Lose Lose

19 July 2024 - 31 mins
Podcast Series Radiolab

To celebrate the imminent start of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France we have an episode originally reported in 2016. No matter what sport you play, the object of the game is to win. And that’s hard enough to do. But we found a match where four top athletes had to do the opposite in one of the most high profile matches of their careers. Thanks to a quirk in the tournament rules, their best shot at winning was … to lose. 

This week, in honor of the 2024 Summer Olympics, we are rerunning a story from 2016 in which we scrutinize the most paradoxical and upside down badminton match of all time. A match that dumbfounded spectators, officials, and even the players themselves. And it got us...

31 mins

Series Episodes

A 4-Track Mind Playing

A 4-Track Mind

A neurologist issues a dare to a ragtime piano player and a famous conductor, then the impossible happens.

21 mins

2 October Finished

Grass Apes Playing

Grass Apes

A tiny ode to grass, for its epic role in human history.

22 mins

25 September Finished

23 Weeks 6 Days Playing

23 Weeks 6 Days

A tiny baby, born at 23 Weeks and 6 days—roughly halfway to full term. And a whole universe of medical and moral questions.

1 hour 3 mins

11 September Finished

60 Words Playing

60 Words

It’s been 25 years since 9/11. Today we talk about the 60 words that ushered in everything that came after.

58 mins

4 September Finished

Recommended

No Account

Subscriptions to podcast series are only available to users with an account. Sign in or register to subscribe and access your subscriptions.

Register Sign in

Woops!

Error text.