-kits/press-kit-olympic-closing-ceremony
• Milano Cortina 2026 Torch Relay website: https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/olympic-torch-relay
• 2026 Olympics app: https://olympics.app.link/JxbKUIhFxRb
• LA 2028 volunteer program: https://la28.org/en/volunteer.html
• LA 2027 competition schedules: https://la28.org/en/games-plan.html#competition-schedule
• "Kickin' it with Kenny": https://youtu.be/biRAFXJk4Qk?si=iv6c6_8rVXK760te

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

Photos: Jill Jaracz, Alison Brown

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

In our penultimate episode of our Sydney 2000 Games history series, Jill takes a look at the Olympic rowing competition, specifically the women's coxless pairs race, which featured Missy Schwen-Ryan and Karen Kraft from the USA racing for the gold that eluded them at Atlanta 1996, even though Schwen-Ryan was missing something.

Watch that race here: https://youtu.be/xYPyReaxjyY?si=-jCqJHlMQJUw60sL

Then Alison tries to decipher the fever dream that was the Olympics Closing Ceremony, which you can watch in its full glory here: https://youtu.be/TlOTGzPZvfw?si=FuaWrkkvGG5UwLqQ

***Much like the American coxless pairs team, we're also bootstrapping our way to the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Help us get to Milano Cortina so that we can bring you 32 days of daily episodes that will tell you what it's really like at the Games. Tell us whether you're a Milano or a Cortina here: https://flamealivepod.com/milano-cortina-fundraiser/

For a complete list of sources used in this episode, visit: https://tinyurl.com/sydney2000sources.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

Introducing your favorite Olympic Aunties Jill Jaracz and Alison Brown! If you're obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics or just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work, you've found your people. Join us each week--and daily during the Games--for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes, coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. This is why you watch the Games!

We are sliding down the luge track in this episode, interviewing three women from Team USA's luge team, who are vying to compete at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.

First up, singles luger and 2022 Olympian Ashley Farquharson returns to the podcast to explain some of the technical details--and physics--of the sport.

Then we talk with women's doubles lugers Sophia Kirkby and Chevonne Forgan. Women's doubles is a new Olympic event, so the pair discuss how this event works. They were also part of the athlete testing group for the new sliding track in Cortina, so they share some insight on how it rides and what we can look for when we watch it.

Follow these athletes on social! On Insta, Ashley is @far.quhar.son, Chevonne is @chev.forg and Sophia is @sophia.kirkby. Sophia is also on Tiktok: @sophiakirkby.

We also have the latest news from Milano Cortina 2026, including a pause on ticket sales and Omega's hospitality house. Team GB and Team France have unveiled their kit, and, in a first, Team USA's medical staff also has its own kit sponsor! Also, if you're in the Salt Lake City area during the Games, the city is hosting a massive watch party. And the CBC has announced its broadcasting team for the Olympics.

In LA 2028 news, the Ceremonies' creative team has been announced. What does this mean for the viewing experience?

And Team Keep the Flame Alive has been busy! Hear what's new with:

• Our saber and foil fencers
• Speed skater Erin Jackson
• Pole vaulter Katie Moon and Para sprinter Jaydin Blackwell - vote for them for USATF's Athlete of the Year! Voting is open until November 10, 2025.
• Former hurdler Dawn Harper-Nelson

***KEEP OUR FLAME ALIVE:*** Support our fundraiser to bring you the most fun coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics from Milano Cortina 2026. Learn more and give here: https://flamealivepod.com/milano-cortina-fundraiser/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Like this episode? Have thoughts on the show? Comment/write us a review, and you may be our review of the week!

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

It's 100 days to go until the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics! We have all the latest on these Games from the Team USA Media Summit in New York City (aka our test event) including podiums, more torchbearers, and a new Team USA plane. We also talked with Peacock reps to find out what the viewing experience will be like this time around--will the feed beef cease to exist in 2026?

We want to know if you are a Milano or a Cortina! Let us know by helping us raise funds to cover the production costs of our Milano Cortina 2026 coverage, which includes at least 32 daily episodes (and probably 100+ escapades that only your favorite Olympic and Paralympic aunties can get into). We need your support to make this coverage happen. Please make a contribution here: https://flamealivepod.com/milano-cortina-fundraiser/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Like this episode? Have thoughts on the show? Comment/write us a review, and you may be our review of the week!

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

Paddler Dame Lisa Carrington, New Zealand's most decorated Olympian, joins us to talk about kayaking and how the sport varies from solo races to doubles and fours. We also discuss her children's book "Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion" and her new partnership with Zespri kiwifruit. What's Dame Carrington's favorite kiwi? Kiwi vs. feijoa? Where are her silver ferns? We've got answers!

Follow Dame Carrrington on Insta and Facebook: @liscarrington and check out her website!

Milano Cortina 2026 has announced its Olympic Opening Cermony theme and details around the event, which might be more complicated than Paris 2024's spectacle along the Seine. With four locations, a lot could happen, but it means more athletes will be able to take part in the Parade of Nations.

Also, NBC adds to its primetime commentator lineup, Ester Ledecka makes a decision, and the International Ski & Snowboard federation makes a decision about whether Russian and Belarussian skiers can compete as neutrals.

Plus, we thought that all of the construction for Milano Cortina 2026 was under control, but there's one project that is way behind schedule. We have a new novela--and the dramatic details!

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

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We are excited to talk with Doug Levy, author of the book Hero Redefined: Profiles of Olympic Athletes Under the Radar. The book contains amazing stories you may not have known – or athletes who for some reason or another, made our collective conscious for a Games and then fell off the radar. We talk with Doug about some of those stories.

Learn more about Doug and the book at his website, and follow him on:

• Insta: @doug.levy.author
• Facebook: Doug Levy Author
• LinkedIn: Douglas Levy

Plus, news from Milano Cortina 2026, LA 2028, the International Olympic Committee and Team Keep the Flame Alive.

Also, Super Fan Sarah joins us to review the new exhibit Game Changer: United by Sport at the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

Note: Links to products may be affiliate links. We earn commissions through purchases made through them, which helps to fund the show.

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

It's the latest installment of our retrospective on the 25th anniversary of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics! Jill looks at the Paralympic Football 7-a-Side competition, while Alison explores the Olympic television advertising campaigns in the U.S.

Playlist of ads referenced in this episode:

Nike slasher ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTBrRjb4Zg

McDonald's ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4El7e4YwyTA

Coke ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXddSktwMcQ&t=1s

Adidas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q16WeQGTv_E

Buick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1T35mZ3KO0

Visa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o894b4gX-es

Also, we announce which Games you, the listeners, have selected for us to cover in 2026!

For a complete list of sources used in this episode, visit: https://tinyurl.com/sydney2000sources.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

Olympic figure skater Nicole Bobek has long been on our list of athletes to interview, and we're thrilled she's able to come on the show! In 1995, Nicole dazzled at the US Championships, winning gold and then taking bronze at the Figure Skating World Championships later that year.

Her career on and off the ice has had a lot of highs and lows, from her beautiful performances to dealing with injuries and the sudden death of her coach Carlo Fassi at the 1997 World Championships where she was still competing. Nicole also represented the US at the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics.

Nicole has a new memoir out called The Wild One, in which she talks candidly about her skating career and her life afterward, which involved an arrest for being part of an alleged drug ring, for which she served five years of probation.

Since then, Nicole has found her way back, and she embraces her role as a mother....and you can still find her free skating!

Find out more about Nicole and her book The Wild One at her website: http://nicolebobek.com

Follow Nicole on Insta! @nicolebobek77

In news from Milano Cortina 2026, we now know who will be the first torchbearers for the torch relay. One is a very inspired choice! Also, construction on the Milano Athletes Village has been completed, and Snoop Dogg is back.

In news from LA 2028, organizers plan to use electric school buses for some shuttles, and the LA Convention Center is embarking on a massive renovation plan--will it be done in time for the Games? Also, Team New Zealand's planning an epic New Zealand House in Culver City.

The International Paralympic Committee had its General Assembly, and we've got the results of some key votes (that not everyone is happy about).

Plus, Team Keep the Flame Alive is busy representing TKFLASTAN at multiple competitions. And Listener Erica shared a great article about what author David Davis' book inspired.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Like this episode? Have thoughts on the show? Comment/write us a review, and you may be our review of the week!

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

Photos courtesy of Nicole Bobek.

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

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Wheelchair rugby is a mixed-gender sport, but not many females play. One way to increase their numbers and playing time is to see if they're classified fairly. We talk to Dr. Thomas Rietveld, research associate in wheeled sports and technology at the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at the University of Loughborough, who worked with Dr. Vicky Tolfrey on a project for World Wheelchair Rugby to reassess the classification system for female players.

We also talked to Dr. Rietveld about his research on wheelchair tennis, which was part of our episode featuring wheelchair tennis player Charlie Cooper.

Learn more about the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/phc/

Also on this episode, Milan-Cortina 2026 stores have opened (but not the mega store), NBC announced its Opening Ceremonies team, and the neutral athlete program will be back in place.

Team Keep the Flame Alive has had another busy week, so we take a trip to TKFLASTAN to see what's going on (and in Alison's case, have fun with pronunciation).

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Like this episode? Have thoughts on the show? Comment/write us a review, and you may be our review of the week!

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

Photo courtesy of Dr. Thomas Rietveld.

***

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348