UBC School of Journalism, Writing, and Media

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State of Play: Summer Games Podcast

The Olympics are meant to welcome the world, but who are they really for? In this six-part series, meet the people who are moved out, pushed out, and priced out in the name of sports.

Produced By

Distributed By

Trailer

Awards

2025 DPA (Silver) for Best Podcast, Current Affairs

An “illuminating and alarming” series that “reveals how the games can cause debt and disruption and displace vulnerable people.”

—The Financial Times

Episodes

Homeless in Olympic host cities

July 12 2024

In this bonus episode, Andie Crossan talks with Olympic speed skater and urban planner Christine Nesbitt about what happened to the plan to convert two-thirds of Vancouver’s 1,100-unit Olympic Village into affordable and subsidized housing. She also talks with two former mayors—Sam Sullivan and Gregor Robertson—who held office before, during, and after the Games.

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A modern footbridge lit up at night. In the near distance is a spherical structure.
A pedestrian bridge in Vancouver’s Olympic Village. Photo: Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash

The approach

This podcast follows an approach we at the Global Reporting Centre call empowerment journalism. Grounded in equity, accuracy, and reciprocity, empowerment journalism seeks to tell stories in an ethical and non-extractive way. To learn more about this type of journalism, check out our guide.

Global Reporting Centre production team

Andrea Crossan (host) is a veteran radio journalist and award-winning podcast maker. Most recently, she co-produced the podcast Land Back for CBC. Previously, she was Executive Producer of PRX’s The World, and has also worked for the BBC, Associated Press, and NBC News.

Britney Dennison (executive producer) is the GRC’s executive editor and a Murrow-award winning journalist who focuses on stories told through an empowerment journalism approach. Her work has appeared in major media outlets, including NBC News, PBS NewsHour, Mother Jones, the PBS series FRONTLINE, the Toronto Star and more.

Sarah Berman (senior producer) is an investigative journalist and podcast maker. Most recently, she wrote and produced the true crime podcast Pressure Cooker for CBC. Previously, she was a senior editor at VICE and coordinated their coverage of homelessness and addiction issues on the West Coast. Photo: Michael Benz

Jesse Winter (senior producer) is an award-winning photojournalist with experience covering the intersections of poverty, substance use, and homelessness. Recent projects include a series on encampments in Vancouver and an in-depth investigation into the lack of support for seniors experiencing homelessness. Photo: Matt Law

Sharon Nadeem (producer) is a multimedia journalist focused on migration, environment, and Indigenous issues. Sharon is reporting on the profound changes in downtown Vancouver as a result of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Katarina Sabados (producer) is an investigative reporter focused on corruption and environmental issues. Katarina is reporting on the experiences of residents in Los Angeles impacted by several mega sporting events.

Andrew Munroe

Andrew Munroe (digital producer) is the GRC’s designer, developer, and digital producer. He’s led work on multimedia and interactive projects with organizations like The Tyee, The Committee to Protect Journalists, and Associated Press.

Editorial support

Phineas Rueckert, Paris Reporter
Sophie Stuber, Paris Reporter
Bea Lehmann, Archive
Juliana Konrad, Fact-checking

Audio production support

Newfruit Media

Audio post-production by Newfruit Media with sound editing and mixing by
Daniel Rinaldi
Valentina Fonseca
Aaron Keane
Daniel Murcia

Media and funder partnerships

The first season of State of Play is supported by the Lohn Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, Creative BC, and Stardust Fund, and distributed by PRX.

For partnership inquiries, please contact Andrea Crossan, Executive Director, at Andrea Crossan [email protected].