All articles by this author
March 13, 2026
2026 Olympics Recap
The presumption that the world follows American athletes in particular at anything like the level that NBC coverage suggests is its own breed of bias. But as the NBA All-Star ads reminded us throughout the first Olympic week, we have committed as a country to the format of “USA vs. World.”
August 18, 2024
2024 Olympics Recap
Snoop Dogg was our everyman everywhere all at once. One day he was taking a dunk with Michael Phelps, joking about his lung power; the next he was with Martha Stewart at Versailles, teaching us the difference between “piaffe” and “passage.” For an amateur among experts, his commentary ended up as some of the best of the stretch, with his freestyle riffs voiced over BMX highlights (“you mean he’s two-wheelin’ and dealin’ and gold-medal fulfillin’?”) and out at the Stade de France for the steeplechase (“we’re about to get to dippin’, rippin’, ride and slippin’”).
February 25, 2022
There’s a good chance you haven’t seen what I’m describing.
August 3, 2021
On Yu Miri
Every two years, when the Olympic institution plants its flag in a new city, speculators from metropolitan Lausanne meet with profiteers in the new athletic colony. They hover over the city map with carving knives, repurposing public spaces and re-zoning residences. Together, for the sake of a two-week event, they take over the territory, line their pockets with public resources, bring in outside workers, and push long-established locals aside.
