"If you think that somehow a bigger convention center is key to downtown revitalization, or is going to do wonders for local job creation, or economic development? The answer is, you've got to be kidding"
Katy Yaroslavsky's words are about the city's convention center — but they are really about the city
By the time July 2028 rolls around, the people who are ensuring the largest gathering in U.S. history is running smoothly will be making the highest minimum wage in the country
It's an emergency Torched Talks! Join us Monday, June 23 at noon on Zoom
Last June, Jules Boykoff and I got together at the Hollywood library to chat about Los Angeles as a megaevent epicenter, the city's overall preparedness, and the global agenda of FIFA and the IOC. Just one year later, that conversation feels like a lifetime ago. As LA is invaded by the federal government, and other U.S. host cities are facing similar threats, I thought it made sense to suspend my regularly scheduled programming and book an emergency Torched Talks with Jules, one of the few people I know who is fluent in megaevent geopolitics, closely follows the sports that underpin those relationships — and, as someone who studies protest movements, can also assess the reality of LA's current situation.
Jules is a scholar of sports politics, political activism, and the suppression of political dissent at Pacific University. He is the author of six books on the politics of the Olympics including NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sport in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Beyond, Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics, and, his newest book, What Are the Olympics For? Jules has been called "the world's leading authority on the Olympic movement," and his writing was once described by Mike Davis as "pathbreaking history." Look for him in LeBron James's new film on Jim Thorpe airing on the History Channel this summer. To prepare for our conversation, I highly recommend reading Jules's recent stories co-authored with Dave Zirin in The Nation, including their latest, which calls for fans to boycott U.S. World Cup games.
Take a deep breath and let's assess where LA is at with global megaevents.
Torched Talks with sports politics scholar Jules Boykoff
Monday, June 23
12 to 1 p.m. PT
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87881173841?pwd=JiG8y7azGAX10I9oa8moR5YssYBJSx.1
Meeting ID: 878 8117 3841
Passcode: 338721
Here's the link to the invite and the LinkedIn event
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