Wheelchair rugby’s Chuck Aoki makes us smart about the Paralympics
Make Me Smart
Marketplace
4.6 • 5.5K Ratings
🗓️ 28 August 2024
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In case you haven’t heard, the Summer Olympics aren’t over! This year’s Paralympics kick off in Paris on Aug. 28. It’s the first time all 22 Paralympic events will be aired live, and total broadcast revenues are up by more than 20% from the delayed 2020 Paralympics. Chuck Aoki, an American Paralympic wheelchair rugby player, said content creators like himself are also bringing eyes to the event. On the show today, Aoki breaks down the basics of wheelchair rugby (aka “murderball”), the system that classifies para athletes based on their disability, and why this year’s Paralympics are getting more buzz than ever.
Then, we’ll get into how pharmaceutical companies’ new direct-to-consumer programs could impact drug prices. And, listeners tell us about the trafficless 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and a lesson in credit cards learned the hard, heartbreaking way.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
- “Passion And Guts: Chuck Aoki’s World of Wheelchair Rugby” from Team USA
- “Paralympic Games in Paris set to reach largest audience after broadcast deals” from The Guardian
- “What sports are in the Paralympics and how does the classification system work?” from AP News
- “How to Watch the 2024 Summer Paralympics: Streaming Schedule, Free Options” from Wired
- “Pfizer Follows Lilly With Website Selling Directly to Patients” from Bloomberg
- “Eli Lilly lowering weight loss drug prices” from The Hill
- “Health Insurance Costs Will Rise Steeply if Premium Tax Credit Improvements Expire” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- “How Much and Why ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Going Up in 2025” from KFF
- “Pfizer launches new website for migraine, respiratory offerings” from Reuters
- “Panama Canal Eases Limits That Caused Global Shipping Bottleneck” from Bloomberg
We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone. I'm Kimberly Adams. Welcome back to Make Me Smart where none of us is |
| 0:11.0 | as smart as all of us. I'm Kyle Rizdahl, thanks for joining us on this Tuesday 27 August. |
| 0:16.6 | We are talking Paralympics today because the summer games are not over. |
| 0:20.2 | Paralympics start tomorrow in Paris. And interest in the Paralympics start tomorrow in Paris. |
| 0:23.0 | And interest in the Paralympics is growing and this year's Paralympics are set to reach its largest audience ever, |
| 0:30.0 | so we wanted to know more about Paralympic events and what's driving interest in the games. |
| 0:35.0 | So to help us get smart about this Paralympic wheelchair rugby player Chuck Aoki is here to make us smarter |
| 0:42.0 | and he is joining us from Paris where he's getting ready to represent |
| 0:46.0 | Team USA in his fourth Paralympics. |
| 0:49.1 | Welcome to the show Chuck. |
| 0:50.3 | Hey Kimberly, thanks so much for having me. |
| 0:52.8 | So what's the vibe in Paris right now? |
| 0:56.2 | The vibe in Paris is fantastic. |
| 1:00.3 | You know I've done that you mentioned in the intro I've been to four Paralympic games so I've done, as you mentioned in the intro, I've been to four Paralympic games, so I've done this a little bit. |
| 1:05.6 | And, you know, energy is one of those things that's, it's hard to quantify. |
| 1:09.7 | You can't put a number on it, you just feel it, and it just feels different this time around the |
| 1:14.0 | games feel different the energy feels different the conversations the |
| 1:17.3 | activity the buzz it feels different it's it's it's really exciting every |
| 1:21.3 | everybody here on the ground is getting super excited. |
| 1:23.5 | Say more about how it feels different. |
| 1:25.0 | What do you think is going on? |
| 1:27.3 | Yeah, you know, I think it's a great question. |
... |
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