Why the Olympics pull in even casual fans

+ frisky wild yaks and camels cause headaches for herders US Edition - Today's top story: Fandom usually means tracking your favorite team for years − so why are the Olympics so good at making us root for sports and athletes we tune out most of the time? [View in browser]( US Edition | 3 July 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Oklahoma’s push for religion in schools continues despite setback]( - [Making physics culturally relevant to students]( - [Even short trips to space affect people’s DNA]( Lead story Don’t bring me to a ballgame. I live in Boston, home to one of the world’s most revered baseball parks, and I probably like popcorn and pretzels as much as the next person. But when it comes to the game itself, I’m a lost cause: that person who embarrasses her seatmates with constant questions about the rules, and eventually pulls out a crossword puzzle. For many fans in Fenway Park, that’s practically sacrilegious. Team sports are more than entertainment; to millions of people, fandom is a core part of their identity, along with things like religion or family background. Season after season, athletes’ wins and losses get woven into dedicated fans’ own stories. The biggest sports event of them all – the Olympics – also has a strong grip on spectators, but in a different way. For the most part, the amazing athletes on screen are faces we’ve never seen before, competing in events we don’t usually follow. Noah Cohan, a sports studies scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, explains why. The Games may not look like typical fan culture, he writes, but [they’re carefully crafted to forge a powerful sense of community]( – one that leaves people chanting for “Team USA.” [ [Science from the scientists themselves. Sign up for our weekly science email newsletter.]( ] Molly Jackson Religion and Ethics Editor A fan cheers for U.S. tennis players in the men’s doubles gold medal match during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano [Fandom usually means tracking your favorite team for years − so why are the Olympics so good at making us root for sports and athletes we tune out most of the time?]( Noah Cohan, Washington University in St. Louis Patriotic coverage helps forge the Olympics’ sense of community, weaving viewers’ lives together with athletes’ struggles and triumphs. Environment + Energy - [Flirting with disaster: When endangered wild animals try to mate with domestic relatives, both wildlife and people lose]( Joel Berger, Colorado State University Conflicts between herders and the wild ancestors of their yaks, camels and reindeer are a serious threat to both people and wildlife, writes a scientist who has seen these clashes firsthand. Politics + Society - [Detroit’s legacy of housing inequity has caused long-term health impacts − these policies can help mitigate that harm]( Roshanak Mehdipanah, University of Michigan; Kate Brantley, University of Michigan; Melika Belhaj, University of Michigan Historical housing discrimination in Detroit persists today and causes disparities in health outcomes. Policies are making a difference, but more needs to be done. Education - [Why US schools need to shake up the way they teach physics]( Clausell Mathis, Michigan State University Making physics more engaging means meeting students where they are, highlighting the ways in which it plays a role in their communities. Science + Technology - [To guard against cyberattacks in space, researchers ask ‘what if?’]( Patrick Lin, California Polytechnic State University Sabotaged space stations, falsified space probe data and faked alien contact are just a few of the scenarios a report on space cybersecurity outlines. - [Even short trips to space can change an astronaut’s biology − a new set of studies offers the most comprehensive look at spaceflight health since NASA’s Twins Study]( Susan Bailey, Colorado State University A set of papers published in Nature contain groundbreaking research into how even quick jaunts to space can affect an astronaut’s health. Ethics + Religion - [Supreme Court of Oklahoma says no to Catholic charter school – but this may not be the end of the boundary-pushing saga]( Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton Officials have vowed to keep fighting for permission to open the school as a charter – which would be a controversial first for the country. - [Why Nepal had a religious monarchy − and why some people want it back]( Anne Mocko, Concordia College Many in Nepal are protesting to bring back the Hindu monarchy, which was dissolved in 2008. A scholar of South Asian religions explains what’s behind these protests. Trending on site - [‘Above the law’ in some cases: Supreme Court gives Trump − and future presidents − a special exception that will delay his prosecution]( - [Hurricane Beryl’s rapid intensification and Category 5 winds are alarming: Here’s why more tropical storms are exploding in strength]( - [What’s next after Supreme Court curbs regulatory power: More focus on laws’ wording, less on their goals]( Today's graphic 📈 [Estimated yearly YouTube uploads have increased every year since 2005.]( From the story, [AI companies train language models on YouTube’s archive − making family-and-friends videos a privacy risk]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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