Player's Own Voice podcast: Marie-Philip Poulin

Player's Own Voice Podcast is back in business for season four. Getting to know the person inside the athlete has never been more rewarding.

Across the board, Canadian high-performance athletes are just beginning to emerge from pandemic uncertainty and crisis, and it has inevitably led many of them to self examination, self questioning and a new sense of the roles athletes can play for social change.

This season kicks off with Marie-Philip Poulin, captain of Team Canada hockey, who is doing all she can amid the biggest shortfall in Canadian sports: women's hockey faces roadblocks to play at the moment. World Championships postponed, international play drastically limited, and years after the CWHL folded there remains no professional game and league in Canada that elite players can agree to. Poulin is practically begging for resolution to the unnecessary friction between the PWHPA and NWHL.

Host Anastasia Bucsis brings her friendly 'human first, athlete second' approach to the chat, and even though Poulin is disturbed by the current situation, there's room to laugh through the many good times that followed Canada's four consecutive Olympic gold medals between 2002 and 2014.

A couple of names to watch for in this podcast season: Sprinter Andre De Grasse opens up about how his life has changed since dazzling the world at the 2016 Olympics. Cindy Ouellet, arguably Canada's greatest active para athlete, shares deeply candid thoughts about her incredible accomplishments. Janine Beckie brings her years in Colorado to the table in a rousing discussion about Canadian-American soccer rivalries and respect.

Something new from Player's Own Voice this season: this will be CBC Sports' first podcast to lead into, go straight through, and then follow up after the Summer Olympics. We're stoked to sit down with athletes at the pinnacle of their careers.

Like the CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice essay series, POV podcast lets athletes speak to Canadians about issues from a personal perspective. To listen to the entire fourth season, subscribe for free on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune In or wherever you do your other podcast listening.