Love the Olympic Games? The Paralympics? Is every two/four years not enough? Have we got an Olympic podcast for you!
Keep the Flame Alive® is a year-round podcast hosted by Jill Jaracz and Alison Brown who explore everything fans want to know about the Olympic and Paralympic Movements: how Olympic sports work, sports history, host city information, best Olympic stories, and much more! During the Olympic Games, their daily recaps cover all the key events to keep listeners up to date.
Founded in 2017, Keep the Flame Alive® is one of the first continually-running podcasts about the Olympics and Paralympics. The podcast is regularly featured in the press, Jill and Alison have spoken at industry conferences and were nominated for a 2022 Sports Podcast Award. They were also accredited for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
Their story is the epitome of what a podcast can accomplish with passion, effort, and community (big win!). We spoke with Jill Jaracz about what keeps this Olympic podcast in the game!
Stay Connected with Keep the Flame Alive Podcast
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and learn more about us at flamealivepod.com.
1. When did you start podcasting?
In 2017, my friend Alison was driving through town while on vacation, and I casually asked her if she wanted to do a podcast about the Olympic Games. We’d worked together for a previous employer and loved talking about the 2002 Olympic Winter Games sports when they were on. She said, “Sure.”
Neither of us knew what we were getting into!
Since then, our podcast has taken us to New York, Los Angeles, and China. This summer, we’ll be one of the few indie podcasts coming to you from the Paris Games for both the Olympic and Paralympics — and we have media credentials, so we’ll be able to get Olympic stories that non-accredited podcasts can’t.
2. Why did you start podcasting?
I love podcasts, and I also love the Olympics — so much so that I wanted to listen to a podcast about them year-round. Unfortunately for me, that podcast didn’t exist.
Around the London 2012 Olympics, the BBC put out a great podcast for a few weeks. NBC put one out around the Rio Olympics, 2016, but they both disappeared after the Olympic Games were over.
Today there are a couple of other year-round Games-focused podcasts, but we were the first! (We even started our show before the International Olympic Committee started its podcast!)
3. What's the name of your show and what is it about?
It’s called Keep the Flame Alive, and it’s the podcast for fans of the Olympics and Paralympics. We’re like your fun aunties who tell you all of the good stuff. Other podcasts like to tell athletes’ inspirational Olympic stories. We find out why artistic swimmers wear gelatin in their hair, whether speed skaters wear socks, and what swimmers think about shaving their arms. You know, the important stuff!
If you’re at home watching the Olympics and/or Paralympics (do yourself a favor and watch the Paris 2024 Paralympics — these sports are SO cool), we’ll be your friends who provide the best recap after your day of multi-screening.
4. How do you get the great guests/interviews that you are able to get?
We cold-contact and book the majority of them. Sometimes athletes (or their agents) find us. Sometimes listeners can connect us with someone.
When it’s an Olympic and Paralympic year, Team USA hosts a media summit that has about 100 athletes. We’ve gotten hours of content from that, as well as longer follow-up interviews with many participants. That’s a huge help when we’re planning for a two-month stay in Paris.
5. What has been one of the most memorable experiences that happened because of your podcast?
Every time we’ve gotten accredited for the Olympic Games, I feel an amazing sense of pride. The accreditation process is extremely competitive — especially for a Summer Olympics. The Paris Games 2024 accreditation process was even tougher because the last three Olympic Games were in Asia, the last two Olympic Games were during COVID-19, and now everyone wants to be there when the Paris Games unite the world again.
The fact that we started a podcast from scratch and are considered equally as important as, say, The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal is unbelievably gratifying.
Going to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympics during COVID-19 was such an unusual and unique experience and one for which I’ll be forever grateful. I’m really looking forward to going to Paris and experiencing my first Summer Olympics and Paralympics in person. I never imagined that creating a podcast would take me around the world!
6. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Podcasting is a lot of work, but it’s also incredibly gratifying. I’ve also had to learn to play the long game, which can try my patience some days.
The Olympic Games Cycle
Our listener base is cyclical — sure, we have a core group of listeners who are there with us week-in and week-out, but our listenership grows as the Olympic Games get closer and peaks during the Games. That’s awesome! It declines — sometimes dramatically — when the Games are over. That can be frustrating, to say the least, but it fuels us to keep finding our listeners.
Marketing — A Unique Olympic Sport
Marketing a show about the Olympics and Paralympics when you are not a rights holder (e.g. NBC Olympic) is also difficult. We have to abide by some pretty strict rules when it comes to marketing our show, which can be baffling to podcast marketing experts.
For example, it’s recommended that your show title include your show’s topic. Unfortunately, the word “Olympics” is protected intellectual property, so we can’t use it. That forces us to think more creatively about how we promote our show.
Olympic Glory — It's in the Fans
We’ve also learned to cut ourselves some slack. Building a show from scratch is tough — it takes work and patience. Success doesn’t come overnight, so you have to give yourself a break from time to time.
We’ve learned to look for victories in other elements beyond our download numbers. I’ve been fortunate to be able to meet and hang out with listeners in real life and it’s as comfortable as being with a friend … then I remember that the only reason I know this person is because I started a podcast.
The community a show can build is truly the most wonderful element of being a podcaster.
One of the Best Olympic Stories

The story of Jill Jaracz, Alison Brown, and Keep the Flame Alive has all the makings of an Olympian triumph. They started with a passion and followed it, learning, practicing, honing their skills. They persevered, took chances, trusted their guts, pushed barriers, and today, fly all over the world realizing their dream. How did they do it?
- They recognized a niche.
- They did their homework.
- They started a podcast.
- They focused on their content and audience, offering fresh angles..
- They reached out — even cold-calling.
- They never let a fear of failure daunt them.
- They intentionally built a community.
- They are essentially a PART of the Olympics now — and continue growing.
It’s this trajectory, from literal unknown to media-accredited for Paris 2024, that epitomizes the ultimate podcasting experience and serves as an inspiration to podcasters everywhere!
Go for the Gold! 🥇