24 | The Cold War, the Olympics, and the Hungarian Revolution, with the End of Sport Podcast's Dr. Johanna Mellis

This week, Miguel spoke to Dr. Johanna Mellis, Professor of World History at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and one of the End of Sport Podcast co-hosts (@EndofSportPod). Dr. Mellis's research focuses on the interactions between Hungarian athletes, socialist sport leaders, and the International Olympic Committee as a microcosm of relations between society, the socialist state, and international organizations during the Cold War. Her work focuses specifically on the influence of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, which saw a mass defection of hundreds of Hungarian athletes to the West on Hungarian socialist sport policy and the IOC (Urisnus.edu). Dr. Mellis was also a Division I swimmer at the College of Charleston from 2004-2008 and coached swimming for seven years.

First, Miguel asked Johanna how she became the third co-host of the End of Sport podcast and how her experience as a Division 1 Athlete shaped her career in Academia. Additionally, Miguel and Johanna discuss her article, From Defectors to Cooperator: The Impact of 1956 on Athletes, Sport Leaders, and Sport Policy in Socialist Hungary. Finally, Miguel and Johanna discuss Trevor Bauer, anti-blackness, and white supremacy in Swimming, the Pandemic Tokyo Olympics, Rachel Nichols, and more! 
 
Next, Miguel gives you his Molotov MVPs for episode 24, three WNBA players, Los Angeles Sparks stars and sisters, Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike, and Atlanta Dream veteran Center Elizabeth Williams. Finally, Miguel ends the podcast with another Chicana/o Sports History segment. This week, he highlights five Chicana softball players who helped the Mexican National Softball Team make their first-ever trip to the Olympics.

Miguel Garcia produced this episode.

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Miguel Garcia produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok!

Also, listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow us on:

Twitter: @sportsasaweapon
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Tik Tok: @SportsAsAWeapon
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Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com