Kasra Mehdipournejad wants you to understand something about refugees: "We are someone like you; we're not different," he says on the latest episode of the Olympics.com podcast. "Same, same. We are human." It's a stirring message from the member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in taekwondo, who reflects on his Paris 2024 experience with host Nick McCarvel with both World Refugee Day (20 June) and Olympic Day (23 June) top of mind. 

Mehdipournejad calls his Olympic debut "something really unique and different," and is already eyeing LA 2028. In the episode, he opens up on what his journey to the Games was like, how he'd like the Refugee Team to be an inspiration around the world and how his partner, Parisa, played a critical role in helping his dreams come true.

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Relevant links

• Pau Gasol's full interview with Rafael Nadal from the International Athletes' Forum 2025:

https://www.olympics.com/athlete365/news/iaf/tennis-legend-rafael-nadal-surprises-international-athletes-forum

British diver Tom Daley was just 14 years old when he made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2008. The now five-time Olympic medallist is a household name in the UK and beyond, and is sharing his story in a new Olympic Channel documentary, '1.6 Seconds.' Daley sits down with Olympics.com producer Scott Bregman to discuss the project, as well as reflect on his nearly two-decade-long career in the water - and how he navigated his biggest moments, including coming out as queer, the passing of his father, body image issues and more. Plus, fellow out Olympian Gus Kenworthy shares how Daley inspired him on his own journey.

'1.6 Seconds' is now available on Olympics.com for the U.S. audience. The documentary is set for a wider release on 14 June.

Running is an activity over 600 million people participate in on a regular basis. This week on the podcast, we speak with two world-class runners who compete in vastly different running spheres: Marathoner Desiree Linden and 1500-metre specialist Yared Nuguse. Linden reflects on her decision to move on from marathoning earlier this year - but how she's far from done with running itself. Meanwhile, Nuguse - in our featured interview for the episode - speaks with olympics.com producer Matt Nelsen about how his calm demeanor away from the track helps him on it. And yes, about that epic Olympic men's final last year at Paris 2024, where he claimed bronze.  

"We are always going to get other teams' best shots," basketball legend Sue Bird tells host Nick McCarvel on the latest episode of the Olympics.com podcast. The five-time Olympic champion has been named as the first-ever managing director for the U.S. women at a time when the game has never been more popular. But as the USA has won eight Olympic golds in a row, the rest of the world is getting better - quickly. "We always know people aren't always cheering for us," Bird said of that international challenge. "And that's just a part of putting on that jersey; it's a part the pressure. It's part of what makes it great."

What has the pre-Olympic season brought about in the winter sports of curling, ice hockey, snowboard and free ski? Host Nick McCarvel is joined by Olympics.com colleagues Chloe Merrell, Andrew Binner and ZK Goh in a special roundtable episode to give their reporting insights on those respective sports and their qualifying events for Milano Cortina 2026. Plus, exclusive audio from Olympic gold medallists Anna Gasser and Zoi Sadwoski-Synnott, curling world champs Grant Hardie and Rachel Homan, and rising American ice hockey star Taylor Heise.

Did Alysa Liu ever dream she could be world champion after two years away from figure skating? And what piques Ilia Malinin's interest about time-travelling to post-Milano Cortina 2026? Olympics.com contributor Gracie Gold, the 2014 Olympic medallist, got those answers and much more for this week's podcast, which features full sit-downs with both of the American champs from the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston in late March.

Jason Brown was unsure if he'd be able to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships. But after finishing eighth, the fan favourite is more hopeful than ever that he'll make his third Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026 next year. He sat down in Boston with Olympics.com podcast host Nick McCarvel for a one-on-one chat - including his advice for teammate Ilia Malinin, the two-time world champ. Plus, contributor Gracie Gold offers her takeaways from a memorable Worlds ahead of the Olympic season.

"We all want it bad," 19-year-old Canadian snowboarder Cameron Spalding tells host Nick McCarvel on the latest episode of the Olympics.com podcast. The teenager claimed the snowboard slopestyle Crystal Globe ahead of the World Championships in what has been a breakthrough season for him. He discusses how Olympic medallist Mark McMorris has motivated Canada's next generation of boarders, the power of visualisation, his love for golf and how he's aiming for the Milano Cortina podium. 

"It is way harder than I thought," says three-time Olympic champion in bobsleigh, Kaillie Humphries, about the challenges she's faced in coming back after giving birth to her son Aulden in June. Humphries and tennis champion Petra Kvitova join a special episode of the podcast, centered around International Women's Day (on 8 March), to reflect on their respective journeys back to the sporting stage - and much more.

We're less than a year away from next February's Olympic Winter Games. Host Nick McCarvel is joined by Milano Cortina 2026 ambassador Carolina Kostner and organising committee member Marta Pagnini to find out just what it feels like in Italy as the Games draw ever closer. Kostner opens up on her role as flag-bearer at Torino 2006, while both women - each of them Olympic medal winners - talk of how they're living out the spirit of the Games in these respective roles.