So over 31st turn of number 9th with select screenings featuring talkbacks and q. And A's from the filmmakers tickets on sale at Denver film. From blinding on an Olympic ice rink to dancing into the spotlight on his relishing that spotlight What's his next leap from. N.p.r. In Washington this is. Just what Johnson today on one medalist. He is as fierce as he is funny as strong as he is sassy fans love him for everything from being an unapologetically gay man to a laser focus to Limpy into winning Dancing With The Stars joins us to discuss his memoir beautiful on the outside we love to hear from you comment on our Facebook page or tweet us 18. Live from n.p.r. News ay in Washington I'm Jack Speer Acting White House chief of stack of Mick Mulvaney is denying those any quid pro quo related to funding for Ukraine hours after confirming that there was quid pro quo and insisting there was nothing improper about it N.P.R.'s Tamara Keith impacts the day's developments it's a question at the center of the House impeachment inquiry speaking to reporters acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was asked why aid to Ukraine was held up by President Trump 3 issues for that the corruption in the country whether or not other countries were participating in support of Ukraine and whether or not they were a cooperating in an ongoing investigation are part of just that's completely legitimate he's referring to President Trump's desire to have Ukraine investigate a conspiracy theory about Democratic party servers that were hacked by Russia in 2016 a senior Justice Department official said that if the White House was withholding aid to secure cooperation in any investigation at the Department of Justice quote that is news to us Tamara Keith n.p.r. News I didn't Trump says energy secretary Rick Perry will be leaving his post for the end of the year Trump says he'll identify a successor to Perry soon and says he's already chosen that person he praised Perry's having done an outstanding job Perry the former Texas governor has been caught up in the Ukraine controversy amid uncertainty along the Turkish Syrian border the House of Representatives will be forging ahead with a sanctions package the Drug Administration hailing a temporary ceasefire there as a victory but top Democratic leaders say they'll be pursuing a legislative package aimed at punishing Turkey for its military incursion Here's N.P.R.'s to mak House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated that the House would vote next week on sanctions against Turkey the House of Representatives has already passed a symbolic resolution rebuking president trumps Syria policy that vote passed 354260 with broad bipartisan support Republicans have been among the most. Vocal opponents of the president's decision to close he said sanctions are necessary to quote reverse the humanitarian disaster resulting from the president's sudden withdrawal of troops from northern Syria a bipartisan sanctions bill was also introduced in the Senate but it's unclear when that will get a floor vote to mak n.p.r. News Washington it still needs to be ratified by members but it appears there were some wins on both sides in the tentative 4 year contract between g.m. And United Auto Workers that could end the longest nationwide strike against the car company since 1970 the union was able to get higher pay and better coverage for temporary workers plus some commitment from g.m. To invest in u.s. Plants for its part g.m. Will be able to move forward with closing 3 u.s. Factories nearly $49000.00 g.m. Workers walked off the job a month ago u.a.w. Says the strike will continue through the ratification process ending October 25th stocks closed higher today the Dow was up 23 points this is n.p.r. . But his prime minister Boris Johnson says he's confident parliament this weekend will adopt the Bracks it deal he reached with the European Union speaking minutes after the deal was adopted today by European leaders Johnson said it's time for Britain to complete its departure from the block and focus on a new partnership Johnson's domestic rivals even some crucial allies have said they won't back his Bracks a deal but Johnson says he believes but as lawmakers will agree to the deal once they've studied it u.k. Parliament meets over the weekend and big commissioner Adam Silver has made his 1st public appearance since returning from a trip to Asia that was marred by fallout from an n.b.a. Team executives tweet supporting Hong Kong protesters from N.P.R.'s Tom Goldman Adam Silver and the n.b.a. Were widely criticized for initially calling the tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey regrettable Some said it showed the n.b.a. Cared more about doing business in China than upholding values of free speech speaking at an event in New York City Silver said regretable wasn't referring to the tweet but rather the many Chinese n.b.a. Fans upset by the incident the commissioner also revealed the Chinese government asked the n.b.a. To fire Maury we said there's no chance that's happening there's no chance we'll even discipline him Silver says the league's financial losses in China already have been substantial Chinese t.v. Still isn't broadcasting games in his words I'm not sure where we go from here Tom Goldman n.p.r. News Seattle futures prices turned positive today in part due to a report showing big declines in global inventories oil up 57 cents a barrel to 5393 a barrel in New York I'm Jack Speer n.p.r. News in Washington. Support for n.p.r. Comes from the little market offering artisan made goods and home decor with the commitments of fair trade and nonprofit founded by women to empower female artisans and marginalized communities around the world more at the little market. And the ne Casey Foundation next time on the world the price of single malt whiskey may be going up tariffs on goods from the e.u. Kick in this way we feel we have been dragged into a trade dispute which I believe is about aircraft Yes and lots more including Scotch distiller needs more American customers not a 25 percent tariff it's a big number it's on the world. Here in the world tonight at 8 on k.u.n.c. . This is one a I'm Joshua Johnson in Washington there were big developments today regarding the ongoing violence in Northern Syria vice president Mike Pence announced that the u.s. And Turkey have agreed to a 5 day cease fire in Syria today. Thanks for the strong leadership of president. The strong relationship between frozen and . Turkey. In the United States of America. The day the United States and Turkey have agreed to a cease fire in Syria. Because . The Spring. In order to allow for there was. Forces from the safe zone. For 120 hours he and Secretary of State Mike pomp ailment with Turkey's president. In the capital city of in a press conference Mr Pence said that he had been assured by those on the ground that all sides were willing to. By the ceasefire president. In his telephone call with President Waterloo this week and in the directive that he gave us to deliver I was very clear. He wanted to cease fire you want to stop the bottle. With regard to the y d g The Syrian defense forces we have been in contact today and we have received repeated assurances from the they'll be building up. Using all of. Leverage that we have of having fought alongside the Syrian defense forces in the battle against ISIS to facilitate their safe withdrawal last week Turkish forces began attacking Kurds in northern Syria after u.s. Forces withdrew a decision taken unilaterally by President Trump Laura Sullivan Pentagon correspondent for foreign policy joined us earlier before this announcement to talk about what's at stake for everyone involved I think to really understand the situation you kind of have to go back a few years when the United States began working in northern Syria with a group called that is now called the Syrian democratic forces they are made up primarily of Kurdish fighters the militia which Turkey actually views as terrorist as an offshoot of the p.k. K. Which is a terrorist group that has been conducting an insurgency in Turkey for the last decade or so so when that started happening that was sort of one of the things that made Turkey very angry about the situation and that has caused a lot of tension since then and I think even President Trump has armed the Syrian Kurds the s.d.f. In order to fight the battle against ISIS providing I think some light armored vehicles some light weapons that kind of thing and again that is a very in Turkey so that has been sort of the broad situation between the United States and Turkey in the last couple of years most recently turkey had been threatening. To cross the border into Syria and attack the Kurds which they view again as a terrorist threat and the only reason they weren't doing it was because the us had 50 or so Special Operations forces along the border last Sunday night after a phone call with President aired on President Trump decided to move those forces out of the way basically greenlighting the Turkish operation into northern Syria the u.s. Has not completely withdrawn yet we still have troops in northern Syria they have been abandoning outposts across the region most recently yesterday they withdrew from the cement factory which is about 35 miles south of me and being used as the headquarters for the task force to defeat ISIS so u.s. Forces fled quite quickly as Turkish forces advanced and 2 u.s. Jets actually bombed the facility so that Turkey couldn't see it so they're moved the Turkish forces are moving much faster than we expected and much farther than we expected also so it's just another of these promises that Turkey has broken to the u.s. It's a very dynamic situation right now u.s. Troops are consolidating into different outposts one in the West and one in the East currently in order to b.b.n. The evacuation in the west it's a base near again near the city of Karbala they're going to be airlifted out potentially in the next couple days in the east they will consolidate in order to move by land to Iraq and this is all kind of happening in a strip of Syria it's like in the northeastern part like right right near the border of Turkey basically right yes yes that's right so the Turkish incursion again is about 30 kilometers into northern Syria and there are as I said multiple u.s. Outposts around that region the western side of Syria is mostly Syrian army and some Turkish rebels So let's break this into small pieces because there are a lot of players and everyone seems to want a way of things 1st of all Turkey What does Turkey want. Do they want to drive the Kurds out of Turkey do they want to eradicate them ethnic cleansing start with what what is Turkey's end game Turkey wants to eradicate the terrorist threat that they believe is emerging in has been emerging in northern Syria they don't want to ethnically cleanse the Kurds there are many Kurds in Turkey they want to get rid of the y p g militia that has been helping the u.s. Fight ISIS in northern Syria and which the u.s. Sees as the one saying I don't hate all Kurds I just hate those Kurds and they're the problem basically yes what do the Kurds want out of this there's been a lot of talk in the past about the Kurds establishing kind of a homeland for themselves in this region of northern Syria where they are now is that still the goal I believe that that is something that the Kurds have wanted for a long time I don't know that they see that as completely realistic given the situation and knowing this threat from Turkey was always on the horizon but they have a sabotaged local councils quite a sophisticated network of councils and government and sort of across this northern Syria Iran as it's been pretty peaceful they've eradicated ISIS since March that ISIS caliphate has has been destroyed there are still some cells left but in general it's been pretty peaceful in northeast Syria as the Kurds have this interesting sophisticated mostly Democratic actually Syrian democratic forces. System in place in northern Syria and they're actually really interesting they have they have a rule that for every male council member there has to be a female counterpart So they're one of the few forces in the Middle East that has equal rights rights for women values education they're very similar to our values in some ways and what does Syria want naming the non Kurdish Syrians the Syrian government of Bashar al Assad does it just want everyone to go away so he can kind of we exert power there what does what does Assad want to use Assad is deadly seizing the opportunity to take back territory that he sees. That the Kurds have taken from him so he ultimately wants a unified Syria again right and he is been backed by Russia Russia the Russian troops are backing him as well as Iran so what he wants again is to consolidate power to return things to how they were before the Syrian civil war and in this case it seems like he's going to get his wish he has made a deal an initial deal with the Kurds to allow the Syrian army and Russian troops to come in and sort of back fill the places where the u.s. Had left the the Kurds really had no other choice in that matter so they can defend their borders against the Turkish invasion one listener asked for a fact check about the presence of Americans in the y.p. Gee this group that supposedly linked to the white k.k. Vs the Kurdish fighting forces Amelia emailed I don't see or hear anyone discussing how we're abandoning American civilians that joined the y.p. G. Forces any insights that is actually I mean that's a good point there are some American civilians that are fighting alongside that why Peachy I have not heard much in the mood in the news about those American civilians though that I have seen reports of them I'm hoping I'm hopeful that the u.s. Government is trying to get those guys out but I don't think they're very many of them we talked about what the different parts of this equation want what the Turkey wants what the Kurds want what Syria wants we should also talk about what President Trump wants and yesterday he made it very very clear how he views this because he was asked several times about these moves to withdraw American forces she had one Oval Office gaggle with reporters as he was sitting next to the president of Italy said she here is part of what the president said during one of his press statements our soldiers are not in arms way as they shouldn't be as 2 countries fight over land that has nothing to do with us and the Kurds are much safer right now but the Kurds know how to fight. And as I said they're not a they're not they should take a look you have to go back and take a look at what is President mean there I think a lot of people were kind of rubbed wrong when he said there are no angels in in so far as they've been helping us like kill terrorists and be ISIS he's also saying the Kurds can take care of themselves the u.s. Has done what it's supposed to do we're not the world's policeman we're out of here well he certainly has a fair point that does have is led by white b.g. Militia does have links to p.k. Again which has been waging an insurgency in Turkey for the past couple decades so he does have a good point there and they are good fighters they can take care of themselves although against the whole Turkish army I'm not so sure but I mean I have done some reporting but in preparation for this Turkish invasion. Has actually been creating a network of tunnels underneath these some of these border towns and some other outposts including men beds I believe. In order to do some sophisticated battlefield tactics to push that turkey back re emailed so happy we are removing our troops from the Middle East wars have been going on there for hundreds of years with no hope of ending if the Europeans feel threatened let them join and since that part of the world in their own back is in their own backyard we've spent enough money while losing the lives of our youngsters Laura Seligman of foreign policy Laura thanks for talking to us thank you much more to discuss on this and this is indeed a very very complicated story it's moving as we speak we'll keep an eye on it you've been there on your n.p.r. Member station and online at npr dot org If you have more questions about this go ahead and send them in we're working on some morals Friday News Runner up we are definitely going to discuss this so let us know what else you'd like to know where your other thoughts one a after you dot org Coming up we will shift gears and speak to figure skater and entertainer Adam repond the Olympian now has a new memoir out called beautiful on the outside Adam is here in studio to take your questions next on Joshua Johnson and you're listening to one egg from. Good evening I'm Ashley Jeffcoat and your listening to k.u.n.c. Connecting communities in northern Colorado at 90.9 s. This park and 88.5 in Steamboat Springs. One day on k.u.n.c. Is supported by Front Range pool table company of 4 columns offering everything for the game room including pool tables arcade games shuffle board foosball and more to create or upgrade any game or more at Front Range pool tables dot com And by coup child house of t. With locations in boulder fort collins and now in Denver offering a holy approach to tease from all over the world t. Where gifts and more since 2005 more at. Dot com. Today and for call in tonight in for colleges to say partly cloudy skies with a low around $44.00 tomorrow sunny and windy with a high near $64.00 gusts as high as 16 miles per hour possible during the day for Steamboat Springs tonight showers and thunderstorms are possible tonight and into the early morning hours of Friday that's going to turn into snow and rain one and a continues next on k.u.n.c. Days provide support for a day's programming on key u.n. C r days watchers for today are Debbie Carter and Diane strong recognizing Spirit Day which supports the anti dollar yang of l g b t Q You. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from the Charles Stuart foundation for more than 90 years supporting efforts to promote a just equitable and sustainable society more at Mott dot org from Margo and John are supporting North Country Public Radio in Canton New York and N.P.R.'s environmental coverage which helps to raise awareness on issues surrounding climate change and from the John s. And James l. Knight Foundation helping n.p.r. Advance journalistic excellence in the digital age. This is one and a I'm Joshua Johnson Adam Ripon has accomplished one of his life goals competing in the Winter Olympics but while he was in he also became a star he started by calling himself America's sweetheart and soon enough to a lot of people he was his viral moments and charm offensive an irresistible performances did not stop with the Olympics he turned heads last year at the Oscars when he wore a leather harness a piece of fetish gear prominently visible under a suit cut open across the chest to show it off against his shirt he also brought his dynamic grace to Dancing With The Stars and won and now he's out with a new memoir called beautiful on the outside he joins us here in studio Adam repond Welcome to the program thanks for having me so 1st of all I'm curious to know how you are and what you're up to these days you've been doing a lot over the last like 18 months of your life or is it are you a little dizzy you know what I am but I am also I'm super grateful because I'm doing something that I love you know when I was at the Olympics I've been an athlete for almost 20 years and you know standing on the podium is a moment that so many of my. Friends who have been Olympic medalists told me that they had waited for their entire life and for me when I stood on that podium it was an incredible experience but it was for my friends my family my country and I realized at the end of the Olympics the moment I had been waiting for my entire life truly was getting to entertain and make people laugh and have those experiences and so it's been a life changing thing and I've gotten to do really what I've always wanted to do my entire life you talk is about how you as a kid kind of had this early affinity for entertaining the family and making people laugh and that that's just kind of part of who you are yes I remember being young and I had this grand vision where we had this karaoke machine in my family's house and I was going. Invite the whole neighborhood and you know play some cassette that we found and I had this idea that I was going to tap dance in front of everybody I never had taken a lesson and. It still wouldn't stop me today and I think I haven't taken a lot. But I've always I don't know why I just I wanted to be in front of people I wanted to make people feel good and that's what I've always loved doing so you win you win a bronze medal you're on the podium and then afterwards your lifelong dream has come true but there's still more life left to live when did that begin to set in terms of thinking about Ok I crossed this major milestone now what a well to be honest it's a process and it's a journey and I feel really grateful for athletes like Michael Phelps who have talked about. You know the struggle of transitioning out of being a competitive athlete and I think that it's a very broad spectrum you don't have to be an Olympian or a world level national level you know athlete you can be just identify as an athlete in the general sense and leaving sport is something that's really tough to do and it's been you know something that's been hard for me but I am really lucky that I get to be doing these other things that I enjoy and love so much was there a moment in which a kind of thinking like oh I have to rebuild restructure redirect my life now you know what during this past year yes there have been moments where I'm like What am I doing and it's just for 20 years you're so used to you know training and getting ready for these events and yes I say that I love being a performer and I've loved intervening people and it was this dream I had to be able to do it as a profession one day I just had no idea that I was ever going to have an opportunity to be actually doing it but it still didn't make leaving sport any. Easier I miss it but now I'm like well it's nice to have a cheeseburger every once in a while exactly and you know you get me well and you also talked in the past about some of the sacrifices you've made including diets that have been really intense if not what some would consider extreme to get to the point where you could even get to the qualifiers let alone feel lympics Are there any of those particular sacrifices that you reflect on now differently than you did at the time you know time gives you some perspective on how you got where you are completely I think when I look back to some of the things I did now. Are some of the things I did then now I look back at them and I'm like. That was crazy such as I think the diets that I put myself on 1st of all with no training in any sort of like dietary needs I just decided that this is what I was going to do but I would look around and I would see my competitors and I was in my late twenty's and my competitors were teenagers and you know the body type is just different and you need to be as lean as quick as possible and I wanted to be the best athlete I could be and I wanted to be as competitive as I could be and I remember being like Ok I've decided that I'm only going to have you know yogurt and that's it I mean not even a baby cow has that much but you did it but I did it I wouldn't recommend you know when did you 1st fall in love with ice skating one of the well it wasn't immediately but I when I was a little bit older I would go every you know once in the winter and it's just you know from Northeastern Pennsylvania so we have those cold winters it's just something that you would do in the wintertime is skating in one winter I went and I just enjoyed it so much and I just kept begging my mom to bring me back to the rink and then as a birthday present I was signed up for the local group classes and did you discover early on that you had an affinity for it or was it something you had to kind of work at I think it was the 1st sport that I did that was an individual sport and like I could focus on myself you know I was always the smallest kid in class I got picked last to do a lot of different things. You know 4 feet tall in you know 5th grade you are really like they're not all you he's a prospect for the you know volleyball team this year you know you get picked last . And skating was the 1st time I could just focus on myself and focusing on improving and I just I loved it I was so driven to get better how did getting better at skating dovetail with your personal coming out process one. Is a very showy very public very performative sport and the other is or can be this very frightening transition where you're worried about people feeding you completely and I think for a long time I used my sport as a distraction from dealing with my own personal. Life you know that I would deal with it later because I was focused on this and I think that in the past there has been a little bit of like internalized homophobia in skating I think it's much better now but I think people who were involved you know they didn't want to be part of that you know what everybody says a figure skater is a figure skater you're your day and I hated that I hated that people would tease me about that when I was young I didn't want to be part of that you know. Statistic and you were but I was and I hated that about myself so much I thought that I would never share it with anybody and I realized that it wasn't a bad thing and I realized that it didn't make me any less than or any or not as strong as my other competitors and I decided that I was going to be over it and that I was going to really be you know confident in my own skin and it made me 10 times better athlete talk a little more about that internalized homophobia in skating I think from the outside you know viewers will watch the Johnny Weir one in b.c. And like you know for nobody Yeah so I mean and it's funny it's a joke but on the other hand when you're inside the sport I can see how it would kind of grate on you well I think of somebody like Johnny and because of someone like Johnny I think it made my road a little bit easier and I think that. When I was growing up and there were people like Johnny I think the conversation was I wish he wasn't so over the top because it might be you know. Steering other boys who want to be figure skaters away and you know because maybe their parents don't want them to be in a world like that or something like that or end up like that whatever like that means and you know that's not the case that that's Johnny you know expressing himself in a way that you can only do in a sport where you have to express yourself and have to show who you are. I would say that sometimes there was a push for the people that were more you know could be you know more acceptable and accepted mainstream and there was more of a push for that but I think that at the end of the day people crave more than anything is authenticity and honesty and you can see that through a screen and you can tell when someone is really authentic right away and I tried to remember that even in those moments where I was afraid that I would be possibly judged differently but I felt like it was really important for me to share my story you also had some fans some very prominent fans during the 20 teen Winter Olympics who were pretty excited about you want to perform and here is Leslie Jones formerly of the cast of s n l speaking on today what so far everything can become best part I'm sorry there's no best part but everything is very important that it was like Are you sure I'm not the best. Is the best time ever to think about it it's lovely Jones on today last year during the coverage of the 20000 Winter Olympics you write in the book that during your Elim pick routines you convince yourself that you better do well or Leslie Jones of the manager Yeah well I mean so I honest serious note I was so well trained to do anything to do my best and to do my job but you know that doesn't stop some you know crazy thoughts going through your mind of thinking that you know you're going into a jump and so all of a sudden you think you know if I fall Leslie Jones is probably going to put this on Twitter and be like he should get. Like I tell what to feed my legacy. Jones yelling at me you know one tweet from Leslie what got you through it you know what she'd push me throw Yeah of course I was not going to fall in front of Leslie Jones Well you got some other nicer tweets and e-mails as well from some of your other fans including Olga who emailed watching Adam reponse Olympic skate set to the arrival of the birds and cold place oh gives me so much. I watch it all the time it is beautiful elegant heartfelt it is a piece of art thank you for sharing that art with the world when was it clear to you out in that you had made like a real impact on people with your performances I think I used to be embarrassed because I always wanted to be the best skater that like ever lived in the best skater in the event and I never was and I think that I was almost in I felt like I had kind of failed myself at some point to define best you know you win everything like the Simone of figure skating and I wasn't but then I realized that. My journey to being my best could be different and I could share what I had in the best way that I could and that I could be my best and it's you know it takes a while to get there and it took me a while to get to that mindset but when I was able to do that then I had real performances that meant something to me and I had people tell me that they meant something to them as well I'm Joshua Johnson and you're listening to one essay. One of our listeners asks What's your favorite single performance from your skating career and why what's your favorite favorite performance you saw live in an audience let's break that into 2 questions your favorite performance from your skating career I would say is my free skate from the team event at the Olympics just like a culmination of everything coming into one moment was that your favorite I think because I know all of the things that went into that specific moment and the Olympics is just it means so much to athletes that are in Elin pick sports that it's just that moment was just such a build up and it I can close my eyes and I can like smell the smells I can feel what I was feeling I can it's really such a vivid memory for me give me an example of someone who's never who's barely I stated being a native Floridian of the kinds of things that go into a solid performance that you might not think about unless you've done it like what are some of those nitty gritty technical or personal or mental or physical details that make a difference that audiences just don't sit well I would say that your job as an athlete is to make it look effortless and to make it look easy and for that to happen you have to train 8 hours a day it's a full time job you need to be fully prepared and then when you get to the Olympics it's dealing with all of the stress and all the distractions that could be there and if you're feeling really nervous that's also maybe battling diarrhea so it's just like there's a lot going on you've got to keep it together do your best and just focus on the right things focus on the training you know you eat you can keep it together you just have to stay focused to the other part of Adam's question the favorite performance you saw live in an audience recently I saw this. Russian girl her name is coaster and I and she it was like a revelation was she is the most beautiful skater I think of. Seen in a very long time so she's incredible I can't wait to watch how she develops you right about being able to interpret certain moves better than your peers when you were young explained I think that I always was inclined to be more of a performer than I was a competitor. In the last few years of my skating career I remember every competition I went into I had to remind myself it's just focus on the performance it's just a performance it's a show put on a show and then when I would get too caught up in trying to compete with the other skaters and not just you know keep it a battle within myself and focus on and being my best. When I was able to focus on that performance that's when I had my best competitions so it was always for me trying to focus on the entertainment aspect of it you mentioned that having to deal with the internalized homophobia in the figure skating world and just kind of navigating anyway made you a better figure skater I wonder how you see the expression of that through your figure skating I have heard a lot of people who react to you and say oh you know he's so she's so elegant or so stylists stylish I watched you perform and I was like God He is so strong like I would look at you perform I think he must be that's a lot of power to put into your body because I view gay men as being strong and not just as being fierce or sassy you know it's my interpretation that's my internalized you know coming out process manifesting itself but is there any of you as a gay man specifically in your performance I think there's I know it's there's some of that in me in my work as a host I know it comes out just come out for you I think I tried so hard for it to not but when you only have like 7 minutes in your whole life to show the world what you've got how. When you hide who you are evil aren't representing yourself to the best of your ability so I felt like I really needed to embrace that and then that was part of you know one of my favorite quotes is. Lupita 9 Co She says to be an actress you need to know yourself so well so that you can interpret other characters through your own experience and I heard that quote and I remember thinking I need to do the same if I want to consider myself an excellent competitor and I thought about that and that meant really bringing who I was to the table and then as an athlete I was I owned that and I was just really confident in who I was and I brought that to every competition one of our listeners tweeted Our whole family fell in love with Adam during the Olympics and his outgoing personality and that smile is so wonderful We've continued to cheer him on in the years since keep doing you Adam We will talk about how you are doing these days when we continue our conversation with Adam rip on his new memoir is called Beautiful on the outside see clips I discuss. The need. To Need To Just kidding me. Isn't intended. To get. Them serious and you know them. In Oregon recently uncovered a story of sexual abuse it was shocking it was stunning and it was honestly very bleak it involves the longtime leader of one of the world's most prominent charities and his daughter now the daughter says she seeking help and closure there was a moment of humanity there. I will not forget on the next Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. Support for one day on k.u.n.c. Comes from chippers lanes bowling laser tag arcade and virtual reality and fighting listers to experience fear of the dark haunted house Friday through Sunday nights October 18th through the 27th at the North College location information act dot com . If you gave in the last member drive you already know how much your gift matters to. Do you know how far your donation goes. From n.p.r. Your gift not only strengthens local journalism right in your community it also helps fund national reporting and our journalists working all over the world so we just wanted to say. Thank you for all of us. Support for n.p.r. Comes from the station and from the Joyce Foundation committed to advancing racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region learn more at Joy safety and Org from the John d. And Catherine team MacArthur Foundation supporting creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just verdant and peaceful world more information is a mac sound dot org And from listeners like you who donate to this n.p.r. Station. Back now to our conversation with a limping medalist and figure skater Adam repond his new memoir is called Beautiful on the outside how do you stay active now in the world of competitive skating now that you have kind of retired from competition you were telling me during it it helped and I do it and it's almost like a passion project I get to do it and I enjoy being out on the ice and I love it and so I love that I can have you know still you know one skate on the Angus what are some of the things that you find yourself counseling young skaters on what do you think you've learned and are most often imparting to skaters as they are growing I think the number one thing is that you're capable of doing more than you think and that's what I did in practice for like every time I guess what are some of the things that you find yourself counseling young skaters on like what do you think you've learned and are most often imparting to skaters is fair growing I think the number one thing is that you're capable of doing more than you think and that's what I did in practice for like every time I thought that you know I was so tired I couldn't do it anymore I always did 2 more and just doing. It felt like I was walking the extra mile I was just doing that one extra thing so that when those doubts would creep in at competitions I just could say to myself that no I pushed myself as hard as I could and I think that that is such a vital information and such a vital lesson that you can take into any competitive space and any space in any job that you do if you knew then what you know now anything you would have done differently maybe had more than just. For starters yeah. Rice cake yeah I have a rice cake pain a little peanut of love don't let's get crazy. I think if I quit. Done anything differently so like in the book I wanted to share a lot of my failures and a lot of the times that I felt like I had setbacks because like in those moments when I thought I nearly sat down and reflected on them and I learned from them that's when I had my most success because when I had nothing to lose is truly when I was the most unafraid to go after what I wanted any one particular failure that stands out the most to you for me the biggest one was not making the elliptic team in 2014 because at 24 I felt like I was probably my last legitimate chance at making the Olympic team and it felt all over in the blink of an eye how do people usually when they make a team like that I would say that they're anywhere like a very normal age for a male single skater would be anywhere between $18.22 and that's a very good prime age of going to the Olympics and you know at $24.00 I was really pushing it to go for the 1st time and that moment I felt like 28 was so far away I didn't even know how healthy I would be or if I wanted to continue doing this and I just felt like I wasn't good at anything else I felt like maybe I had wasted all of this time my parents had wasted this time and I I felt so low and I didn't know what I want to do but in those moments I tried other things I realized that I was good at other things that I was worth more than just you know the time that I spent on the ice and from that I gained a lot of confidence in myself and I had to grow like a thick skin so you tried other things and it seems like trying other things kind of brought you back to what it is you were initially wanted to do absolutely because I felt like at the end of the day that if I didn't do well out of competition I still was a good and well rounded person and I still did good things for the world and I still put out good energy and made people feel good about themselves and for me that's what made me feel like I was worth. More than just a few performances and yet in the middle of all this you've also got to deal with your continual coming out process and figuring out who you are and how you identify and how you want to look and walk and talk and dress and act and you know when and whether to become sexually active like there's all this other stuff going on internally as you are figuring out what you give to other people you still have to feed yourself absolutely and I think for a really long time that was hard for me because I could use all of those things as sort of distractions from like dealing with my own stuff and I had to take time and you know life kind of takes its course and you know life catches up with you and all of a sudden you have to start dealing with things that you're like I'll just wait until later and when I dealt with them head on in took on more experiences and you know got into relationships for the 1st time that's you know I grew up and I needed to grow up was there a moment when that kind of situation where you had to stop running from it and deal with it yeah and it was all kind of happened at once and I think that that moment of not making the Olympic team in 2014 it was a professional setback and at the same time it was like a you know everything kind of coming down and crashing out once it was personally I had to start dealing with a lot and I did and I did it all in those moments and all at once you know it when it rains it pours and it was pouring who was the most supportive to you in your coming out process I know today it's for younger people it's a mix of people in their lives physically and also online social media has made a track and difference in the coming out process was that like for you I think the things that inspired me the most were reading about other people's coming out process and that's what really inspired me to share my story because through them I felt. The most seen I felt not alone I felt like I would be Ok. And everything would be fine obviously my friends and family were there for me and you know the way that they thought about me and treated me didn't change and I consider myself really lucky but then even if you ever have this coming out experience you realize you gain this other whole group of people that become family and have your back as well which is just you know it's a really beautiful moment and I and I would say you know I hope everyone has some sort of coming out experience in their life because that's the moment where you have to say who you are to the entire world and it's a liberating moment elaborate on that a little bit when you say that you hope everyone has a coming out experience is there more within that experience that you hope people are able to be or do you are experiencing is coming out especially for young people you know there's one statistic that shows that gay kids who come out of their parents' l.g.b. T. Kids who come off their parents' stay in a 5050 chance of being stoned out of the house in that moment well and when I say I have a coming out experience I mean that in that moment right before you tell that 1st person your own ng who you are you have accepted this part about you that you might be afraid to share and you are declaring to this person and in effect to the world that this is who I am and it's a liberating moment and I think that sometimes just some people it has consequences but at the end of the day everyone will find those people that will stick up for them and there's a there's a whole community of t.q. Plus people out there to protect in to help so many younger people along the way that they're not on this journey alone and for me the most shocking thing and the most incredible thing to see is meet so many young kids come up to me and they'll tell me about how me sharing my story has helped them. Their experience of coming out which is almost surreal and it's it's what I want to to be able to do and just that I actually have been able to do that is that it's really humbling you know that's partly what some of our listeners have been writing to us about including Jordan who e-mailed out of my followed your Instagram stories from the Olympics and Dancing With The Stars we all have our struggles but the hope that you've given others to be proud no matter what shows that not only are you beautiful on the outside but on the inside too you also did a lot of media after the Olympics including an appearance on The Ellen De Generes Show here's part of what she said you know I'm an openly gay man competing at the Olympics and somebody who thinks that gay people might. Collapse of our nation. I don't feel like it was the right time if I had the chance to have a call with him now you know that's I have nothing to say tonight that's not a conversation for me it's part of your appearance on The Ellen De Generes Show You famously declined to call with Vice President pence during the games over his record on l.g.b. Issues you were the 1st out gay man to compete in the Winter Olympics how do you reflect on that now on the intersection of being openly t.q. And all of the socio political baggage that that can bring with it well you know what in a way just being an athlete at the Olympics is sort of being a political act in it shouldn't be but it can it can feel that way. I felt like it was important for me to share who I was and have these really honest experiences at the Olympics and I remember being asked what my thoughts on Mike Pence leading the athlete delegation were I told myself in that moment you know what I'm going to answer this question honestly I'm going to take it head on and then when the office of the vice president did reach out you know I was preparing for the most important event of my life up until that point. I've been waiting my whole life to compete at an Olympic Games and I felt. This was more of a photo op for the vice president than it was an opportunity for me to really say anything to him and to be honest that conversation isn't for me it's for you know the people in Indiana who their lives have been really affected by legislation he's pushed it's for you know that black trans woman who can't feel comfortable walking down the street and he's made her feel even more ostracized from from her own community it's from it's for those young gay kids that get kicked out of their home and their parents are led to believe by this man in charge that you know that they are right in doing this that you know their child is sick and it's it's not right and it's those people who deserve to have the conversation with Mike Pence I'm Joshua Johnson You're listening to one. Some questions from our listeners in the time we have left a lean asked Do you have to be wealthy to be a figure skater I mean I wish I was wealthy figure skater if you talk about making a lot of economic sacrifices Absolutely I mean I remember that you know I did whatever I could to get by and there was a time where I didn't have a lot of money I you know my parents didn't have a lot of money growing up and they they you know my mom worked a lot my mom learned how to drive the Zamboni so that she could like clean the ice in the morning so I could skate really early and in my twenty's when I was paying for skating on my own I remember that I you know couldn't afford a lot of groceries so I would take all the apples that they had and like the gym locker room and I was like This is a bargain and. It takes it's can be a real sacrifice you don't have to be wealthy but you do have to I think what I did was I spent a lot of time on my own and working on my own to improve myself and I practiced a lot on my own because I couldn't afford a lot of coaching so there were a lot of sacrifices and an interesting Lee enough in terms of your finances there's a chapter in the book where you write about taking over control of your finances from from your mother how do you reflect on that well I think that you know it's a balance because I think my mom didn't want to feel like she was just leaving me and that she wanted to know that she was still so you know still supported me and was still involved but I was kind of coming into my own as an adult and I didn't want the pressure of feeling like I was letting my family down or wasting their time or wasting their money and I said that I need to do this on my own and that was really important to me and it was dumb thing that my coach said he said you know what at the end of the day every competition every decision you make for your career you need to know that like if it goes well I did that on my own and if it doesn't go well I did that on my own and I have to do better because I don't have a choice telling tweeted Who are you most excited to see this skating scene. What are your thoughts on the difficult jumps being put out by the new senior ladies I think the new jumps are crazy and explain these new jumps so you're seeing right now for a really long time it was very rare for a woman to do a triple axel you're seeing a lot of triple Axels in competition now that being said you know there had only been one other woman that had even landed a quadruple jump in competition and now we have one girl attempting 4 in one program so the level has elevated incredibly quick and it's very interesting to see but I would say that you know it's Alyssa Leo from the United States is really promising. And my favorite is coaster and I have from Russia just such a beautiful skater who really combines like the the artistry and the incredible athleticism but do you follow any other. Where you mostly focused on figure skating Well I think that I figure skating is like my home so I I know the most about it but I feel like a sense the Olympics I've been able to connect with so many other. Athletes I've become close to King who I love is she is the one of the funniest ladies I've ever met and I've always loved to cheer on other plates and you know I'm still good friends with Gus Kenworthy who was my Olympic team mate in 2018 the freestyle skier Yes your coming out story certainly motivated Jeff to tweet everyone deserves a coming out moment because it's validating and confidence generating and everybody includes everybody I have to ask you before I let you go about just kind of the way that she's been able to be for Republican and kind of build this following being very playful I want to know about the leather harness of the Oscars because when I was watching and I saw that on the red carpet I'll slow your. Heart I was so. There's got to be a story behind that so it's not as impressive as you might think but I here's the thing I remember that while I was skating I took chances and I did things that I wanted to do and what I thought was cool. And going to the Oscars I was invited and I was like nobody is really going to care that I'm there I'm just you know I'm going to the Oscars and I was really lucky to meet Jeremy Scott who dressed me for the Oscars and he had so many options and he has no ego one of the nicest people I've ever met he. Took me through his closet of things that I could try and I saw the harness and I was like this would just be so cool I think this would just be so cool if you know that was the 1st time you it was the 1st time you would see auras and I had seen a harness that actually when I was getting my Olympic costumes done I took one of my friends who's not gay to Rose and like West Hollywood because I saw this other harness that he made my skating costume be inspired by cell I was not I had dabbled in the art of you know. As I have so many questions. Of so many answers yeah. And now we're getting called I mean if ever I hated hearing the music. I'm going to chase Adam Ripon Olympic figure skater his new memoir is called Beautiful on the outside Adam thanks very much for talking to us at thank you this conversation was produced by Chris Christie know and Gabrielle Healy to learn more about our team visit the one a dot org this program comes to you from w. Am you part of American University in Washington distributed by n.p.r. Until we meet again I'm Joshua Johnson thank you so much for listening and we will see you tomorrow for the Friday news round up this is one a. Support for n.p.r. Comes from the station and from the size Simmons foundation since 1905 supporting advances in science education and the arts towards a better more just society more information is available at size Sam's Foundation dot org from the Carnegie Corporation of New York supporting innovations in education democratic and Gage mint and the advancement of international peace and security more information is available online at Carnegie dot org And from Americans for the Arts President Trump says America is done keeping the peace let them fight their own wars and I wanted election based on that and that's the way it is whether it's good or bad also protesters bring Ecuador's president to the table and Sauza is take to the streets in Spain the Friday news round up next on 1. 1 a on k.u.n.c. Is supported by your sustaining membership and by Fort Collins Museum of discovery newest traveling exhibit game changers which explores the past and uncovers the future of video games that are now open learn more at f c m o d dot org slash again changers and by y.m.c.a. Of the Rockies offering gap year programs designed to gain valuable work and life experience while discovering self and serving others new programs starting soon learn more at work in the Rockies dot org The world is next on q. And c It's 8 o'clock. This is when c 91.5 really 4 columns k r n c 88.5 Steamboat Springs.