Keep the Flame Alive

The Olympic Flame is afire, and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Torch Relay has begun, meaning our Olympic Fever is really starting to take hold. We talk about this week's torch lighting ceremony, and Alison gets into the history of the Torch Relay, including fennel's weird place in it (yeah, you read that right--fennel). We also talk to former torchbearer for the Salt Lake City torch relay Craig Perlow of Olympian Artifacts about his experience in the event. See more of his pictures at his website.

After trivia, we preview Team USA's Hershey Winterfest, which will be hitting cities all over the country:

Nov. 1, 2017 - New York City

Nov. 11, 2017 - Omaha, NE

Nov. 18, 2017 - Dallas, TX

Dec. 2, 2017 - Cincinnati, OH

Dec. 30-31, 2017 - Nashville, TN

Jan. 6, 2018 - San Jose, CA

Jan. 20, 2018 - Bentonville, AR

Feb. 3, 2018 - St. Paul, MN

Feb. 10, 2018 - Park City, UT

Feb. 20, 2018 - Hershey, PA

Feb. 24, 2018 - Lake Placid, NY

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Ever since the beginning of the modern Olympics, pins have been around--and every Games, they are a hot commodity to buy, sell and trade. This week, we crash the Olympin Pin Collectors Convention and meet some of the characters behind this incredibly popular hobby. Also, what do the Austrians think about holding another Winter Olympics?

If you'd like to know more about pin collecting, check out Olympin's site at http://olympinclub.com/

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DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Today we're talking with Josh Williamson, one of the bobsled winners of the NBC SN show "Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful." You can watch Josh in action here, and if you're interested in applying for the next season of the show, you can find the application at nextolympichopeful.teamusa.org.

Also on the docket: Remember the hullabaloo about Zika at Rio 2016? We've got an update on how the disease actually affected the athletes who attended the games. All this, plus trivia!

This episode wouldn't be possible without some help, so thanks to USA Bobsled & Skeleton's Kristen Gowdy for coordinating it all.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

We're podcasting from Lake Placid, home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games!!! Jill and Alison talk about their adventures (maybe geek out a little) and discuss Lake Placid as an Olympic Host City. Also, trivia, and we say good-bye to a pairs figure skating legend.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Today we look at the bidding process--namely, the fact that Olympic bid cities have been dropping like flies. Will the IOC's Agenda 2020 solve the problem? Jill and Alison try to stump each other with more trivia, and in news from PyeongChang, we see what the 2018 medals will look like and ponder a potential boycott of the Games. All this and attempts at accents in this episode!

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Welcome to the first episode of the podcast for Olympics fans! One important element of an Olympic Games is its mascot. Looking at Tokyo 2020's mascot contest, we explore how Olympic mascots came to be and why they're so important to an Olympic city. Plus, we have some Olympic Trivia, and a discussion of the new events that will be happening at PyeongChang 2018.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.