The Olympics Used to Have an... Extraordinarily Weird Art Competition

The Olympics Used to Have an... Extraordinari...

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What makes a word a 'word'?

Words are everywhere -- and we're grateful, because we can't do this show without them. But all words were, at some point, just made up. So how does society decide what counts as a "real" word? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the history of language, and the oddly ...  Show more

The Rise (and Crash) of the Concorde Jet

What if you could hop from France to New York in less than four hours? Traveling twice the speed of sound, with caviar, lobster, champagne and cigars? This was the pitch of the Concorde jet -- a revolutionary, utterly ridiculous and brilliant craft that promised to fundamentally ...  Show more

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The Olympics originated in Ancient Greece, and were resurrected in the 1890's after a 1,500 year ban. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has been behind every Olympic Games. In this episode, we explore the story of how the IOC turned the Olympics into a huge commerci ...  Show more

1904 Olympic Marathon
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In 1904, the U.S. hosted its first Olympics. It had a host of problems. But the event that was the most dangerous for athletes was the marathon.

Research:

<ul> <li>Abbott, Karen. “The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever.” Smithson ...  Show more

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At their best, the Olympics symbolize our world’s potential for cooperation, honoring the common humanity that unites us across old divisions of gender, race, and geographical borders. With the 2022 Winter Olympics having drawn to a close, President Clinton sits down with two ico ...  Show more