Ben Trefny, KALW executive producer, saw Lim\u2019s pitch as an opportunity to reboot a 2019 Warriors podcast, \u201cBOUNCE,\u201d with the newfound moxie of the Valkyries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lim was born and raised in the Bay Area, originally hailing from San Leandro. Despite living in San Francisco for the last 20 years, she never found herself part of the basketball frenzy that surrounds the Warriors until now.<\/p>\n While Lim\u2019s original area of expertise is baseball, reflected by her brief stint of employment with the San Francisco Giants in the early 2000s, she traded the bats for baskets and fell for the violet fervor that follows the Valkyries.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to pretend like I know a lot about basketball. I actually grew up as a baseball fan.\u201d Lim said, \u201cI fell out of love with the Giants and fell in love with the WNBA and the Valkyries. I am on a huge learning curve right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming from a non-basketball background, Lim had specifically honed in on the Valkyries\u2019 head coach, Natalie Nakase, and Rikki\u2019s<\/a>, the first women\u2019s sports bar in San Francisco, as some of her introductory topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nakase broke ground this year as the WNBA\u2019s first Asian American head coach. Through \u201cBOUNCE,\u201d Lim focused on the Valkyries, both off and on the court, and the community that surrounds them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s this community of sports, women\u2019s sports, women, Valkyries themselves and Bay Area people who love all these different things,\u201d Trefny said. \u201cBeing part of that community and being able to feed that community is really fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports fans in the Bay Area have a rampant appetite for championships, and while the Valkyries didn\u2019t take home the championship, their inaugural season was still record-breaking<\/a>. The Valkyries became the first WNBA team to ever make the playoffs in their inaugural season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lim and Trefny have worked to chronicle the culture of women\u2019s basketball in the Bay Area and have also extended their reach toward live studio podcasting events.\u00a0<\/p>\n KALW\u2019s studio event space in downtown San Francisco boasts an impressive lineup<\/a>. Following an overwhelming amount of positive response from listeners, Lim and Trefny decided it was time to open the floor to their \u201cBOUNCE\u201d audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n During these events, Lim and Trefny sat in conversation against a purple-light-flooded background, speaking casually about the latest events of the season. Over 40 attendees filled the room, laughing along and raising hands to contribute.<\/p>\n Demetrius \u201cMeech\u201d Johnson, a KALW reporter and \u201cBOUNCE\u201d contributor, worked closely with Lim and Trefny on the production of these live events. Despite Johnson\u2019s background in both sports and audio production, he was pleasantly surprised by the robust Valkyries fan base.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to the live events, it surprised me how many people would actually show up,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAs time went on, I started becoming less surprised. Valkyrie fans show up. That\u2019s what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Valkyries\u2019 season has come to a close, \u201cBOUNCE\u201d listeners are left wondering what\u2019s next for the podcast. Lim shared some ideas for another season, planting a seed for the continual cultural growth of the Valkyries in the Bay Area.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, KALW is an NPR affiliate public media radio station, making it subject to the cuts to funding for public media by the Trump Administration<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251001_Bounce_Willson.072-400x600.jpg\")
BOUNCE podcast producer Ben Trefny shows off his comfy work attire at the KALW studio on Oct. 1, 2025. (Jolie Willson<\/a> \/ Golden Gate Xpress)\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251001_Bounce_Willson.080-600x400.jpg\")
A KALW microphone sits in the studio while BOUNCE podcast producer Ben Trefny talks about the end of the podcast on Oct. 1, 2025. KALW, a radio station based in the Bay Area, is home to the BOUNCE Podcast. (Jolie Willson<\/a> \/ Golden Gate Xpress)<\/p>\n