Introducing “My New Favorite Olympian” with Adam Rippon

Summary

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“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.

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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)

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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)

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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 |

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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.

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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.

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Transcript

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Hey, everybody. This is NBC News's Yasmin Vasugin, the host of here's the Scoop. We all know the biggest names from the Winter Olympics champions like Lindsey Vonn, Mikayla Shifrin, Chloe Kim. Athletes whose journeys we have watched for years. But there are so many Team USA athletes whose stories are still waiting to be heard. That is exactly what my new favorite Olympian does so well. Each episode introduces you to an athlete not just for what they've won, but for, but for who they are. And it's hosted by Olympic medalist Adam Rippon, someone who knows firsthand how much it takes to reach the Olympic stage. Today we are sharing an episode of My New Favorite Olympian with B. Kim, an 18 year old snowboarder who is determined to fight climate change to protect the future of winter sports. By the end of the episode, she might just be your new favorite Olympian too. Here's my new favorite Olympian.

[Bea Kim]

I'm very lucky to say that I've created an environment or a career for myself where I get to be outdoors most of the time. And most of my days.

[Chase Kane]

It's the International Day of Sport in April 2024. B Cam, just 17 years old at the time, is on the floor of the United nations in New York, and she's there to deliver an impassioned speech.

[Bea Kim]

Through my travels as a professional snowboarder, I've gone around the world to Europe and New Zealand, training and competing, and I've seen one common theme throughout.

[Adam Rippon]

There's a dramatic pause.

[Bea Kim]

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.

[Adam Rippon]

And then the hammer.

[Bea Kim]

Each year we wonder if there'll even be enough snow for us to compete and do what we love.

[Chase Kane]

On the outside, Bea looks confident delivering that mic drop moment, but on the.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

Inside, I was so nervous. That was my first actual public speaking engagement. I can't even remember. Honestly, you probably blacked out that first bit and maybe even when I was speaking probably spoke way too fast.

[Chase Kane]

What would inspire be to fly from the big mountains to the Big Apple, to trade a snowsuit for a suit vest to speak to the UN about climate change.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

It's crazy to me to think that in the future, none of this could be here for the next generation and for my future kids and grandkids to see.

[Adam Rippon]

Meet B. Kim, your new favorite Olympian.

[Chase Kane]

Hi everyone. I'm NBC journalist Chase Kane and I'm excited to be joined by my very accomplished co host. He made history by becoming the first openly gay man to compete for Team USA in a Winter Olympics in 2018. That's where he earned a bronze medal in the figure skating team event. He was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People and he won Dancing with the Stars. He is none other than Adam Rippon.

[Adam Rippon]

This is my new favorite Olympian. Where you will get to know all of Team USA's brightest stars and the causes they're fighting for. My new favorite Olympian is brought to you by Acura. Proud partner of Team usa. Acura has always celebrated gatherings that bring people together. From the Sundance Film Festival to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We're proud to power the moments that move us all. The Acura ADX continues that tradition featuring Google built in Acura watch. Safety and craftsmanship built for every road we share.

[Chase Kane]

When Bea talks about climate change, she tries to connect with people by relating it to what they love doing outdoors.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

It's all about finding that common ground. And a lot of times it is about having those core memories.

[Adam Rippon]

As a kid growing up in Southern California, Bea's childhood core memories come from the ocean. Well, when her parents could coax her into the water.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I think I was a pretty cautious kid. I think they would probably honestly describe me as a bit of a scaredy cat, which is a little juxtaposition given my current sport.

[Chase Kane]

And before Bea was a snowboarder, Bea was a surfer, but not a really good one.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

For anybody who's tried to surf and tried to learn how to surf, it's very difficult and the waves are more, even more inconsistent than the weather on the mountains. And I think when I snowboarded for the first time, I kind of got this feeling of it's like an endless wave, which is so corny and so cringy, but it really was. I mean, you could carve down the mountain, you know, x amount of times and you only catch a few waves a session.

[Adam Rippon]

Bea's parents also took her camping, often for good reason.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I have a little brother and he's four years younger than me. And we also found that we didn't fight as much when we were outside, like playing in the river or playing with sticks.

[Adam Rippon]

Camping Big Sur was a popular camping destination for the Kim family.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

The campsite was half in the redwoods and half at the beach. So you could, like, pick which one you wanted to camp at, but then get the best of both worlds. And it's so pretty there. It's my favorite place.

[Adam Rippon]

When they could get there, fire near Big Sur, you can just see how close the flames got to burning the iconic Bixby Bridge.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

Mandatory evacuations are underway, and Highway 1.

[Adam Rippon]

Is closed this morning. This is Highway 1. Well, what's left of it south of Big Sur.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

This section, as you can see, has.

[Adam Rippon]

Crumbled into the Pacific Ocean.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

It's genuinely insane. The campsite that we would go to, we haven't been able to go back the past few years because of fires and mudslides.

[Chase Kane]

It wasn't just Bea's favorite camping spot in Big Sur that was being impacted by the effects of climate change.

[Adam Rippon]

No. Climate change has also wreaked havoc on her livelihood as a professional snowboarder.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I would go to these same places the same time every single year. And one year would be an exceptional snow year. And there would be so much snow, we would be snowed in powder days, which is not good for pipe training, but lots of powder days. 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. So it's kind of hard to ignore. It was a gradual kind of realization of I've gone to all these different places, both in all over the US and all over the world, and obviously they're all very different. But there's one common theme throughout all of them, and that is they are being affected by climate change.

[Adam Rippon]

And Bea decided to do something about.

[Chase Kane]

It, be connected with the climate advocacy organization Protect Our Winters, also known as pow, which was founded by professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones to turn outdoor athletes into climate advocates who work together to protect a future with clean air, clean water, and a healthy planet.

[Adam Rippon]

Protect Our Winters was the organization that arranged for Bea to speak at the U.N. they also arranged a trip for her to go down to D.C. to speak at the U.S. capitol.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I felt that one. I couldn't watch it happen and not say anything about it. But also I realized how quickly the danger of losing snow and losing winter and losing the future of my sport was and how real it really was becoming.

[Adam Rippon]

Speaking up is not always easy.

[Chase Kane]

Bea told us that she has anxiety, but she chooses to face it because she knows the importance of using her voice.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

That's honestly what keeps me coming back to snowboarding, I think, is 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.

[Drew Kim]

I think 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.

[Adam Rippon]

That's Bea's proud father, Drew.

[Drew Kim]

She's, you know, doing just as much probably work there as she is in training to become an Olympian. It's a big thing for her and something that, is something that takes a lot of information and learning and, and, but she's kind of taken that on and become an advocate for, for climate as well.

[Chase Kane]

And one of my favorite things about getting to know Bea and her dad was learning the way that her dad decided to stay warm while on the slopes waiting for B during training and competition. So if you see him on TV during the Winter Olympics, he might not just be standing there, he's probably going to be doing push ups.

[Drew Kim]

I had to figure out a way to just stay alive, to be quite honest. So I started doing push ups and it kind of became a thing, you know, and made a lot of friends up there who were like, that's a great idea. We should do them too. So there were a lot of moments where, okay, there's B's dad again doing push ups. But it was a great thing to stay in shape, stay warm. And it was kind of like a comic relief kind of thing as well amongst some of the group.

[Chase Kane]

So, you know, he is in good shape, but okay, back to be.

[Adam Rippon]

She doesn't just use her voice. She's very intentional with her actions.

[Chase Kane]

She vets her sponsors and makes sure to only partner with brands who share her values.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

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. And so I've aligned myself with partners that are environmentally friendly and environmentally conscious and are trying to use recycled plastics and recycled materials. I'm very proud to stand with the partners that I do chase.

[Adam Rippon]

When I was competing, I could not wait to wear the new Team USA gear they give us.

[Chase Kane]

I mean, I'm sure, like everybody looks good when they're wearing that. B also gets excited, but even more excited for old gear. We can call it previous, previously loved.

[Adam Rippon]

Bea's mom started taking her thrifting when she was little.

[Chase Kane]

And thrifting. For those of you who have never tried it, I want to know who these people are at.

[Adam Rippon]

Me too.

[Chase Kane]

But if you have never tried thrifting, it's going shopping for used clothes at secondhand stores, garage sales, flea markets.

[Adam Rippon]

Bea quickly fell in love with thrifting. The thrill of the hunt, finding something one of a kind.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

It's Easy to do. It's fun, it's enjoyable. I like it a lot more than going to the mall. Yeah, there's lots of clothes out there already, so you just gotta dig a little and find the ones that fit your style.

[Chase Kane]

And she's, I think, much better at it than either of us would be. But when we talked to her, we asked her to do a fit check and show us her favorite finds.

[Adam Rippon]

And chase, obviously, she slayed her looks.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

This jacket is my, like, prized possession. I got it thrifting in Japan, and I wear it everywhere. It's great for when I'm in cold climates. It's this, what I think is the perfect leather jacket. It. It's nice and oversized. Goes with everything, keeps me warm. I have found that secondhand. And the day I found it, I was so excited. And I think the back is pretty, pretty, pretty plain and basic, but, yeah, nice. Lots of nice pockets. Oversized. Can fit a sweatshirt underneath. It's great.

[Adam Rippon]

I loved Bea's answer when you asked her what she would wear if she could thrift her look for the half pipe.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

Honestly, it would probably be something like this jacket that I just showed you. Pretty simple colors. I don't tend to go for the flashiest colors and a sick jacket and maybe a cool beanie, and then I'm set.

[Chase Kane]

I mean, she would totally look like B. And for anyone wondering why we're talking about fashion in the context of climate change, were you wondering that?

[Adam Rippon]

I was wondering.

[Chase Kane]

I was, as were maybe some of you. And it's actually because the pollution produced by the fashion industry is greater than all international flights and global shipping combined. And then get this. More than 85% of all clothes end up in landfills. So every item that we go and thrift and wear again, we're actually keeping that out of a landfill and helping offset this big problem.

[Adam Rippon]

So for Bea, thrifting is one of the small ways she can try to make a big difference.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I know each person has their own kind of sustainability goals, and we're all very imperfect advocates. 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 a little bit.

[Chase Kane]

So what is Bea's advice for us aspiring thrifters?

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I go back and forth on if it's better to go in with a list or just to go in, like, free. Because sometimes you go in with a list and then you get let down. Sometimes you go in with no list and find exactly what you were looking for. My main tip is don't buy the first thing you pick up. Like go around. If you're like at a flea market, go around to all the different shops and different stalls and if you're still thinking about that one thing ten shops later, then go back and buy it. So that way it'll prevent you from just grabbing something and being like, oh yeah, I definitely want this when it's two seconds in.

[Adam Rippon]

Acura has always celebrated gatherings that bring people together. From the Sundance Film Festival to the Acura Grand Prix of Long beach, we're proud to power the moments that move us all. The Acura ADX continues that tradition, featuring Google built in Acura watch. Safety and craftsmanship built for every road we share. This is Olympic figure skating medalist Adam Rippon. Are you wondering who you should root for at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

[Yasmin Vasugin]

You're gonna have great days.

[Adam Rippon]

You're gonna have rock bottom days.

[Yasmin Vasugin]

That's part of being a mom, being an Olympian.

[Adam Rippon]

Check out my new favorite Olympian. Where to your podcasts. Once upon a time, in an icy winter world, a wicked woman stole a child. Only the power of love can save him and defeat her. The Snow Queen New to Morrison Mysteries. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Narrator]

On the night before Halloween in 1975, 15 year old Martha Moxley was murdered. But police failed to make an arrest until in 2000, her one time neighbor Michael Skakel was arrested. He was also a cousin of the Kennedys. The Kennedy connection is the reason that most people know about this case. But the deeper I dug, the more I came to question everything I thought I knew. Dead certain the Martha Moxley Murder. All episodes are available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chase Kane]

Let's go back to where we started this episode on the floor of the United Nations.

[Adam Rippon]

Bea is ready to escape to the privacy of the bathroom after delivering her speech.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

I had just finished speaking and I was probably a sweaty, shaky like disaster and a mess and I was just so relieved that I had not vomited on the table.

[Chase Kane]

But before she could get very far.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

The UN delegate from Monaco comes up to me and she was surrounded by like security guards and all of her people and they're like, come on, you have to get out. Like we have to leave the room, we have to go to her. And she stopped and looked me in the eye and shook my hand and said I really appreciate what you had to say today and it means a lot that the next generation cares and is trying to do something And, I mean, I was in shock because that was, like, the highest political figure I'd ever or, you know, type of person I'd ever met before. And the fact that she took the time to say those kinds of words really meant a lot. It was, like, definitely a realization moment where I was like, oh, I maybe do have a little bit more weight with my words than I thought I did.

[Adam Rippon]

Since then, Bea has continued to use her words to make an impact.

[Bea Kim (personal reflections)]

It can definitely be a tricky situation, especially because 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 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. It's going to change either way. So hopefully we can come together and not care about those things in this particular fight as well.

[Chase Kane]

Looking back to your journey, when do you think you realized just how much impact you could have by speaking out?

[Adam Rippon]

I think maybe the first time I decided to, like, speak out or say something that was on my mind or something that was important to me, I was. I think, like, anybody would be nervous to do that or worried that there would be some sort of, like, repercussions. But when I was able to share things that were important to me, you know, like my identity and things that I believed in politics, 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 on that unfair floor of, like, that's where she really found, like, the strength in that moment. And I can relay my own experiences to what she's talking about.

[Chase Kane]

And you've also traveled the world competing in the Winter Olympics, competing in other skating competitions. Now, in your work with NBC, when you've been to these places around the world, what have you noticed about the impact of climate change in some of these spots?

[Adam Rippon]

I think, you know, I had the opportunity to start training around the world and competing for Team usa. It's been so interesting to see the way that climate has affected these places that I've gone to maybe 20 years ago or 15 years ago, and how different the seasons are. Someone like B, their sport is so reliant on the. The climate of those locations. And someone like me, my sport is a winter sport, but it is done indoors. So my, you know, experiences of. Of what is it like in these different areas is so different. I see it at, like, at sort of a viewership level. And she's experiencing is crazy how quickly we've seen the. The weather shift in these different locations. And I think the work that Bea is doing is so. It's so vital, it's so important. We have to act now. And I think, like, she inspires all of us to try to do something to help improve the climate around the world.

[Chase Kane]

I mean, even though your sport is indoors, I mean, you're friends with skiers and snowboarders. Like, do they have conversations about this, like, when they're not on the slopes?

[Adam Rippon]

You know, I think they have conversations about this even when they might not realize it's about climate change. But it's how they can't train in certain locations at the same time of year anymore. They're having to go to different locations. They're going to have to train in multiple different locations throughout the year, something that they wouldn't have to do in years past. Especially when you're dealing with, like, the elements, like, that's part of your sport. So you have to follow the snow. And when you're following the snow and the climate of the world is getting warmer and warmer, it's a limited amount of places that you can go that you're able to train. So it highly affects these athletes.

[Chase Kane]

And now to hear more about what we can expect from B. Kim in Milan, we're joined by NBC Olympics Senior editor Nick Zuccardi. Nick, thanks for joining us.

[Nick Zuccardi]

Thank you for having me.

[Chase Kane]

So, Nick, fewer cities are able to reliably host the Winter Olympics because winter's getting warmer. That's, of course, affecting snow. So what's the IOC's plan for how to handle this situation as the pool of host cities starts to shrink?

[Nick Zuccardi]

Well, I think you're already seeing it with the Milan Cortina Games, which will be the most spread out Winter Olympics in history with four different clusters of competition venues. That way, you're casting a wider net of land area to create more options for the best conditions for a given sport. Now, the IOC has also talked about the possibility of creating a rotational pool of Winter Games hosts, a possible system there, but that's more of a wait and see right now because the next few Olympic hosts are already lined up. These are basically the Northern Italy Olympics, right? It's not just Milan, it's not just Cortina. You know, they're doing Alpine skiing in Bormia, which regularly hosts Alpine skiing, though nothing else is done in Borneo. They're doing biathlon near the, the border with Austria because that's where they usually do biathlon when they do World Cups in that area. So, so this way they're not having like to build new venues or to worry about whether or not, like, conditions are going to be okay because they are using venues that are already used every year in World Cups and things like that. Even though it, it has to make it more of a spread out Olympics, you know, and we've heard like, you know, some Olympic bids like using multiple countries. Right. Because they don't have like a bobsled track in, in Sweden or something like that. So this is sort of where they're going with this sort of thing. Like four different competition clusters is sort of, is, is, is unheard of. And they're going to have four clusters for the next Olympics in France too.

[Adam Rippon]

Nick. B. Is in the same discipline as Chloe Kim, who's the reigning Olympic champion. So what are the similarities and differences between B and Chloe, who I should note are not related?

[Nick Zuccardi]

Well, if you remember, Adam, the backstory with Chloe was that when she was a little kid, her dad would pack her up in, in the family car and they would drive hours on weekends from Southern California to Mammoth Mountain. And that's how she learned to snowboard. Well, B. Has a very similar story also from Southern California, also grew up making those trips to Mammoth Mountain. That's how they're very similar. Of course, they're very different in other ways. I mean, B doesn't have the level of tricks that Chloe has. Nobody does. But she's only 18 years old and she's got a bright future similar to what Chloe had when she was a teenager.

[Chase Kane]

Thanks for joining us, Nick. We appreciate the insight.

[Nick Zuccardi]

Thank you guys.

[Adam Rippon]

On the next episode of My New Favorite Olympian, this freestyle skier is looking to get back on top after hitting rock bottom.

[Nick Zuccardi]

Skiing has always been the easy part. It's just balancing out like the rest.

[Chase Kane]

Of that pie chart of life. You just have to be calculated about.

[Nick Zuccardi]

When you go like full obsession crazy mode about something and then I know when to step out of that.

[Adam Rippon]

Get to know Nick Gepper on the next episode of My New Favorite Olympian.

[Chase Kane]

This episode of My New Favorite Olympian was produced by NBCUniversal Local. Adam Rippon and I, Chase Kane were your hosts. This episode was written by Chase Kane and Seth rubenreith and edited by James Jeffrey. Jeremy Berg served as executive producer. Seth rubenroith served as the coordinating producer. DS Shen was supervising producer. Motion graphics and design by Aaron Pannell. Miguel Estrada Alse Haidari, Aaron Pannell, Ray Rodriguez were the production crew. Steven Dawson was the operations manager.

[Adam Rippon]

My new favorite Olympian is brought to you by Acura, proud partner of Team usa.

[Chase Kane]

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[Yasmin Vasugin]

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[Adam Rippon]

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