The Waves: Brittney Griner and the Problem With Women’s Basketball

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior producer Cheyna
Roth is joined by Amira Rose Davis, professor, historian, and
co-host of the feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down to talk
about Brittney Griner. The WNBA superstar has been detained by the
Russians for months. Cheyna and Amira talk about how Russia treats
its women athletes like superstars (until they don’t), while in
America it takes weeks for people to really notice when a star WNBA
player is missing. Later in the show, they discuss the impact of
having Brittney Griner out of the league and Amira recommends WNBA
players to watch.  In Slate Plus, the fascinating (and
feminist!) history of cheerleaders.  Recommendations: Amira:
Formula 1 racing, including Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive
and F1 romance novels like the Fast and Hard series.  Cheyna:
Jana Schmieding for her roles on Hulu’s Reservation Dogs and
Peacock’s Rutherford Falls.    Podcast production by
Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus and Alicia
Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover
to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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