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Olympics 2008
The Beijing Games
After years of preparation, the 29th Olympics Games began with a dazzling ceremony at 8pm on the eighth day of the eighth month, 2008. Follow WNYC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics below.
Sports and Politics in Asia
The Leonard Lopate Show
August 21, 2008
Find out how China is using the 2008 Beijing Olympics to promote its political agenda at home and abroad. Victor D. Cha talks about the history of sports as politics in Asia; he’s the author of the new book Beyond the Final Score .
Underreported: Is Pollution Poisoning China’s Children?
The Leonard Lopate Show
August 21, 2008
With the Beijing Olympics underway, everyone’s talking about how air pollution there is affecting athletes’ performances. But how is it affecting Chinese children’s physical and intellectual development? Dr. Frederica Perera, director of Columbia University’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health, joins us to explain how China’s pollution problem may be poisoning its children.
Synch or Swim
The Brian Lehrer Show
August 13, 2008
It is now known that organizers used doctored graphics and had a young girl lip-synch during the Olympics opening ceremony. But how much of that can be explained by "cultural differences?" Jeff Yang, columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle weighs in on whether it's particularly Chinese to try and keep up appearances.
Olympian Musical Feats
Soundcheck
August 11, 2008
The Olympic Games are the biggest sports and entertainment event on the planet and the music industry is eager to capitalize. Today, China-based music writer Ken Smith talks about the secrecy surrounding the opening ceremony, and about the complex dance between the music industry, the Olympic organizers, and the Chinese government.
Our blog: John Schaefer on keeping an open mind for the opening ceremonies
China Gets Camera Ready
The Brian Lehrer Show
August 11, 2008
The Olympic Games are underway in Beijing but only after a lot of primping and pruning. They practiced queuing, curbed public spitting, and shut down factories. They’ve even gone so far as to enlist Dr. David Tool, an American teaching at the Beijing International Studies University, to re-translate Beijing ’s mangled English signage. He joins us to explain. Plus, Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University and author of Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia Dr. Victor Cha, explains what real changes we might see in China after the cameras are gone.
On your marks, get set, compose!
Soundcheck
August 11, 2008
A big public event requires a big fanfare. Composer Zhiyi Wang provided just that for the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics on Friday. Today, the 27-year-old graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and University of Louisville joins us to talk about how he got the gig, and how he wrote music to be played in such a large forum.
China's Great Train
The Leonard Lopate Show
August 11, 2008
The Chinese government’s ambitions are on full display now that the Olympics are underway. Abrahm Lustgarten talks about how China’s nationalistic goals influenced its 50-year quest to build a railway into Tibet. His new book is China’s Great Train: Beijing’s Drive West and the Campaign to Remake Tibet.
Bloomberg Hopes Olympics put Spotlight on China
August 07, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says when the Olympic Games begin tomorrow in Beijing, he hopes the attention will highlight the progress he says has taken place in China. He said the Olympics also provide a....
08/08/08
The Brian Lehrer Show
August 07, 2008
Tomorrow's date is 08/08/08. In Chinese culture, the number 8 represents good fortune. Jennifer 8 Lee, New York Times Reporter and author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food talks about the significance of the lucky digit.
NBC's Olympics Experiment
On The Media
August 01, 2008
NBC News has called its Olympic coverage "the most ambitious single media project in history." But the real ambition is in how NBC plans to experiment with Olympics ratings in the hopes of changing the advertising business model on network TV. Grant Robertson of Toronto’s Globe and Mail explains.
