Cary Champion has done a lot of great shows in a variety of places, from her past work with ESPN and Amazon's Prime Video to her current work as a CNN contributor and podcast host. On that latter front, she's done three seasons of her Naked podcast featuring in-depth interviews with artists, writers, sports figures and more. Now Champion is moving its fourth season to Naked sportsand we'll start with the six-part miniseries “Creating a Rivalry: Caitlin Clarke vs. Angela Reese.” Here's the trailer for the new series:
Here is some more information from the press release:
Black Effect Podcast Network and Cari Champion announce Naked Sports, a new series that spans sports, culture, and politics. Naked Sports kicks off the fourth season of Champion’s Naked podcast series, debuting with the gripping limited edition “The Making of a Rivalry: Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese.”
The six-episode limited series, which will join the iHeart Women's Sports Audio Network, will explore what sparked the fire between two of women's basketball's most promising stars. Over the course of the series, Champion will seek answers from those who know Clarke and Reese best.
“Forging a Rivalry: Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese” is not only the story of two of women's basketball's brightest stars, but also an important question: Is it possible for greatness to unite us in a time of such discord?
There are a number of prominent figures and organizations involved in this process, from the women's sports audio network iHeart (which they launched in June of this year with podcasts by Sarah Spain and Sheryl Swoopes, and has since expanded) to Charlamagne Tha God's Black Effect Podcast Network.
And while Clarke and Reese have certainly been heavily covered, it seems like Champion will bring a different focus to the table. Another line from the release discusses how “the media’s fixation on their so-called rivalry was fueled by the same gender and racial biases that plagued society,” and there’s certainly a lot that could be analyzed there. (Some of the Champion work at CNN in particular, explored areas in sports, including specifically around the WNBA and Clarkso she brings a lot of experience to the table.)
We'll see how this podcast series ends and what it adds to the Clarke and Reese discussion. But it's certainly notable that the Champion is taking it long-running podcast (169 episodes so far) more specifically about sports (she graduated some sport interview there before, but also outside the sports sphere), and start with a longer series on such a topic, rather than individual episodes, like most of her podcasts so far.
It’s also interesting to see this added to the Women’s Sports Audio Network, which is already making waves in its own right. And Champion’s podcast should help it gain even more traction. The first full episode of “The Making of a Rivalry” series is out now (including interviews with Spain, Jemele Hill, Sabrina Merchant, and more), and it’s worth keeping an eye on how it resonates.
The full Naked Sports podcast can be found on the iHeart Media page. HereFurther episodes are planned to be released every Monday.