The Olympic Prison

About this episode

The episode explores the hidden history of the Olympic Village in Lake Placid, which was designed to function as a detention center during the 1980 Winter Olympics.

In the winter of 1980, the world turned its eyes to Lake Placid, New York, host of the Winter Olympics. But behind the pageantry, another structure loomed in the Adirondack woods. Built to house 1,800 athletes, the Olympic Village looked less like a dormitory than a detention center — because that’s exactly what it was designed to become. * Hosted by Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, and Jason English Written by Zaron Burnett Senior Producer is Josh Fisher Editing and Sound Design by Jesse Nighswonger Mixing and Mastering by Josh Fisher Original Music by Elise McCoy Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English For School of Humans, Producers are Emilia Brock and Edeliz Perez. Executive Producer is Virginia Prescott.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Zaron Burnett, Dana Schwartz, Jason English

Topics covered

• Olympics
• history
• detention centers
• Lake Placid
• 1980
• sports culture

Keywords

• Olympic Village
• Winter Olympics
• Lake Placid
• detention center
• 1980
• sports history
• Adirondack woods

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Lake Placid, New York

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