Culture

5 Podcasts to Play Alongside the Olympics This Week

Gold medals, sauna pants, and Woody Guthrie!
U.S. Olympic boxer Claressa Shields
COLORADO SPRINGS , CO - JUNE 23:
U.S. Olympic middleweight boxer Claressa Shields, who won a gold medal at the London games, hopes to repeat in Rio, as she poses for photographs at the U.S. Olympic Training Center June 23, 2016 in Colorado Springs , CO.
(Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)The Washington Post/Getty Images

Unfortunately, it’s tricky to watch the Olympics or follow the latest Trump social media exploits while on the job. (While actually doing the job, that is.) Fortunately, your commute provides valuable catch-up time. This week, cue up these podcasts for the audio diaries of Claressa Shields, who won the first women’s gold medal for middleweight boxing in 2012 at 16 years old, and a lively debate over how much teen Tumblrs and tweets will matter when a generation who grew up with social media runs for office. That’s not all—your commute can also include the family legacy of traveling salesmen, 3,000 self-righteous beatniks, and an opera about urban planning activist Jane Jacobs.

  • In 2012, 16-year-old middleweight Claressa Shields won gold, in the first year that women’s boxing made it to the Olympics. (She'll defend her title in the ring on Aug. 17.) Boxing was the last all-male event in the Olympics, and sexism still dominates the sport. Shields speaks frankly about her experiences as a female boxer growing up in Flint, Michigan before and after winning the gold, facing prescribed gender norms from her father, her coach, and USA boxing officials, who suggested that she tone down her enthusiasm for the physicality of the sport to get sponsorships.
  • Teenage poetry and high school social theories are painful for anyone to read. (If you’re in the mood for that kind of schadenfreude, listen to the excellent *[Mortified](http://getmortified.com/podcast/)* podcast.) But that’s especially true for anyone who grew up with a LiveJournal or Facebook. *Flash Forward* explores the political ramifications of our digital histories: How will Kim Kardashian fan Tumblrs and racist tweets come back to haunt political candidates in 2046? Plus, an interview with Laura Olin, who ran Obama’s Twitter during his presidential campaigns, on how Americans are relaxing their standards about a politician’s previous beliefs.
  • Slate

    Placemakers, "Jane Jacobs"

    In its first episode, *Placemakers*, the Slate podcast examining people who shape their communities and spaces, looks at Jane Jacobs. In the 1950s, Jacobs criticized urban renewal efforts as ruining the American downtown, successfully defending her West Village neighborhood from a cross-city highway. This inaugural episode also features conversations with imaginary acquaintances and an opera about Robert Moses. [Listen here](http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/placemakers/2016/08/how_jane_jacobs_beat_robert_moses_to_be_the_ultimate_placemaker.html).
  • ARRVLS

    ARRVLS, "My Carnie Family"

    What’s it like to grow up in a family business based around the Shamwow? Listen in on the life lessons learned by the child of a traveling salesman, featuring sauna pants, Oxiclean, and color-changing markers—plus, a highlight reel of the legends of the state fair, and how to decide when to give up the spiel and strike out from the family trade. [Listen here.](http://www.arrvls.com/arrvls-podcast/2016/7/14/my-carnie-family)
  • On April 9, 1961, the folk singers of Washington Square Park protested against the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to defend their right to play. Listen to Izzy Young, who led the 3,000 rioting beatniks, tell the story of that day—and hear how the same conflict between musicians and New York City government played out in 2011. Featuring excellent 1960s archival audio of outraged, heavily accented bohemian New Yorkers.
Charley Locke is a writer for WIRED covering culture and photography. ... Read more
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