We are in Olympic Rio shining light on the dark corners of these games. First up: Jules Boykoff, a razor-sharp critic of sports culture and the author of “Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics.” Then, Stephanie Reist, a PhD candidate from Duke, based in Rio and writing about the Rio suburbs for the essential site RioOnWatch.org. ’Choice Words’ is a column about the intoxicating nature of the Olympics - and resistance to them. The ‘Just Stand Up’ award goes to Gabby Douglas in response to utterly inane criticism of this great athlete. Finally, we share messages from you, our listeners, left on our our Edge of Sports hotline: 401-236-3343 (EDGE.) We asked: were you still going to watch the Olympics, or had the controversies dampened your excitement? Thank you to Sam, Toby, Jacob, Andy and Candace. This week, the question is: what during the Olympics has inspired you, and why?
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Boykoff: julesboykoff.org | www.versobooks.com/books/2105-power-games
Reist: www.rioonwatch.org/?s=Stephanie+Reist | twitter.com/stephreist
Column: “Olympic Joy in the Face of Erasure” www.thenation.com/article/olympic-…face-of-erasure/
Edge of Sports Hotline: (401) 236-3343 (EDGE)
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