Five Rings That Rule Us All (w/Matt Alt)

Author of "PURE INVENTION," (sorry) Matt Alt takes us through his latest for the New Yorker on "Japan's Olympic Sized Problem."
If you want to find out just WHAT exactly that Olympic-sized problem is, you'll have to listen to the show.

Ollie recommends a cruise that features a very traditional brand of online-connectivity.

Bobby seeks adventure on the high... rivers.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

Ollie's continued transformation into man who lives in his mum's basementKono Taro's omurice tweetingBeing disconcerted over older politicians acting like instagram influencersWhat Chicken Rice isWhat Matt sees as improvement in the tech savvy of Japanese politiciansLunch picture popularity on Social MediaThe flurry of international coverage of the controversy over the Olympics, and what kicked it offThe Takarajima-sha anti-olympics ad that we kind of discussed with Chelsea Szendi Schieder here.Takarajima-sha's history of being a company who makes statements, and it's slightly odd fixation with WWII/post-WWII as a golden age in Japanese historyThe difference in points of focus/emphasis in pro-Olympic messaging and the concerns of the citizenryThe safest place in JapanThe big question that's left unaddressed by the IOC and Tokyo's commitment to safety statementsHow Japan MIGHT be able to pull off a Seniors only Olympic volunteer brigadeCan athletes be relied upon to stick to their pledge?How the Olympic situation is (understandably) compounded by the ONGOING STATE OF EMERGENCYHow the claim that no one has tested positive at MOCK Olympic events is slightly undermined by the fact that people have already been infected at ACTUAL Olympic eventsHow the government's priorities have come into very clear focus and angered the citizenry as the Olympics gets closerThe reasons for going forward, and how the decision to go forward or to cancel should be evaluated          Some predictions for what might cause cancellation, plus the contract issues that have Tokyo over a barrel, as discussed in previous episodes with Rochelle Kopp and Atsuro TsujinoWhy the Olympics was supposed to be so important as a PR opportunity, and who might have succeeded where Japan has failed so horriblyJapan's "regional rival, China"How we've forgotten that at the time of the original bid for the Olympics, much of Japan seemed like they didn't even want itThe decade-long history of the resistance to the 2020 OlympicsHow different the effects of Olympics in 1964 were on JapanThe prescient Olympic protest future of AkiraLooking to Akira for Corona solutions

Get access to the extras by supporting the podcast for less than $1 an episode by becoming a member at http://buymeacoffee.com.

Topics Discussed on the Extras:

Matt's podcast journey to promote his book, after we initiated him to the magical world of white guys with recording equipmentThe home recording studio Matt built to record his audio bookAll of the best praise that Matt can heap on us and vice versa, and more podcast sausage making in terms of how we run our podcast and invite guestsHow Presentation and speaking skills transfer to the world of podcastingOllie's visa overstay amnesty in MalaysiaCorona refugee-ismAmerica coming into it's Japan-style Lost Decades, and what Matt thinks of the idea of Japanese social trends as a weird cultural outlier is flawed, and what trends in Japan teach us about late-stage capitalism/fallen societiesJapan's blueprint for consumption and LACK of a blueprint for creation/monetizationJapan's prototype for the gig economyHow the internet supercharged Japanese trendsThe appeal of the Olympics, sports, and the way it ties into national identityWhy Sports and sports in manga is so big in Japan, emotionally, culturally and historically

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or Tweet to us at @jbrcpod

Matt's New Yorker Article "Japan's Olympic Sized Problem"

Social Media Links:

Matt Alt: Instagram | Twitter | AltJapan | Pure Invention

Ollie Horn: Twitter | Instagram

Bobby Judo: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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We record remotely using Squadcast and the podcast is hosted on Transistor. Bobby uses the Samson Go Mic and Ollie uses the AT2005USB mic

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