In a heartfelt conversation, Billie Jean King, the legendary tennis pro and LGBTQ+ activist, shares her journey of self-acceptance and leadership. The discussion touches on the historical significance of the 'Battle of the Sexes' and its impact on women's rights. Billie emphasizes the importance of mental and physical health, challenges ageism in sports, and reflects on her legacy in empowering women. Julia Louis-Dreyfus seeks advice for her niece’s soccer career, while anecdotes from their upbringing highlight the evolution of women in sports and the transformative power of the feminist movement.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus chats with 80-year-old tennis pro, activist, and LGBTQ+ icon Billie Jean King about leadership, visualization, and self-acceptance. They discuss women's empowerment in sports, societal norms, and the transformative power of the feminist movement. Billie Jean shares advice for Julia's niece's soccer career and reflects on her own sports journey. Julia's mom, Judy, talks about generational acceptance and the feminist movement.

A look back at the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. They discuss the hopes, dreams, and bigotry surrounding the match, as well as the challenges of winter dating and root vegetable consumption. The podcast explores Bobbie Riggs' controversial tennis match to prove women's inferiority and the exclusivity of sports associated with wealth. They also examine sexism in sports, defying the rules in marathon running, and Bobby's reputation. Lastly, they promote Julie Kliegman's book about elite athlete mental health.

Tennis champion Billie Jean King, renowned for her advocacy for gender equality in sports, shares her experience of defeating Bobby Riggs in the iconic 'Battle of the Sexes.' The discussion explores the intense buildup to their historic match, highlighting the societal implications for women's rights in athletics. Bobby Riggs's struggles with fame and gambling are unveiled, while King reflects on the lasting legacy of her victory, including the founding of the Women's Sports Foundation and its role in promoting equality in sports.

1981 was a tough year for tennis great Billie Jean King. That year, she sat down to write her memoir having endured serious betrayal on multiple fronts. One was emotional and financial: a woman she’d had an affair with attempted to extort her, creating a massive scandal. The other was physical and inevitable: Her body had begun to betray her mastery of the game. She was getting older, the other players were getting younger. She had to confront the fact that most of her winning was behind her. Yet, she would close her memoir with a pretty remarkable series of sentences that capture one of the most important (but most difficult) concepts in Stoicism: Amor Fati. But more important now, I must think in terms of very specific goals and realities. Of course, I can just say I want to win all three -- the singles, doubles, and mixed. Easy to say and easy to want, but so difficult to execute. How can I do it? More than anything else, I must love everything that is part and parcel of the total Wimbledon scene. I must love hitting that little white ball; love every strain of running and bending those tired knees; love every bead of sweat; love every cloud or every ray of sun in the sky; love every moment of tension, waiting in the locker room; love the lack of total rest every night, the hunger pains during the day, taking a bath in my favorite tub, buying lollies for the ball boys, looking at the ivy and the trees and the flower arrangements, driving through Roehampton on the way to the courts every morning, practicing on the outside court with your stomach in your throat before the match; love watching people queue, knowing some of them have waited twenty years to experience one day at the Wimbledon; love playing on the Fourth of July, talking with Mrs. Twyman, having a rubdown, hearing the women talk (or not talk), and feeling the tension in the air, running up to the tea room through the crowds; love feeling and absorbing the tradition of almost one hundred years. In essence, I have to possess enough passion and love to withstand all the odds. No matter how tough, no matter what kind of outside pressure, no matter how many bad breaks along the way, I must keep my sights on the final goal, to win, win, win -- and with more love and passion than the world has ever witnessed in any performance. A total, giving performance: give more when you think you have nothing left. Through the desire the inspiration will be present. Love, passion, attitude, ability, intensity -- the only way, a street with no curves or cul-de-sacs. I must let my inner self be out front and free. Love always. What’s particularly striking about this passage are King’s observations about the mundane difficulties of the life of a tennis player and the way she was able to capture and appreciate--much the way Marcus Aurelius could--the ordinary pieces of experience. The beads of sweat...the moments of tension...the treats for the ball boys...even the pain of playing -- these are the things we see in a different light when we choose Amor Fati. In Marcus’s time he wrote about stalks of grain bending low, about the flecks of foam on a boar’s mouth, ripe fruit, the chattering of the adoring (and not adoring) crowds, the yapping of small dogs. When we accept and embrace everything that is around us, we can truly begin to see it. We can see everything, big and small, good and bad, and find beauty in it--find something to love in it. We can find the intensity aSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.