Blind Landing is a documentary podcast about professional sports hosted by Ari Saperstein. Season one focused on safety in gymnastics, while season two looks at identity in figure skating. The show was an honoree at the 2022 and 2023 Webby Awards and was named the Best Independent Podcast at the 2023 Awards for Excellence in Audio.
Background
The first season of Blind Landing released in July 2021, focused on artistic gymnastics and the vault controversy during the women's all-around final at the 2000 Summer Olympics, when the apparatus was set two inches too low, resulting in gymnasts falling and getting injured during the event.[1][2] The first season featured interviews with Olympic gymnasts who were at the competition.[3][4] All five episodes of the first season were released on July 19, 2021.[5] The second season of Blind Landing, released in February 2022, is about figure skating and LGBTQ+ athletes.[6]
Episodes
Introductory episodes
Title
Running time
Original release date
"Blind Landing: Season One Trailer"
2:40
June 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
"Blind Landing: Season Two Trailer"
1:56
February 4, 2022 (2022-02-04)
Season 1
No.
Title
Running time
Original release date
1
"The Vault: Part 1"
24:47
July 19, 2021 (2021-07-19)
This episode discusses how the error in Sydney effected Elise Ray.
2
"The Vault: Part 2"
20:03
July 19, 2021 (2021-07-19)
This episode discusses how Allana Slater discovered the error in Sydney.
3
"The Vault: Part 3"
27:13
July 19, 2021 (2021-07-19)
This episode discusses how the error in Sydney effected Svetlana Khorkina.
4
"The Vault: Part 4"
26:18
July 19, 2021 (2021-07-19)
This episode features a discussion with Maria Olaru on how the error in Sydney could have been prevented.
5
"The Vault: Part 5"
31:22
July 19, 2021 (2021-07-19)
This episode addresses the error in Sydney with Lisa Mason and discusses the culture of the sport as well as how the controversy is perceived twenty years later.
This episode was a collaboration between Blind Landing and the NPR podcast Code Switch, which discussed the life of Mabel Fairbanks with Tai Babilonia and Atoy Wilson.[7]
Special–Episode
"Ukrainian Gymnast Illia Kovtun & The Story Behind The Photo Seen Around The World"
18:41
March 18, 2022 (2022-03-18)
This episode discusses Illia Kovtun and her experiences in gymnastics during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Reception
The Atlantic named Blind Landing one of the Best Podcasts of 2021.[8] Wendy J. Fox reviewed the first season in Podcast Review—a Los Angeles Review of Books publication—calling it a "thoughtful exploration of a decades-old scandal" and lauded the emphasis on the gymnasts' perspectives rather than sensationalizing the story: “What Saperstein succeeds at is uncovering the implications of how this played out in the rest of the competition and how it ultimately affected these gymnasts’ lives.”[9]Nicholas Quah of Vulture echoed that praise: “Blind Landing directs its attention toward the question of who gets heard when something is wrong and, by extension, the relationship between individuals and the overarching cultures or systems within which they operate.”[10]
