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Olympics Begin In South Korea, With Sports And Politics At The Forefront

With guest host Indira Lakshmanan. 

Let the games begin. The 2018 Winter Olympics kick off in Pyeongchang, South Korea. From athletes to watch to politics behind the scenes, we’ll take you there.

This show airs Friday at 11 a.m. EST.

Guests:

Rory Carroll, sports correspondent for Reuters covering the Olympics in South Korea. ( @rorydcarroll)

Jason Stallman, sports editor for the New York Times. ( @NYTSports)

John Hoberman, Olympic historian at the University of Texas at Austin.

Suki Kim, investigative journalist and novelist. ( @sukisworld)

From The Reading List:

Reuters:  Canadian Confidence Rising After Setting Downhill Pace — “Manny Osborne-Paradis posted the fastest time during the first downhill training of the Olympics on Thursday and delivered a boost of confidence to a Canadian team seeking to rejoin the upper echelons of Alpine skiing.”

New York Times:  Curious About The Lives Of North Korea’s Isolated Athletes? Here’s A Glimpse — “The arrival of 22 athletes from North Korea to compete in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, has been greeted by a predictable news media scrum, with journalists scrambling to coax comments from these emissaries of one of the world’s most reclusive countries.”

New York Times: North Korea’s Lipstick Diplomacy — “When North Korea’s 22 Olympians compete in Pyeongchang this month, they won’t be alone: Accompanying them will be 230 young North Korean women, all of them at least 5 feet 3 inches, all of them deemed “pretty” by the state.”

Let the games begin! The flame has made its journey from Olympia, Greece to Pyongchang, South Korea and now burns brightly over the winter games. Whether your tastes runs to spangled ice dancers or to rough-n-ready half-pipers, whether you root for the Jamaican bobsledders or you’re all about team USA – there’s something for everyone. And there’s plenty of politics in play too — from rival north and South Korea’s joint team to the doping scandal that derailed the Russian team. This hour, On Point: Ready, set, Olympics! — Indira Lakshmanan

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

China's Ba Dexin, left, South Korea's Jang Hyeji, right, and Lee Kijeong sweeps the ice during their mixed doubles curling match at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
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China's Ba Dexin, left, South Korea's Jang Hyeji, right, and Lee Kijeong sweeps the ice during their mixed doubles curling match at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

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