Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy

Kara Nortman and Julie Uhrman, founders of Angel City Football Club, share their inspiring journey in establishing a women's soccer team in L.A. They discuss the electrifying sold-out season opener and the pivotal role of Natalie Portman in their vision. The duo emphasizes community connection, teamwork, and the importance of nurturing relationships within women's sports. With anecdotes of camaraderie and impactful activism, they highlight the unique charm of ACFC and its goal to empower female athletes in the realm of professional sports.

Three-time Olympic medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield joins Laughter Permitted to talk about her quest to see a viable women's professional hockey league form, how she and fellow players are working to make that happen and what the journey has been like. Kendall also discusses the 2022 Winter Olympics, her incredible performance at the 2019 NHL All-Star Skills Competition and what motivated her to write her book, "As Fast As Her." In the Lynn Game, Julie finds a way to get in her own head, and in Most Pressing Questions, Kendall explains how she squatted her 310-pound, NFL-playing husband during quarantine.

Buckle up because this episode brings the laughs courtesy of play-by-play trailblazer Beth Mowins! Beth shares what it was like calling soccer with a young Julie Foudy as her color commentator. (A certain handwritten sign from Beth helped Julie to know when to -- ahem -- stop talking.) Find out when Beth knew she wanted to do play-by-play and how she has carved out her incredible career path. To test her skills, Beth is asked to do play-by-play of Julie eating a cinnamon roll, which leads to Beth joining the great “Is a cinnamon roll a donut” debate. In the close of the show, Julie puts it out into the universe that it's time for the pod to get a donut deal and Lynn takes over Questions Permitted to ask Julie about doing color commentary.

Seventeen-time Paralympic medalist Oksana Masters joins Laughter Permitted to share her powerful story of spending her childhood in Ukrainian orphanages before being adopted by her mother, Gay Masters, and moving to the United States. Oksana, who was born with birth defects believed to be caused by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, talks about being introduced to sports in America and how trying adaptive rowing began her on a path to becoming the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time. She also discusses competing in the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing while war began in Ukraine and how she found a way to give back to her home country.

Five-time Olympian, 10-time X Games gold medalist and snowboard cross star Lindsey Jacobellis joins Laughter Permitted to talk about winning two gold medals at the Beijing Games, her experience with the media over the years and how she adjusted her mindset at this past Olympics to focus on her own goals. The "Lynn Game" features questions about the 80's with another enthusiastic cameo by Swaggy, and in the close of the show, find out what Julie said to make Lynn snort. There's also bad singing (it may or may not be the Green Machine song)...

Five-time Olympic medalist, bobsledder and overall rad human Elana Meyers Taylor joins Laughter Permitted to talk about becoming the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history, how she dealt with a Covid diagnosis upon arriving at the Beijing Games -- the story is something else -- and how she went from being a college softball player to a top-level bobsledder. Elana also shares what it is like being a professional athlete while raising her son, Nico. In the close of the show, Julie shares a "Hacker-ism" Lynn hasn't heard before that applies to Elana's journey at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

WNBA All-Star Layshia Clarendon joins Laughter Permitted to talk about being the first openly non-binary and transgender player in the WNBA, the warm embrace they have received from the Minnesota Lynx franchise and what life was like inside the 2020 "Wubble" season. Layshia also discusses the freedom of living your truth (that's where the "gold" is), how she and her wife are raising their chid in gender expansiveness and why humanity needs to be considered when discussing transgender athletes. Such an important and enlightening conversation on so many levels. In the close of the show, Lynn takes over Questions Permitted to ask Julie about her recent visit to the White House for Equal Pay Day.

In the Season 7 premiere, NWSL and Danish national team star Dr. Nadia Nadim joins Laughter Permitted to talk about earning her medical degree while playing professional soccer and share a detailed account of how she fled Afghanistan and the Taliban as a child with her mother and four sisters. She also recalls her first encounter with soccer at a Danish refugee camp and how she fell in love with the game. Nadia then competes with Julie in a “Lynn Game” about random medical stuff, gives a taste of her ability to speak nine -- yes, nine! -- languages and blows Julie and Lynn away with her perspective on making progress in life. What a way to launch the season...enjoy!

Laughter Permitted is back! Julie and Lynn share highlights of Season 6 and hand out some Dopie Awards.

In the Season 6 finale, Dr. Colleen Hacker once again returns to the Laughter Permitted party to discuss aspirational challenges, the power of choice and what she'd like members of the Dope Village to take with them into 2022. As an authority on the psychology of peak performance, Dr. Hacker is a master of making complex concepts digestible, relatable and actionable. Turns out her mental skills expertise translates to a Lynn Game on The 99ers as Julie finds out firsthand. Stay tuned for the close of the show in which we get one final Toto toilet update.