“Here’s the Scoop” – Special Feature: Introducing “My New Favorite Olympian” with Adam Rippon (Jan 31, 2026)

Overview

In this special episode, host Yasmin Vasugin introduces listeners to a crossover feature: “My New Favorite Olympian,” an NBC podcast hosted by Olympic medalist Adam Rippon and journalist Chase Kane. This episode spotlights Bea Kim, an 18-year-old Team USA snowboarder and passionate climate activist. Listeners are taken on a journey from Kim’s public speech at the United Nations to her roots in Southern California, her advocacy for climate action, and her unique approach to sustainability—thrifting. Key themes include resilience in sports, the impact of climate change on winter athletics, and an athlete’s journey to finding their voice for change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Bea Kim and the Power of Athlete Activism

• [00:00] Yasmin Vasugin underscores the goal: to highlight Olympians whose stories are about more than just sport.
• Adam Rippon notes Kim’s uniqueness: “Each episode introduces you to an athlete not just for what they’ve won, but for who they are.”
• “By the end of the episode, she might just be your new favorite Olympian too.” (Yasmin Vasugin, 00:56)

2. Bea Kim’s UN Speech: Finding Her Voice

• [01:08] At just 17, Bea Kim gave a speech at the UN’s International Day of Sport (April 2024).
• She connects her global travels as a snowboarder to witnessing climate change: “The world is changing, the glaciers are melting that we're actually riding on. Our winters are starting later. The weather patterns are becoming more erratic.” (Bea Kim, 01:35)
• She reflects on her anxiety and nerves: “That was my first actual public speaking engagement. I can't even remember… probably spoke way too fast.” (Bea Kim, 02:00)

3. Roots in Nature: Childhood and Early Inspiration

• Memories of camping and surfing in Southern California shaped Kim’s love for the outdoors.
  • “I was a pretty cautious kid… a bit of a scaredy cat, which is a little juxtaposition given my current sport.” (Bea Kim, 04:01)
  • Family camping trips to Big Sur instilled reverence and concern for natural spaces: “The campsite that we would go to, we haven’t been able to go back the past few years because of fires and mudslides.” (Bea Kim, 05:40)

4. Climate Change Hits Home

• [05:54] Kim shares firsthand the unpredictable snow seasons and vanishing winter conditions.
  • “One year would be an exceptional snow year… and then we come back the next year and there's dirt, and you're walking to the chairlift instead of riding down…” (Bea Kim, 05:59)
• Her turning point: realizing she couldn’t “watch it happen and not say anything about it.” (Bea Kim, 07:07)

5. Turning Advocacy into Action

• Kim partners with Protect Our Winters (POW), turning outdoor athletes into climate advocates.
  • “It was a gradual kind of realization… there's one common theme throughout all of them, and that is they are being affected by climate change.” (Bea Kim, 05:59)
• Quotes her struggle and strength:
  • “The mental challenge of kind of overcoming those anxieties to do something that is so hard, because once you do overcome it, it's so exciting. So it's kind of my greatest enemy and my best friend at the same time.” (Bea Kim, 07:36)

6. Parental Support and Family Anecdotes

• Bea’s father, Drew Kim, admires her drive: “She is sort of the ultimate underdog and I think the things that she sort of takes on are these things that are bigger than her.” (Drew Kim, 07:54)
• A lighthearted moment: Drew does push-ups to stay warm during Bea’s training, becoming part of his and the mountain’s charm. (08:40)

7. Intentional Choices: Aligning Sponsors and Sustainability

• Kim only partners with brands sharing her climate values.
  • “When you're with a partner and working with a sponsor, you're a direct representation of them and they're a direct representation of you.” (Bea Kim, 09:18)

8. Thrifting and Sustainable Fashion

• Bea grew up thrifting thanks to her mom; she’s “better at it than either of us.” (Chase Kane, 10:27)
• Her prized possession: a thrifted oversized leather jacket from Japan (11:09).
• Relevance: “The pollution produced by the fashion industry is greater than all international flights and global shipping combined... More than 85% of all clothes end up in landfills.” (Chase Kane, 11:37)
• For Kim, thrifting offsets her travel-related carbon footprint.
  • “You know, none of us are perfect in the way that we live our lives. I travel the world. My carbon footprint is enormous. Thrifting and secondhand shopping is definitely one way that I try to combat that.” (Bea Kim, 12:05)
• Her thrifting advice: don’t buy the first thing you see; “if you’re still thinking about that one thing ten shops later, then go back and buy it.” (Bea Kim, 12:26)

9. Memorable UN Moment

• After her speech, a delegate from Monaco praised her:
  • “She stopped and looked me in the eye and shook my hand and said I really appreciate what you had to say today... I maybe do have a little bit more weight with my words than I thought I did.” (Bea Kim, 14:52)
• Broader message: “Climate change is such a heavily politicized topic, but it really shouldn’t be… It's an issue of the human race and a battle that we should all be fighting together…” (Bea Kim, 15:41)

10. Reflections from Adam Rippon

• On finding your voice: “When I was able to share things that were important to me... that’s really where I felt, like, so empowered, and I felt so much strength from that. And it feels a lot like what Bea was talking about, how she found her voice…” (Adam Rippon, 16:21)
• Perspective as an indoor versus outdoor winter athlete: climate change impacts are dramatically different but equally urgent.
  • “The work that Bea is doing is so... vital. It's so important. We have to act now.” (Adam Rippon, 17:20)

11. Olympic Context: Fewer Winter Hosts, Rising Challenges

• [19:12] Nick Zuccardi (NBC Olympics Senior Editor) shares the IOC’s evolving strategies:

  • More spread-out games to find reliable snow/venues.
  • Consideration of a rotational pool of host cities; a necessity as climate impacts traditional host areas (19:27).

• On Bea Kim versus reigning champion Chloe Kim:

  • Both are Southern California natives who trained at Mammoth Mountain.
  • “B doesn’t have the level of tricks that Chloe has... But she’s only 18 years old and she’s got a bright future similar to what Chloe had when she was a teenager.” (Nick Zuccardi, 21:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The world is changing, the glaciers are melting that we're actually riding on. Our winters are starting later. The weather patterns are becoming more erratic.”
  – Bea Kim (01:35)

• “That was my first actual public speaking engagement. I can't even remember… probably spoke way too fast.”
  – Bea Kim (02:00)

• "One year would be an exceptional snow year… and then we come back the next year and there's dirt, and you're walking to the chairlift instead of riding down to it because there's not enough snow.”
  – Bea Kim (05:59)

• "The mental challenge of kind of overcoming those anxieties to do something that is so hard … It's kind of my greatest enemy and my best friend at the same time.”
  – Bea Kim (07:36)

• “She is sort of the ultimate underdog and I think the things that she sort of takes on are these things that are bigger than her.”
  – Drew Kim, Bea's father (07:54)

• “When you're with a partner and working with a sponsor, you're a direct representation of them and they're a direct representation of you.”
  – Bea Kim (09:18)

• “The pollution produced by the fashion industry is greater than all international flights and global shipping combined. And get this: more than 85% of all clothes end up in landfills.”
  – Chase Kane (11:37)

• “I maybe do have a little bit more weight with my words than I thought I did.”
  – Bea Kim (14:52), after praise from a UN delegate

• “Climate change… it's an issue of the human race and a battle that we should all be fighting together because the world doesn't care what side of the aisle you sit on, and the world doesn't care which way you vote, and climate change does not care about that.”
  – Bea Kim (15:41)

• "The work that Bea is doing is so... vital. It's so important. We have to act now."
  – Adam Rippon (17:20)

Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Intro, theme, and Yasmin’s handoff to Adam Rippon | | 01:08 | Bea Kim’s UN speech and climate call to action | | 04:01 | Bea’s childhood & formative nature experiences | | 05:40 | Big Sur and personal/family impact of climate change| | 05:59 | Effects of climate change on snowboarding | | 06:41 | Bea joins “Protect Our Winters” advocacy | | 07:54 | Interview with Bea’s father and family anecdotes | | 09:18 | Bea’s responsible sponsor partnerships | | 10:14 | Bea’s passion for thrifting and its eco-impact | | 11:37 | The fashion industry’s environmental cost explained | | 12:26 | Bea’s thrifting tips | | 14:52 | Memorable post-UN speech moment | | 15:41 | Bea’s message: depoliticizing the climate fight | | 17:20 | Adam Rippon’s reflections on impact and action | | 19:12 | Olympic editor Nick Zuccardi: challenges for venues | | 21:08 | Zuccardi: Comparing Bea Kim and Chloe Kim |

Tone and Style

The episode is warm, earnest, conversational, and lightly laced with humor (i.e., Drew’s push-up routine). Adam Rippon and Chase Kane’s rapport is open and inviting, supporting a sense of optimism and community—even in confronting big challenges like climate change. Bea Kim’s authenticity shines through, pairing vulnerability with passionate advocacy.

Why This Matters

This episode uses Bea Kim’s story to humanize the stakes of climate change and highlight youth leadership for the future of sports. Listeners are inspired not just to root for Bea as an athlete, but to take small, intentional steps in their own lives—whether it’s conscious consumption or speaking up for what matters.