Welcome to burn it all down. And this week, we are doing a big, super amazing, best you need. And this week, we are doing a two-part amazing, best ever Olympic preview in two parts I am here with my co-host

Jessica Luther and Shrine Named and we are going to talk about what have been termed the

pandemic games the COVID games the Tokyo Olympics of 2000, really 21, but will be called 2020.

It got me thinking to how the last Tokyo Olympics in 1964 would have looked like for

spectators and athletes.

In 1964, it's seen as a really important year in Japanese history,

a seminal year for the Olympics, for the first bullet train, the normalization of relations with

South Korea, and the people who are born in that year carry the name the new people, those who

would be now 57, and were identified as the first generation

to be born post-war and reconstruction. Globally, it's a pretty cold war year, you know, you're right

in the middle of it. South Africa, as well, was finally banned for the apartheid regime from those Olympics for the first time.

And the last day of the Games, Zambia declared independence from the United Kingdom.

So came in as one country and came out of the games as another.

It's very unique and I think the only time it's happened in Olympic history.

But that's just a reminder of how recent decolonizations have been, and another good reminder

that they still cast a very long shadow over the Olympics. For more on our analysis of politics,

of having these games, and and our critique see recent episodes 208 and 206

but you can literally search burn it all down and pod.com and you'll be treated to dozens of

our takes on the Olympics more broadly as well as interviews like with no Olympics folks

and expert professor

Jules Boykopf. For now, we're going to revel in whether we like it or not what's coming.

And so I'm going to start out with some categories and my co-hosts are going to try to feature

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