The grift and glory of the Enhanced Games

The Vergecast

Vox Media Podcast Network

News, Tech News, Technology

4.3 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How far can we push the limits of the human body? At the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, a few dozen athletes tried to find out, and The Verge's Victoria Song was there to watch. She tells us the story of the swimmers, weightlifters, and other athletes who competed, the intense training and drug regimens they underwent, and the complicated mix of pseudo-science and actual science behind the event. Then, she tells us where this project goes from here — because the Enhanced Games experiment is just beginning. Further reading: ⁠Roids were all the rage at the Enhanced Games⁠ ⁠What would you be willing to put in your body?⁠ Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:00:00 90 Seconds Headlines 00:04:00 What Are Enhanced Games 00:06:00 Sport Science or Grift 00:07:00 Wellness Grifter Playbook 00:10:00 Rules for Doping 00:11:00 Allowed Drugs Explained 00:14:00 Clean Athletes Surprise 00:18:00 Harm Reduction Argument 00:21:00 Heat and Event Chaos 00:28:00 Peptides for Sale 00:29:00 Telehealth Friction Debate 00:32:00 Influencers vs Media Narrative 00:33:00 Athlete Payout Reality 00:35:00 Future Plans and Stock 00:37:00 Vegas Vibes and Sexy Water 00:37:00 Hotline 00:41:00 Ferrari Luce Listener Takes 00:44:00 Final Thoughts and WWDC Plug Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:12.6	Hello and welcome to the Vergecast, the flagship podcast of Roid Rage.
1:16.1	I'm your friend David Pierce, and on today's show, we're going to talk to the Verge's
1:19.3	Victoria song, who recently went to Las Vegas to go to the Enhanced Games.
1:24.3	Everybody calls the Enhanced Games the St steroid Olympics, which is not a completely
1:28.1	wrong description, but the idea of giving athletes all of the possible biological and medical
1:35.5	advantages they have and then seeing what happens is just deeply fascinating. V had a wild time.
	...

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