Figure Skaters Amber Glenn Jason Brown and Spencer Howe
Keep the Flame Alive
Olympic excitement is building, as more athletes qualify for Team USA! This week is the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, so to get ready to watch that, we talked with figure skaters Amber Glenn, Jason Brown, and PV2 Spencer Howe to hear more details about their programs for this year. After the event is over, U.S. Figure Skating will make the final selections for the 2026 Olympic team. Cheer on Team Keep the Flame Alive (TKFLASTAN) this weekend! Also on the show, we have plenty of news from Milano Cortina 2026, including more Opening Ceremony performers, the introduction...
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Milano Cortina 2026: Olympic Figure Skating Preview with Sarah Hughes
Keep the Flame Alive
(Not Olympic Champion) Sarah Hughes of The Runthrough podcast joins us to preview the figure skating competition for Milano Cortina 2026. Who's likely to be on the podium for the pairs, ice dance, men's and women's events? Listen to The Runthrough, which also features Olympians Ashley Wagner and Adam Rippon, on YouTube @TheRunthrough or your podcast app. They're @therunthroughpodcast on Insta. ***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: For a...
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Anything But Footy Olympics Crossover Spectacular
Keep the Flame Alive
John Cushing and Michael Weadock from Anything But Footy join us for a rousing look ahead at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. ***Are you 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: For a transcript of this episode, please visit . Thanks so much for listening, and...
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Olympic Bobsled with Elana Meyers Taylor, Frank Del Duca and Chris Fogt
Keep the Flame Alive
Alison interviews 4x Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor on her long career in the sport and being an athlete/parent. Then Jill and Alison interview U.S. Army World Class Athletes LTC Chris Fogt and SGT Frank Del Duca. Fogt is a former bobsledder turned coach for USA Bobsled. Del Duca is an Olympic bobsled driver looking to qualify for his second Games. Follow our TKFLASTANIs on Insta: Elana Meyers Taylor: @elanameyerstaylor SGT Frank Del Duca: @frankiedelduca LTC Chris Fogt: @chris.fogt Plus, we get into the hockey stadium drama at Milano Cortina 2026 and the surprise announcement of...
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Sydney 2000: Paralympic Closing Ceremony and Games Legacy
Keep the Flame Alive
In our final episode on the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics, Alison is thrilled that the demon chicken has returned to the Paralympic Closing Ceremony. Then Jill looks at the legacy (both good and questionable) of these Games. Were they the greatest Games of all time (at least in 2000)? Listen to find out! Plus, we look forward to the Winter Olympics we'll cover during our 2026 history-themed shows. ***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: For a...
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Team USA Olympic Speed Skaters Erin Jackson and Corinne Stoddard
Keep the Flame Alive
On this episode of Keep the Flame Alive, we have conversations with Olympic speed skater Erin Jackson and Olympic short track skater Corinne Stoddard that we had at the Team USA Media Summit. Follow Erin and Corinne on social: Erin: https://www.tiktok.com/@ErinJacksonSkates Corinne: Alison reports back from a Milano Cortina 2026 talk on branding, where she learned about the thinking that went into the look of these Winter Olympics. We have plenty of news about Milano Cortina, including the , the victory ceremony uniforms, woes about the...
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Book Club Claire on A Team of Their Own
Keep the Flame Alive
Book Club Claire joins us for a discussion of Seth Berkman's 2019 book , about the 2018 Winter Olympic Korean women's unified ice hockey team. This story happened during the podcast's lifetime. What did we remember? What was new news? Did we fall for the IOC's unification propaganda? Plus, our Milano Cortina 2026 sliding novela comes to a close and the torch is lit! In other Games news: LA 2028 opened an intent form for those interested in volunteering. Learn more here: ***KEEP OUR FLAME ALIVE:*** Support our fundraiser to bring you the most fun coverage of...
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Olympic and Paralympic Ice Hockey Slaps!
Keep the Flame Alive
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!...
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Sydney 2000: Rowing and Olympic Closing Ceremonies
Keep the Flame Alive
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: Then Alison tries to decipher the fever dream that was the Olympics Closing Ceremony, which you can watch in its full glory here: ***Much like the American coxless pairs team, we're also bootstrapping our way to the 2026 Winter Olympics and...
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Keep the Flame Alive-2025 trailer
Keep the Flame Alive
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!
info_outlineWe report back on what went down in the International Olympic Committee's 136th Session, which is the big gathering of all IOC members. We've got an announcement from TBach, news from Tokyo 2020, plus reports from all of the other Games on the docket.
Today is also one year to go until Tokyo 2020 (in 2021), so the Tokyo Organizing Committee had a recognition celebration. It was a little more somber than last year's, but beautifully done. Grab your Puffs -- you'll need them when you watch it!
Don't forget to join in our One Year to Go celebration -- we're Zooming together on Friday, July 24 at 12pm Eastern. Then at 8pm Eastern, dial up the Sydney 2000 official film on YouTube and meet us on Zoom again to watch it together (and marvel how it's been 20 years since Sydney). For Zoom links, email us at flamealivepod@gmail.com.
With one year to go, there's a multi-day event happening on AirBnb Experiences, and you can hang with some of our TKFLASTANIs! Cook Indian food with Shiva Keshavan; be inspired by Lauren Gibbs; or take a rock climbing class with Josh Levin.
We're super-excited to have some new out-going music! For the next year, through Tokyo 2020, we'll be featuring Archdale's song "Tokyo." Check out their website and follow them on Spotify and Facebook.
NEXT WEEK: Book Club Claire is back for our discussion of Roy Tomizawa's 1964: The Greatest Year in the History of Japan.