This week's guest is a true powerhouse in the sports media landscape: Sarah Spain. An Emmy, Gracie, and Peabody Award-winning journalist, Sarah spent over a decade as a mainstay at ESPN, becoming one of the most versatile and respected voices in the industry. She recently made waves by joining iHeartMedia to launch the iHeart Women’s Sports Network, where she serves as the content director and host of the industry’s first daily women’s sports podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain.

Sarah talks about the "cognitive dissonance" of navigating the current news cycle while finding personal joy, and what it’s like to move from a sports giant to building a brand new audio behemoth from the ground up. She pulls back the curtain on the "one man band" mentality—explaining why she keeps her hands in every piece of production, from scriptwriting to editing, despite her veteran status. We also dive into her background as a heptathlete at Cornell, which instilled a "problematically competitive" edge she still carries today, the grief of navigating chronic injury, and her tireless advocacy for journalistic integrity in women's sports coverage.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:

• Navigating the transition from a legacy brand like ESPN to a startup environment at iHeart

• The daily grind of producing the first daily women’s sports podcast and the "one man band" mentality

• Why Sarah insists on treating women's sports with "journalism with a capital J" rather than just "cheerleading"

• Her background in comedy and how that shaped her "edgy and snarky" broadcasting style

• Dealing with the physical and mental toll of an athletic career-ending Achilles injury and chronic back pain

• Training the brain for gratitude through neuroplasticity and finding "glimmers" in the everyday

• Facing the harsh realities of sexual harassment and online toxicity in sports media

• Finding self-trust and the power of saying "I don't know" with confidence

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

"I want the listeners that want a show that really respects and gives respect to the people participating in all these sports and doesn't trade on their name and their stories without giving it a good journalism-with-a-J look first."

"I call it the four S's: story, stakes, stats, and stars. We do that every day for men’s sports... and without having that in women’s sports, expecting people to show up game after game without providing them the information they need to care—there’s a reason it hasn’t always clicked for everyone."

"I am built to swim upstream, but holy sh*t is it nice to just lazy river it for a while and be surrounded by people who agree and want to help women's sports."

"How much of my life do I want to waste being sad about [not looking the part] or do I want to be like: 'Hey, I'm going to make it regardless of that.' And if I miss out on jobs they're hiring based on looks, great. Let me go get a job based on brains."

SOCIAL
@spain2323
@emilyabbate
@iheartwomenssports

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Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abbate on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a week! Recapping, talking jury duty, a fun run of a 5K, and answering a listener question about my latest workhorse sneaker, the Pegasus 42.

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@emilyabbate
@hurdlepodcast
@iheartwomenssports

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This week on Hurdle, I’m sitting down with Jasmine Caccomo, an entrepreneur and elite personal stylist who has spent over 15 years redefining the intersection of fashion and professional sports. Jasmine has built an incredible career styling some of the biggest names in the industry, most notably Alex Morgan, whom she’s worked with for the past 13 years.

In this episode, Jasmine talks about how playing soccer from a young age instilled the discipline, accountability, and “figure it out” mentality necessary to navigate the world of entrepreneurship. We also chat about her early days working in the fashion closets of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, and the bold leap she took to establish her own styling business. Plus, she gives me the lowdown on how she handles high-pressure moments—like styling Hilary Knight for the Oscars just days after an Olympic season—and how she sets boundaries as a business owner and mother. Also: Why presence is absolutely vital for her to do both well, and the essential lesson of learning to ask for help.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:

• The Athlete Mentality: How her background as a hurdler and soccer player provided the work ethic for her business.

• The "Editorial Trenches": Realities of working in fashion closets and the 80/20 split between business and styling.

• Transitioning to Freelance: Taking the leap from a steady editorial job to building a personal brand.

• Styling Elite Athletes: The process of onboarding clients like Alex Morgan and translating an athlete's power into a wardrobe.

• Modern Athleisure: Defining "upscale athleisure" and why leggings will never truly be dead.

• The Glass Ball Theory: Managing the juggle of motherhood and entrepreneurship by identifying what can drop and what can’t.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS:

• "I’ve always had that ‘figure it out on my own’ mindset. You have to figure out how to train that works for you."

• "It’s about bringing out that inner personality through, externally, their wardrobe."

• "There’s always something to be done, there’s always another hurdle to overcome, there’s always something bigger, something shinier that I want to do."

SOCIAL
@jasmine.caccamo
@emilyabbate
@iheartwomenssports

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Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abbate on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.