Sportshour

About Sportshour

Inspirational stories from around the world. Interviews with people defying the odds. Discover Not by the Playbook - the podcast which seeks out the most incredible stories from sportspeople and athletes. We bring you interviews with the sporting heroes who have achieved success in the face of seemingly impossible challenges. Hear from some of the most famous names in sport on subjects you've never heard them discuss before. You don't have to be an Olympic champion to have an extraordinary story – we also scour the globe for inspiring individuals who make a difference through sport. Whether you’re a football or soccer fan, tennis lover, golf aficionado or cricket addict, or even if you're not a sports fan at all, you’ll find inspiration in the stories of resilience, determination, and discipline. Expect insightful, honest, and thought-provoking conversations from people who live and breathe sport. Listen to Not by the Playbook on the BBC World Service every Saturday at 0900 GMT, or find it as a podcast wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Publisher

BBC World Service

Category

sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Jun 2015

Latest episode

6 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 595 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   6 Nov 2026

   Making your mark

   "Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way." The words of President Barack Obama. This week, four remarkable athletes all of whom have made their mark in unique ways achieving amazing feats way beyond their sporting endeavours. We first spoke to Camille Herron in 2022 after she had broken her own 100-mile women’s world record, completing it in less than 13 hours. We chatted again in 2024 when she broke the six-day world best, clocking an astonishing 560 miles! Two years on it was time to speak again, but this time the focus was away from running. Camille talks to us about her Autism and ADHD diagnosis she received in her 40's and her decision to fund her running career by setting up an account on an adult content platform. There's something so majestic about the ocean. Its power is both wonderfully beautiful and incredibly dangerous. It's something that surfers must respect every time they enter the waves. They have to weigh up the risk and the reward. But I guess that's true of most things in life and no one knows that better than surfer Chelsea Woodey. A nurse by profession Chelsea she sees the results of miscalculations of risk daily. She experienced herself after losing a baby in pregnancy to Preeclampsia. That's why heading down to the beach with her daughter is right up there as the most wonderful things she does in her life. Sweden's Ida Zetterström goes from naught to 335 miles per hour in under 4 seconds! She does it sat in her "Top Fuel" drag racing car. The fastest car in the sport! Quite appropriately she also happens to be the fastest talking guest we have ever had! I promise you we have not played this at double speed! So, strap yourself in for quick spin around the world of Drag Racing! In 1967, the British cyclist, Beryl Burton, set a world record in the 12 hour time trial... So good was that time that the record stood got FIFTY Years! It was arguably the greatest in a long list of achievements which also included seven world championships and numerous British records. Many now consider Beryl the finest female cyclist of all time. Photo: Ida Zetterstrom looks on from her cockpit after doing a burnout during the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 25, 2025 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. (CREDIT: Jeff Speer/Sonoma Raceway/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

2. 

   30 Oct 2026

   Fuelled by fear

   What could you achieve if fear wasn't standing in the way? Fear exists in so much of what we do; a scary interview on the horizon, standing on top of a terrifyingly tall building, fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of being different. Yet what about those who we laud as fearless? Athletes who push the boundaries, adrenaline junkies who jump at anything bigger, higher, faster -- is there such thing as fearlessness? But behind the roar of the crowd, away from the podium, do even athletes feel fear? Matt Formston has challenged perceptions throughout his life. Where others saw limitations and said "he couldn't" Matt's family asked a very simple question -- "why not?" Diagnosed with macular dystrophy at just five years old, Matt has gone on to break records in cycling, surfing and freediving. In November 2022, Matt surfed a fifty-one-foot wave at Nazaré, Portugal. The biggest wave ever surfed by any para athlete, proving that vision loss is no barrier to extraordinary achievement. During her years as an extreme skier, Kristen Ulmer knew her relationship with fear was different than most. For a decade, Kristen reigned as one of the world’s leading big-mountain skiers. In that high-stakes world, fear was not an obstacle, but a dare—driving her to attempt even bigger cliff jumps and conquer more treacherous descents. But after retiring from professional skiing in 2003, Kristen became obsessed with the very thing she'd always been praised for not feeling -- fear. Was fear really a bad thing, or could it be moulded into something far more powerful in our minds? Well, she's become an expert in all things fear and has published a book all about it The Art of Fear. For Nik Wallenda, walking hundreds of feet above the ground is all in a day’s work. Known as the ‘King of the High Wire’, Nik is a seventh-generation member of the legendary Flying Wallendas, a high-wire dynasty whose circus roots trace back to 18th-century Europe. He reflects on a legendary career of death-defying performances, the power of family and the lessons fear can teach us about life. From taking daring leaps into the unknown to turning anxiety into a competitive advantage, how do athletes embrace what many would be scared of to reach new heights? This week, on Halloween, we explore the power of fear in sport.

3. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Ball is life

   The Barry Family are basketball royalty. Rick Barry is an NBA Hall of Famer known for amongst other things his unorthodox underhand free throw technique.. Well, his son Canyon uses the exact same method and it's taken him all the way to the Olympics. And whilst Canyon's basketball success might not be a surprise to learn, what might be is that he helped NASA get the far side of the moon! Because off the court Canyon is literally a rocket scientist! Canadian basketballer Paige Cozen is determined to set the Olympic record straight. I mean is there a worst place to finish at a Games than 4th, staring up at the podium wondering what might have been? Yet for Paige simply getting to the Games meant she had to face down what seemed like insurmountable challenges. But a change in mindset inspired by working with the Indigenous Basketball Leagues in Canada changed her, and her daughter Poppy's life forever. Since the 1950s, basketball's Harlem Globetrotters have entertained audiences with their showboating, dunks and pranks in exhibition games all over the world. Their perennial opponents, the Washington Generals, have endured more than 17,000 defeats at their hands, with crowds booing and mocking them as the Globetrotters bamboozle them with flashy skills, tricks and dribbles. So, what's it like to play for a team whose only job is to lose? Some former Generals say it's one of the best jobs they've ever had, even if it did involve being humiliated on the court every night. That is, except for the one night that it didn't... On 19 November 2004, the game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons spiralled into one of the most infamous brawls in sports' history. Mark Boyle, a veteran radio broadcaster known as 'the voice of the Pacers’ was there that night, an evening which almost left him with life changing injuries. Photo: USA's Canyon Barry celebrates after winning the men's pool round 3x3 basketball game between China and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Concorde (Credit: David GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)

Who has been a guest on Sportshour

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Andrea Jaeger
• David Wheaton
• Oleksandra Oliynykova
• Stanislav Horuna
• Darijo Srna

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

1.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 59 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

81

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

89

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