Megan Rapinoe, soccer champion, activist and entrepreneur, is entering a new chapter with the forthcoming launch of weekly interview show “Why Are You Like This?”
The show, produced and distributed by Vox Media, will feature Rapinoe’s conversations with artists, athletes, activists and “architects of culture.” On the podcast, Rapinoe will try to get at what makes her guests tick — with discussions spanning “the personal and the professional, the origin story and the long game, the private cost and the public legacy,” per Vox Media.
“Why Are You Like This?” is slated to premiere Thursday, Aug. 6, with new episodes dropping weekly. The show will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and other platforms. Each episode will run about one hour.
Rapinoe, in an interview, declined to reveal who she has lined up for the pod but promises the show will provide a deep dive with “some of the world’s most interesting people.”
“I am mostly interested in talking with people about why they do things the way they do things – and why some people seemingly take a left when everyone else is taking a right,” Rapinoe told Variety. “I’m interested in everybody’s lived experience. … I’m curious to see how they see themselves in the world.”
Rapinoe is a two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist. She helped lead the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Championship, scoring some of the biggest goals of the tournament, and took home the tournament’s two top honors: the Golden Boot for top scorer and the Golden Ball for best overall player in the tournament. She is also a New York Times bestselling author of memoir “One Life” and is a Presidential Medal of Freedom award recipient.
Rapinoe previously co-hosted women’s sports podcast “A Touch More” with pro basketball player Sue Bird, also produced in partnership with Vox Media. Rapinoe continues to produce through the A Touch More banner with Bird. (Rapinoe and Bird announced their separation as a couple in April.)
On “Why Are You Like This?”, Rapinoe expects she and her guests will occasionally delve into women’s sports, including the 2027 Women’s World Cup. But she says the show’s scope is much broader than sports alone. “It’s about people who have influence on culture in different ways: what’s hard for them, what’s scary for them, what their origin stories are,” she said.
Vox Media will oversee production, sales, marketing and distribution for “Why Are You Like This?” Rapinoe’s new show joins the lineup of other Vox Media Podcast Network shows, which include “Pivot” from Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway; “Pretty Tough” from tennis pro Maria Sharapova; “Stay Tuned” with former Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara; and “The Curiosity Shop” from Brené Brown and Adam Grant.
“We’re thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Megan, an iconoclast who’s as admired for her fearless voice as for her accomplishments in sports,” said Nishat Kurwa, SVP and executive producer at Vox Media. “’Why Are You Like This?’ is an exciting opportunity to leverage her range and authority to reveal the layered backstories of her fellow trailblazers.”
The Vox Media Podcast Network is now owned by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, which acquired it in May along with New York Magazine (including Vulture and The Cut) and Vox.com for more than $300 million. Separately, PMC (parent of Variety) announced a deal to acquire other Vox Media digital brands, including Eater, The Verge, SB Nation, Popsugar, The Dodo, Punch and Thrillist.