Scoreography

Marin Honda and Shoma Uno have officially announced that they are returning from retirement — to compete in Ice Dance for Japan. We dig into this exciting news, plus round up what else has happened in this wild off season: Italy's Team Bronze pairs team Conti and Macii have officially split, as have the promising Australian pair Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore. Starr Andrews has officially teamed up with Danill Parkman to compete for the USA in pairs, while Fiona Bombardier and Loucas Etheir have joined forces in Canada. Other retirements and team-ups have been announced, all while the competition plans for some of the US and Canada's biggest names remains in question. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:33 Marin Honda and Soma Uno Ice Dancers 00:12:07 Conti and Macii Split 00:14:12 Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore Split 00:15:44 Vladimir Litvintsev Retires 00:16:52 Starr Andrews and Danill Parkman Pairs Partnership 00:20:31 Fiona Bombardier and Loucas Etheir Pairs Team 00:22:01 Milania Kristina Vaananen and Fillipo Ambrosini Pairs Team 00:23:02 What will Team USA and Team Canada look like this season? 00:28:46 Free Agent Skaters Dropping Hints 00:29:34 Wrap-Up and Continued Call for Q&A Submissions

After a week away, we catch-up on a ton of figure skating news, including dance and pairs team splits, retirements, and other surprises. We also recount our trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. And Adron talks about learning his oldest sister was also a big figure skating fan, just days before her untimely passing last week. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro, the passing of Adron's sister (and connection to skating) 00:08:36 Our Denver Twice Trip 00:11:36 Skating News: Team Splits 00:25:02 Skating News: Retirements and Gap Years 00:32:29 Skating News: Misc 00:41:29 Our Colorado Springs visit 00:55:12 Call for Q&A Episode Questions 00:56:22 Wrap-Up We're back with some offseason news after a short break. There's A LOT happening in figure skating for late April! This month has been a roller coaster for us personally. Adron lost his oldest sister suddenly, which has been difficult for many reasons. We discuss this and how it actually connects to figure skating in the first 8 minutes of this week's episode. We know this type of discussion is challenging for some, so if you prefer to go right to the skating news, the chapter breaks can skip you ahead. In terms of skating, the rumor mill has been going strong after video was shared by Marin Honda from Japan of her and Shoma Uno training at I.AM. The two have been doing ice dance routines in Shoma's tour, Ice Brave, and their time at I.AM. may be a continuation of that. Or, as we and many others are trying not to get too excited about, it could mean a possible return to competition. They have confirmed nothing, so let's keep it chill for now (with our fingers crossed). When it comes to factual news, we talk through the splits of both Korea's Hannah Lim and Ye Quan, as well as Olivia Flores and Luke Wang from the USA. We also get into our feelings over the un-surprising retirement of Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuchi Kihara. Following their victory at the Olympics, it was very much expected that they would hang up their competitive skates, but this one hurts. Others who have announced they are retiring are Ioulia Chtchetinina of Poland and Josefin Taljegard of Sweden. Not retiring but taking a break for a season is Japan's Yuma Kagiyama. His absence will be a significant loss for the men's field, but may open opportunities for other Japanese men like Kazuki Tomono — or Rio Nakata, who will be moving up to the Senior ranks next season. There are many other tidbits — like Alysa Liu's music video debut and Johnny and Tara hosting The Kelly Clarkson Show — which all makes for a very active month without competition. There's also discussion of our recent trip to Colorado Springs — the home of the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center for the U.S.. — which was admittedly not as exciting as we'd hoped for.

The 2025-2026 figure skating season finally wrapped up with the World Figure Skating Champions in Prague, and it absolutely lived up to the promise of Olympic redemption for many skaters. Unfortunately, it also provided more scoring confusion in the ice dance competition. Chapters 00:00:00 Motion Graphic 00:01:15 Podcast Chapters vs AI Slop 00:03:41 Women's Competition 00:31:41 Pairs Competition 00:45:34 Men's Competition 01:08:27 Ice Dance Competition 01:21:01 Fear and Gibson and Controversy 01:46:45 Gold in our Hearts 01:51:27 Wrap-Up

The men's event at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships is all about redemption. Ilia Malinin comes in as the favorite, but with questions around the effect his Olympic experience may have on what he delivers in Prague. Best case scenario is he "goes ham" and holds nothing back. Ilia is almost always at his best when he's going for the biggest and boldest programs. Also looking to have two consecutive clean skates are the Olympic Silver and Bronze medalists from Japan, Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato. Both of these men had one brilliant skate in Milan, and several that were less than they would have wished for. If they can bring great short and free programs to the competition, they will try likely both be getting medals on this podium as well. There's a long list of others that are sure to make this an exciting — and likely nerve wracking — event to watch. Who gets their redemption arc?! Only time will tell. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:52 Withdrawals: Who WON'T Be There 00:05:32 Ilia Malinin 00:12:21 Yuma Kagiyama 00:16:14 Shun Sato 00:18:12 Daniel Grassl 00:19:07 Adam Siao Him Fa 00:21:11 Stephen Gogolev 00:24:52 Kao Muira 00:26:12 Nika Egadze 00:27:51 Kevin Aymoz 00:29:15 Andrew Torgashev 00:31:19 Other Men in the Competition 00:33:55 Podium Predictions 00:36:38 Wrap-Up

The 2026 World Figure Skating Championships are just a week away, and the women's competition may again be the most hotly contested event! While Olympic Champion, Alysa Liu, has withdrawn, there will be a wildly talented group of women competing for the title, including 3-time World Champion and reigning Olympic silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. This will be Kaori's last time on competitive ice, so emotions are sure to be running high for her and all of us watching! Japan could very well sweep this podium, as Olympic bronze medalist and rookie of the year, Ami Nakai, will be bringing her triple axels to Prague. And Mone Chiba will be hunting for the elusive medal she just missed in Milano Cortina. Likely seeking a little redemption is one of Milan's "Blade Angels", Amber Glenn of the USA. Amber is entirely capable of taking this title or getting on the podium. We expect she'll be coming in hungry after one small mistake in her Olympic short program lost her a medal. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:55 Alysa Liu is too famous for Worlds (j/k) 00:04:51 Kaori Sakamoto 00:07:15 Ami Nakai 00:10:00 Mone Chiba 00:12:26 Niina Petrokina 00:13:50 Amber Glenn 00:15:53 Isabeau Levito 00:17:06 Sarah Everhardt 00:18:32 Haein Lee and Jia Shin 00:20:16 Sofia Samodelkina 00:21:48 Nina Pinzaronne 00:23:01 Kimmy Repond withdrawal and coaching change 00:23:58 Olga Mikutina 00:24:17 Maddie Schizas (and Gabby Daleman pairs girlie?!) 00:26:18 Iida Karhunen 00:26:48 Anastasiia Gubanova 00:27:48 Lara Naki Gutmann 00:29:16 Podium Predictions 00:30:29 Wrap-Up

The Olympic Games are complete — but our complaints are not! In the spirit of good faith critique, we recount some of our least favorite aspects of the figure skating competition at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. It's an Olympic Airing of Grievances! And these aren't just OUR opinions. We asked our audience for their concerns, quibbles, and frustrations with the games, the scoring, the broadcast commentary, and more. And YOU delivered! These Olympics were exhilarating, heartbreaking, stunning, and confounding. Some moments are going to be LEGENDARY. But there's a lot that could have been done better, and plenty of things to fix in the future. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:01 Attack on Iran and impact on figure skating 00:10:04 Let the Grievances Begin 00:10:34 The Media 00:22:51 Questionable Judging 00:32:00 Olympic Quality Control 00:37:18 Commentary and Broadcast 00:51:28 NBC-ification 01:00:02 Listener Grievances! 01:15:21 Coal in our Hearts?! 01:18:29 Look ahead to Junior Worlds 01:19:54 Wrap-Up

The figure skating competition at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games comes to a glorious conclusion with the women's event! USA's golden girl, Alysa Liu, comes through in the clutch with a flawless free skate and climbs to the top of the podium. Queen Kaori Sakamoto holds onto Silver with two incredible skates, and claims her home in our hearts forever. And while Ami Nakai can't maintain the first place ranking she earned in the short, she still brings home the Bronze with abundant charisma and joy. What an event! Everyone in the top ten was terrific, and there are performances to celebrate even down into 20th. The women of figure skating dazzled, showed courage and grit (looking at you, Amber Glenn), and finished off Olympic competition in grand style. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:38 The Women's Olympic Podium 00:22:39 The Rest of the Top 10 00:41:49 Outside the Top 10 00:53:03 Gold in our Hearts 00:54:39 Wrap-Up

The final competitive figure skating event of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina is upon us! The Women's competition gives us the deepest field of skaters who are likely to challenge for a medal. Expect the competition to be fierce as these women all hunt for their Olympic moment. It's our 100th episode! We forgot to talk about it 😅 but we really appreciate you joining us for this milestone, and thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way! We discuss the women we perceive as the top eight contenders, based on best scores of the season: Kaori Sakamoto, Ami Nakai, Alysa Liu, Niina Petrokina, Amber Glenn, Mone Chiba, and Adeliia Petrosian. But we're not counting out any of the dark horse podium possibilities, including Jia Shin, Anastasiia Gubanova, Lara Naki Gutmann, Sofia Samodelkina, and Haein Lee. We also take some time to address feedback on our previous episode about the men's olympic final — specifically many commenters' misunderstanding of the episode's opening observations. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:16 Addressing the previous episodes and responses 00:12:26 Top Women's Competitors 00:37:41 The Dark Horse Candidates 00:49:04 Podium Predictions 00:51:40 Prediction Success So Far; State of the Games 00:55:44 Wrap-up

Olympic Ice Dance REACTION — 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games After a wonderful Team competition, Olympic figure skating in Milano Cortina hits its first big controversy. The individual Ice Dance event ends with France's Fournier-Beaudry & Cizeron in gold, despite several visible errors in both programs. Meanwhile, Chock & Bates are awarded silver even with two dynamic, clean performances. Gilles & Poirier take home the bronze, capping their Olympics with a magnificent, emotional free dance. We dig into why the outcome of this event felt neither fair nor surprising, after a season of shoddy, questionable judging. And, despite our anger and frustration, we revisit all of the memorable performances that made the competition great — including fantastic skates from Zingas & Kolesnik, Guignard & Fabbri, Smart & Dieck, and Lopareva & Brissaud. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and Ice Dance Controversy 00:03:23 Ice Dance Podium 00:20:09 The Rest of the Top Ten 00:36:58 Outside the Top Ten 00:46:14 Overall thoughts on the competition 00:51:32 Gold in our Hearts 00:53:45 Wrap-Up

The first figure skating event of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is officially complete! The Team Competition exceeded all expectations, delivering truly world class performances, and a last possible moment showdown to decide gold. The United States team took victory in dramatic fashion, via dominant ice dance showings from Chock & Bates, a clutch free skate from Kam & O'Shea, and a final heroic effort from Ilia Malinin. Japan took silver, missing the top of the podium by only a single point. Kaori Sakamoto, Yuma Kagiyama, and Miura & Kihara posted career high scores and likely-to-be-legendary performances. Shun Sato came up just short in the final skate, despite an exceptional, nearly flawless program. But it's the home country Bronze finish for Team Italy that pulled the most heartstrings. Stellar appearances from Guignard & Fabbri, Lara Naki Gutmann, and Conti & Macii put the podium in play for the Italians. But it was the sensational free program from Matteo Rizzo that locked third place and a coveted Olympic medal. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:59 Team Event Overview 00:02:59 Gold - USA 00:14:54 Silver - Japan 00:29:04 Bronze - Italy 00:37:12 Rest of the Competition 00:51:28 Gold in our Hearts 00:53:36 Wrap-Up

The Olympics are upon us, and we're here to help you get ready to watch Ice Dance! We walk you through the top 5 teams battling for the podium, and explain why there's one fight for Gold and another for Bronze. We thoroughly break down the competition between podium hopefuls Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA), Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (France), Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (Canada), Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri (Italy), and Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (Great Britain). But there are plenty of other excellent teams in the hunt for a top 10 finish, so we give you a complete rundown of who to keep an eye on. Plus: GLITTER AND GOLD — Did you hear us in the new Netflix ice dance documentary?! (Yes, you did, and no, we didn't know it was happening!) Chapters 00:00:00 Glitter and Gold 00:02:36 Olympic Ice Dance Preview 00:05:50 The Fight for Gold 00:17:09 The Fight for Bronze 00:24:46 The Spoiler Candidates 00:37:44 Other Teams to Watch 00:43:56 Podium Predictions 00:48:49 Looking Ahead 00:55:08 Wrap-Up

We react to the 2026 European Figure Skating Championships event in England, featuring a historic repeat win from Estonia's Niina Petrokina, two Georgian golds in Pairs and Men's, and a slightly surprising outcome in Ice Dance. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:45 Ice Dance 00:20:55 Women's Competition 00:32:10 Pairs Competition 00:41:09 Men's Competition 00:56:00 Canadian Nationals 01:03:42 Four Continents Preview 01:07:29 Gold in our Hearts 01:08:26 Wrap-Up

It's our first episode of 2026, and we're preparing for US Nationals — which will be held in our home city of St. Louis! We preview the upcoming competition with a laser focus on the biggest stakes: who will represent the USA at the Olympics. From virtually guaranteed locks like Ilia Malinin, Chock & Bates, and Alysa Liu, to the uncertainty around the pairs and additional dance spots, there's so much to be excited—and anxious—about. We also cover the results of this past weekend's Korean Nationals, including Olympics selections for Junhwan Cha, Haein Lee, and Jia Shin. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:17 Women's Competition Preview 00:20:50 Ice Dance Competition 00:35:55 Men's Competition 00:48:56 Pairs Competition 01:00:50 Korean Nationals Results 01:10:22 Wrap-Up