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“Marcus Smith is one of the most intelligent radio personalities I've heard. Erudite, witty, and an engaging interlocutor, he’s a pleasure to listen to.... Thinking Aloud compares favorably with similar intellectual discussion programs produced by other more prominent universities, which I listen to regularly.” --Dr. Glen Cooper (Ph.D. Columbia University, 1999)

Conversations to remember. Because we don’t chase headlines, we succeed in escaping media feeding frenzies. Basically, we zig when they zag. Now in its third year, Thinking Aloud has proven itself a quiet oasis for reflection, with compelling ideas you just won’t learn about elsewhere. We welcome thoughtful, educated voices into our studio … then invite you to ruminate right along with us. We’re glad you found us here on the web and hope you’ll enjoy our current programs as podcasts or broadcasts, or enjoy listening to any of the dozens of interviews available from our archive of past programs.

Thinking Aloud originates from the radio studios of BYU Broadcasting, in the Harris Fine Arts Center, on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Regular Broadcast Times (all times Mountain Time, including streaming from our websites): On BYU Radio (www.byuradio.org) … Every weekday, except Tuesday, at 11am, with rebroadcasts the following morning at 2 o’clock (for night owls, or listeners a hemisphere away!) On KBYU-FM, Classical 89 (www.classical89.org) … Every weekday, except Tuesday, at 11am, with rebroadcasts evenings at 8.

Show For Monday, August 18, 2008

Coubertin and the Modern Olympic Movement

Is all this hype what they had in mind when they revived the Olympics as a modern movement? Who were they for that matter? Our guest knows a thing or two about Pierre de Coubertin, the French Baron who founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894. Coubertin's actual intentions may surprise you. Can you imagine a sporting competition reserved entirely for the educated and wealthy upper class? What would Olympic history be like without phenomenal grassroots athletes: the likes of Jesse Owens, Abebe Bikila, Nadia Comaneci, and Michael Phelps? If Coubertin's ideas had prevailed, we probably wouldn't know these names today.

« Friday, August 15, 2008