AI Summary
5 min read🎙️ The Speakers & Context
- The Format: Host discussion with expert interviews.
- The Key Players:
- Whelan Wong & Darren Woods: Hosts of The Indicator from Planet Money, providing economic framing.
- Alan Shipnock: Veteran golf journalist (30+ years) and author of Live and Let Die. His credibility comes from deep industry access and a historical lens on the sport’s financialization.
- Andrew Lieber: Political scientist at Tulane University and non-resident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He provides the geopolitical and domestic Saudi context.
- The Vibe: Analytical and slightly cynical. The hosts treat the Saudi golf venture as a case study in failed strategic capital allocation, not a sports story.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Alan Shipnock (Golf Journalist) & Andrew Lieber (Political Scientist)**
- 2 (02:16) **Vision 2030: Saudi Arabia’s Plan to Diversify Beyond Oil**
- 3 (03:19) **Why Saudi Arabia Invested in Golf**
- 4 (04:25) **LIV Golf Launch and the Khashoggi Context**
- 5 (05:15) **LIV Golf Recruits Stars and Venues (Including Trump)**
- 6 (06:48) **LIV’s Failure: No Fans, No Ratings**
- 7 (07:44) **The Iran War Sours Saudi Ambitions**
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Is Saudi Arabia no longer a golf state? The Saudi sovereign wealth fund poured billions into culture and sports in the last decade, none more high profile than LIV Golf, a rival to the PGA. So why is it reversing course now?
Fact checking by Vito Emanuel.
Your Next Listen
— Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert
Connect with The Indicator
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Fact checking by Vito Emanuel.
Your Next Listen
— Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert
Connect with The Indicator
— Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter
— Find our socials, YouTube and more!
— For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
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