How to Fix the Dark Side of the World Cup
Like the Olympics, the World Cup is rife with human rights abuses and glorification of authoritarian host regimes. It doesn't have to be that way.
Olympics
Olympic Athletes Can Take Drugs so Long as They Also Get an Unfair Advantage
Allowing Kamila Valieva to compete evokes memories of Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended from competition for using marijuana.
Celebrate Your Right To Ignore (or Watch) the Olympics
Born in nationalism, the Olympic games are fading into a niche entertainment option.
George Washington University Backpedals After Agreeing To Investigate Critics of China
"Upon full understanding, I do not view these posters as racist; they are political statements," said university president Mark Wrighton.
Artist Ai Weiwei Warns of Chinese and American Authoritarianism
In 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, the renowned artist details his struggles with censorship.
Dear Olympics Media: Please Spare Us Your Fawning Over China's Digital Surveillance
Regarding the authoritarian country's central bank digital currency, you do not, under any circumstances, “gotta hand it to them.”
Joe Rogan, Canadian Truckers, Coronavirus Mandates, and the Terrible State of Free Speech
What Joe Rogan and Canadian truckers tell us about free speech.
Learning the Lessons of the Horrific Beijing Olympics—And How to Reform Future Games
It's too late to boycott. But much can be done to prevent such a travesty from ever happening again. I propose five reforms, and explain how to force their implementation.
A "Diplomatic" Boycott of the Beijing Olympics isn't Good Enough
Only a real boycott - with athletes staying away - can have any meaningful effect.
Should Trans Women Compete Against Biological Women in Sports?
On Monday, weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics.
Olympics Remind Us That Sports Build Bridges Where Governments Can't
Engaging peacefully with someone who history says you should hate is no small task, but sports make it possible.
Simone Biles Doesn't Exist To Make America Proud
It isn't an embarrassment. It isn't heroism. It just is.
More Mask Mandates Could Be Coming Even Though Vaccination Is Key to Curbing COVID-19
Plus: Adam Smith invented the social software for modern liberalism, the U.K. invites more skilled immigrants, and more...
How to Reform the Olympics
The Olympics are a great sports event. But there is no reason to tolerate the massive public subsidies, forced displacement of populations, and propaganda coups for authoritarian regimes that go along with them.
With Spectators Banned, Tokyo Olympics Look Like an Even Bigger Money Pit
More than 30 venues, some of which predate the Olympics but many of which were purpose-built at public expense, will be occupied solely by coaches, athletes, and judges.
An Unbeatable Sprinter Is Defeated by an Irrational Prejudice
Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension for marijuana use highlights an arbitrary distinction that makes less sense than ever before.
If Sha'Carri Richardson Can Get High and Still Outrun Everybody, She Should Be Allowed To Do It
Banning the American sprinter from the Olympics for using marijuana is completely ridiculous.
Delusional LA Mayor Eric Garcetti Promises $1 Billion Profit on 2028 Olympics
Why do elected officials keep pushing the same damn lies about the economic impact of publicly funded sports events?
L.A. Officials Use Olympics as Cover to Spend $26 Billion on Transit Projects That Have Little to Do With the Games
The government suggestsnew taxes on ridesharing and electric scooters to pay for them.
The Parkland Shooting Screw-Ups Go All the Way to the Top: Podcast
On today's podcast: Mona Charen gets booed, the gun control debate reignites, public sector unions suck, and Olympic curling is surprisingly awesome.
Curling Is the Closest the Olympics Ever Get to Anarchy
The culture of curling rejects appeals to authority and encourages civility even in the midst of intense competition. That's a lesson for American politics.
Robots Are Skiing Now. Will They Take Winter Olympians' Jobs?
No, but they're awesome anyway.
Did We Get the Tea Party Wrong?: Podcast
An autopsy for the brief limited-government era of conservatism that ended on Friday
Why It's a Good Thing We're Fighting Over Coverage of Kim Jong Un's Sister
The Olympics-and nation-states-are less important than ever to our lives and geopolitics.
The Dark Side of the Olympics — and How to Fix it
The Olympics is a great athletic event. But it also often features horrible human rights abuses, enormous waste, and propaganda for dictatorships. It doesn't have to be that way.
The Olympics Can't Transcend Politics. Just Ask the Nazis.
Sports, and sport broadcasting, can never be apolitical when nations are going head-to-head on the field of play.
Stop Subsidizing Sports!
From stadium deals to college teams Olympics, why are taxpayers forced to pony up cash for athletic ventures that don't benefit them?
Five Cities That Got F*cked by Hosting the Olympics
Brazil, Russia, Greece, and China were all suckers in one of the oldest scams in sports
5 Cities That Got F**ked By the Olympics
The Olympics are an awful deal for the cities that host them.
Los Angeles Just 'Won' the 2028 Summer Olympics. That Is SUCH Bad News.
Cities, countries, and taxpayers hosting the Olympics typically stumble away much poorer and worse off.
5 Cities That Won't Be Hosting the 2024 Olympics, and Why That Makes Them Winners
Hosting the Olympics is a bad deal, and organizers are having a harder time finding willing rubes.
The Ryan Lochte Mess and Criminal Justice Reform Advocates Who Support Harsher Treatment
Getting to a color-blind criminal justice system by making it harsher on whites
These 2 Olympics Commercials Show Everything That's Wrong With Democratic Economics
While Hillary Clinton tries to tax Wall Street and punish companies that move, Andrew Cuomo uses scores of millions of taxpayer dollars to advertise a failed government program that waives taxes and rewards companies that move
Schumer, Norquist on Thin Ice With Olympic Tax Break
The politicians would probably be better off just lowering everyone's taxes, rather than picking and choosing a few already lucky Olympic athletes to reward with tax cuts.
Immigration Makes America Great at Rio Olympics, Boosts Economy Back Home Too
There are 48 foreign-born athletes on Team USA in the Summer Olympics, including one that already won a medal.
Brazilians Are Allowed to Protest Their Mess of a Government at the Olympics, Judge Rules
Spectators can now freely express their opposition to interim president Michel Temer at the Rio Games.
When the Russians Played the Olympic Villain For a Lot More Than Just Doping
1956's "Blood in the Water" match between Hungary and the Soviet Union brought war to the pool.
Michael Phelps's Back Spots Deserve a Gold Medal in Pseudoscience
Has the entire U.S. Olympic team fallen for the superstition of cupping?
Enjoy Rio's Olympic Venues Now. In a Few Years, They Will Be in Ruins.
Few boondoggles are bigger, more costly, and less permanent than Olympic infrastructure.
Friday A/V Club: The Fascist, the Humanist, and the Olympics
How Kon Ichikawa outdid Leni Riefenstahl
UPDATED!: An Incomplete List of Why Nobody Really Gives a Shit About the Olympics Anymore
Add your own in the comments. After all, it's not like you're going to be watching the Rio Games...
Matt Welch Talks Trump, Clinton, Iran, and Obama-Commutations on Tonight's Kennedy
Fox Business Network broadcast at 8 p.m. ET also includes discussion of Clint Eastwood and the benefits of drinking while married
Chicago Would Be Even More of a Disaster if It Had Been Awarded the 2016 Olympics
The city is still paying the tab for the bid-but it could have been much worse.
How Brazil's Libertarian Movement Helped Bring Down a President
Can these millennial activists defeat the left and save Brazil?
