Rebel Spirit

iHeartPodcasts
Rebel Spirit

Rebel Spirit is a brand new podcast series from Akilah Hughes (Crooked Media’s “What a Day”) about her return to her small town of Florence, Kentucky with a mission to change her high school’s mascot from a Confederate General into a Biscuit. The show features moving interviews with everyone from the artist behind “Gritty,” The Philadelphia Flyers’ viral mascot, to principals at schools across the nation who have made this change. In speaking to people at every inflection point of the issue of problematic mascots, Rebel Spirit endeavors to make the process of correcting historic wrongs less of a bummer.

  1. EPISODE 1

    Episode 1: A Homecoming

    Akilah heads back to her hometown of Florence, KY to attend her former high school’s homecoming celebration and kick off her campaign to get the Boone County Rebels mascot changed. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to talk to you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    39 min

  2. EPISODE 12

    Episode 12: Erasures

    It's the last episode of the season, and Akilah is thinking about her home, Florence, Kentucky. Over the course of our reporting, we've been told how much the town and county are changing, how much more diverse they're getting. What does the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and diversity mean for Florence? What does it mean for all of us? One last open record request underscores what we're up against, even as the battle feels larger than ever. To view a selection of the open records we received from the school, along with bonus content for other episodes, visit our new website: https://rebelspiritpodcast.com If you have a racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to talk to you! Correction: We reference Linda McMahon as Education Secretary in this episode, as of publishing she is just the nomination. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    22 min

  3. EPISODE 2

    Episode 2: History Lessons

    After dubious claims from the school board about the origin of the Rebels team name, Akilah dives deep into the history of the high school, the influence of classic cinema, and the term Rebel historically in the south. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to talk to you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    40 min

  4. EPISODE 3

    Episode 3: Half Measures

    In speaking to alumni from Boone County High School willing to share their experiences across multiple decades, a clearer image of all the half-measures taken to remove the confederate imagery and racist symbols from the school emerges–even as the name “Rebels” remains.  If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to talk to you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    36 min

  5. EPISODE 4

    Episode 4: Y'All or Nothing

    Taking a step back from Akilah’s campaign, we spend some time with a local minor league baseball franchise, The Florence Y’All’s, and hear all about how they were able to rebrand their team name from something blah to something more inclusive–which led to a positive impact in every area of their business. If you have a racist mascot at your high school, or are an alumni of a high school with a racist mascot, and want to share your own experience, please email us at rebelspiritpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to talk to you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    35 min

  6. EPISODE 5

    Episode 5: Mascots

    If you’re going to create a new mascot, you’ve gotta talk to the experts. In this episode, Akilah speaks with the creators of Benny the Bull, the Chicago Bulls’ mascot, and Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, about how to successfully bring a new mascot to life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    37 min

  7. EPISODE 6

    Episode 6: Other Rebels

    By now we’ve learned that changing the Rebels mascot and team name is a difficult process. For guidance and inspiration, Akilah turns to other former Rebels who didn’t take no for an answer and pushed for their schools to make a change.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    34 min

  8. EPISODE 7

    Episode 7: Denver South

    In a set of riveting interviews with a determined high school principal and an NFL star, Calais Campbell, Akilah gets schooled on the successful process that changed the Denver South High School Rebels into the Ravens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    34 min
See All Season 1 (17)

Trailers

4.8
out of 5
296 Ratings

About

Rebel Spirit is a brand new podcast series from Akilah Hughes (Crooked Media’s “What a Day”) about her return to her small town of Florence, Kentucky with a mission to change her high school’s mascot from a Confederate General into a Biscuit. The show features moving interviews with everyone from the artist behind “Gritty,” The Philadelphia Flyers’ viral mascot, to principals at schools across the nation who have made this change. In speaking to people at every inflection point of the issue of problematic mascots, Rebel Spirit endeavors to make the process of correcting historic wrongs less of a bummer.

Information

  • Channel
    iHeartPodcasts
  • Creator
    iHeartPodcasts
  • Episodes
    17
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
  • Show Website
    Rebel Spirit
  • Provider
    iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc

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