About this episode
In ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf league that’s challenging the PGA Tour. Can a sporting event really repair a country’s reputation — or will it trigger the dreaded Streisand Effect? Also: why the major U.S. sports leagues are warming up to the idea of foreign investment. SOURCES: Jodi Balsam , professor of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School. Brandel Chamblee , Golf Channel analyst. Karen Crouse , sports journalist. Bomani Jones , sports journalist. Victor Matheson , professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross. Alan Shipnuck , sports journalist. RESOURCES: " The New N.F.L. Owners? " by Lauren Hirsch, Kevin Draper, Michael J. de la Merced and Sarah Kessler ( The New York Times, 2024). " PGA Tour Raises $1.5 Billion From Group of U.S. Investors ," by Lauren Hirsch ( The New York Times, 2024). " PGA Tour, LIV Golf Agree to Merge ," by Andrew Beaton and Louise Radnofsky ( The Wall Street Journal, 2023). Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar , by Alan Shipnuck (2022). " Dustin Johnson Paid £100m to Perform Late U-Turn and Join Saudi-Backed Rebel Series ," by By James Corrigan and Tom Morgan ( The Telegraph , 2022). " Russia Was the Hottest Place in Sports. Now It’s Frozen Out ," by Joshua Robinson, Ben Cohen, and Louise Radnofsky ( The Wall Street Journal , 2022). " Could This Be the Year ‘Sportwashing’ Backfires? " by Andrés Martinez ( The Los Angeles Times , 2022). " The Truth About Phil and Saudi Arabia ," by Alan Shipnuck (The Fire Pit Collective, 2022). The New Yale Book of Quotations , by Fred Shapiro (2021). " The Surprising Reason That There Are So Many Thai Restaurants in America ," by Myles Karp ( Vice , 2018). EXTRAS: " Greg Norman Takes On the P.G.A. Tour ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.