EPISODE · Feb 16, 2026 · 19 MIN
Kids Sports Are Now Adult Driven—And Incredibly Expensive
from What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Youth sports have grown into a $40-billion dollar per year industry, where eager parents shell out for private coaches, off-season practice, and travel leagues, in the hopes of giving their child a competitive edge. Guest: Anna North, senior correspondent at Vox. She writes Kids Today, a newsletter about kids.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
Youth sports have grown into a $40-billion dollar per year industry, where eager parents shell out for private coaches, off-season practice, and travel leagues, in the hopes of giving their child a competitive edge. Guest: Anna North, senior correspondent at Vox. She writes Kids Today, a newsletter about kids.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Kids Sports Are Now Adult Driven—And Incredibly Expensive
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