Book Club Claire on Heroes, Villains & Velodrome's: Chris Hoy and Britain's Track Cycling Revolution
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Book Club Claire returns for our first book club episode of 2026, featuring Heroes, Villains & Velodrome's: Chris Hoy and Britain's Track Cycling Revolution by Richard Moore. This book covers Hoy’s early cycling career and the development of Great Britain as a cycling powerhouse until around Beijing 2008. Claire joins us for a rousing discussion of Chris Hoy's early success, the 1000m race, keirin racing in Japan, and the Wild West days of track cycling. Plus, we make a surprising discovery about this title. Also on this episode, we discuss the second ticket drop for the LA28...
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Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics: Important Evolutions in Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping
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In our ongoing series about the Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics, we look at the sports of Nordic combined and ski jumping, both of which underwent their own evolutions at these Games. For Nordic combined, a format change and uncoupling from other competitions allowed this event to finally stand on its own. That didn't mean it was easy for anyone outside of the sport to understand how it worked or how some athletes made it to the podium. Plus, there was drama in certain countries about who got to be on the team, and one coach's pushback led to medal success. Ski jumping, which was...
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"The Games in Black & White": George Hirthler on Atlanta's Unlikely Olympics
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Remember when Atlanta won the right to host the 1996 Olympics? The Centennial Olympics, the ones that Athens desperately wanted to host and everyone thought Athens would win because the Olympics were born in Greece? And then Atlanta won, and everyone was surprised? Well, we've got the story of how Atlanta shocked the world. Writer and producer George Hirthler joins us to discuss his documentary "The Games in Black & White." This Emmy award-winning film delves into the unlikely friendship of then-Atlanta mayor Andy Young and conservative lawyer Billy Payne, who joined forces to bring the...
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The Moscow 1980 Olympics with Author Tommy Phillips
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Thanks to a US-led boycott, the first Olympics hosted by a communist country has long been a big black hole in our knowledge of the Olympics -- until now. On this episode, we're joined by author Tommy Phillips, who wrote The 1980 Moscow Olympics: A Day-by-Day History. His book captures all of the major happenings at these Olympics, which were dominated by the USSR and East Germany. These countries' athletes dominated with skill and athleticism....and also maybe thanks to doping and some clever help along the way. We talk with Tommy about some of the wilder hijinks at play during...
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Two Years to LA28 with Superfan Sarah
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In two years, the LA 2028 Olympics will get underway, and we're looking ahead to those Games and what they'll have to offer. Superfan Sarah, officially recognized as Team USA's #1 fan, joins us to talk about how to prepare for the Olympics and Paralympics and what sports we're looking forward to seeing. We also discuss the many American comebacks that are happening in light of a home Games, and we start speculating on who could light the cauldron. Who do you think will be involved? ! Volunteer applications are open for LA28. They're looking for Games-time volunteers in all of the host...
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Shocks in the Olympic World!
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We're back from a recording hiatus, and boy, do we have a lot of Olympics news to catch up on! First, released its final report, and we go between the lines to suss out its venue delivery expectations, celebrity initiative, and a major issue they should have figured out earlier--as in, during the bid process. has made a ton of announcements over the last few weeks, so we have the latest on: The Paralympic schedule Ticket drop #2 Cycling routes Volunteer applications Modern pentathlon's new obstacle course licensing Hospitality house updates And more! We also say au revoir to...
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Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics: Cross-Country Skiing's New Era
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In our year-long look back at the Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 Winter Olympics, we head to the cross-country skiing stadium (built with filming in mind) where we're in the early years of the Hakulinen-Jernberg Era. Finland's Veikko Hakulinen and Sweden's Sixten Jergberg were the dominant forces in cross-country skiing, and their performances at Cortina 1956 were no exception! However, the Soviet Union wanted to make a statement during its first appearance at a Winter Olympics, and its athletes found the podium time and time again, ending a Scandinavian hold on the sport in both the men's and women's...
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Javelin with 4x Olympian Kara Winger
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It's another installment of our People Who Throw Things series! This time we're talking javelin with 4x Olympian Kara Winger. Kara spent 15 years as a professional athlete, and in that time she competed at Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 (where she was also elected for Closing Ceremony flagbearer). She stays involved with the throws community as a coach, official and ambassador for the sport. We talk with Kara about how javelin works. Kara breaks down the makeup (and cost) of a javelin, the physics involved with the event, the approach, the throw and follow-through....
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Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics: Bobsled
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We're traveling back in time to the Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics to hear all about the bobsled (or bobsleigh) competition. These Games saw some big changes: New rules about weight and new types of sleds. Cortina 1956 was the first Olympics for Italian Eugenio Monti, whose results put him on the road to becoming a local hero and one of the best bobsled drivers of all time. Bobsled also featured some sibling rivalry, royalty and the last American medal before a decades-long dry spell. Weather impacted the bobsledders in a bad way. Did Mother Nature have something against the Swiss?...
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Coxswain: The Hardest Position in Rowing
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Paralympic silver medalist Jenny Sichel joins us to talk all things coxswain: What the position does, how vital they are to the success of the boat, and what they carry in their coxswain bag. Jenny has competed as a coxswain in both able-bodied and para rowing. We talk with her about how she got into coxing and discovered para rowing. Plus, we talk about her Paralympic experiences at Rio 2016 and the heartbreaking circumstances around the boat's silver medal. For a transcript of this episode, please visit . Thank you to our ongoing contributors and patrons! This show...
info_outlineIn two years, the LA 2028 Olympics will get underway, and we're looking ahead to those Games and what they'll have to offer. Superfan Sarah, officially recognized as Team USA's #1 fan, joins us to talk about how to prepare for the Olympics and Paralympics and what sports we're looking forward to seeing. We also discuss the many American comebacks that are happening in light of a home Games, and we start speculating on who could light the cauldron. Who do you think will be involved? Let us know!
Volunteer applications are open for LA28. They're looking for Games-time volunteers in all of the host cities, but if you're local to the Los Angeles area, there are ongoing opportunities to help out with monthly beautification and restoration projects. Find more info and apply here: https://volunteer.la28.org/en
In other LA 2028 news:
- We're closer to seeing Major League Baseball players participate in the Olympics
- On Location has announced hospitality packages for more sports and competition zones, plus a "follow my team" option for basketball ("climate control" and "shade" are big catchphrases with hospitality options)
- More hospitality houses are coming, including ones for Africa, Cabo Verde, Germany and Romania.
SUMMER OF NOSTALGIA
We’re having a Summer of Nostalgia at our Patreon site where we’re sharing never-before-seen photos and videos from our escapades at Beijing 2022, Paris 2024, and Milano Cortina 2026. Relive those memories with us by becoming a patron or purchasing the Summer of Nostalgia collection at patreon.com/flamealivepod.
For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.
Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!
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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.
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