Section

Sport & Society

Games, rivalry and what sport reveals about the people who play it

We are told that Greece laid down its arms for the Games. The ancient evidence says the truce was narrower, and more political, than the legend.

Nov 12, 2026 · 3 min read

The legend behind the world’s best-known race is told wrongly, and the correct version is more impressive.

Nov 9, 2026 · 2 min read

Two countries fought for about a hundred hours after a World Cup qualifier. The football was a spark, not the fuel.

Nov 5, 2026 · 2 min read

The most famous scene of the 1936 Olympics is told as a story of one man’s contempt. The record points somewhere less comfortable.

Nov 2, 2026 · 2 min read