know we needed. thank you, taylor for helping us all dance like it's 23. ♪ ♪ ♪ thank you so much for watching our special top stories of 2023. i'm tom llamas. from all of us here at nbc news, have a safe and happy holiday. we are wishing you the best of 2024. ♪ ♪ ♪ as we ring in the new year, all eyes turned to iowa.

the countdown to the caucuses is on. donald trump is still far and away the favorite. the question is, could anything shake up the race between now and caucus day? plus, with just a few days to go until another it january 6th anniversary for the attack on the capitol, we will look at some republican still trying to rewrite history. also today, my one-on-one conversation with officer harry dunn, who defended the capitol, and our democracy on january 6th. later, with so much to be concerned about in 2024, there's also so many reasons to be excited. at the top of my list, the olympic games in paris. i will introduce you to do to paralympians, her most -- some of the most inspiring people i've talked to all year. as we ring in 2024, i just want to take a moment to talk about with this next year has in store. we have a little bit more than two weeks left until the official kickoff until the

presidential race. that's when republican caucus goers in iowa cast the first votes in the 2024 election cycle. what happens in this state could have big implications for this country. those implications might extend far beyond this upcoming year. for the candidates who spent months barnstorming the state, iowa usually represents the first real opportunity to break three of the pack. propelling their campaign forward. with a little bit of luck, becoming the front runner for the nomination. at least that has been a tradition for the last four decades. this year, however feels a little bit different. donald trump has led the field by such a wide margin with such a long time, the race seems less than an open contest, more of a foregone conclusion. that being said, let's dig into what makes iowa. i lived there on and off, during the caucus in 2024 when john kerry staged a massive comeback victory. for, one caucus goers in the state usually expect to meet the candidates personally. typically it's not enough to just hear a speech and lead,

they want to be recorded. they also tend to be more politically committed and informed. while republican caucus meetings use enormous ballots, voting in the caucus takes a little bit more effort than simply pulling a lever and a voting booth at the time of their choosing. then there is the makeup of the electorate themself. given almost half of likely republican caucus goers in the state described themselves as evangelicals. they are typically more religious, more socially conservative, and even more isolationist when it comes to foreign policy than the voters in other states. consider the last several candidates who won the iowa caucus. people like governor mike huckabee in 2008, senator rick santorum in 2012, and senator ted cruz in 2016. all three of those candidates were more conservative underdogs who launched surprise victories in iowa. each of them

also received the endorsement of bob vander plaats, who is considered the most influential evangelical leader in the state, who's hoping to extend his winning streak into a fourth cycle. but rather than endorsed trump, vander plaats took a far riskier but this time over, backing florida governor ron desantis. and while he predicted back in november that i will republicans will rise up against trump, that prediction hasn't exactly played out yet. joining me now is my former boss, david plus, who's the campaign manager for barack obama's 2008 presidential race, and -- who is the chief politics reporter for the des moines register. all right, thank you both for being with me. i'll start with you. trump, as i just outlined, has felt pretty inevitable for a long time. but there are, i outlined some of, them often things and i would not happen in the final weeks. david knows this well also. so what are you seeing on the ground, and what are you watching for over the next couple of weeks, since you're so close to this and a lot of people watching may not be? >>

well, i think one thing to really keep in mind but the idea what caucuses is that people don't make up their mind to the very. and they're going to meet these people face to face, they're going to see everyone, maybe even a couple of times before they make up their minds. and so our polling has shown pretty consistently that about half of like a republican caucus goers still have not made up their minds. so even in the very final weeks, final days, there is room for things to shift. even in the final hours. you talked about caucuses being different than a primary. people are going into it with their neighbors, they're having conversations, there's a chance for people to make their case in the room on caucus night. and so, there's still donald trump is leading by quite a bit here. but i think there is room for movement, and we are going to see what happens over these final weeks. >> now, david, i will winners turn their victories typically the old-fashioned way. barack obama certainly did. spends a lot of time on the ground, shook al-ata hands, answered lots and lots of questions. trump, this year though, on the other hand, has been swooping in on his jet. he's had large-scale rallies, i mean, he was the

former president, i guess. haley seems to be betting on new hampshire, desantis needs to do well in iowa to stay in the game. how do you expect this all to play out in terms of what's happening on the ground over the next couple of weeks? >> well john, it's also when you look back at 16, when trump nearly lost to cruise. by the way, where trump said that caucuses were rigged. something that could come back four years later. he, not quite like this, but he was hustling in all 99 counties. he wasn't shaking hands before events, he probably could've beaten cruz if he had run a better campaign, i think cruz had a better iowa operation. we will see. at the end of the day, trump has such a passionate base -- i think the thing that's interesting here, we could be in for a surprise where trump's number on caucus day doesn't match the polls. but it is not battle for second, and it's fascinating. because you know, if polls are to be believed, and hilly is gaining in new hampshire, she ought to be able to do okay in south carolina, her home state. so if she were somehow able to get in second place in iowa, and everybody else dropped out, maybe vivek won't drop out, but then she could get a clear shot

at trump. and should still be the underdog. desantis were to come in second in iowa, then his rationale would be i've got to continue. and then that would clog up the anti trump lanes in north carolina and -- so a lot depends on who comes in second and what kind of margin. if trump were to win by 40 points, that's a different story. perhaps he drops to 40 or 38 and somehow he's able to get 18 or 20. even though that's a big lead, the expectations are a little different. so you tend to get surprised in iowa, so i'd be surprised if we don't have some surprises in store over the next few weeks. >> yeah, the expectations game, as david was just outlining, and from covering this, you know well, is such a big part of this. are you seeing kind of momentum behind haley that's being

talked about on the national level, and this happening in new hampshire? or you're seeing less of that in iowa. >> well, i think we definitely saw that in the fall. our polling at the register, the des moines register, nbc news iowa poll showed her gaining about ten points going from the summer into october. and so we saw that really being the only movement in the race. ron desantis was pretty stagnant, donald trump was still leading, nikki haley was the only person to show real movements in that poll. and so for a while, it really seem like there was a lot of energy behind her. she's gotten some big endorsements, including from americans for prosperity action, which is putting boots on the ground in iowa, helping her dornoch, helping her kind of put some bones into her operation. so we saw that, but going here into the end of the year, we've seen last movement in at the polls. but there's still a lot of energy, you know, it really does feel like a two person race in this kind of fight for a second here between nikki haley and ron desantis. and i think i winds too tend to be pretty pragmatic as they think about their choices being first in the nation. they're looking to new hampshire, they're looking to south carolina, to see how people are weighing the field in those later states.

and through saying, you know, maybe nikki haley has the best path beyond iowa and that is compelling to them. >> that's the race for second, it's probably the most interesting thing to watch right now. but let me go back to just the trump aspect of this, given he is so far ahead here. i mean, he's multiples of double digits ahead. but if he doesn't win by as much as 40 points, or however much he's leading right now, could that impact him? how could that expectation impact him negatively? >> history suggests it will, jen. so i think, you know, we are not far away from the caucuses. and his lead is massive. so it wouldn't take much. again, for him to finish at 40, which would seem like it would be a big number. and if somehow desantis or haley can get to 18, 20, 22, you know he will look wounded. which is, you know, he didn't match expectations. and then you headed to new hampshire, which just like iowa, has a deep capacity to surprise. and so, i do think that at the end of the day, the margin matters.

and probably the most important thing though, is does this effort get down to a two person race? going back to 16, kasich, rubio, cruz, they all hung in. and trump, for a while there, was winning states, 38, 40, 42. he wasn't getting 50, and you know, it's clear that there probably is 55, depending on the state, maybe 58% of republican primary voters open to somebody else. but it's got to get down to that two person race. and iowa is the first when moment. and so i think that that's the important thing, though, as it relates to trump. if he somehow finishes at 52, 55, 56, it doesn't mean he

doesn't get upset in new hampshire and makes it less likely. but if somehow this does narrow, and history suggests it does, particularly trump is not necessarily manic lee campaigning around the state, going to all 99 counties. doing tons of otr's. he's doing what he likes to do. and so i think that's the thing to watch, is does this become a two person race right after iowa, or the latest after him sure, and i think that margin in iowa will help dictate that. >> desantis feels like he has the most to lose here. if he doesn't do well, what's his path? that seems to be my take on this. i want to ask you, breonna, about this poll. because it's long been the gold standard for the numbers and where candidates sit. and there were some numbers about where republican caucus goers, more likely to support trump stood that just up to me. i want to ask you about them. 42% say they're more lurk lead to support him proclaiming immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country. 43% are more likely to support him forcing his enemies need to be rooted out like vermin. just as a couple of examples. my question to you, is is that because that's where they stand, or is it because he's saying it and they like him and whatever

he's saying? >> we've pulled questions over and over again about donald trump and some of the controversial things he said, some of the controversial stands he's taken. we've polled about his legal issues, and all of these different things, and it seems that no matter what question we ask, there's going to be a certain amount of iowa republicans who are with him through all of those things. and so i think we are seeing that again, where it's kind of a rally around the flag effect. we are seeing it through the indictments, where if he's being attacked, people, republicans here in iowa, tend to gravitate even more closely to him. and so, you know, it's been an interesting year in iowa because it started out that we talk to republican caucus goers, people who were attending events very early in the year, and there are a lot of people who would tell us and still do tell us that they want

someone besides donald trump. they're interested in another option, and yet we have seen the polling that he is only getting stronger here in iowa, even despite all of these things that are coming his way. he leads with every demographic group we tested in this last poll. and so to talk about all of the things that he's faced, the things that he's saying, his support is only getting stronger here in iowa. >> brian finance deal and david plouffe, lots to watch. you're both saying there could be surprises, i guess we will see. thank you so much for your time this afternoon. coming up, we all remember what happened on january 6th, 2021. but as we approach another anniversary of that day, the efforts to rewrite history continue. plus, my conversation with harry dunn, one of the officers who guarded the capitol that day. and later, you won't want to miss my conversation with two u.s. for -- again -- we're back after this. [dog barks] no it's just a bunny! only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪

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be the third anniversary of the

january 6th attack on the capitol. where in an act of unprecedented political violence, hundreds of donald trump supporters violently stormed the capitol, in an attempt to hold the peaceful transfer of power. and in the immediate aftermath of that attack, the facts of what happened were not in question. everyone knew what they saw. >> it was surreal. it was definitely a dark day in the history of america. >> our nation still mourns the unacceptable violence and anarchy that took place in this capitol last week. >> it's just an unprecedented event. nothing that any of us have seen in our lifetimes. we've got to prosecute these people and from my perspective put them into jail. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mobbed rioters. >> all i can say is count me out, enough is enough. >> january 6th was a disgrace. american citizens attacked their own government. they used terrorism to try to stop a

specific piece of domestic business they did not like. they built a gallows and chanted about murdering the vice president. they did this because they've been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on earth. because he was angry and lost an election. >> but in the three years since, there has been a concerted effort to rewrite that history. to intentionally ignore, disregard, revise, again, what everyone saw with their own eyes. >> we need americans to know the truth. this has been fraught with an unbelievable amount of misinformation and untruths, and when you see the footage yourself, it's going to give you not understanding of what was there and what occurred that day. because we are currently only depending upon really partisan descriptions of what happens. >> i'll let people make their own decisions. >> we want the american people to draw their

own conclusions. as you know, we have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in events of that day, because we don't want them to be retaliated against. and to be charged by the doj, and to have other concerns and problems. >> they are going to take this and milk this for anything they could to try to be able to smear anyone who ever supported donald trump. >> let me be clear. there was no insurrection, and to call an insurrection in my opinion is a bold faced lie. we didn't know the footage was a video from january the 6th. we would actually think it was a normal tourist visit. >> fbi operatives were organizing the attack on the capital. >> i have all this evidence. i'm showing you the tip of this iceberg. >> why am i the only person on the stage at least you can say that january 6th now does look like it was an inside job. >> these people were set up, it was an inside job. people should quote, see for themselves. the thing is, we did see for ourselves.

everybody did. as we approach another anniversary of that day, none of this, none of it should be in question. a group of people motivated by the lies of the then sitting president of the united states attacked the capitol in a desperate attempt to keep him in power. but for the coalition that supports donald trump, what happened on january 6th is apparently and unfortunately still up for debate. and as we enter the new year, that specter of political violence continues to hang over the country. joining me next is someone who defended the capitol on january 6th. my conversation with capitol police officer harry dunn is coming up after a short break. coming up after a short break. we will be right back.ight back. but as soon as i stopped taking the drug, i gained all the weight back and then some. that's when i decided to give golo a try. taking the release supplement, i noticed a change within the first week, and each month the weight just kept coming off. with golo, you can keep the weight off.

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on democracy by maga extremists who tried and failed to reverse the legitimate results of an election by force. but it was also an attack on the men and women who stood in their way. that includes the more than 2000 duty sworn officers of the capitol police. many of whom engaged in hand to hand combat while protecting the capitol that day. they were assaulted with bats, clubs, pepper spray, even fire extinguishers and flagpoles. they were stabbed and stomped, crushed and pushed downstairs. many suffered concussions, some had cracked ribs. one lost an eye. and that's not to mention the psychological trauma that would

haunt them for years to come. among the brave officers at the capitol that day was harry dunn. who first shared his story while testifying before the committee investigating january 6th two years ago. now, he's out with a new book, standing my ground. a capitol police officer's fight for accountability and good trouble after january 6th. i recently sat down with officer dunn to discuss his book, his job, and his life in the aftermath of the insurrection. >> harry dunn, thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today. congratulations on being an author. >> thank you. >> i wanted to ask you, you are so candid about your level of fear, your level of trauma, that you experienced on january 6th, and in the weeks and months afterward. why did you decide to write the book, and what do you want people to take away from it? >> i've been telling my story from day one, and one of the things i've always said is every one has a story from that day. this is my story, i don't pretend to speak for the capitol police, i don't speak for individual officers, this is me. it's important, especially in this day and age,

so many people trying to whitewash what happened and they want silence and silence actually helps them win. them meaning the people who are trying to rewrite what happened. and i can't let that happen. everybody has a role, and i believe this is part of my role just by telling my story. >> your job for all of the years you've been in it is to protect people of all parties, of all backgrounds, of all viewpoints. >> yes. >> which i think is so important for people to understand. how has that been, in the years since january 6th? >> it's challenging. because, you know, everything has become so partisan and so divided. my job, just a job, is to be able to protect members of congress who i agree with, who i don't agree with. it's not my job to agree with them as a police officer. it's my job to disagree or agree with them as an american citizen who has a vote at the ballot box. but to be able to distinguish between the two, i think that's where i am now.

knowing that democracy, my job is to protect it and defend those individuals responsible for preserving it and keeping it. but as an american citizen, still being able to hold them accountable, it's a delicate balance. >> you write that most of the insurrectionists didn't go inside because they were too busy fighting with us, as in you. and others, your colleagues. they weren't trying to run around us, they were trying to take our lives. >> they had the opportunity -- look how outnumbered we were. if they wanted to go in, you had officers on the ground. why not go in, then? you have the officer on the ground. no, chapais instead of going around him, they were beating that officer on the ground and attacking him. he wasn't just an obstacle, there was hate in their heart and vitriol they had. they have the opportunity to go in. some of them did, but some of them continued to attack officers while they were down. and, yeah. i can't

explain that. >> we don't often reflect on how much worse things could've been, but you did an interesting job of reflecting on that in your book, where you said that the fact that only one shot was fired speaks to the caliber of the officers of the force. everything we saw was so bad, and so horrific around that day. but it sounds like your view is it could've been worse. >> it could've been, and also not even just the officers, but the individuals who were there too. i'm not giving them any credit, but, you know, there were weapons pulled off of individuals. what if they just said, you know what, f this, i'm gonna start shooting. what if we got to that point? but the caliber and the bravery displayed, and the professionalism mixed with the heroism of that day by those men and women, that capital police, metropolitan police, was second to none. no members taliban were hurt, no staff was hurt. and not even that, they went back and they certified the election later that night.

so that just speaks the job that was done by those men and women. >> i should note, you drop a lot of f bombs in the book. it's okay, i don't know what moms, aunts, and grandmas think tremblay of that. >> it's funny. my dad asked, why do you cuss so much? that's not usually me. but there's a lot of anger in there, and i want to be as candid as i could be. >> that's why wanted to ask you about it. because you also talk about withdrawing from her friends and family. you've been very open about your struggle with ptsd, which many people struggle with. why is it so important for you to be sharing your story, and sharing that part of your experience with people? >> because somebody else is going through it. it's just as simple as that. and i think it helps people know that i'm not the only one. not me, there's somebody else doing this. i'm not the only one going through this, or this big, strong police officer guy. if he is crying, it's okay to cry. you know, bring out the human in us. we're not just robots.

we are individuals that have feelings and emotions, and your emotions are valid. your feelings are valid. >> one of the factors here that feels unfair, that you and others have to navigate, is that you have the leading republican candidate for the nomination who is talking about glorifying insurrectionists, pardoning people who were involved in the events of that day. >> yeah. >> how do you deal with that? >> i mean, let me ask you a question. does that say more about donald trump, or more about the people in this country? you know, there is an audience for him. a large audience. not just a small demographic, and those people exist. those people have a say, those people have a vote. we can't discredit them. i don't understand it, but they exist. and we need to meet people

where they are. i think one of the things that i've learned through all the people that i've met in life, when people want to be heard, people want to be seen, people want to be respected. and if people are turning to donald trump for that, we are failing somewhere else instead of meeting people where they are. >> that sounds like you're saying we've gotta leave a bridge. >> we have to. what other choice do we have? >> there also sometimes is a discussion about this, as if it's happened and it's never going to happen again. so you were out there every day, nearly every day, inside the capitol. you see what happens, you see the vitriol. do you fear that this could happen again? >> yes. because, donald trump doesn't think he did anything wrong. there have been thousands of arrests and hundreds of convictions, maybe those people have learned their lesson. but when you have arguably the most powerful individual on the earth, emboldening people to do what happened on january 6th, then

yes, you can infer that it will happen again. >> congratulations on becoming an author. >> thank you. >> no one can ever take that away from you. everyone can be proud, even with the f bombs. i really appreciate you having the courage to tell your story, and also to talk about your struggles. >> i appreciate it. thank you so much. >> harry dunn's book, standing my ground, is now available wherever you purchase your books. up next, an important conversation about the tireless work military caregivers in the united states. the wife of a military veteran who served in iraq will join me to share her family's personal story and talk about the challenges faced by caregivers across the country. after this break, we'll be after this break, we'll be right back.ght back a force to be reckon with. no, not you saquon. hm? you! your business bank account with quickbooks money, now earns 5% apy.

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5% apy? that's new! yup, that's how you business differently. as we look ahead to the new year, one of the focuses i have that many of you may share is to support organizations that do remarkable work. and try to give back more myself. and one of the organizations

that's really struck me over the years, because of the impact of the work they do, is the elizabeth dole foundation. senator elizabeth dole started the foundation after her husband, senator bob dole, was hospitalized for 11 months due to service related injuries. and she saw the challenges military caregivers faced and the lack of assistance available for them. the foundations mission is to support and empower the caregivers that are often forgotten. and so for this new year's show, i wanted to highlight the story of one of the many remarkable caregivers. jennifer austin's husband will served in iraq and afghanistan. a few years after he returned from his second deployment, he was diagnosed with pots, a rare auto inflammatory disease that doctors believed could be linked to environmental toxins that will was exposed to while serving in afghanistan. she described her caregiver role as one of the most challenging role she's had the honor of fulfilling. joining me now is jennifer austin, she's the

caregiver and -- it is such a pleasure. i'm sorry, i'm just -- >> you're very inspiring. i want to ask you about your husband, will. because he's a veteran of iraq and afghanistan, he's a dad, he's an avid reader, i understand. he's a baseball fan, my husband's a baseball fan to. tell us a little more about will. >> so will, he is a go getter. his condition often renders him bedridden, but when he's up, he's going 100 miles per hour. he is advocating for others, he is diving into his girls lives, he's the best husband and father, as present as he can be, and he's an avid reader. we have a library in our house full of history books. >> big history buff, and baseball fan. i know your responsibilities as a caregiver and other caregivers change day to day. this isn't something people always recognize. you're also raising twin 13-year-old girls, so that alone is a full-time job. tell us a little bit about some of the

challenges you face or how have the responsibilities changed day to day? >> sure. so many people, when they think of wounded warriors, they think of illnesses that they might see and be able to understand. but for my husband and many others, they are invisible illnesses. so you can't really tell what's going on from day to day, so you kind of see for yourself. and for him, he has pots, and another condition called -- that often means that he has flare-ups that keep him in bed all day. and this is not the type of -- he sits up and we can go and play games and watch tv. he's out, his brain fog, joint pain, migrains, all sorts of issues. and so day today, each morning when i wake, up i kind of assess, is he up today? is he up? is it going to be a good day? or is he down, and we need to help him accordingly. so it's helping him with meals, bringing him food, my daughters do that a lot with me and for me, and they will bring in food for their father. and helping with medications, and really there is not a cure. so it's not so much that we're working

towards something, it's really just hoping that each day is a good one. >> yeah, and you are now a part of this community of caregivers. and it's a community that a lot of people don't understand, because people often think of the veterans who return, but they don't always think about the caregivers. what do you think is most misunderstood about some of the challenges that caregivers face? >> i think a lot of times our country is really great at getting behind veterans. and i'm really proud of that. but there is second and third order effects when they come back and are ill. those fall down on their families. if they're married, it's their spouse, or maybe if they have children, the children are affected greatly by this. i think mental and financial repercussions are huge. i talk a lot about mental health, i've had some really dark days as a caregiver, feeling very lonely and isolated. knowing there is not necessarily an end in sight, that can feel overwhelming. and the same thing for my children.

they didn't sign up for this, although we are very proud of my husband's military service and have no regrets. the consequences of the day to day and the toll it takes on us is just very hard for people to fathom, until they've stepped inside our homes. >> one of the things reading about you that was surprising is you run an event for the elizabeth dole foundation, and they're incredibly inspiring. i've been to some of these events. and you heard the term military caregiver, and even as everything you've just described, you didn't think of yourself as one previously. but that seemed like it changed for you, that moment changed for you. >> it did. yeah, it was -- i was at an event, and i think we had gone to just like a military fair of some sort, with lots of vendors. and they said hey, you might want to come to this. your husband is going to be retiring out of the military, and this might interest you. so i came, i heard a fellow caregiver speaking, and as she was describing her scenario, it hit me. and tears started streaming

down my face. i was kind of embarrassed, i was sitting there in the room with all these people crying and i realize that i'm a military caregiver and i've been caring for my husband and i thought nothing of it. it was my vows, for better or for worse. but there's actually a whole demographic of people, 5. 5 million out there, that were also caregivers. >> remarkable, remarkable number of people impacted. the elizabeth dole home care act just passed in the house, just a few weeks ago. how would this bill help caregivers, and what is missing from it? it's obviously a big step forward, but more what more needs to be done? >> what this act helps with is that currently, if someone is -- their ailing and their aging, at a certain threshold, they have to go into the nursing homes. but what we want as caregivers is for a veteran to be home with us as they age. because we know the best, and we know exactly what they need. but that takes resources, right? and so this bill allows them to age at home, and for the caregivers to be able to

continue to give them the best care possible. >> and what more for people watching, who are just learning about military caregivers, the large community, what is the one thing you wish that they would know? >> so, what i always say to people, is a, know that they're out there. these people that care for veterans, there are so many of us. oftentimes you can't spot them, so go look for them. find them. tell them that they're not alone. and then what i would say to people's instead of saying let me know if you need anything, be specific. figure out what your strengths and your skill sets are, and offer that to them. because that is what we need. >> that's incredible advice. jennifer, you are incredibly inspiring. i hope you have a happy holiday. thank you for being here today. coming, up my conversation with two incredibly impressive paralympic athletes. we will talk about their personal stories and their plans for paris 2024 and beyond. we are back, after a quick break. are you replacing me?

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too. but there are also lots of things i'm super excited about. and at the top of that list for me on the 2024 olympics and paralympics in paris. you might not know this, but i am an olympics superfan. the paralympic games kickoff on august 28th, and recently i had the opportunity to sit down with two paralympians to hear about how they've overcome massive obstacles to become incredible athletes. >> rod and tatyana, thank you so much for spending some time with me on your busy day here in washington. so, brad, you are three-time paralympian, eight-time medalist, not to mention a new dad. before you were a paralympian, you had a distinguished naval career. you graduate from the naval academy, you served in afghanistan, in fact, you won your first gold medal a year after your injury, which was pretty remarkable. what were you able to apply from your career in the navy to your training in pursuing goals? the >> military does an excellent job of teaching you how to learn new skills. so i was an eod officer, explosive

ordinance disposal officer, meaning i was part of a bomb squad for the navy. as part of that job, i had to do a lot of things. i have to scuba dive, i have to jump out of aircraft, >> a big deal, jumping out of aircraft. >> it's a lot of fun. i have to learn how to do electronic circus, chemistry, tactics, who metal detectors work, all these different skills. so you go to all these different schools as a person in the military and on day one of jump school or drive school, you know nothing about that particular thing. but by week one, week two, week three, you've achieved a level of mastery in that and you approach it gradually with a sort of incremental loop. and so i know how to learn things. >> so jenna, you were born in russia. you spent the first six years of your life in an orphanage in st. petersburg. where you faced some unique challenges, i think it's fair to say. can you talk about how your life changed once you were adopted and went to the united states? to the degree that you remember? >> living in the orphanage for the first six years of my life, i didn't have any medical treatment, i didn't have a wheelchair available, my legs were behind my back

because i hadn't received any medical treatment. surgery for me was 21 days after i was born, so it was a miracle that i survived until then. and the six year changed my life, when my mom happened to walk through that door and she was purely on a work trip, and coming to the u. s.. >> she was just there for work, and she walked into the orphanage? did she know she wanted to adopt a child? >> no, she didn't. she just saw me, and it was like faith just brought us together. i just knew at that moment that that was going to be my mom, and everything changed when i came to the u.s.. i started school for the first time, i had about 15 surgeries, because my legs were atrophied behind my back, so i had to straighten them out so i could sit in a day chair like this and just do normal day activities. and so she found a local parasports club

called the beta blazers, and that changed my life forever. and it was the first time around eight years old that i could dream that i could become anything. when you're living in an orphanage and not taught to dream, you're just taught to survive. and so i wanted to become an olympic athlete. and i say an olympic athlete because at the time i didn't know the paralympics existed. it wasn't on tv, it wasn't -- we didn't have social media. and so it's been such an amazing journey. >> so tatyana, you, many people call you arguably the world's best female wheelchair racer of all-time. no pressure at all. how do you deal with the pressure, though? and kind of the -- there's a mental health challenge, i think, of being an elite athlete. i don't know, i'm not one. but i imagine. how do you do without, and what are your coping mechanisms for dealing with the pressure? >> i really do believe that taking care of your mental health is absolutely first, because your body can't respond if you're

not mentally healthy. you get tightness, you just can't move in your sport. you almost forget how to do your sport. and you build up very high anxiety, and you just like freeze. so i'm really bad advocate for that, especially being involved in sports for so long, and all the changes that has happened, and the social media pressure, the fans, but all the comments sometimes you can receive. >> what are the misconceptions about the paralympics and paralympians out there, that you think should be disputed? or need to be disputed, i should say. >> i think we spend a lot of time explaining that we are not olympians. frequently, i'm introduced a certain way, and people say it's great to watch you in the olympics, or i'm really proud to talk about my olympian friend brad snyder. and i have to try to very nicely say, i'm not an olympian. i'm a paralympian. we're also commonly confused

with special olympians. and these three sport movements are really incredibly powerful, really valuable, and play an important role in society, but they are different. and i think frequently paralympians find themselves in that middle ground, trying to explain to people how were different. >> the london paralympic games was a pivotal moment. it brought a new public interest to parasports in the uk. talk me a little bit about what you're hoping for, as the olympics and paralympics come to the united states in 2024? >> what was really unique about those london games, especially competing in 2004 was the advertising that the london olympics and paralympics did. so their whole narrative was the opp. was the olympics and paralympics. and that's how they came in. that was so brilliance, on their part. and we outsold tickets at the london games, 1 million tickets. we outsold the olympics. so it says something that the people know about the paralympics, that they want to see it. and i think what people are starting to find is that paralympic athlete stories are incredible. tatiana and brad,

you're amazing role models. athletes, paralympians. thank you for spending some time with me this afternoon. >> my thanks to them for chatting with me and letting me let my olympics fandom fly. you can watch tatiana in paris next, year i'm excited to do that. and since we taped that interview, brad decided to sit out these upcoming paralympic games to spend more time with his wife sarah and his young daughter. we are wishing them all the best and hoping he's back and ready to compete in los angeles in 2028. we'll be right back, after a quick break. k break. k break. - [female narrator] five billion people

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i want to wish everyone a very happy new year. thank you for watching this year. 2023 was a wild one. i think it's safe to say, 2024 is going to be even crazier. be sure to follow the show on twitter, tiktok, and instagram. a reminder you can listen to every episode of the show as a podcast for free. as we say goodbye on this new year show, a look at some of the names and faces of the incredible team who made what we do possible each and every week. they are brilliant, creative, and great human beings, which matters. i could not be more grateful for every single one of them. thank u so much for spending this time with us this year. we'll see you next week.