The Most Dramatic Sport at the Olympics: A figure skating preview with the lore you need to know with Maura Sullivan Hill

Figure skating journalist, coach, and writer Maura Sullivan Hill joins me to discuss what I'm predicting will be an extremely messy Winter Olympics. We talk about the lore surrounding today's figure skaters, the politics baked into every aspect of the sport, and why—spoiler alert—Michelle Kwan should have won the gold medal. Plus, Maura breaks my heart by confirming the pachinko is not technically possible.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 - Introduction and welcoming Maura Sullivan Hill03:13 - About Maura's book "Legends of Women's Figure Skating."08:18 - Figure skating as a lens for understanding culture and politics13:31 - The 2002 Salt Lake City judging scandal15:26 - Old 6.0 system vs. new International Judging System20:22 - U.S. women's team: Amber Glenn, Alyssa Liu, Isabeau Levito28:28 - Amber Glenn as an openly pansexual athlete34:25 - Music selection and music rights issues43:12 - The French team controversy and Gabriella Papadakis's memoir53:39 - Same-sex ice dancing partnerships1:01:02 - Deanna Stellato-Dudek competing at age 421:04:38 - Men's figure skating and Ilya Malinin1:07:58 - Maxime Naumov's story after the 2024 plane crash1:09:38 - Citizenship and nationalism in figure skating1:19:45 - Closing and Patreon watch party infoFurther Reading/Viewing:Check out Maura’s Book, Legends of Women’s Figure Skating Finding Her Edge (Netflix). Is this great? No. Is it fun? Absolutely. The Cutting Edge. A classic. Want even more resources, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes context on this episode's topics? Patreon members get access to my exclusive newsletter with extended research, additional links, and insights that didn't make it into the show. You can get the weekly newsletter when you join for free. Paid members get a monthly bonus episode, access to my AIM Buddly List chat, and more!Become a Patreon member →Read the full episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oPLlyYTke-HjI7B4DsWTgqJuDuzGJ7cM5s8nlJzHBDE/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Maura:Website: https://www.maurasullivanhill.com/ Instagram: @maura_sullivan_hill Check out Maura’s book, Legends of Women’s Figure SkatingLove the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.