Hurdle with Emily Abbate

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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ASK ME A QUESTION: Email hello@hurdle.us to with your questions! Emily answers them every Friday on the show. 

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

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