We look forward to an August Sunday Conversation about sports and the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo (summer 2021) and Beijing (winter 2022).  What's the impact of hosting, competing and even possibly boycotting?  We hope you're able to join us. 

Common Reading: 

American society is redrawing cultural norms and protections for citizens’ rights. It shouldn’t be a shock that sports is the most visible battleground.

Kurt Streeter is the new Sports of The Times columnist. He has been a sports feature writer at The Times since 2017 and previously worked at ESPN and The Los Angeles Times.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/sports/transgender-sports-mcdermott-leonard.html

Additional Optional Resources:

Podcast: The Dark Side of the Olympics

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/darker-side-olympics

The Olympics are often framed as a beautiful display of world unity, and a moment for countries to come together to cheer on their top athletes. But Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine and host of "The Edge of Sports" podcast, has a different view.

NPR News Story : The Tokyo Olympics Are On — For Now — As Athletes Train Through The Uncertainty

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/02/972620162/the-tokyo-olympics-are-on-for-now-as-athletes-train-through-the-uncertainty

VOX EU 

Olympic Games: Natural experiments for macroeconomic anticipation effects

https://voxeu.org/article/olympic-games-hopes-expectations-and-economy

Does hosting the Olympic Games provide the economic benefits that so many politicians proclaim? This column argues that hosting the Games raises the expectations of future output and in doing so promotes investment, consumption, and overall activity. It suggests that the Olympic Games can be seen as having a positive anticipation effect on the aggregate economy.