Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy

Laughter Permitted is in Chicago with the incomparable Amy Liss. In this episode, Amy shares her incredible life story, how she deals with the daily challenges of cerebral palsy and why she lives each day with an "attitude of gratitude."

It's a two-for-one on this episode of Laughter Permitted as U.S. hockey teammates and Olympic gold medalists Meghan Duggan and Kendall Coyne Schofield join the podcast. Get the inside scoop on the U.S. women's national team's fight for equitable support, find out how Kendall was the showstopper at this year's NHL All-Star skills competition and how Meghan auditioned for "The Voice."

Laughter Permitted is in New York City with trailblazing journalist Katie Couric. Known for her 15-year run as co-anchor of NBC's the "Today" show, Katie also became the first woman to solo anchor a weekday evening newscast when she took over the helm at the "CBS Evening News." She is a Peabody, Emmy and Murrow-award winning journalist, founding member of the non-profit Stand Up To Cancer and host of the podcast "Next Question with Katie Couric." In this episode, Katie shares stories from her journalism career, explains why she isn't afraid of failure and how she has evolved with the changing media landscape.

Laughter Permitted is live from the Julie Foudy & espnW Sports Leadership Academy in New Jersey with basketball superstar Tamika Catchings, who is a WNBA MVP and champion, 4-time Olympic gold medalist and founder of the Catch the Stars Foundation. Tamika explains how she turned a hearing impairment into her "superpower," the influence legendary University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt had on her life and why her non-profit Catch the Stars Foundation is her proudest achievement. Also find out how Tamika came to compete on "American Ninja Warrior" and own a tea cafe in Indianapolis called Tea's Me.

Laughter Permitted is joined by the legendary Robin Roberts, who anchors "Good Morning America," was an anchor and reporter at ESPN for 15 years and is a Peabody Award-winning journalist. Robin tells the story of when she met Julie while covering the 1999 World Cup, how her parents influenced her as a person and why she is so passionate about her role at GMA. Lynn also shares an email Robin wrote to her 15 years ago.

In the Season 2 premiere of Laughter Permitted, the legendary Billie Jean King joins the party. "The Kinger," as Julie calls her, won 39 Grand Slam titles in her tennis career, beat Bobby Riggs in the famed Battle of the Sexes match and is the first female athlete awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Listen in as BJK tells stories from her life and how she continues to advocate for the advancement of women in sports and society.

World Cup Champs Week comes to close with Jill Ellis, who is the winningest coach in USWNT history and has two World Cup titles. Jill talks about her run as national team coach, goes in depth about the 2019 World Cup experience and closes the show with a maple donut.

World Cup Champs Week and the laughs continue with Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle. Find out what it was like for these friends to play in their first World Cup, how choreographed dances kept the mood light in the USWNT locker room and why Sam Mewis is hoping her World Cup win can lead to a new ride. #sammyneedsaca

Next up on World Cup Champs week are Julie Ertz and Crystal Dunn. There's a lot of laughter in this episode as the good friends share the story of how they met and talk about their experiences on the USWNT together.

World Cup Champs week continues with USWNT captain Carli Lloyd, who has two World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals and was twice named FIFA Player of the Year.

World Cup Champs Week kicks off with two-time World Cup champions and Olympic gold medalists Alex Morgan and Kelley O'Hara. The two friends share stories from their latest World Cup win, talk about the USWNT's continued fight for equal pay and showcase an unabashed love of donuts.

Laughter Permitted is back! Julie and Lynn share highlights of Season 1 and hold the first-ever "Dopie Awards".

The final bonus episode of Laughter Permitted for the Women's World Cup is with former USWNT goalkeeper Briana Scurry, who is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. In a thoughtful conversation, Bri reminisces about the 1999 World Cup final and opens up about how a concussion led to low moments in her life and eventually finding love.

The third bonus episode of Laughter Permitted for the Women's World Cup features soccer legends Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly, who are both two-time World Cup champions and two-time Olympic gold medalists. They are also former USWNT teammates and good friends of Julie's. Listen in to find out where Brandi's famous black bra from the 1999 World Cup final is and learn the truth about Julie's donut habit from Kristine Lilly.

In the second bonus episode for the Women's World Cup, Julie sits down with USWNT defender Crystal Dunn, who is playing in her first World Cup. The conversation centers on how, after being cut from the U.S. World Cup roster in 2015, Crystal battled back that same year to be named MVP of the NWSL. And she met her husband that year, too. In Most Pressing Questions, Crystal shares her favorite dance move, sings some of her go-to karaoke song and explains why she limits her coffee intake.

For this installment of Laughter Permitted, we took interviews Julie did for an E:60 profile on USWNT star Tobin Heath and turned them into an episode. Tobin talks about her life, soccer career, the USWNT's equitable support fight and how, as a longtime member of the national team, she hasn't sought the spotlight. Near the end of the episode, Tobin shares the story of why she chose to wear Doris Burke's name on the back of her jersey and what Doris' reaction was (we got Doris' blessing to include the story...it's a good one).

Laughter Permitted is live from Brooklyn and the espnW Summit, NYC with guest Allyson Felix, the most decorated track & field woman in U.S. Olympic history, with six gold and three silver medals! Allyson opens up about the premature birth of her daughter, Camryn, and how she is balancing motherhood as she goes for her fifth Olympics. Also: Find out about Allyson's "sneaker room" and where she falls in the "Is a cinnamon roll a donut?" debate.

Laughter Permitted heads to Julie's alma mater, Stanford University, for a live episode. Fellow Cardinal and Olympic champion swimmers Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel join Julie for a conversation about their success at the Rio Olympics and what life is like now as professional swimmers. Katie tells the story of her stint in Stanford's marching band and Simone gives an update on her snails, Shaka and Zulu. Plus, Julie reveals why she decided to stick to soccer instead of becoming a doctor.

Laughter Permitted is joined by sports journalism icon Mary Carillo, who is an Emmy-award-winning correspondent for HBO Real Sports, a two-time Peabody award-winner and a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. A former professional tennis player, Mary tells tales of covering the Olympics, producing and writing documentaries and explains her brief foray into bog snorkeling.

Laughter Permitted makes a stop at Disney World in Orlando for its first-ever "live" podcast and welcomes guest Sydney Leroux Dwyer, who is a professional soccer player for the Orlando Pride, an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion. Sydney talks about being a true "soccer mom" -- she has a 2-year-old son, Cassius, and is expecting her second child this summer -- how she's still training while pregnant and her future plans for her soccer career. Julie also explains what "plorking" is.

Laughter Permitted makes its way to Colorado to meet up with Mikaela Shiffrin, who is one of the best alpine skiers on the planet and, perhaps equally as important, a bona fide donut lover. Mikaela is fresh off a monumental season in which she broke a 30-year-old record by winning 17 World Cup races in one season, captured four crystal globes -- which means she is the best in the world in four skiing disciplines -- and won her third straight overall World Cup title. She also has three Olympic medals. And did we mention she's only 24?! Mikaela talks about this past season, shares her strategy for dealing with fear and gets candid about her unabashed love of donuts.

In a very special episode of Laughter Permitted, Julie Foudy sits down with former USWNT teammate and lifelong friend Mia Hamm. Most know Mia is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, with two World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals and two FIFA World Player of the Year awards. But few know about the "wardrobe malfunction" Mia had moments before a meeting with FIFA. Along with hilarious stories from their playing days, Julie and Mia talk about Mia's prowess as a youth soccer coach of the Killer Cobras and how both miss the days of living in a house together in Manhattan Beach. Listen in for a lot of laughs and never-before-told stories about the 99'ers.

On the next stop on the Laughter Permitted party train, Julie Foudy catches up with her longtime pal Jessica Mendoza, who is a two-time Olympic medalist in softball and an analyst on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Jessica tells the story of how a post-game interview during her playing days led to her current career in TV. She also delves into what it's like being a woman calling MLB in primetime, how a cockroach in a Dominican Republic bathroom helped her out of a hitting slump, what it's like homeschooling her sons and why scotch is her preferred drink of choice. Jessica's 9-year-old son, Caleb, joins the conversation and is so good on the mic that he has been invited to be on every episode going forward.

Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy heads to Southern California to meet up with volleyball legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings. In this conversation, Kerri opens up about why she's going for her sixth Olympics and what it's been like starting the beach volleyball event series p1440 after parting ways with the AVP Tour. Also: Find out how Kerri realized she was pregnant while competing in the London Olympics, and In Most Pressing Questions, Kerri tells us what question she gets asked the most -- and whether she'd rather win one more gold medal or hit a jackpot for $750 million.

Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy makes its way to the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas, where four-time Olympic gold medalist and gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles trains. Simone sits down with Julie to talk about the 2016 Rio Olympics and what life has been like since. They go into the current state of USA Gymnastics and its newest president, and talk about what really went down during the 2018 world championships when Simone won the all-around with a kidney stone. Simone's mom, Nellie, also joins the conversation, with her own hilarious take on Simone's successes in the gym and attempts at adulting.

Season 1 of Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy kicks off with World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach and her wife, best-selling author, activist and philanthropist Glennon Doyle. Julie talks with Abby and Glennon about how their relationship began -- it turns out Oprah played a role -- and Abby describes the ups and downs of life post-soccer, and how a graduation speech inspired her latest book, "Wolfpack," coming in April 2019.

Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy is a fun, thoughtful, candid conversation with trailblazers in sports about the joy/chaos of life and sports. Julie is a former captain of the U.S. women's soccer team and won two Olympic gold medals and two World Cup titles during her almost two decades with the national team. She is now an analyst and reporter for ESPN and espnW and, most importantly, a donut savant.