Podcast / Edge of Sports / Nov 6, 2023

Trans Athletes Fight for Inclusion in Sports

On this episode of the Edge of Sports podcast, Katie Barnes and Tracie Canada join the show.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Trans Athletes Fight for Inclusion in Sports | Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin
byThe Nation Magazine

Inclusion for trans athletes in sports has become a flashpoint in the culture war that extends from schools to international competitions. Katie Barnes joins Edge of Sports to discuss their new book, Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates, which offers one of the most comprehensive views yet on how the struggle for inclusion in the realm of sports has much wider social and political consequences.

We also have Choice Words about why the public financing of stadiums is little more than corporate theft writ large. And on Ask a Sports Scholar, we have Prof. Tracie Canada to speak about her cutting edge work about the racial economy of college football. Plus, we have a new segment called Ask Dave!

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Track and field athlete Selina Soule speaks during an event celebrating the House of Representatives’ passing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act outside the US Capitol on April 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the legislation, which defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” and would ban all transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports.

Track and field athlete Selina Soule speaks during an event celebrating the House of Representatives’ passing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act outside the US Capitol on April 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the legislation, which defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” and would ban all transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Inclusion for trans athletes in sports has become a flash point in the culture war that extends from schools to international competitions. Katie Barnes joins Edge of Sports to discuss their new book, Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates, which offers one of the most comprehensive views yet on how the struggle for inclusion in the realm of sports has much wider social and political consequences.

We also have Choice Words about why the public financing of stadiums is little more than corporate theft writ large. And on Ask a Sports Scholar, we have professor Tracie Canada to speak about her cutting-edge work about the racial economy of college football. Plus, we have a new segment called “Ask Dave”!

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Basketball Butterfly Effect: Steph Curry & the Knicks | Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin
byThe Nation Magazine

In Part 6 of our series, Basketball Butterfly Effect, Arya Shirazi joins the show again to discuss the 2009 NBA draft and the Knicks coming close to getting Davidson sharpshooter Steph Curry, the most revolutionary player of his generation. You don’t want to miss this episode!

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Dave Zirin

Dave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation. He is the author of 11 books on the politics of sports. He is also the coproducer and writer of the new documentary Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL.

More from The Nation

Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the second inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park on September 28, 2025

The Atlanta Braves or the Atlanta Bravest? Also, the March for Mumia The Atlanta Braves or the Atlanta Bravest? Also, the March for Mumia

Podcast / Edge of Sports / Nov 6, 2023 Trans Athletes Fight for Inclusion in Sports Chris Buccafusco joins the show to talk about indigenous mascoting, and we go to a March f…

Podcast / Edge of Sports

US investor and philanthropist Alexander Soros, son of Hungarian-US investor and philanthropist George Soros, speaks during a ceremony to accept on behalf of his father the 2025 Civil Rights Prize of the Sinti and Roma, on October 23, 2025, in Berlin, Germany.

Liberal Philanthropy and the Fight for Democracy, With David Callahan  Liberal Philanthropy and the Fight for Democracy, With David Callahan 

On the latest Nation Podcast.

D.D. Guttenplan and David Callahan

Moses Malone

Moses Malone Gets Biblical Moses Malone Gets Biblical

On Edge of Sports: Paul Knepper on his new book on Moses Malone, and Arya comes back to talk all things NBA.

Dave Zirin

Angelo Herndon.

The Story of One of the Most Important Free Speech Cases of All Time The Story of One of the Most Important Free Speech Cases of All Time

Randall Kennedy talks to The Nation Podcast about the Angelo Herndon case.

D.D. Guttenplan and Randall Kennedy

Jeff Teat #7 of the New York Atlas in action during the Premier Lacrosse League Championship game between the New York Atlas and the Denver Outlaws at Sports Illustrated Stadium on September 14, 2025, in Harrison, New Jersey.

How Lacrosse and Boxing Explain the USA How Lacrosse and Boxing Explain the USA

On the latest episode of Edge of Sports.

Dave Zirin

A protester at the No Kings rally in Venice, Florida, on October 18, 2025.

The Myth of Free Speech The Myth of Free Speech

Historian Fara Dabhoiwala talks to American Prestige about his new book.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

x