Torched

Torched is back! Season 2 brings you the same high-stakes controversial Olympic stories you loved in Season 1, while expanding to other iconic sporting events and timely topics - from the Tour de France to Title IX to the World Cup.

Sharing a new Pushkin show, Legacy of Speed. When two Black sprinters raised their fists in protest at the 1968 Olympic Games, it shook the world. More than 50 years later, the ripple effects of their activism are still felt. Host Malcolm Gladwell tells the stories of the runners who took a stand, and the coaches and mentors who helped make them fast enough — and brave enough — to change the world.

In 2022, Elana Meyers Taylor officially became the most decorated black athlete in the winter games, the oldest American woman to medal in the Olympics and the most decorated female Olympic bobsledder. These are no doubt incredible accomplishments on their own but perhaps more impressive is the fact that this was her first Olympics as a mother. How do elite athletes find dimension in their lives?

Listen to the full conversation with Gwen Berry from our Rule 50 episode. We talk with Gwen about what it means to her to be an activist, a mother, a black woman, and an athlete in the United States. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

This episode is an exclusive and deeper conversation with Greg Louganis. We delve into details about his early years in training, his HIV diagnosis and how he learned to be his true authentic self. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

Now famous for winning the first ever gold in women's monobob at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Kallie Humphries once didn't even know if she would be allowed to compete for the US. Listen to the full extended interview and hear more about her relentless ability to overcome obstacles, from childhood bullying to outdated gender norms. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

Betty Okino started gymnastics “late” — at age 9 — and begged her mother to let her train with Bela Karolyi so that she could realize her Olympic dream. She won bronze medals at the 1992 Olympics. And despite having stories of training until her knees and back broke, being denied food, and being pitted against her teammates, it was only recently that she began to admit to herself that Karolyi’s training methods constituted abuse. Now, as a coach and choreographer, Betty approaches her responsibilities very differently. 

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From the LA riots to the Tlatelolco Massacre to Beijing 2022, governments have used the Olympics to paper over social problems, suppress dissent and force their agency on citizens. The price that their hosts pay for the honor can be staggering, if not horrifying. In part II of this series on host cities, we look at how we can do better, as well as how the Olympics might adapt for the future. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

Are we headed toward a future where nobody wants to host the Olympics? Over the next two episodes, we’ll look at the Olympic stage itself. Hosting the Olympics was, and still is, considered a major honor. But the Olympics are dealing with a reckoning – one where politics, the climate, and human rights concerns are making hosting the games more and more undesirable. In the face of all this, how can we keep the Olympic torch burning for decades to come? Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

While elite athletes train themselves to push their bodies toward extremes, they’re also pushing their minds to sometimes unhealthy – and even dangerous – extremes, as well. That's something wrestler Helen Maroulis found out the hard way when she was diagnosed with PTSD. Now she and Olympians like Simone Biles and Michael Phelps are changing the conversation surrounding mental health. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

An episode about a different Olympics. This is a story about a community that organized its own Games, against the odds and in spite of a serious legal threat from the U.S. Olympic Committee. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

The story of a swashbuckling scandal that unfolds like a John Le Carre spy novel: the curious case of fencer Boris Onischenko. For some athletes, are the stakes of winning so high they will they go to greater, more nefarious lengths to win? Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

Most people like a good shot of adrenaline now and then. Roller coasters, bungee jumping... poker games... And bobsledders take that hair-raising tendency to the extreme. But is it possible to be safe and satiate this ingrained drive for adrenaline, competition, and speed? Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

It was the bump heard round the world. The best diver ever - Greg Louganis - hit his head on the diving board in 1988 in Seoul, and splashed awkwardly into the pool. He still won the competition, but that imperfect dive led to years of fear and shame. Because Greg had a huge secret that the world didn't know. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

It's an iconic image from the '68 Mexico City games: Tommie Smith and John Carlos bow their heads and raise their firsts on the podium. Though the pair endures as symbols of dissent, the meaning of their salute has evolved, and its legacy is complicated. Their act both paved the way for athlete protests but also led to the most consequential act against Olympic protests. But in 2022, will Rule 50 finally face its moment of reckoning? Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

In 2002, it was the biggest judging scandal to ever rock the sport of figure skating. What followed was a media frenzy — a week of rumors, lies, confessions, and retractions, all of it leading to an overhaul of the sport and the uncovering of a conspiracy that would involve the most powerful officials in figure skating, the FBI, and even. . . the Russian mafia. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

One of the most bizarre Olympic moments in recent memory was when a group of Olympians decided that it was worth it to actually lose… in an attempt to win gold. At the 2012 London Games, badminton had its moment. In fact, it was about to become the biggest story of the Summer Olympics. But for all the wrong reasons. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

When bobsledder Kaillie Humphries decided to leave a toxic team environment, it put her future as an Olympian in jeopardy. When is it acceptable for an athlete to leave one nation to compete for another? And is switching teams against the ideals of sportsmanship that the Olympics stand for? Or could it actually make those ideals even stronger? Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

You may have heard of Molly's brother, Jeremy Bloom: two time Olympics skier and former NFL player. Ambition - and athletic greatness - run in the Bloom family's blood. But figuring out what comes next is also terrifying. Molly and Jeremy discuss this process of reinvention, which can make the most grueling training regiment, the gnarliest of slopes, look like a complete cakewalk. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.

How did gold medalist Ross Rebagliati find himself inside a Japanese prison? At the 1998 Nagano Games, one snowboarder's failed drug test leads to important questions about how much - or how little - has changed when it comes to the Olympics and weed. Hosted by Molly Bloom. Produced by FilmNation Entertainment in association with Gilded Audio.