Season 1 is wrapping up! And before we close the book on the 2026 Milan Olympics, there are so many moments and so many skaters I haven't gotten to talk about yet. This is that episode.(though, I'd be lying if I weren't to mention even more in the coming months... there really is just too much to cover lol)This episode is a love letter to the skaters who moved me beyond my fandom trifecta; from Kaori Sakamoto skating for her last time to Ami Nakai's budding career, Misha Shaidorovs incredible win to the fearless skating of Maxim Naumov, we cover it all. And at the heart of it is the thesis of this entire podcast; how figure skating gives you the full emotional spectrum in a way nothing else does. From devastating to joyful, bold to traditional, ballerina to pop star. All of it. Sometimes in the same night. Sometimes in the same moment.Thank you for Season 1 and all of the support! It really means so much to me.

This week I finally drop my Alysa Liu episode! You're welcome, David ;)Alysa Liu is one of the most decorated figure skaters in American history. She's also the reason I had a full "these youths and their crazy hair" moment during the Olympics. This is that story.We get into how I first discovered Alysa (spoiler, I had no idea who she was and I had thoughts about the hair) and then how I fell completely in love with her story. Because beyond the gold medals and the comeback narrative everyone keeps talking about, what really grabbed me is what her return to skating actually represents. She came back on her own terms, with her own music, her own style, her own rules. No diet restrictions, no one telling her what to wear, no compromising who she is. And in a world where young athletes are still being pushed to their limits in ways that aren't okay, that matters way beyond figure skating.We also talk about her fashion, her style, her absolutely unmatched energy and mindset, and I end with some of her quotes because she is twenty years old and somehow has the wisdom of someone five times her age. You'll see what I mean. Lets fangirl guys!Alysas 60 Min Video: https://youtu.be/6O3HLPWatuU?si=0RKOcNtrLrTUodiRMy Fave Interviews(don't watch the rolling stone one, the interviewer is awful and acts like a nosy therapist) these are better: With David Greene https://youtu.be/FATY5l5dku0?si=gbldAXppx3LJ46w8Olympics Promo https://youtu.be/Jo_gb_a83xA?si=1t4nqYqsoymTDqPiWith Amber and Isabeau https://youtu.be/_WU9g10unW0?si=Nu8Bt40gUxW2k9LETeen Vogue https://youtu.be/WSsXbfl6kNM?si=EOnT3A_fk_R2GWyJVids about her I like:My Fave https://youtu.be/Ej-3_a4QL90?si=fCv5C4x9xAB_lzLxLittle wooey but still good https://youtu.be/la2hDO07Y5I?si=gzP6p4pLaH8Yq6mi

Something shifted in figure skating. And I noticed it before I even knew it was a thing.

This episode picks up where we left off with Amber Glenn, but instead of focusing on her individual story, we zoom out to the culture she's helping create around her. Because the friendship culture in figure skating right now is unlike anything the sport has seen before, and we need to talk about it.

We start with where figure skating has been in the past; the rivalries, the drama, the infamous Tonya Harding era, and a sport historically defined by cold competition between athletes who were supposed to be enemies. Then we get into where it is now.

At the 2026 Milan Olympics I kept noticing something: these athletes were showing up for each other. But what surprised me the most was that it was not just for their own teammates, but for athletes in every country.

We talk about Amber Glenn shielding Kaori Sakamoto from the cameras during one of the hardest moments of her career, and what Sakamoto said about Amber publicly at Worlds that brought both of them, and honestly me, to tears. We talk about Alysa Liu and Ami Nakai and a moment in the kiss and cry that says everything about this generation of skaters.

Then we get into Ilia Malinin and Cha Jun-hwan; two athletes who suffered devastating losses at these Olympics, and what they both chose to do immediately after. They went to congratulate Mikhail Shaidorov, who had just won Kazakhstan's first ever Olympic gold medal in figure skating. In their worst moments, they chose to act in kindness. Acts we don't see enough of in the world these days.

We close with the exhibition gala, Niina Petrokina's absolutely iconic Cell Block Tango moment that somehow involved skaters from four different countries, and why I think the way these athletes support each other might be exactly what pushes this sport further than it's ever gone before.

These are some of the moments that grabbed me and inspired me to create this podcast in the first place. So give it a listen, and hopefully you'll get some of those warm feels, too.