Blind Landing Explained

Blind Landing
Hosting:Ari Saperstein
Developer:
  • Ari Saperstein
  • Myka Kielbon
  • Christian Green
  • Jessica Taylor Price
  • Stefanie Ritoper
  • Chris Schleicher
  • Jenna Levin
  • Maddie Bender
  • Donelle Wedderburn
Genre:
Format:
Length:approx. 30 min
Language:American English
Num Seasons:2
Num Episodes:11

Blind Landing is a documentary podcast about professional sports hosted by Ari Saperstein. Season one focused on safety in gymnastics, while season two looks at identity in figure skating. The show was an honoree at the 2022 and 2023 Webby Awards and was named the Best Independent Podcast at the 2023 Awards for Excellence in Audio.

Background

The first season of Blind Landing released in July 2021, focused on artistic gymnastics and the vault controversy during the women's all-around final at the 2000 Summer Olympics, when the apparatus was set two inches too low, resulting in gymnasts falling and getting injured during the event.[1] [2] The first season featured interviews with Olympic gymnasts who were at the competition.[3] [4] All five episodes of the first season were released on July 19, 2021.[5] The second season of Blind Landing, released in February 2022, is about figure skating and LGBTQ+ athletes.[6]

Episodes

Season 2

Reception

The Atlantic named Blind Landing one of the Best Podcasts of 2021.[7] Wendy J. Fox reviewed the first season in Podcast Review—a Los Angeles Review of Books publication—calling it a "thoughtful exploration of a decades-old scandal" and lauded the emphasis on the gymnasts' perspectives rather than sensationalizing the story: “What Saperstein succeeds at is uncovering the implications of how this played out in the rest of the competition and how it ultimately affected these gymnasts’ lives.”[8] Nicholas Quah of Vulture echoed that praise: “Blind Landing directs its attention toward the question of who gets heard when something is wrong and, by extension, the relationship between individuals and the overarching cultures or systems within which they operate.”[9]

Awards

AwardDateCategoryResultRef.
Webby Awards2022Sports Podcasts[10]
AIPS Sport Media Awards2022Audio[11]
Awards for Excellence in Audio2023Best Independent Podcast[12]
Webby Awards2023Sports Podcasts[13]
Gracie Awards2023Best Podcast[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Standley . Laura Jane . McQuade . Eric . December 27, 2021 . The 50 Best Podcasts of 2021: The Shows That Kept Listeners Refreshing Their Apps This Year . live . March 7, 2022 . . . en-US . March 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220307205108/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/best-podcasts-2021-dish-city-sporkful/621118/ .
  2. News: Minutaglio . Rose . July 22, 2021 . Inside the Biggest Gymnastics Mistake in Olympics History: How a Dangerous Error at the 2000 Sydney Games Cost a Gymnast Her Gold Medal. . en-US . . Czech Media Invest . live . March 7, 2022 . March 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023352/https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a37102221/blind-landing-podcast-biggest-gymnastics-mistake-olympic-history/ .
  3. Web site: Sandmaier . Christy . July 19, 2021 . Blind Landing Podcast Revisits Sydney Vault Controversy . live . March 7, 2022 . Inside Gymnastics Magazine . Inside Publications . en-US . March 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023401/https://www.insidegymnastics.com/news-features/blindlandingpodcast/ .
  4. Web site: Dibdin . Emma . July 20, 2021 . 6 Podcasts to Whet Your Appetite for the Olympics: Whether You're a Dedicated Olympics Fan or a Casual Viewer, These Shows Will Help You Get in Shape for the Tokyo Games. . live . March 7, 2022 . . en-US . March 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023352/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/arts/olympics-tokyo-podcasts.html .
  5. Marks . Andrea . July 26, 2021 . 'Blind Landing' Podcast Examines One of the Olympics' Worst Mistakes: At the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, a Vault Apparatus Set Two Inches Too Low Risked Athletes' Lives — and Changed the Course of the Competition . en-US . . . live . March 7, 2022 . March 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023354/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/blind-landing-podcast-olympics-gymnastics-vault-1202239/ .
  6. Web site: Saperstein . Ari . Schleicher . Chris . Molino . Zach . February 15, 2022 . Nine Stories From Queer Figure Skaters in Their Own Words . live . May 5, 2022 . . Pride Media . en-US . March 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220312161809/https://www.advocate.com/sports/2022/2/15/9-stories-queer-figure-skaters-their-own-words .
  7. Web site: Standley . Laura Jane . McQuade . Eric . The 50 Best Podcasts of 2021 Transcend Genre Conventions . theatlantic.com . 27 December 2021 . The Atlantic . 9 Jan 2024.
  8. Web site: Fox . Wendy J. . July 28, 2021 . Blind Landing: A Thoughtful Exploration of an Olympics Controversy . live . March 7, 2022 . Podcast Review . . en-US . March 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023356/https://podcastreview.org/review/blind-landing/ .
  9. Web site: Quah . Nicholas . Nicholas Quah . August 5, 2021 . Blind Landing Jumps Into Gymnastics (And Four More Podcasts Worth Trying) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023352/https://www.vulture.com/2021/08/blind-landing-gymnastics-podcasts.html . March 8, 2022 . March 7, 2022 . . . en-US.
  10. Web site: 2022 . Honoree: Blind Landing . live . May 5, 2022 . . en-US . May 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220505184457/https://winners.webbyawards.com/2022/podcasts/general-series/sports/219466/blind-landing .
  11. Web site: 2022 . Longlist: Blind Landing "Out On The Ice" . live . Jan 9, 2024 . . en-US . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324185811/https://aipsawards.com/single-news?id=20345 .
  12. Web site: 2023 . Winner: Blind Landing . live . Jan 9, 2024 . . en-US . March 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230308062101/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/2023-ambie-awards-winners-list-chameleon-wild-boys-podcast-of-the-year-1235343389/ .
  13. Web site: 2023 . Honoree: Blind Landing . Jan 9, 2023 . . en-US . March 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322091144/https://winners.webbyawards.com/winners/podcasts/general-series/sports?years=0 .
  14. Web site: 2023 . Honoree: Blind Landing . live . Jan 9, 2024 . . en-US . March 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230331180704/https://allwomeninmedia.org/app/uploads/2023/03/Honorable-Mention-List-Final.pdf .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Blind Landing".

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