The CSS podcast is dedicated to exploring a the relationships between and impacts of sport on a variety of social, cultural, and environmental factors. Season 1, "The Legacy Season", was inspired by the 10-year anniversary of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, a time when issues of the impact and legacies of mega sport events was at the forefront for many Canadian sport scholars. Key topics include the environment, community development, social justice, and equity, which we will re-visit throughout the season. Each episode will be dedicated to a different topic surrounding sport mega events, with researchers and key stakeholders joining Dr. Bundon for a conversation about existing research, shifts in the field, and current issues to explore how these topics have progressed over the past decade. If you're interested in learning more about our podcast, listen to the short introductory clip below! Like what you hear? Check out Episode 1 for a conversation about the Olympics and the environment. The CSS Podcast Introductory Video
The CSS Podcast Episode 1: ‘Green Games’, ‘Carbon Neutral Games’, ‘Zero Carbon Games’, ‘O2 Plus Games’ – since when did the environment become an Olympian?
Episode 1 includes a discussion with featured guest Dr. Liv Yoon, postdoctoral research scholar at the Earth Institute at Columbia University (now a faculty member in the School of Kinesiology at UBC -- and an affiliate of UBC's Centre for Sport and Sustainability and the Mobilizing Sport & Sustainability Collective), with special guests Dr. Kyoung-yim Kim (Boston College) and Dr. Brian Wilson (UBC). The episode explores connections between the Olympic Games, the environment, development, and social justice, specifically looking at how the environment is considered (or not considered) in bidding on and hosting sport mega-events. Examples of environmental impacts discussed in this episode include deforestation in PyeongChang, and the construction of sledding tracks in PyeongChang and Nagano. Click here for a full transcript of Episode 1. See below for referenced works and episode notes.
Episode Notes: A few days after this podcast was recorded, in early June 2021, the South Korean government announced that the alpine ski slope will be dismantled, and that the forest on Mount Gariwang will be restored. It said that the decision was recached with the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Forest Service after accepting the recommendation of a task force. The provincial government -- which has been wedged between the federal government’s orders to restore the forest and many local residents who wish to keep some of the facilities – will lead this restoration process.
Referenced Works: Mount Gariwang: An Olympic Casualty (Dr. Liv Yoon) Sport and Peace: A Sociological Perspective (Dr. Brian Wilson) Sport and the Environment: Politics and Preferred Futures (Dr. Brian Wilson & Dr. Brad Millington) Mobility of Sustainability Policy: Sledding Tracks in the Nagano and PyeongChang Olympics (Dr. Kyoung-yim Kim) Journalism, Environmental Issues, and Sport Mega-Events: A Study of South Korean Media Coverage of the Mount Gariwang Development for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (Dr. Liv Yoon & Dr. Brian Wilson) Eco-Modernist Environmental Politics and Counter-Activism Around the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games (Dr. Kyoung-yim Kim & Dr. Heejon Chung)
Credits: This podcast was supported by grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The CSS podcast series is hosted and produced by Dr. Andrea Bundon, with technical and research support provided by Donna Cumming. Podcast art by Maya Sato-Klemm.