Money, Scandal and the IOC

Money, Scandal and the IOC

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 753 , Segment 3

Episode: Private Space Exploration, The Good Cemeterian, Water Crisis in Cape Town

  • Feb 22, 2018
  • 18:07 mins

Guest: Robert Barney, PhD, Founder of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western University, and Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology, Western University The Olympics is big business. NBC news, for example, has paid nearly $8 billion for the exclusive right to broadcast the games through 2028. Cities looking to be the next Rio or PyeongChang spend millions of dollars just to win the Olympic bid – and billions more getting ready to host the games.  The power to make a host city’s dreams come true lies with the International Olympic Committee, which has struggled for decades with the corruptibility that always seems to follow money and power.  How has the Olympic brand survived its many scandals? And will cities continue to line up for the costly privilege of hosting an Olympic Games?

Other Segments

Cape Town Water Crisis

12 MINS

Guest: Anthony Turton, PhD, Environmental Strategist, Professor of Political Science, University of Free State, South Africa For several months, Cape Town, South Africa has been on the verge of running completely out of water. It would be the world’s first major city to end up in such a predicament. Cape Town residents have cut their water use so aggressively they’re now using barely enough water for one 3-minute shower and a couple of toilet flushes per person per day. City officials hope that kind of conservation will make Cape Town’s water resources last until the winter rains, which should arrive in June or July, since Cape Town is in the Southern Hemisphere.  How does a city of 4 million people run out of water?

Guest: Anthony Turton, PhD, Environmental Strategist, Professor of Political Science, University of Free State, South Africa For several months, Cape Town, South Africa has been on the verge of running completely out of water. It would be the world’s first major city to end up in such a predicament. Cape Town residents have cut their water use so aggressively they’re now using barely enough water for one 3-minute shower and a couple of toilet flushes per person per day. City officials hope that kind of conservation will make Cape Town’s water resources last until the winter rains, which should arrive in June or July, since Cape Town is in the Southern Hemisphere.  How does a city of 4 million people run out of water?

Travel as a Political Act

18 MINS

Guest: Rick Steves, Author, “Travel As a Political Act: How to Leave Your Baggage Behind” Most of us consider vacation travel as a break from daily life - a way to relax, see cool things, eat good food. And often, Americans have a Rick Steves Travel Guide in their bag to make the logistics of the trip go smoothly.  But if he’s being honest, Rick Steves doesn’t care so much about how well your trip goes logistically. He’s more interested in what you learn from your travel and how you put that to use. Rick Steves’ manifesto “Travel as a Political Act” calls for Americans to take vacations that are more challenging – maybe a little less consumed with eating and site-seeing, and more focused on understanding other cultures.

Guest: Rick Steves, Author, “Travel As a Political Act: How to Leave Your Baggage Behind” Most of us consider vacation travel as a break from daily life - a way to relax, see cool things, eat good food. And often, Americans have a Rick Steves Travel Guide in their bag to make the logistics of the trip go smoothly.  But if he’s being honest, Rick Steves doesn’t care so much about how well your trip goes logistically. He’s more interested in what you learn from your travel and how you put that to use. Rick Steves’ manifesto “Travel as a Political Act” calls for Americans to take vacations that are more challenging – maybe a little less consumed with eating and site-seeing, and more focused on understanding other cultures.