The Paris Olympics are nearly upon us, and one thing is clearer than the Seine: For some countries, sports are the ultimate distraction. Dubious human rights records? Look at our athletes!

It’s called sportswashing, an attempt by nations and companies to take the focus off their less-than-stellar practices. Our guest, Globe and Mail reporter Simon Houpt walks us through the long history of sportswashing, all the way from the inception of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece to the present day.

Also, Vass ribs Katrina for being an Olympics superfan.

Simon Houpt writes about sports media and the business of sports for The Globe. His article that inspired this episode is called “Why do we reserve the term ‘sportswashing’ for repressive regimes and not, say, Coca-Cola?”

This is Lately. Every week, we take a deep dive into the big, defining trends in business and tech that are reshaping our every day.

Our executive producer is Katrina Onstad. The show is produced by Andrea Varsany. Our sound designer is Cameron McIver.

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Find the transcript of today’s episode here.

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