Gracing your inbox on this Friday afternoon to say: I will be taking a few months off of recording and releasing episodes of the Social Sport Podcast. The show will return in early 2022! This break is purely out of love. More specifically: I love hosting this podcast. I love having conversations that question the world, sports culture, and the institutions that bind us. And it is because of that love that now is the perfect moment to pause.
I was recently listening to an episode of the You’re Wrong About Podcast, where co-host Michael Hobbes spoke about his decision to quit the podcast (for the record, I am NOT quitting Social Sport. Just taking a break :) Michael Hobbes said, “when people’s heart are not in it, it’s really obvious…I want to leave this show while my heart is still in it.” And I thought, HELL YEAH MICHAEL! While I had already planned to take a break from Social Sport, those words reaffirmed that I should take a break now. I never want to get to a point where my heart is not in this show.
Over the next few months I will be:
Prioritizing other projects, especially written projects. Hosting and producing a podcast is a ton of work. For me, it’s like a second job on top of grad school. I am excited to put my energy towards written projects that have been simmering on the back-burner for far too long.
Planning for the next season of the Social Sport Podcast (date TBD) and how to make it the best show it can be. There are SO MANY podcasts in the running/outdoors space. And I want to spend some time unpacking and repacking and considering what I want this podcast to add to that space. I want to make sure Social Sport is telling the best stories at the intersection of endurance sports and social change in a compelling, fresh, and sustainable way.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Lindsley Kump, founder of Womxn who Move, on finding joy and inclusion in sport.
“𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝘂𝗻. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗷𝗼𝘆, 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝘆, 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁. 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿.” -Lindsley Kump
Joanne “Coach P” McCallie on de-stigmatizing athletes’ mental health
“𝗜’𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲.” -Joanne “Coach P” McCallie.
Tiara Williams on Real Talk, changing track and field media, and centering mental health
“𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴, 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗗𝗠𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, ‘𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.’ 𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼.” -Tiara Williams
Risa Isard on the limits of Title IX and and intersectional approach to equity in sports
“𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗫 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀. 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗫 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲, 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲-𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀, 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘅 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀, 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲…𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗫, 𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁.” -Risa Isard
Tom O’Keefe on Stride for Stride and making road races more diverse and accessible
“𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗔 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝟮𝟱𝟴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁?”
Caela Fenton on media representations of women distance runners
“𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲…𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀, 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁—𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗜’𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜’𝗺 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗲.” -Caela Fenton (on social media expectations of professional women athletes)
I will keep you posted on the date of Social Sport’s return but, in the meantime, some sappy parting thoughts:
The past year-and-a-half-plus of hosting the Social Sport Podcast has been an absolute honor—it has opened my mind, challenged me, and taught me more about the world around me than any other experience. Potentially more than my 17+ years of school…but I won’t sign off on that if you tell past teachers of mine :)
It is still absurd to me that what started off as a little basement experiment now reaches hundreds of listeners, from all over the world. Thank you to every single guest who has been on the show—you are some of the most brilliant people I have ever met. Thank you, also, to past sponsors, CITIUS Mag, and especially, to every listener who has ever tuned in.
While I will be spending the next few months tackling other projects, I will also be thinking deeply about Social Sport and how to make it the best it can be in the future! DMs and email are always open. I love hearing from you!
Want more Social Sport? You can subscribe, rate, and review (please!) the Social Sport Podcast here. You can follow Social Sport on CITIUS Mag, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Feel free to slip into the Social Sport DM’s on Instagram, or send me an email at socialsportpod@gmail.com to let me know what you think of the show or newsletter!
Stay sporty & keep resisting,
Emma