#1429 The Grit, Glory and Gaslighting of the Olympic Games

Air Date 7/13/2021

Today we take a look at the costs of the Olympic Games including financial, ethical, moral and social. Private profits come at the hands of public investment, disruption of communities, curtailing of rights and, this year, extensive health risks. 

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: How The Olympics Became So Expensive For Host Cities - CNBC - Air Date 6-21-21

Cities incurring overrun costs when hosting the Olympics is not just unique to just Rio; according to the Council on Foreign Relations, since 1960, every Olympics saw high overrun costs. As overrun costs become a growing concern, several cities withdrew

Ch. 2: The 2020* Olympics - Today, Explained - Air Date 5-18-21

*Are being held this summer in Tokyo. And it’s a mess.

Ch. 3: Lotteryism, Part II - A Most Dangerous Game, How Sports Are Used to Fleece Public Trusts - Citations Needed - Air Date 12-20-17

It's a scam to extract resources from local governments in hopes they can "win" corporate cash, headquarters, facilities, and, of course, the promise of "jobs". Cities around the world debase themselves to compete for the "honor" of hosting the Olmpics.

Ch. 4: The 2021 Olympics is a Moral Hazard w/ Jules Boykoff - The Majority Report with Sam Seder - Air Date 6-28-21

Jules Boykoff, Pacific University professor of politics and government, former US Olympian and author of NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Beyond, discusses the Olympics industrial complex.

Ch. 5: Sha'Carri Richardson's Suspension for Marijuana Defies Common Sense - Time's Top Stories - Air Date 7-2-21

In a development that shocked and saddened fans of track and field, and the Olympics, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Friday morning that Richardson had accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for cannabis.

Ch. 6: Sha'Carri Richardson left off relay team, won't compete in Olympics - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 7-6-21

Runner Sha'Carri Richardson was not named to the U.S. relay team and will officially not compete in the Tokyo Olympics following her positive test result for marijuana.

Ch. 7: Olympic Athletes Not Allowed To Protest - TYT Sports - Air Date 4-30-21

Athletes are being warned about protesting at the 2021 Olympics. Rick Strom breaks it down.

Ch. 8: Anne Orchier of NOlympics LA on Tokyo 2020 Olympic Opposition - Burn It All Down - Air Date 7-8-21

Lindsay Gibbs interviews Anne Orchier of NOlympics LA about opposition to the Toyko 2020 Olympics from on-the-ground organizers in Japan, which is largely led by unhoused people and those who will be displaced by the games.

MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: Olympic racism is being exposed - By Any Means Necessary - Air Date 7-6-21

The racist and transphobic history behind disqualification of Olympic women runners due to “naturally high testosterone” levels, as Nambian sprinters Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi are kept from competing in the Tokyo Olympics.

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 10: Names - Alyson from Boulder, CO

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 11: Final comments on why we all, including Sha'Carri Richardson, are victims of White Supremacy

Bonus: The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibition - Business Insider - Air Date 3-1-18

How did marijuana become illegal in the first place? As it turns out, it has some roots in racist rhetoric pushed by politicians and the media in the 1930s, when it first became illegal.

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

• Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
• Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
• Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
• Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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