The Global Reporting Centre and PRX Announce “State of Play: Summer Games”
The new podcast reveals the impact of the Olympics on a host city’s most vulnerable residents
The Global Reporting Centre today announced State of Play: Summer Games, a new podcast brought to listeners everywhere in partnership with Pulitzer and Peabody Award-winning public media organization PRX, one of the world’s top podcast distributors.
The Olympics are meant to welcome the world. They’re watched by millions, celebrated as peak human achievement, and recorded as history. But before athletes even arrive in the host city, an enormous urban transformation unfolds. With just weeks until Paris lights the cauldron, and with L.A. 2028 gearing up to host its own games, State of Play looks at the promises and legacy and asks: Who are the Olympics really for?
Hosted by accomplished journalist Andie Crossan, this six-episode series launches July 11, 2024. Episodes will be released weekly and will be available free on-demand across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Overcast, and Pocket Casts.
Listeners will hear stories of people who are moved out, pushed out, and priced out in the name of sports. This series will bring audiences to Paris, Vancouver, and Los Angeles on a surprising journey into the long shadows cast by the Olympic torch.
The State of Play team spent months looking at the legacy of the Olympic Games and the long-lasting impacts that have been felt by some of the host cities’ most vulnerable residents. The podcast stretches back to LA ’84 — a turning point for the games — and illuminates how cities like LA, Vancouver (2010), and London (2012), are still feeling the impact of the games years after the closing ceremonies. An example from the present: a hundred days before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, dozens of police officers descended on an abandoned office building in Paris, where hundreds of migrants had made a home. Carrying riot shields, police cleared the building floor by floor.
Credits
State of Play is produced by the Global Reporting Centre and distributed by PRX. The host is Andie Crossan. The senior producers are Sarah Berman and Jesse Winter. The producers are Sharon Nadeem and Katarina Sabados. The sound designer is Daniel Rinaldi. The executive producer is Britney Dennison.
About the Global Reporting Centre
The Global Reporting Centre is an editorially independent journalism organization based at the University of British Columbia School of Journalism, Writing, and Media. Founded in 2016, we are leaders in doing global journalism differently. We innovate industry practice, educate the next generation, and promote greater equity in journalism.
About Andie Crossan
Andrea Crossan is a longtime news journalist and radio producer now based at the Global Reporting Centre at the University of British Columbia. She has produced and reported for the BBC World Service, CBC News, Associated Press, and NBC News. Crossan reported from over 20 countries and has worked in the U.S. and the U.K. She is the winner of two RTDNA Edward R. Murrow awards for news documentaries and is also the winner of an Anthem Gold award for co-creating a guide on empowerment journalism. Crossan was also part of the RTDNA award-winning team that produced the CBC’s Land Back podcast. She lives in Vancouver and is a proud member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
About PRX
Celebrating more than 20 years as a nonprofit public media company, PRX works in partnership with leading independent creators, organizations, and stations to bring meaningful audio storytelling into millions of listeners’ lives. PRX is one of the world’s top podcast publishers, public radio distributors, and audio producers, serving as an engine of innovation for public media and podcasting to help shape a vibrant future for creative and journalistic audio. Shows across PRX’s portfolio of broadcast productions, podcast partners, and its Radiotopia podcast network have received recognition from the Peabody Awards, the Tribeca Festival, the International Documentary Association, the National Magazine Awards, and more, including in 2022 when Futuro Media and PRX won a Pulitzer Prize. Visit PRX.org for more.
