This week, we’re talking about the upcoming Summer Olympic Games taking place in Rio de Janerio, Brazil starting August 4, 2016. I love love love the Olympics, and I’m excited to share my view of them to you our listeners and to my co-co-founder and podcast buddy, Jeff, who would rather the Olympics didn’t exist. Join us as we prepare for the Rio Olympics the best way we know how, with me trying to convince Jeff that some weird sports are worth his time, and reminiscing about mostly terrible movies from the 1990s. 
Up top, we address some of the major problems that Olympic Games bring with them, because they are significant issues that deserve attention. There are big time problems with labour practices, corruption, and the debt legacy that these publicly funded construction projects (often with limited benefit to the communities they are built in) leave behind. These are just some of the issues that need to be addressed by the IOC and its corporate partners.
Then, we dive into the fun stuff. Why should intelligent people like ourselves watch any part of the Olympics? I make the best case I can, which starts at the glorious pageantry of the Opening Ceremonies and some of the sports (like Artistic Gymnastics, and the spangly uniforms we love). The Kenneth Branagh under a tree thing I was trying to recall from London 2012 was weirder than I remembered. He was playing a “famous” British engineer named Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and he read Shakespeare under a tree.
I make some recommendations for weird sports you should all check out. I can offer no more for you here than to GIF it up:

* Race Walking
* Velodrome Sports
* Handball
* Rugby Sevens
The best GIF I found for this is too large to see here, but click on this link.
Credit: Photo by Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock (4905557h)
* Rhythmic Gymnastics

On top of crazy cool athletic feats, there are fascinating narratives and super uplifting stories to watch for. Here is the story of the American fencing athlete, Ibtihaj Muhammad that I spoke about who will be the first American to compete while wearing a hijab. I really do recommend people give the games a try, objections and all.
In our second segment, we share the Olympics movies we love. Jeff has a fondness for the Calgary, Alberta showcase piece/inaccurate historical drama Cool Runnings, and who can blame him?