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Pyeongchang Olympics Far From First Time Politics Have Loomed Over Games

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In this Aug. 11, 1936 file photo, Olympic broad jump medalists salute during the medals ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. From left on podium are: bronze medalist Jajima of Japan, gold medalist Jesse Owens of the United States and silver medalist Lutz Long of Germany. (AP Photo)
In this Aug. 11, 1936 file photo, Olympic broad jump medalists salute during the medals ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. From left on podium are: bronze medalist Jajima of Japan, gold medalist Jesse Owens of the United States and silver medalist Lutz Long of Germany. (AP Photo)

Political disputes have long loomed over the Olympic Games. The U.S. boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In 1936, Adolf Hitler tried to use the games in Berlin to showcase what he believed was racial superiority.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson takes a look back with historians Brian Balogh (@historyfellow) and Nathan Connolly (@ndbconnolly), co-hosts of the podcast BackStory, which is produced at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

This segment aired on February 15, 2018.

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