Keep the Flame Alive

When a host city signs the contract to put on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they don't just have to deal with local government to make them happen. LA 2028 has to work with municipal, county and state governments, as well as commissions and the federal government for funding, as well as regulatory needs. Jason Sisney, Budget Advisor for the Speaker's Office at the California State Assembly, joins us to talk about the state's involvement in the LA28 Games. From temporary venues to environmental issues - and even gun control laws, the state has been working with the LA Organizing Committee for over a decade to help the Games happen. Jason sheds light on the importance of the Games not building any new venues and what they're doing differently than in 1984. Jason shows us the amazing effort it takes from all levels of government to make an Olympics and Paralympics happen in California. As an Olympic historian, he also talks about the financial debacle that was the 1960 Winter Olympics and why the state doesn't want a repeat of that in 2028. Jason is a great follow on Instagram and LinkedIn, so add him there! Also, if you're into infrastructure talk around LA-area mega-events like the Olympics and Paralympics, check out Alissa Walker's Torched LA. She gets into the nitty gritty of all of the good stuff regarding civic funding and policy around mega-events in the Los Angeles area.    Also on this episode, the Institute for Applied Economics of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation published an economic analysis of the potential impact of the Games on the local economy. We take a look at the numbers.  Plus, LA28 is implementing a food truck program, which has Alison very excited!   For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!     Photo courtesy of Jason Sisney.   *** 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. ***     Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348            

At Atlanta 1996 swimmer Amy Van Dyken became one of the heroes of the U.S. team, bringing home a whopping four gold medals in five events. She followed that up at Sydney 2000 with another two gold medals.    After retiring and getting into broadcasting, Amy's life took a turn in 2014, when an ATV accident left her paralyzed. While she's continued to broadcast (you may have heard her as an analyst on NBC's coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics), she's also become an advocate for people with disabilities, helping able-bodied people understand the world from the eyes of someone in a wheelchair.   Alison talked with Amy about some of the specifics of her swimming training (including shave parties) and the approach to her second Olympics at Sydney. Amy shares the specifics of her injuries, the many complications she's had, and her secret for approaching recovery. They also get frank about the lack of understanding around accessibility and just how unaccessible America can be, even though there are disability laws in place.  Follow Amy online:  https://www.amyvandyken.com/ https://www.instagram.com/amyvandyken/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-van-dyken-rouen-oly-ab017323/ Also on this episode, it's torch relay time for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and Jill and Alison get into the newly announced sports program for the Karlsruhe 2029 World Games. We're excited to see what sports stayed on the program, what came back, and what's new for this edition. Who's ready for some minigolf?     For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!   Photo courtesy of Amy Van Dyken.   *** 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. ***     Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348                

Seemingly every time we open our Inbox, we have an email from the folks at USA Fencing with another amazing announcement: They're doing a panel at Comic-Con, have a champagne sponsor, creating a theme song, getting colleges to create NCAA competitive programs in an era where college sports are declining, signing on celebs like actor Mandy Patinkin to be fencing ambassadors, and the list goes on!   Team Keep the Flame Alive member and USA Fencing CEO is leading that charge, and we talked with him about what a national governing body for a small Olympic sport does in non-Olympic years to boost interest and growth in the sport. Phil shows how it's possible to think differently, try new ideas, and get great results. No idea is too out there, and Phil tells us why.   Also, the second ticket lottery for the LA 2028 Olympics is over, but that doesn't mean all the tickets are sold! Listen to hear why you may not have been able to score any tickets in this lottery and what the Organizing Committee's plans are for future ticket sales. Plus, it's two years until the LA28 Paralympics! LA celebrated by unveiling Wheelchair Basketball Square. In attendance at that event? TKFLASTANI David Davis, who wrote the history of wheelchair basketball in America.   For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!     Photo courtesy of Phil Andrews. *** 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. ***     Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348      

We're going back to the Cortina 1956 Winter Olympics and the last Olympic speed skating competition on natural ice. Lake Misurina proved to be a fantastic venue as records fell by the dozens over the four races of the speed skating competition. We've got all the details, including the debut of the Soviet Union's fast skaters, a Norwegian comeback, and some Scandinavians who managed to make it onto the podium. As mentioned on the show, you can find the documentary My Name Is McNamara here: https://vimeo.com/31206599   For a transcript and complete list of sources used in this episode, visit: https://flamealivepod.com.   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!     Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons via Picryl   Keep the Flame Alive: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2026, these episodes explore the 7th Winter Olympic Games at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy in 1956.  Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics. Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Merch: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com   Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod X: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348              

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 Olympics. Plus, the tennis schedule seems to be brutal. And we learn about more hospitality houses that plan to be at the Games.   Get your own copy of Richard Moore's book--and any other books--through our bookshop.org storefront. Commissions we earn from purchases through this link support the show's operating budget. Want in on our Summer of Nostalgia? Find out more at our Patreon site. For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!     *** 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. ***     Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348