Counting down the top Olympic storylines

In a special Olympics wrap episode, we count down all the top storylines from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, starting with why an Olympic hangover is less like to happen now compared with 2008 (1:21). Remember the snowfall, which added to the atmosphere (2:26)? In defense of Beijing’s high caliber venues and infrastructure (3:10). The Kamila Valieva doping scandal, and her supervillain coach (4:00). Mikaela Shiffrin and a wider discussion of why disappointment is just as important as success (7:00). Politics reared its head with an Uyghur torchbearer and Peng Shuai’s latest appearance (8:52). Norway’s secret to sustained success at the Winter Games (10:19). Celebrating Chinese pairs figure skating team of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong (12:13), plus China’s most successful Olympics — but would the country rather win more medals and fewer golds (13:27)? Chinese hockey — the men, the women, and the nicknames (15:12). Age is not a barrier, as proved by American Lindsey Jacobellis and China’s Xu Mengtao (17:03). The lack of political protests at these Games (18:23). Su Yiming’s brilliance and his brilliant future (20:26). Olympics ratings — down in the US, but big in China — can be tough to interpret given unmonitored streaming data (21:15). No NHL players, no tickets, no atmosphere (23:13). The zero-Covid Games and how the closed-loop worked exactly as planned (25:48). Eileen Gu was Mark’s top story of the Games (26:49). And don’t forget the Paralympics are around the corner: here’s why they are worth a watch (30:49).