- "They’re All Gone": Munich ‘72

Welcome back to the Bill Bradley Collective, where this week your hosts hop in the DeLorean and head back to 1972 with an examination of that summer’s Olympic Games. Hosted by Munich on the heels of the problematic ’68 affair in Mexico City, these so-called “serene” Olympics are best remembered for the Munich massacre, in which members of the Palestinian Black September Organization took nine members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage, after murdering two more. All nine hostages were killed shortly thereafter. The attack itself and how/why it unfolded as it did, media coverage and the decision to continue the Games in the wake of the tragedy are the focus. Also highlighted is the highly controversial gold medal game in men’s basketball between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as well as looks at two of the biggest individual stars of the games, American swimmer Mark Spitz and Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut. But first come an Olympic triathlon of rants, where Zak runs the duck test on the Russian Olympic Committee in calling bullshit on the entire purpose, Ed spotlights the peculiarities of both the modern pentathlon and the bylaws of karate; finally Andrew documents overcoming the inanity of the NBC/Peacock schedule en route to appreciating the triumphant performances of the American men’s and women’s basketball teams.