Next in Command

The Fastest Runner Had No Shoes

Tue, 19 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

While racing in Egypt as a Division I athlete, Yasmine lined up beside competitors running barefoot in 105-degree heat — including one athlete who would ultimately beat her in the race. The moment forced her to confront how differently people experience sport. When she returned home to the US, she began noticing similar barriers keeping kids from participating in sports simply because they lacked basic athletic gear. That realization led her to found Sunbundle, a nonprofit that empowers underserved children and youth through fitness and sport by giving new life to gently used athletic equipment. In this episode, we talk about the moments that reshape perspective, the courage to pursue an unconventional path, and how empathy can become action.

The Universal Need to Play

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:03:11 GMT

Sam traded a pre-med track for one that took him across conflict zones — literally. After stumbling on a Guardian article about Free to Run, an organization bringing running camps to Afghanistan and Iraq, he never looked back. We dig into the messy, important work of engaging in conflict regions responsibly and why sport is one of the most underrated tools for human connection.

We also zoom out to something closer to home: the quiet crisis in youth sports — the hyper-specialization, the elitism, a culture that's become increasingly expensive and unforgiving. From blind cricketers in India to girls running in Bamiyan, Sam's work teaches us about the universal need to play.

Dinner with a Missile View

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:24:10 GMT

As war escalates in Lebanon, one student watches from the U.S. while her family races to evacuate.

In the first episode of Next in Command, we explore the emotional reality of distance—the guilt of being safe, the fear of what’s happening back home, and the strange ways people learn to live alongside conflict. What begins as a surreal detail—restaurants offering “missile views”—opens into a deeper conversation about what it feels like to watch your country in crisis from thousands of miles away.