Puma has found a host for its upcoming podcast, Legacy of Speed. Renowned author Malcolm Gladwell is set to lead the six-part exploration of the San Jose State University Track & Field program in the 1960s. The legendary program spurred the careers of Tommie Smith, Lee Evans and John Carlos, who led protests during the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Gladwell is not only known for his work as an author, but he is also an avid runner himself. Therefore, he emerged as the best candidate to lead this ongoing exploration of how sports can interact with activism through the lens of track and field.
Deadline reports that the first episode will begin with a conversation featuring Gladwell and coach Bud Winter. Winter and Gladwell will discuss how his experiences influenced the track team, how he recruited a slew of Black athletes to the predominantly white institution and the role that Dr. Harry Edwards played in all of this. Along the way, Gladwell will also chop it up with Tommie Smith as well as other Olympic athletes and sports journalists.
“I’ve run competitively since I was young, so a story like this really resonates with me as both an athlete and journalist,” Gladwell told Deadline.
“I remember seeing the photo of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on the Olympic platform with their fists in the air and understanding that it was an act of transgression. That moment is important. It paved the way for how we think about the relationship between sports and social protest today.”
Legacy Speed will debut on June 14, 2022. Check out the trailer below.
