In our second annual Q&A episode, we answer listener submitted questions about the upcoming Olympic season, our all-time favorite programs, the origin story of the podcast, and lots more.

The off-season can feel LONG… especially the off-season before the Olympic season! This is why it was especially fun to dive into some “what if” scenarios, skating nostalgia, and even a few messy predictions for the coming year.

We also dig into a few more serious topics, including the pros and cons of getting into the figure skating creator space, why big success for the U.S. in women’s figure skating always seems to be the barometer for its popularity, and even a little bit more discussion on “comebacks”.

Without getting into spoilers, the links below are all relevant to our discussion — so either consider them teasers or listen first and come back to enjoy them!

Lastly, thank you to everyone who took the time to send us questions. We appreciate it immensely, and appreciate you all for listening!

• Mai Mihara’s “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence” https://youtu.be/YhJYbUwJxCI?si=469oxBFYHdOtF5m5
• — alt link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClZHvu2JmTI/
• Jason Brown’s “Melancholy” https://youtu.be/Qf2EX0TGugk?si=IzO7uHTfWFMaxbia 
• Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke” at the Grammy’s https://youtu.be/KJqL1yIm9e0?si=dJoZMFt0wRcISe97 
• Dee-Lite “Groove is in the Heart” https://youtu.be/etviGf1uWlg?si=iVec8zvt0goHQWeZ 
• Sneaker Pimps “Six Underground” https://youtu.be/Wuwfe3DRJzE?si=YYbREsQmYkZcVU1y 
• Duran Duran “Out of my Mind” https://youtu.be/daZCDGYKi74?si=JdH69p68ERtlMAMB 
• U2 “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” https://youtu.be/eIdTNyJp38A?si=nlOrbCiowFXmzFlI 
• Seal “Kiss From a Rose” https://youtu.be/hDd2G_V1rzc?si=5f8yKkXzA5-1EFHI 
• Yelim Kim’s “A Thousand Years” https://youtu.be/8htyCI7JSiQ?si=5btBBXYbFsrGZOLv 
• Papadakis and Cizeron 2022 Rhythm Dance https://youtu.be/Tbv1a5vYI24?si=PKMqA9i7CUFCpZjD 
• Shoma Uno 2023 Worlds https://youtu.be/FsaGAYkNEwA?si=Okl8nAg_bgePlKRa 
• Nathan Chen’s 2022 Olympic Short https://youtu.be/EY5EsGlKHmk?si=ZyBAEUMrzNMNbxVH 
• Kurt Browning 1993 Worlds “Casablanca” https://youtu.be/1BXXk5r_5sA?si=SolQyTbnK4CLb8tp 

Chapters

0:00 — Intro and previous episode reactions
2:21 — Thoughts on Figure Skating Critique
7:44 — Q: Who would you choose for Olympic teams?
16:13 — Q: One program to watch on a moonlight lake?
17:46 — Q: Programs/music you’d like to see this next season?
20:50 — Q: 90s theme for the Rhythm Dance, and AI music?
25:48 — Q: Should any piece of music be banned?
27:14 — Q: What do we think about Adelia Petrosian?
31:33 — Q: 5 performances you rewatch all the time?
35:34 — Q: Why is the Free Skate order random sometimes?
39:27 — Q: Why did we start a FS podcast?
43:50 — Q: Have you ever taken skating lessons?
45:36 — Q: Have you watched roller skating competitions?
46:58 — Q: Why don’t we appear on video?
51:50 — Q: Advice for FS content creators?
56:20 — Q: What has changed the most about FS?
1:02:07 — Q: Skaters that revolutionized the sport?
1:07:40 — Q: Waning US popularity and focus on the Women’s discipline
1:25:36 — Wrap-Up