Trevor's In Paris, But Not At The Olympics?!
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The fact that the Olympics is coming to Paris and the Parisians are like, don't come. Don't don't. We don't want to host. We don't want you here. It feels exactly like when the Avengers save the world. But then the New Yorkers like, guys, guys, they ruined everything. This is terrible. And then they're like, guys, but we were the Avengers. Did you not see us hop over the buildings? We don't care. They're also like there is there is no more building.

Yeah. You know, this is one of the reasons I always hated Superman. I felt like Superman was a spoiled brat who wasn't taught things by his parents. Because if you're Superman...

and you blow up half the city fighting Zod or whoever you're fighting, how are you going to go and spend the rest of your days working as like a fake journalist getting pictures of yourself instead of like, why don't you rebuild the city, you dick? Superman, that's like, yeah. So I agree with you, Josh. The Avengers, I'm like, they're heroes to like the outside world. But I bet everyone who lives there is like, oh God, here comes Hulk again. Well, wish me luck.

You're listening to What Now? The podcast where I chat to interesting people about the conversations taking over our world. For this week's episode, I am actually in Paris at the same time as the Olympic Games.

And so because of that, I have a few thoughts, many thoughts, on the various winners, the storylines, from Simone Biles to the infuriating controversy over the Algerian boxer. And some fun thoughts on whether the Olympics might be one of the last collective experiences we have left. As usual, I'm joined by my good friends, writer and journalist and professional hater, Christian Mbakwe Medina, and comedian and human chill pill, Josh Johnson. ♪

This is What Now.

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Happy podcast day, everybody. Bienvenue. Happy podcast, everybody. Welcome. I see you looking good. Welcome to the podcast. Happy podcast day, Trevor. Happy podcast day in French. I put it in subtitles. And where are you? Can we assume where you are? But you never know with you. Where are you, Trevor? I mean, I would hope you would assume. It would be weird if I was just talking to you guys in a French accent and I'm in like

Like Ohio or something. The French colonized a lot of people. You could be in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea. Oh, no, touche. Touche. You're not wrong. You're not wrong. You're not wrong. No, I am coming to you from Paris. Yes, gay Paris, the home of the Olympics. Obviously, you know, we're recording this today and...

People are going to be listening to this in a few days from now. So if you're listening to this, we recorded it three days ago, essentially. So something might have changed. I doubt that it will. All the biggest races have been run. So yeah, unless you want to make like a crazy prediction, Josh, do you want to act like we recorded this thing right now? You can just like make a prediction. Usain Bolt came back and snatched the gold from Noah Lyles. Yeah.

That was wild. That was pretty wild when he did that. That was wild. That happened just today. That was wild. You know what's been really funny to see is how like, I'm sure there's a term for this in maybe in economics or in sociology or in one of those fields, but it's been interesting to see how Paris for the Olympics

has been completely empty. Like, and I've been talking to people in the streets and it's been interesting how people who didn't come to Paris didn't come because for two main reasons. One, things are really expensive and they were told that nobody's going to be able to afford anything, which is true.

And they were also told that it's gonna be a shit show and Parisians don't want them here, which was also true. So when they announced that the Olympics was coming to Paris, they were like, yeah, Paris is gonna host the Olympics. And then I guess the Olympics didn't realize that in order to be a host, it means you have to want people to come to where you are. And-

the Parisians, the French were like, we don't want people here. They were like, don't come, don't come, don't come. Whatever you do, you're going to spoil Paris. Don't come here, please. If you, please. And they have these videos. They're really funny. If you go watch them on TikTok from a while ago, people were literally like, they're like, please don't come Americans. Please don't come here. Everybody, you are spoiling Paris. It's too much traffic. We're going to spit on you. You don't want to, you don't want to come here. So a lot of people didn't want to come.

And it got so bad that Delta Airlines announced that they're expecting to lose $100 million because this is one of their most important routes, like flying to Paris, and people aren't coming. So that was the one side. People aren't coming because they felt like this is not the Olympics for them. Now, on the Parisian side...

Most French people have left Paris because they were told it is going to be a shit show because all the foreigners are going to be coming and nobody wants to be in Paris when it's full of foreigners and you can't navigate, you can't move around, you can't do anything. So everyone from Paris is gone. Everyone from overseas is gone. The streets are basically littered with a few diehard tourists who don't read the news. Yeah.

And then basically like Olympic teams and athletes. That's it. That's where I am right now in empty Paris. And Trevor Noah, how did you end up there? That's my question. So this is a fun fact. I love saving on flights. Love. This is like one of my passions. I hate giving airlines more money than they deserve. You're diabolical. This is ridiculous.

I hate giving airlines more money than they deserve. So what I do is I spend a lot of time trying to find the cheapest flights possible when flying from one place to the next. And because nobody's coming to Paris, one of the cheapest flights I could find, I was actually going to do shows in Germany

And then one of the cheapest flights I could find was through Paris. And then I caught a train from Germany to Paris. So I flew into Paris, went to Germany and then caught a train back. And then I'm going to fly out of Paris. And it was the cheapest flight I could find. So I'm only here. I'm literally here for a day. The hotel I'm staying in dropped their prices because they didn't get the people they expected. So I'm out here saving money, people. This is the life. This is the most Swiss German thing you have ever said in your life.

What are you talking about? This is the most African thing. No, no, no. Africa is like, if an African gets as rich as you, he's actually just buying a plane, first and foremost. No, no, no, no, no, no. Okay, this was German. I'm saving as much money as possible. And then you got a train. That's the thing that's tripping me out. I love trains. Yeah. Do you think you'll go? Do you think you'll go to the Olympics? You're there for a day. The Olympics only come once every four years. Yeah, to the events. Yeah.

Are you going to go to the Olympics? No, Josh. I am not planning to attend any of the Olympic events. What are you saying?

So, okay. All right. Here's the thing. First of all, as my friends, I don't appreciate how you judge me with the looks that you give me. I'm judging you. I think friends are supposed to meet you with curiosity and compassion, not judging us. Oh, I'm curious. I'm curious. Okay. So here's the thing. Here's the thing.

I am not a fan. Generally, I'm not a fan of live sporting events. I find they're not designed for the person in the stadium. So I'll go and watch like a soccer match, right? I'll go and watch like football because like the atmosphere will come alive. But I won't even do that regularly because I...

When I'm at home, I like the replays. I like that I get to see like closeups of what happened. I think the technology has improved the game. I think small sports are great in person, like basketball, tennis, those types of things. 'Cause I actually think it feels way better in person. It's more impressive.

But like Olympics, what I'm gonna go to the stadium. First of all, you have to go stand in lines for hours and hours. There's like multiple checkpoints. Then you get into the stadium. You're not allowed to bring your own food and drink. So now you gotta buy their trashy food and drinks. That's like the sponsor's stuff. So like, I can't drink what I wanna drink. I have to drink the water that you want me to drink. And now I'm in the stadium and then I'm watching like table tennis. I can't even see the ball.

I don't even know if there is a ball. Now I'm just like cheering. And then you know what you end up doing? You're watching the event on the big screen in the event. So I went to a stadium to go watch a big TV with a bunch of strangers and there's no sound. So no, that's probably why I'm not going to go to any Olympic events. I would go, by the way, if it was like, if Simone Biles was on now, I would go. That would be different. If like...

If there was like a major, major sport where I was like, "Oh, I want to be there for this moment." But I, with all due respect to all athletes, I don't care who throws the javelin the furthest. I can watch that from home and that's me. So I apologize, Joss, but I'm not going. I'm not going to any Olympic events. - Okay, wow.

Once again, a lot has happened. So first, to be fair to you, I will say that there are lots of events where if you see it live, you can't tell how impressive it is because sometimes I think you need the focal length of the camera to show you what just happened and how far someone went. Exactly. I'm glad you can see it from my. Thank you. I was waiting for that being said.

There are some sports that are absolutely electric to see live. Like if I were you, I would say going to the judo is like phenomenal because I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the judo isn't that big of an arena. And there's a couple happening at the same time. No, they're all in a big arena. That's the thing. Usually judo is in a space that fits the amount of people who want to watch judo, which is like 50 people, right? Yeah.

But in this instance, because it's the Olympics, they've just put people in giant arenas. And then the judo is taking place in like one corner. And then like the other thing is in another corner. And then do you get what I'm saying? So unless it's a major, major, major event-

It doesn't take up the whole arena. So you're just watching like a corner of the... And I would go for the vibe, but it's... I'm only here for a stopover. I was trying to save money, people. I know. You want to talk about almost nobody there that I could see even though it was the Olympics? The three-on-three basketball. Okay? This...

Everybody tries to see LeBron. Everybody tried to see, you know what I mean? But, but the three on three basketball is outside. So it's, it's sunny. And I, I don't think anybody was there because I didn't hear much cheering when people, when people were scored. Um,

Damn. Yeah, so either the game was bad or nobody was there, and it seemed like nobody was there because I could hear a couple people, right? Wait, wait, wait. I didn't even know three-on-three basketball was a thing. Okay, I didn't know this either until I was hanging out this weekend with my buddy Mandel, and he says that the three-on-three basketball goes through a tournament style just like the full-on Team USA big basketball they're watching. Oh, yeah, you see, I didn't know that. Apparently, the U.S. is already out.

And we're out because we couldn't get any stars to play on the three on three. I don't know why. I don't know if it's like a junior varsity vibe, but we could not get you. You got the whole of the NBA, the former NBA and the people didn't make the NBA. And they still grab three dudes that I think play college ball that are 33. So it's it's wow. Yeah. But I think Serbia knocked us out.

Which is crazy because Serbia, the one that LeBron had them crying. Like not crying, like you could tell they were going to cry in the locker room because they looked exhausted with LeBron. That game right there, that game right there probably brought a little bit of racism back to the world because

it's one thing to see a black man succeed but with this man ducking all and moving you out the way LeBron when I tell you LeBron was not even pushing them he just elbowing his way back he elbowing his way forward and they getting out the way because they're like I've never felt this before right and so then he would dunk and then run off and you could you could see them looking at the ref like is that allowed yeah yeah

You know, the only thing I would have gone to is, I would have gone to track and, because track is, look, I grew up watching track and field. I feel like it's the most important event of the Olympics. I would have watched any of the women's races. I was sad that Shelly Ann Fraser-Price from Jamaica pulled out of the race. And then also, was it Jackson? Jackson.

She also pulled out. It was weird. There were two Jamaicans. Two Jamaicans dropped out and we don't know why. Why? Lots of conspiracies around it, like something about warming up and maybe some people were insulted. I really don't know. It's like a very strange Olympics. This is like the most witchy Olympics we've ever had because nothing makes sense. Like weird things are happening. You know, I don't want to get too much into it, but it's like they're calling a woman a man, but no one cares about the man who's an actual rapist.

Like, it's just like, what? Like, we feel like we're in some certain alternative timeline. But I did watch the men's 100-meter final, and they took too long to start. It gave me so much anxiety. What was going on there, by the way? I can't help wondering if that race would have turned out differently if they didn't have the delay that they had in the beginning. And so for those who don't know, the men's 100-meter final was run, and...

I think the commentator actually said, this is the longest delay we've ever experienced in the lead up to the race. Like the runners just stood there and they stood there and then they started playing some random music in the background and no one was allowed to line up. Then it was a whole thing. And then the race started, but it was a good, like, I don't know, maybe like five minutes or something of them just waiting around. And you know what happened here?

They've been cursed. They've been cursed by that last supper thing that they did in the opening ceremony. And I can tell you now there's a whole bunch of like very religious people, including my mom, who probably prayed against the Olympics and things will never be the same for them. Like everything you saw, people are throwing up, swimming in the river Seine. But that's nasty water. That's because of the E. coli.

Yeah, that's dirty water. But I have family members who are very religious and they're like, they literally, they're just like, you see, they're like, we rain the blood of Jesus on this event. They thought they're gonna sit here and turn our religion into a mockery and we prayed and now the demons are coming out of them. And I'm like, no, I think that was dirty water. I think these people are sick and they're like, it's coming out of them. The demons are coming out. Hallelujah. My thing is that like,

Do people know that the painting isn't of the actual Last Supper? That's like my big... This is what somebody imagined the Last Supper to be. No, it is a painting of the actual Last Supper. It was taken... The people posed...

When they were at the thing, they got a painter and then they were all there together. Judas said, he said, yo guys, I got us a painter for the supper. And then people were like, wow, Judas, you never get anything. Why would you get a painter? This is just a normal supper. And then Judas was like, well, technically this is the last supper. And then they were like, what do you mean the last supper? And then Judas was like, man, ignore me. And then they painted them.

They painted them and then that's actually how it came to be, Christiana. I see you haven't read up on your history. I know. It's an actual painting of the event. That's my only thing. I'm like, it's like a fictional depiction of an event that definitely happened because I'm a biblical literalist. It happened. The Last Supper happened. But it's just like, what?

And I don't know. People are very mad about it. People are very mad about it. People are, yeah. I don't know if, okay, so I don't know if it's because we didn't have an Olympics technically with Japan, you know, because of COVID, or if people are just more connected to these Olympics. But it feels like there are more and more stories popping up. And mad doesn't encapsulate how everybody feels. But this Olympics, I find...

is more trolly, more like spiteful, more angry, more. So for like a good example was Sha'Carri Richardson, right? One of America's greatest sprinters ever. She was running. She came second in the hundred meters. She got beaten by the runner from St. Lucia who was, yo, big ups to St. Lucia. She was phenomenal. She beat her in the heats. And then I thought, oh no, Sha'Carri's holding back. But no, she was not holding back.

The runner from St. Lucia was out of this world. And it was amazing to see how many people didn't just say like, "Shikari lost." They were like, "Oh, you loser. Ha ha, yeah, you see, she's got a big mouth and now you suck it, you loser." And I was like, "Guys, she won a silver medal."

She is the second fastest woman in the world currently in the 100 meters. And people are treating her like she cannot run to catch a bus. Let me tell you something. If I run at the Olympics, listen to me clearly now. If I run at the Olympic Games against everybody from around the world and I come second, I get the silver medal. There is one person in the world who can tell me shit. One.

And they stand on the podium above me. But people are treating her like she failed everything. Part of me also thinks it's like an American thing. Yeah, it's insane. Like, if you're silver, you are one...

trip away from being the fastest person in the entire world like i know exactly who i gotta get next run i think it's our obsession with being number one that we only accept number one as a win oh okay because like yeah because did you see the whole controversy where where the u.s finally got called out for their medals placement no okay so the rest of the world counts

their medals by golds so then they show the standings throughout the world by gold, silver, bronze. For a long time, we were counting overall medals so we would be at the top to us. So like our broadcasters were doing that so that it would look like, hey, as far as medals go, we have 45 and the rest of the world has 13. And then they wouldn't say how many golds we had until we finally got more golds than another country.

Once we were like 22 golds and everybody else had like eight, nine, 10, we would show that. But if we were lagging, they would just be putting totals. So then a bunch of people called the US out for it. I guess people visiting from Paris who were wanting to watch but didn't want to be there. And then they were like, this is crazy. Y'all are losing. Y'all have a bunch of bronze. I think it's...

Yeah, I understand that winning is why you're there. Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people who's like, oh, participation. No, the whole point, it is a competition. This is the purpose of it. But I do think seeing how America will treat a silver medalist or even a bronze medalist where it's like, you're a no-name. Bronze, forget even bronze. Like silver, at least you're called the loser. Bronze, they don't even acknowledge your existence. And I feel like in many ways,

This is part of the problem that America has to deal with about itself in that like the gift of America is that America propels you and constantly pushes you to be the best. And it tells you that being the best is everything. And I think that's why America has produced so many exceptional everythings. You know what I mean? Whether it's inventions or companies or actors or athletes or whatever it is, there's no denying that. But the downside, the curse of that gift is that America also makes people feel like

everything below number one is losing. Like America's the only country in the world where they'll write an article

about a billionaire losing a few billions and dropping out of the Forbes list. And then they'll write the story as if this person is now a pauper. They'll be like, ah, Mark Zuckerberg, who was once in the top five billionaires in the world, now languishes in eighth place with a measly $60 billion fortune. And you're just like, wait, I'm sorry, what is happening right now?

It's bizarre land. I think, yeah. And I think if you're not careful...

if you live in a society like that, it will make you feel like you are losing even when you are winning relatively because life isn't the Olympics. Life isn't a zero-sum game. Life isn't it's all or nothing. In fact, the Olympics isn't even a zero-sum game. The fact that they have multiple medals tells you something. They decided a long time ago that the first person is the winner, the second person needs to be applauded, and the third person also needs to be... It's like, wow, you're the top three in the world. And...

And yet a lot of the time, America lives in the space where it goes, if you are not number one on the stock market, if you're not number one with your returns, if you're not number one in class, if you're not number one in box office, then you are nothing. And I think while that can propel people to excellence, I think it can also create a very depressing society where people constantly feel like they've lost when they're

As you said, Josh, you were literally a nose away from being the winner, which in my world means you are also the winner. I think Simone Biles kind of crystallizes it for me when she had the twisties in Tokyo and she was like, yes, I actually can't compete, guys. Like she knew herself enough, which is like really impressive. She's only like 23, 24 at the time. Yeah. And she was like, I, I know myself well enough to know that I am putting myself in harm's way.

And people called her weak. Mind you, this is like a really decorated athlete, right? And now she's come back and she's done the thing that she knew she could do in the conditions that were right for her. What gets me about America is like everyone's forgotten the Tokyo lesson. They forgot that she had to take time out. She had to sit on the side. She had to quote unquote lose. That's poignant.

And then she came back. That's poignant. Sometimes, you know, you have to lose to win. And Simone is like a sophisticated enough thinker to be like, that is what I'm going to do. But people are just like, Simone is the greatest gymnast ever. We beat you. We beat the Brazilians. And it's just like, no, guys, the real lesson here is like, the greatest athlete of all time in American history knew there was a time she had to sit aside and she didn't care about what people said. And then she came back when she was ready. But...

That's not the story because I don't think it matches the kind of stories America likes to tell itself. We'll be right back after this.

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It provides the soothing throat relief you need. And even better, it's packed with flavor. So you can make every day more delicious and still feel great. Try Ricola Cherry Drops now. To find out where to buy it near you, visit Ricola.com. As I remember when Simone had the twisties, when I learned about the twisties, it sounded like what's supposed to happen. Because if I'm upside down...

I'm not supposed to know where I am in the air. The fact that she ever knows where she is on that 15th flip is what's amazing about her. The twisty sounds like when I get up from the couch too fast. You ever get up fast and you're full and you're like, I'm not this tall. I think I must be dizzy. You know, the crazy thing about the twisties, Josh, apparently they're contagious. So she just wasn't only looking out for herself. Yeah, my sister used to be a gymnast.

And if you go to the competition and it just takes a couple people to mess up in a specific way and all the girls are falling off the beam. Just all these nine-year-old girls just like falling off the beam. But there's like a, it's like, you know, especially seeing someone like Simone not know her place in the air. You're going to be like, what's going on? If she doesn't know her place, I definitely don't know my place. Right. She didn't just do this right thing for herself. She did the right thing for like the people she was competing against.

I don't say this to be disparaging in any way, but this is how you can tell that humans, when it comes to gymnastics, are not supposed to be doing it. Because that's the most Looney Tunes thing I've ever heard. That's the most Wile E. Coyote looks down and there's no ground and so he falls thing I've ever heard in my life. The fact that somebody else's flips can be contagious means that we shouldn't be flipping. That's me, but on swimming.

I do not like the long distance. Like God gave me lungs, not gills. I do. I do not. Also, I believe in mermaids, which is a different story. But I do not fuck with the water on like a fundamental level. And my kids are learning to swim because I don't want them to die. But I don't want them to be like competitive, like long distance swimming. No, no, no, no. That's how I am. Because you're terrified.

You know what I really loved about Simone Biles' story? I think she's an amazing athlete who also has the burden of everything that comes with being the top athlete on her shoulders. People expect her to be super poised. People expect her to, they want her to be nice at a press conference, even when the journalists are being dicks.

They want her to be, they want you to be everything. And it's like, well, remember this, the person's an athlete first. They're here to run and beat everybody else. If you want them to be an orator, that's your business, you know? And one thing I loved about Simone Biles is I don't know what she did in her time off,

But it's almost like she went to like a monastery or some sort of retreat where they fortify your mind. Because I wish I had the retorts and the presence of mind that Simone Biles has. One of my favorite things she posted the other day, she said, please stop asking athletes what's next after they've just won a medal at the Olympics.

And I love that idea. It sort of goes back to the thing we're saying about America and pursuing and just this idea of the constant chase. I get what she's saying. She's like, you've just won at the Olympics. And somebody goes, so what's next? And you're like, guys, this was the next. I've spent four years coming to this moment. I've spent four years trying to get here. Allow me to revel in this. And I think what she said was so much more profound than we think.

Because we live in a society where we're constantly pushed to think about what's next. You buy a house and immediately somebody goes, oh, I wonder what the next house will look like. You get a promotion.

And like before you even spend one day in your new position or in your new promotion, you're already thinking about how to get to the next promotion. All these things in life that we take for granted, you are at the next right now. And if you're not careful, you'll spend your entire life thinking about next, not realizing that you're currently in next. Does that make sense? Trevor, I think we speak about this like America is the only place where somebody can be objectively rich but feel poor.

You know, I mean, I call them like the poor rich people. And I think that has like a trickle down effect on everyone else in society because like the people who have made it are still striving. They still think they can lose it tomorrow. And I'm always like I'm in that what next thing all the time because I'm just like, well, it's a volatile country. Not everyone gets a shot. I've got my shot. You can't revel in it. Like where's the space to do that? Because this country tells you the moment you relax, you're going to lose it.

And I think that's why I have compassion for people that are like always striving because you're just afraid you're going to lose the thing that you already have in your hand, if that makes sense.

Yeah, it makes complete sense. And I think that's why I say, I think every country, America is no different. Every country, everything in life, your gift will be your curse. Your gift will always be your curse. And so you have to monitor that. And I will never, I'm not one of those people who goes like, oh, America's terrible. I'm like, no, no, no. The thing that makes America so fantastic is also its curse.

If you're constantly in the chase, you never get to revel in the fact that you've arrived somewhere. And so, yeah, you know, it's a balance. And so I don't know. I hope we can all be more like Simone Biles and just take a moment to go like, yeah, I can't see the ground right now. You know, I have the twisties in my life and...

I'm just going to pause for a moment to appreciate where I am, step back so that I don't fall on my head, and also step back so that I don't infect the people around me. And then you can come back stronger. Like, to your point, Christiana, I hope that actually does become the narrative, is that, like, Simone Biles showed everybody

That your greatness isn't limited by your ability to take a moment and breathe. Your greatness isn't limited by your ability to acknowledge a moment of weakness, of sadness, of failure, of despair. You can still be the greatest. So yeah, kudos Simone Biles. That was like, honestly, she just turned into like,

Not just one of the greatest athletes for me, but one of the greatest people just because of how she's handled it all and how much swag she has and how cool she makes it. The goat chain for me, that was what I loved. Oh, no. She's like, she's incredible. Like a goat chain. And by the way, how she supports other women athletes. I think that's been one of the most amazing. Like, did you see that photo? There's a Brazilian gymnast.

who for years has been chasing Simone Biles, always coming second or third. And she would even say like, "I'm in a generation where I'm competing against the greatest of all time. What am I supposed to do?" And just think about that for a moment. Somebody else is going to walk around with a gold medal and it shows you just the perspective. And so Simone Biles, she lost one event now to the Brazilian gymnast

And she celebrated her. Like she celebrated her like she had won the medal. She's like bowing. They're like applauding her. They're jumping around with her. And I think it was cool to see because we take for granted as people from the outside that they have more in common than we do with them.

You might think to yourself, I support Simone Biles, so I have more in common with her than she does with a Brazilian athlete. It's like, no, no, no. Simone Biles is like, I know what it's like to be a gymnast. I know what it's like to be an Olympian. I know what it's like to lose. I know what it's like to fall. I know what it's like to be a woman in the sport. And this human being has more in common with me. And so I'm going to support them. And I love that. Actually, I wish we had that in the women's boxing because that's something we have to talk about. Like-

Depressing, right? Like infuriating. What is going on in this world? This, more than any other example so far this year, is why I tell people not to get their news from Twitter. How do I put this?

You know how like wildfire spread and how people think that people think that whatever start the wildfire is just the most extra hot thing that's ever happened. Right. So they'll be like, no, some lava dropped from the sky and then everything burst into flames. Like, no, the conditions around where the fire happened were actually ripe for potentially months for a fire.

And that's what it feels like journalism is at, where it's like we're so ripe for a convenient lie that like anyone who shows up after the lie is already spread to be like, here's all the reasons why this thing isn't true. They can't even shout down enough. The thing is the thing is not what you think it is. And because people by and large, people cannot handle the idea that they were tricked.

I won't even say wrong, the idea that they were given bad information because we feel like we are the discerners of good and bad information. And Trevor, can you break it down for our people at home who maybe don't know like the story? Because it's kind of complicated. So if you don't know the story, in the women's boxing competition, there's an Algerian boxer by the name of Iman Khalif. I think she was fighting against an Italian boxer, right? And...

She was pummeling her, you know, having a good round, punched her, punched her, punched her, and she pulled out of the fight and then said, I've never been hit that hard in my life. I couldn't carry on fighting. Okay. Seems like a normal boxing match. And then almost overnight, exactly like a wildfire, Josh,

Rumors started coming out that the Algerian boxer wasn't in fact a woman, but was... And this is how I saw the story. I think everyone got a different one. But the one I saw was, oh, this was actually a trans athlete masquerading as a woman and didn't transition. And this was actually a man. And then that story slowly evolved and changed. And then it was like, no, actually...

The Algerian boxer is a man because she has XY chromosomes and she failed a gender test through some other boxing organization and she shouldn't even be at the Olympics.

And then it, I mean, all the usual actors came up, you know, everyone from, you know, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, you know, Joe Rogan, JK Rowling jumped in as well. Oh yeah, you see, this is the world we wanna live in. Misogynists want women to get punched by men and they celebrate it. And then just in the space of again, a day or so, first of all, the Olympic committee came out and said, okay, all of this is trash. This is not true. This is a woman, right? Born a woman, raised a woman,

And then the other boxing organizations came out and said, oh, that boxing organization that says she failed a test didn't even say what kind of test. And I know this is complicated, so stick with me. But the boxing organization that claims this woman is in fact a man did that because that boxing organization is essentially run by Russia now and is a Russian front.

And because the Algerian woman beat a Russian boxer at some point, they just wanted to strip her of the win. And they were like, she's a man. And I know this is a weird thing to like throw in, but it was interesting. Algerians were going, hey, do you know that being transgender is illegal in Algeria? I mean, it's not the most woke defense, but it was a defense. Like people were like, you can't be trans in our country. We'll kill you. It's illegal. And people were like, okay. But they ignored that.

And then this poor woman was lambasted and was... And I don't...

Look, here's the thing. You know, when it comes to everyone, like Donald Trump, he's Donald Trump. He's going to say whatever he says. Anything that pushes his narrative, he's going to say it. I expect that. Elon Musk, come on. Elon Musk loves fake stories so much. The guy spent $44 billion to become like the captain of the conspiracy team. Joe Rogan, he gets bamboozled all the time by the internet, like all the time. Like if you just have Photoshop and like a few lines, you've got Joe Rogan, you've got him.

The one that got me, to be honest, was J.K. Rowling. Really? Are you surprised? No, no, no. I don't know why. Like, I know Christiana. It's kind of her beat right now. It is her thing, but she reads. Yes, Josh. Like, for me, it was so crazy to see somebody who, and maybe it's because I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter series.

I can't believe that somebody who would write a series that is that nuanced about being an outsider and that nuanced about what is or isn't and does and doesn't belong. So it's literally a story of purity. You have a wizard who is half human, half wizard,

And the story has people hating him because they call him a mudblood. So you have mudbloods, which are like the mixed wizards. And then you have muggles, which is like a sort of derogatory term for like plain ass humans who don't do magic. And then you have like the wizards, the pure ones. The whole book,

is about ostracizing people, hating people, just because they are slightly different and because somebody lies about them. They literally, oh man, they literally do this in the book. And some of them were born a crime. They literally do this in the book. I mean, blood, blood get right to the point too. That feel like racism. Like blood, blood. Yeah.

I knew JK had some hate in her when she made a mud blood. I'm just like, JK Rowling, what happened to you? And then she, you're a woman claiming to protect women. All these people now, not just her, but all these people I go, do you understand? Because here's the thing, forgive me, I'm getting a little pissed off at this because you're going to claim...

that you hate trans athletes or you hate, you claim that. And the reason you say it is because you say like, we're here to protect women. That's why we're doing this, to protect women. But then a story like this shows you that it's not about protecting women. It's just using women as a cudgel to go after trans people and people in the trans community. And you just use women as the excuse. Do you know what I mean? Because now they still say,

that the Algerian boxer is a man. And then they put up pictures and they're like, "Look at this jaw. Tell me that that's not a man. Look at this nose. I know a man when I see one." And I'm like, you dicks. For people who are claiming to protect women, now you're running around saying women have to look a certain way in order for them to be considered women.

Think about how many women have faced discrimination in their lives for how their face looks, for how their jaw looks, for how their nose looks. And people have been like, you look like a man. You look like a stupid man. And these are the same people. I was so pissed off, but I couldn't believe J.K. Rowling did it. I'll be honest. What pissed me off is that to me it was immaterial whether she was a trans woman or a cis woman. I just thought the treatment was so cruel.

So even if it all came out that this woman was a trans woman, it doesn't justify any of this. I'm like, is this how we talk about another human being in a sport, somebody's child? And I think it just comes down to like, if you dehumanize trans women or trans people enough, actually you dehumanize women that don't fit your idea of what a woman is. And I already know for a lot of people, I don't fit the idea of what a woman is. I'm a black woman, right?

I'm hairy as hell. I think I would fail a gender test. The amount of the beard and the chest here I have, like it's insane. Like I spent most of my money on laser hair removal, but it's just like,

Our ideas of femininity are so bound up in who's thin, who's blonde, who's white, who's tall, who has a very certain type of voice. She just doesn't fit what you believe an ideal woman is. And what I've loved about this Olympics, whether it's Samoa,

Simone whether it's the women's rugby team we're seeing all of these different body sizes these different kind of aesthetics and women who are like we're women and we don't we don't need to be skinny and we don't need to be like blonde and white and thin but that's also womanness and we're fine with that but a woman can be loads of different things and it's so interesting to me that all of these rulings always seem to be women of color and I'm like yeah is it a coincidence

I'm like the science of it. I'm like, do you need to broaden your sample to make sure you have indigenous women from the Middle East and Africa and see what is the average testosterone level there? Because we know that like some cultures have a high incidence of PCOS or just like women with higher testosterone, women who do have children, et cetera, et cetera. And I'm just like, what are the metrics? Like what is the, what,

data are you pulling from to define what is an ideal testosterone level and also I think like being an athlete is about being a bit of a freak anyway you're supposed to have some sort of advantage it's exactly so shall we like be like to Michael Phelps oh you should actually just make your arms shorter so it's fair for you to like swim against these other people we would never say that

But I remember being younger and they used to call Serena and Venus men. Like that was the thing I remember. They'd be like, they're like men. You can go down the list. You can go down the list. You're not wrong. Funny enough, it even goes outside of sports.

How many times has Michelle Obama been called a man? Yes, exactly. I will say the only person in all of this that I feel worse for than the Algerian boxer is her next opponent. Because this is a person who's allowed to take all of her aggression out in the ring, right? It is interesting as well.

That when she's lost fights, no one accused her of being a man. Yeah. She's not unbeaten. She's not the greatest boxer of all time. She's just a good fighter and she's here. She's lost multiple fights. No one ever accused her of this. And immediately when she... It's so interesting how that happens. And to your point, Christiana, it was when...

African women were starting to win in like the long distance running events that all of a sudden the European women were like, "I don't think she's a woman. She needs to get tested." And I was like, "Wait, what?"

There were stories of athletes, European long distance runners, great runners who would be like, oh, they don't have their period anymore or their testosterone is at elevated levels and they have deeper voices because it's just like, it's a body. It's a body. There's a range of bodies, but it's really, really interesting how this became a thing the more you saw athletes of color coming into the space, particularly black women coming. Then people were like, I don't know, man.

You beat me this hard. Yeah, you must be a man. You know, there's one thing. When this story broke, I went down a rabbit hole of this in sports. And I found it interesting to see like the correlation between the othering of people winning in sport once sport became integrated. I noticed with black athletes,

that oftentimes they will start questioning like their very humanness in a weird way. There was a university that did a study on how many times the word animal and freak was used with black athletes,

But then with white athletes, it was generally so intelligent, such smart movement. I mean, the way he understands the game. And then with a black athlete, he was like, just dominance, the beast, what a beast, what a savage. And it was interesting to see how...

Without people realizing it, or maybe they did, there was this inclination on at least commentator's side to think a white athlete who had gotten to the top of the sport had done it because they were smart. They understood the ins and outs of the game. And then when a black athlete had done it, they were a freak of nature. They were, you know? Yeah. And...

You might be going like, oh, but Trevor, so is everyone normal? No, I'm saying the opposite. I'm saying everyone is a freak of nature. Everyone who competes in sports is a freak. That is what we are paying to see. We are paying to see freaks compete.

I don't understand when people decided that athletes are supposed to be normal human beings. They are not normal. They're all freaks. Swimmers, it is not normal to jump into a swimming pool and then wiggle like a fish underwater halfway to the other side of the pool.

halfway to the other side of the pool and then start swimming. That is not normal. Michael Phelps is not normal. His lungs are not normal. His lactic acid is not normal. Katie Ledecky is not normal. LeBron James is not normal. Kevin Durant is not normal. Usain Bolt is not normal. No one that tall is supposed to be able to move their legs that fast. That's not a thing. You are not normal. These Ethiopian sprinters run as if like they just took a break. Do you understand how far...

10 kilometers is. They run it from the beginning to the end. The next time you're in an airport, just run to your gate. You're gonna see how far 10 kilometers actually is. And you'll see that these people are freaks. Every single athlete is a freak of nature. And that is what we are watching. So whenever somebody says like, "Oh, but it's unnatural." Yes, that is why we are there. And that is what we are celebrating. The very un... Did you see the guy

who did the pole vault. The French guy did the pole vault and his penis smashed the bar. But it didn't just like, it didn't like tip the bar. His penis held the bar and flipped the bar up

In a way that, like, that penis had the strength of, like, a small baby, like a small child. Imagine if other athletes complained about him and they were like, yo, if that guy won, imagine if the other guys were like, yo, someone needs to get this guy tested because he's got another pole in his pants. You can't be pole vaulting with another pole in your pants. All of these people are freaks. All of these people are celebrated for being freaks. That is what being an athlete is.

And to your point, Christiana, I was saddened, I was angry, I was disappointed. And I think there were many things at play, everything, misogyny, you name it, you name it. Some of it was racism. But it's like, yo, man, isn't it cool that we invented a space where freaks can get celebrated? Instead of ostracizing people, we said, you know what? You are too tall to sit in any normal-sized chair. In an old society, you probably would have been chained up

and taken around from one circus to the next. Now, we'll give you a jersey, we'll get you to put a ball in a hoop, and we will celebrate you as the greatest of all time. And that's what we should be doing. All the freaks should be celebrated because they make us boring people have something to watch. 'Cause without them, what would we be watching, huh? The rest of us losers lining up. I don't wanna watch Josh Johnson swim. I don't wanna watch Christiana trying to run.

If we're going to treat our freaks like this, we're going to live in a boring world, people. This, what a rant from someone who's not going to go to the Olympics. I didn't say I'm not going to watch. I watch every single sport. I just said I'm not going to go to the stadium. There's a difference, my friend. We're going to continue this conversation right after this short break.

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One thing I will say about the Olympics as a whole is it's once again reminded me of how important it is for humans to be collectively involved in a single zeitgeist. You know, we've talked about this on the podcast. You know, when we had Rainn Wilson on, we talked about church and we talked about religion. You know, we've talked about it with incels. We've talked about it in so many different episodes in different ways.

I, one thing I have enjoyed about the Olympics that I enjoy about most live events that bring people together is just that it brings people together to share something. We see the same thing. We, you know, we, we, we have conversations about it. You can talk to a stranger now about the Olympics. Hey, did you see that? What did you think of that? Now you meet somebody from St. Lucia and you can be like, Hey, St. Lucia. Oh, congratulations. You guys, do you know what I mean? Mm-hmm.

And I don't know, I feel like it doesn't have to be sport, but I feel like we just need more things like this. Yeah, I mean, I think that for the most part,

Um, one of the reasons for me that the Olympics will always hold a cultural relevance and probably all over the world is because even, even outside of sport, even outside, because there's a part of me that doesn't like that the Olympics don't like pay out big and stuff like that. Like you get the metal, but like, I don't know. I think you should get some money. You've dedicated four years, if not your, your first 16 years to the goal of doing this thing. But anyway, yeah.

Maybe it's like childlike, but there will always be a thing where I look at another person. So I could look at you, Trevor, be like, I think I could beat you in a race. Yeah.

And then Christiane hears me say that and she's like, I would watch that. I would watch either one of them fall would be very funny to me. So let me watch that. And as long as you're watching sport, there's going to be an inclination between athletes to be the best. And then when you talk about the best and you talk about the best in the world, because you'll always be at least curious who's the best shooter in the world, who's the best swimmer in the world, who's the best. Yes, exactly. I like the stories because I just watch the Olympics and cry. Yeah.

Like the Brazilian girl, her brother walked her from the favelas for two hours. And then there's the girl that she wrote the note, I want to go to the Olympics. Then the dad died, but she still has the note. And then she won the gold. Like, I guess it's the storytelling part of it that compels me. But I think for me, and maybe it's the people I know, this has felt like the most fractured Olympics ever.

And maybe it's because I was in London for 2012. I think it was Rio 2016 was the next one. It felt like those ones, everyone was watching and everyone was experiencing it at the same time. But maybe it's because of the US election, craziness in Bangladesh. Like the world seems like in a weird place. It feels like some people are super tuned into the Olympics and those people are telling everyone else what's happening in the Olympics. But maybe that's just my world. It just, it feels different right now. No, no, no, I agree with you. Because I was like...

As a kid, Linford Christie was like,

That was the British athlete that we all loved. And we had all had our hopes on and then people like Michael Johnson, et cetera, et cetera. So there were like these big brand names. But I think from apart from Simone, there's no like Usain Bolt equivalent, like that everyone is like, I want to tune in to watch this person, you know, like that kind of superstar that draws the eyes to the games. And for me, it's just felt a bit disjointed and fractured. Like I catch it when I can and people are like, oh, this is on. And then you're like, oh, okay, volleyball, boring. And yeah,

I actually think it's good that it's brought some people together, but I don't think it has the power to pull people together that it once did. Yeah, I think, you know, I agree with you. I think it's...

I think it's a byproduct of social media and not social media on its own, by the way. I think also like, you know, streaming, a la carte viewing, the fact that you can watch what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, how you want to watch it has come with its benefits. But as I said in the beginning, every gift is a curse. And because we now live in a world where we know we can watch the replays whenever we want, where we know we can see the highlights whenever, where we even know that people will curate the highlights for us.

it's made us less likely to sit through the entire thing because we might miss it. And so the gift has been, you'll catch it. The curse is that you don't know what you'll miss, so you don't watch the whole thing. And so, you know, in fact, now that you've said that, I'm going to go. I'm going to go. I'm going to find my way into one of these Olympic venues here in Paris, and I'm going to go watch a sport. Josh, I'm going to go and watch archery just for you.

Wow. And then Christiana, I'm going to go and watch volleyball and I'm going to shout out. Christiana says you're boring. Christiana says you should be able to wear clothes. The sport is so misogynistic. They make women wear bikinis even though the women want to wear clothes. And this is not right. And they don't let women compete in hijab, but you can compete in a bikini. That's what you should shout out. Quiet, please. That's what they're going to say. And I'll be like, but I got it out. I got it out. Wave at us when you go.

I will. I'll try my best. I will. I will. I really will. You've inspired me now. You've inspired me to take part in something that might not be around tomorrow. And yeah, this will be a good one. Wish me luck. Wish me luck. Yeah. Have the best of luck. Have a great time. Get a good seat. Oh, Josh, now you just added competition to my bill.

What Now with Trevor Noah is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day Zero Productions and Fullwell 73. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, Sanaz Yamin, and Jody Avigan. Our senior producer is Jess Hackle. Claire Slaughter is our producer. Music, mixing, and mastering by Hannes Brown. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday for another episode of What Now? What Now?