meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Astray

Inside the Olympic Prison [from Very Special Episodes]

Astray

iHeartPodcasts

Religion & Spirituality, True Crime, Religion, Society & Culture

4.2838 Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the winter of 1980, the world turned its eyes to Lake Placid, New York, host of the Winter Olympics. But behind the pageantry, another structure loomed in the Adirondack woods. Built to house 1,800 athletes, the Olympic Village looked less like a dormitory than a detention center — because that’s exactly what it was designed to become.

*

Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English
Written by Zaron Burnett
Senior Producer is Josh Fisher
Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger
Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:02.3

Guaranteed Human.

0:09.5

Every four years, a small army of laborers works for months, if not years,

0:16.2

to construct the many venues needed for the Olympic Games.

0:20.3

A site is selected, blueprints are drawn up, money is allocated,

0:25.3

and then, long before the teams of international competitors ever show up,

0:30.4

construction workers descend, building inspiring sites where Olympic glory will be won.

0:38.7

When the games are over, those same newly constructed venues are often torn down, or left to sit abandoned.

0:46.5

But not always.

0:48.4

Some find a second purpose.

0:50.9

For instance, for the 2008 Summer Olympics hosted in Beijing, the Chinese built this visually astounding venue nicknamed the Water Cube.

1:01.2

The site hosted many aquatic events like swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming.

1:08.2

Now, it's a popular water park for the people of China.

1:14.6

As for the stadium for ice skating and ice hockey built for the 1928 and

1:20.6

and 1948 Winter Olympics in Saoam Moultz, Switzerland,

1:24.6

well, it eventually became a private residence,

1:28.3

owned by one man, Rolf Sachs.

1:31.3

And the same site that hosted the Olympic opening ceremony,

1:35.3

he later turned into a private garden.

1:40.3

United States has hosted the Olympics more than any other country.

1:51.0

For the summer games, there was the 1904 St. Louis Games and the 1932 Los Angeles Games,

1:56.8

and again in Los Angeles in 1984, and finally in Atlanta in 1996.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.