 |
Keep the Flame AliveAuthor: Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown
Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz, for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes, coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tune in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympics Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT. Language: en Genres: News, Sports, Sports News Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
"The Games in Black & White": George Hirthler on Atlanta's Unlikely Olympics
Episode 442
Thursday, 30 July, 2026
Remember when Atlanta won the right to host the 1996 Olympics? The Centennial Olympics, the ones that Athens desperately wanted to host and everyone thought Athens would win because the Olympics were born in Greece? And then Atlanta won, and everyone was surprised? Well, we've got the story of how Atlanta shocked the world. Writer and producer George Hirthler joins us to discuss his documentary "The Games in Black & White." This Emmy award-winning film delves into the unlikely friendship of then-Atlanta mayor Andy Young and conservative lawyer Billy Payne, who joined forces to bring the Olympics to Atlanta and put the city on the world map. The documentary covers the full spectrum of the Olympics, from bid to the Games themselves. However, along with incredible athletic spectacle and some operational issues, the Atlanta 1996 Olympics are also known for the bombing that took place in Centennial Olympic Park. George talks with us about that incident and the toll that it took on members of the organizing committee. We also discuss the unlikely legacies from these Olympics and how they permanently changed the geography of the city. You can watch "The Games in Black & White" on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/show/the-games-in-black-and-white Also, Jill went to LA for the LA28 World Press Briefing. She's got some impressions of the city, its accessibility and what to look for when getting tickets and booking hotels. Plus, we have some feedback on potential cauldron lighters! For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com. Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive! *** Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT. *** Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348
