Podcasts about Grigory Rodchenkov

Dana tells a romantic tale from her youth...  She once dated Bryan Fogel, an American film director, producer, author, playwright, speaker, and human rights activist. Bryan is best known for the 2017 documentary Icarus, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018.Icarus explores doping in amateur cycling races and stumbles upon a major international doping scandal with the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory.Lance Armstrong's friendship with Matthew McConaughey... What is Dana's Album of Love??Bryan Fogel's early career... Hardware computer cloning? What kind of podcast is this? Dana is a tech wiz?Her journey to South Africa with Bryan... Dana's life was changed forever...You'll never guess what business Bryan and Dana almost started... Dana recalls the tale of being attacked by a gaggle of monkeys...Dana gets emotional rehashing the past and the amazing pathway Bryan went down... Brian talks about his new film, The Dissident, on Joe Rogan's podcast here. Dana dives into the scandal that is the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi... Bryan's film covers the murder of Jamal, a Washington Post journalist, who was critical of his beloved Saudi Arabia and of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's policies. In 2018, Khashoggi entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul and never came out. His fiancée and dissidents around the world are left to piece together clues to his brutal murder.  **TRIGGER WARNING** Violent and disturbing imagery... Dana reads the final moments before Khashoggi's death... Gruesome details of the murder... What was the key to uncovering this international coverup? The importance and use of Twitter in Saudi Arabia... The use of the hacking program #Pegasus... #What_Do_You_Know_About_The_BeesA shocking major shareholder of Twitter...Check out thedissident.com for more info. Get Dishing Drama Dana Merch!https://represent.com/store/dishing-drama-dana-wilkeyFollow Dana: @Wilkey_DanaFollow Casey: @CaseyHanley$25,000 Song - Apple Music$25,000 Song - SpotifyTo support the show and listen to full episodes, become a member on Support the showGet Dishing Drama Dana Merch!https://represent.com/store/dishing-drama-dana-wilkeyFollow Dana: @Wilkey_DanaFollow Casey: @CaseyHanley$25,000 Song - Apple Music$25,000 Song - SpotifyTo support the show and listen to full episodes, become a member on PatreonTo learn more about sponsorships, email DDDWpodcast@gmail.comDana's YouTube Channel

Icarus is originally about doping in cycling, and then turns into a broader look at a state-sponsored Russian doping program. The star of the doc is the inimitable Grigory Rodchenkov. You can watch the show on YouTube as well:  https://youtu.be/o3OqYFkEFw4 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexanddjwatchadoc/

Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov took the world by surprise when he went public and revealed Russia's doping practices in 2016. Dr. Rodchenkov shares his experience in the Russian doping system, what policy changes athletes worldwide still need and what the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act means for the world of international sport. In this episode, we talk about… Whether the doping system that Rodchenkov oversaw in Russia is similar to other doping systems in other countries The distinction of clean vs. honest athletes Rodchenkov's opinion if top international athletes in Russia have an option not to dope How the anti-doping community can pursue institutional doping while not continuing to unjustly punish individual athletes The discrepancy of how athletes are punished vs. institutions and organizations Why the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act will change world sport and the role of the new International Testing Authority (ITA) Why athletic success is so important to the Russian state and whether it's possible for a system to stop a state as strong as Putin's from continuing to corrupt international sport Russia's sanction and how it impacts athletes still competing for Russia Why Rodchenkov believes the international sports system may not improve anytime soon Memorable Quotes: “Again, the problem is that athletes have no tools to defend themselves.” “I am happy that at least that there are some project like Rodchenkov Anti-doping Act, somehow it might bring light to dark corners, but again, Anti-doping organizations and WADA, honestly they don't fit the purpose. Should be reconstructed and structurally built. Overhauled.” “...the problem lies with how these cases are treated. It doesn't lie with the way that we test, or the way that we do investigations. The problem is that we don't punish the organizations and the institutions the same way that we punish athletes.” Guest Bio: Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov was the head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory and facilitated the doping of hundreds of Russian athletes at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. He worked for more than a decade to ensure that doped Russian athletes were not caught by the international anti-doping system. Despite his lab ostensibly being in charge of anti-doping efforts in Russia, in 2016, Dr. Rodchenko fled to the United States and exposed Russian state sponsored doping programs to The New York Times. He was the subject of the academy award winning documentary film “Icarus”. His recent book, titled The Rodchenkov Chenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Russia's Secret Doping Empire, gives a detailed account of both Dr. Rodchenkov's professional life and doping in Russia. Links to resources: PDF version of interview transcript can be found here. Proud episode partner InnoVero Global Follow Global Athlete on Twitter at @GlobalAthleteHQ. Get in touch a t hello@globalathlete.org and join the movement at globalathlete.org.

With Reegs having been thrashed by a golf ball wielded by his youngest and Sidey committing avicide earlier in the day, the stage is set for another perfect episode of Bad Dads Film Review. This week's show sees us shamelessly cashing in on the worlds coronavirus cycling boom as we discuss the Top 5 Movie Bicycles, and as only one of us is a self-confessed MAMIL (Middle Age Man In Lycra) we did actually find this wheelie hard. Bryan Fogel's Oscar winning 2017 movie ICARUS begins life as an exploration of doping in sport, in which the documentarian decides to cheat the doping system in the same way that Lance Armstrong did by injecting performance enhancing drugs including testosterone into his thighs and ass to expose how rife cheating is in cycling, even in the amateurs. When UCLA drug tester Don Catlin gets cold feet about the plan, Fogel asks for a referral to someone who could assist him and is introduced to Dr Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of Russia's national anti-doping agency AND the mastermind behind an extensive state-sanctioned doping program. The charismatic, Orwell-quoting Rodchenkov is willing to discuss the minutiae of the initiative on camera and the shocking detail of his whistleblowing reveals just how high the conspiracy goes, so as shadowy FSB/KGB agents begin following Rodchenkov it becomes imperative to get him out of Russia to avoid him dying of an "unexpected heart attack". An explosive and thrilling documentary, Bryan Fogel wisely follows the story and captures an incredible moment in sporting history. Unmissable. Netflix's RICKY ZOOM closes out the show. It doesn't even have a bicycle in it. Sorry about that. We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. Try us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review or on our website baddadsfilm.com.Until next time, we remain...Bad Dads

At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov was accused of doctoring thousands of urine samples for Russian athletes. He claimed he was a pawn in a state-sponsored conspiracy. Still, the allegation shocked the sporting community and sent Dr. Rodchenkov into hiding — but not before he presented his evidence to the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The upcoming Tokyo Olympics, slated to take place late July after a one-year postponement, will be the first international athletic event since the passage of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (RADA) in December 2020, which established criminal penalties on individuals involved in doping fraud conspiracies affecting major international competition. The law, named after Russian doping whistleblower Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, empowers the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time to investigate and prosecute these rogue agents who engage in doping fraud, provide restitution to victims, and protect whistleblowers from retaliation. In his first public interview since RADA became law, Dr. Rodchenkov speaks about the impact of the legislation that bears his name, as well as the blatant corruption that exists in the world of international sport, the vital role of whistleblowers, and more. He is joined by Helsinki Commission policy advisor Paul Massaro, who sheds light on the game-changing new tools created by the legislation and its importance to the U.S. fight against corruption worldwide.

Publisher: Ebury Publishing, 2020 The full story behind Oscar award-winning Icarus One of the Financial Times's 'Fifty people who shaped the decade' 'The biggest sports scandal the world has ever seen' In 2015, Russia's Anti-Doping Centre was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following revelations of an elaborate state-sponsored doping programme at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Involving a nearly undetectable steroid delivery system known as 'Duchesse cocktail', tampering and switching of urine samples, and a complex state-sanctioned cover-up, the programme was masterminded by Grigory Rodchenkov. The Rodchenkov Affair tells the full, unadulterated story that was first glimpsed in Bryan Fogel's award-winning documentary and still continues to captivate and shock the world. Charting the author's childhood growing up under the Iron Curtain, his first encounter with doping as a 22-year-old student athlete at Moscow State University, and his subsequent career working for the Soviet Olympic Committee, this breathtakingly candid journey reveals a rigged system of flawed individuals, brazen deceit and impossible moral choices. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

Viggo Mortensen joins us live to talk about his new film, Falling, his debut as a director, which he also wrote. It's the story of a conservative father moving from his rural farm to live with his gay son's family in Los Angeles. We’ve been hearing from figures from the creative industries about their Lockdown Discovery, something that has given them great pleasure or solace during the two lockdowns. Today, the novelist Alex Wheatle, aka the Brixton Bard, who has been working with Steve McQueen on his Small Axe series of dramas and who is the subject of this week’s film, reveals his Lockdown Discovery. Would it be Christmas without A Christmas Carol? Even in 2020, there are still many live productions going on. A new film version by siblings Jacqui and David Morris combines voices of Simon Russell Beale, Daniel Kaluuya and Carey Mulligan with dance performances of Russell Maliphant and others. Sarah Crompton and Tobi Kyeremateng review the film and the phenomenon of Dickens’ story – is it particularly resonant this year? And they’ll consider the new National Theatre at Home subscription service as well as making their own cultural picks of the week. The winner of this year’s William Hill Sports Book of the Year is The Rodchenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Putin’s Secret Doping Empire. Grigory Rodchenkov was the head of Russian sport’s doping programme, and this is his detailed account of how he blew the whistle on what's been described by the World Anti-Doping Agency as the biggest sporting scandal in world history. Rodchenkov had to flee Russia and is still in hiding in the US. His editor Drummond Moir discusses the story and the challenges this presented. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Timothy Prosser Studio Manaher: Emma Harth

From a secret location, where he and his wife live hidden from any possible revenge, Vitaly Stepanov talks about the widespread doping and criminal extortion at the heart of the Russian Olympic team -- what it took to expose it, and the lengths officials went to keep it quiet.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/26/sports/olympics/yuliya-stepanova-russia-doping.htmlThe show: Learn more at www.crimewaves.com, you can follow the team on twitter at @declan_hill and @ericjohnkrebs

L'ancien directeur du laboratoire de l'agence mondiale antidopage de Moscou, Grigory Rodchenkov, a signé son autobiographie où il raconte comment les athlètes russes ont été protégés par l'État, depuis le début des années 1980.

Trapaça no esporte, uma das coisas que nos faz perder a confiança no esporte e nas pessoas que procuram a todo custo o topo deixando de lado a ética e a moral. O documentário Ícaro conta a história sobre um ciclista amador que decidiu submeter-se a um programa de doping para descobrir os efeitos das substâncias, mas no decorrer de sua jornada conhece um cientista russo chamado Grigory Rodchenkov que havia participado do programa de doping do governo russo para que tivesse melhores números nos jogos Olímpicos. Essa produção trata de temas como corrupção no esporte e propaganda nacionalista baseada em resultados positivos. Neste episódio o ExpressoCast discute a respeito desse documentário. Siga o Expresso Libertário no Instagram: @expressolibertario

Bloodsport is the story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state. It is the single most important sports story of our time and it reads like a Cold War thriller. The Evening Standard's sports correspondent Matt Majendie tells the whole story from 2012 till now. Episode seven hears how doping mastermind, Grigory Rodchenkov, went public about Russian cheating at the London and Sochi Olympics - and swapped life in Russian for a US witness protection program. For the first time, you’ll hear the whole story from 2012 to 2020 told by the people who were there. You’ll hear from Paula Radcliffe and Sebastian Coe on London 2012, you’ll meet the expert German investigator who cracked the case wide open and from athletes who doped. We’ve got access to the elite Swiss lab racing to finish testing London 2012 samples and we’ve spoken to the guy who masterminded doping control at the London games. You’ll also hear first-hand testimony from people who blew the whistle inside Russia (at the risk of their own lives) and from seasoned journalists who watched open-mouthed as the whole thing unfolded. And we’ll take you into the ongoing arms race between doper and tester, to see how the science of testing plays out in the analysis of blood and urine samples. Despite it being eight years ago, the story isn’t over. There are unfinished corruption trials in French Courts and ongoing allegations of flagrant Russian cheating (even as the Russian government denies all the evidence). Against all this is the soon-to-be pressing question of whether Russia will participate in the now postponed Tokyo Olympics. The credibility of the Olympic movement might hang on the decision. The clock is ticking.

Bloodsport is the story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state. It is the single most important sports story of our time and it reads like a Cold War thriller. The Evening Standard's sports correspondent Matt Majendie tells the whole story from 2012 till now. Revelations emerge from Grigory Rodchenkov's backstory. Plus we get one step closer to him in witness protection. For the first time, you’ll hear the whole story from 2012 to 2020 told by the people who were there. You’ll hear from Paula Radcliffe and Sebastian Coe on London 2012, you’ll meet the expert German investigator who cracked the case wide open and from athletes who doped. We’ve got access to the elite Swiss lab racing to finish testing London 2012 samples and we’ve spoken to the guy who masterminded doping control at the London games. You’ll also hear first-hand testimony from people who blew the whistle inside Russia (at the risk of their own lives) and from seasoned journalists who watched open-mouthed as the whole thing unfolded. And we’ll take you into the ongoing arms race between doper and tester, to see how the science of testing plays out in the analysis of blood and urine samples. Despite it being eight years ago, the story isn’t over. There are unfinished corruption trials in French Courts and ongoing allegations of flagrant Russian cheating (even as the Russian government denies all the evidence). Against all this is the soon-to-be pressing question of whether Russia will participate in the now postponed Tokyo Olympics. The credibility of the Olympic movement might hang on the decision. The clock is ticking.

Bloodsport is the story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state, its subsequent unmasking and the ongoing fall out amidst the power play of nation against nation. The Evening Standard's sports correspondent Matt Majendie tells the whole story from 2012 till now. Episode 1 takes us inside the war between dopers and testers at the London games. We’ll also meet key whistle-blowers Vitali and Julia Stepanov - currently in hiding in the US - and we’ll get our first glimpse of the mastermind behind the whole scandal. Dr Grigory Rodchenkov. For the first time, you’ll hear the whole story from 2012 to 2020 told by the people who were there. You’ll hear from Paula Radcliffe and Sebastian Coe on London 2012, you’ll meet the expert German investigator who cracked the case wide open and from athletes who doped. We’ve got access to the elite Swiss lab racing to finish testing London 2012 samples and we’ve spoken to the guy who masterminded doping control at the London games. You’ll also hear first-hand testimony from people who blew the whistle inside Russia (at the risk of their own lives) and from seasoned journalists who watched open-mouthed as the whole thing unfolded. And we’ll take you into the ongoing arms race between doper and tester, to see how the science of testing plays out in the analysis of blood and urine samples. Despite it being eight years ago, the story isn’t over. There are unfinished corruption trials in French Courts and ongoing allegations of flagrant Russian cheating (even as the Russian government denies all the evidence). Against all this is the soon-to-be pressing question of whether Russia will participate in the now postponed Tokyo Olympics. The credibility of the Olympic movement might hang on the decision. The clock is ticking.

Former NFL player Clay Harbor was a contestant on the 14th season of The Bachelorette and the 6th season of Bachelor in Paradise. He recently made an appearance on 90 Day Fiance. Kate asks him about how Bachelor producers found him, how he ended up on an episode of 90 Day Fiance: Self Quarantined, and who he believes should be the first minority Bachelor lead. Director Bryan Fogel discusses his Academy Award winning documentary Icarus, which chronicles his exploration of the option of doping to win an amateur cycling race and happening upon a major international doping scandal when he asks for the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory. Kate also interviews United States Olympic Medal Winning Bobsledder Steve Langton about having his bronze medals upgraded to silver six years after the Russian doping scandal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics was made public. Reality Life with Kate CaseyPatreon: http://www.patreon.com/katecaseyCameo: https://www.cameo.com/katecaseyTwitter: @katecaseyInstagram: @katecaseycaFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113157919338245/Facebook.com/loveandknucklesAmazon List: http://www.amazon.com/shop/katecaseyca See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The show notes below come from a FasterSkier article published on Dec. 10. Russia never tip-toed around its desire to dope on an industrial scale. That much has been documented in an Academy Award winning documentary and the more academic reports cataloging Russian doping misdeeds. Many have claimed Russia suffered a mere hand slap from WADA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its transgressions. When RUSADA was reinstated as compliant in September 2018, the world of clean sport made a collective eye roll. At that point, RUSADA and the Russian sport authorities had yet to comply with the conditions set forth by WADA for reinstatement. The primary unmet condition was the handing over of the Moscow anti-doping lab's raw data. WADA eventually received the lab's data in April 2019.In a report leaked several weeks ago, and then subsequently made public by WADA, it was determined the data had been manipulated. Additionally, it was determined that internal communications had been fabricated to help push blame onto actors like Grigory Rodchenkov, the former lab head who became a whistle blower. The communications were to make it appear that a few rogue individuals were at the core of the doping program.This brings us back to today's vote which made effective a four-year ban — what WADA calls a “period of non-compliance for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.” Many consequences were laid out in Monday's press release. In some ways, Russia's skin will be taken out of the international sporting game. The most publicized penalty remains a ban on Russian Government officials, representatives, and athletes from major international sport events including the 2020 and 2022 Olympics and Paralympics and World Championship events.Like in 2018 when the Russian Federation was banned from the Winter Olympics, Russian athletes cleared of any wrongdoing, however, will be allowed to compete at these “Major Events” during the four year sanction. Athletes will do so under a yet undetermined neutral flag. During the PyeyongChang Olympics, Russian athletes were allowed to compete under the IOC umbrella as an “Olympic Athlete from Russia” or OAR. It also appears Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under the Russian flag in such events like the European Football Championships – Euro 2020 – as this is not considered a major event.Not all believe justice has been served.“Today the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has robbed athletes worldwide of their right to clean sport due to their inability to enforce the strongest possible sanctions on Russia,” claimed the Global Athlete, an athlete centered advocacy group dedicated to clean sport. “Strong sanctions which would include a complete ban of Russia and Russian athletes at all international competitions including the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”As a counter, Johnathan Taylor, the chair of WADA's Compliance Review Committee that recommended the penalties, said innocent Russian athletes and athletes at large are protected. “Today, the ExCo has delivered a strong and unequivocal decision. While being tough on the authorities, this recommendation avoids punishing the innocent and instead stands up for the rights of clean athletes everywhere. If an athlete from Russia can prove that they were not involved in the institutionalized doping program, that their data were not part of the manipulation, that they were subject to adequate testing prior to the event in question, and that they fulfil any other strict conditions to be determined, they will be allowed to compete.”Taylor is quoted as saying WADA possesses the names of 145 athletes who are the “most suspicious” despite the manipulated, and in some cases deleted, data set.  Russia has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS).

Over the past year, we’ve made the Blood Chemistry Calculator our primary screening and feedback tool for the athletes we work with. In that time we’ve noted some clear patterns in the effects of long-term and vigorous exercise on blood chemistry. We’ve learned that while certain tests seem to be directly affected by hard training sessions, some can also provide clues for how best to enhance athletic performance. In this podcast I’m talking with Dr Tommy Wood, MD, PhD about blood chemistry in athletes: which markers are affected by intense exercise, how to know if your labs indicate a problem, and what to do about it. We discuss the markers associated with athletic power and lifespan, and why knowing your own blood chemistry numbers may be the best thing you do for your health and performance. Here’s the outline of this interview with Tommy Wood: [00:01:24] Liver enzymes (ALT, AST). [00:04:44] Optimal vs standard reference ranges. [00:06:28] Differences among ethnic groups. [00:08:15] Recovery of liver enzymes after exercise; Study: Pettersson, Jonas, et al. "Muscular exercise can cause highly pathological liver function tests in healthy men." British journal of clinical pharmacology 65.2 (2008): 253-259. [00:10:40] Creatinine. [00:12:22] Podcast: How to Entrain Your Circadian Rhythm for Perfect Sleep and Metabolic Health, with Greg Potter; HumanOS Podcast. [00:12:52] Creatinine vs creatine. [00:13:36] Creatine monohydrate; Creapure Creatine; Douglas Labs Creatine Monohydrate. [00:14:12] Blood Chemistry Calculator; Predicted Age Score. [00:15:53] Creatinine - U shaped curve. [00:16:54] Creatinine and kidney function. [00:17:44] Battle of the quads: Robert Forstemann vs. Andre Greipel. [00:18:13] Hematocrit. [00:18:42] Blood doping. [00:18:44] Book: The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, by Tyler Hamilton. [00:19:22] Higher hematocrit = higher power. [00:20:15] Adaptations that reduce hematocrit. [00:21:48] Testosterone. [00:23:27] MCV, RDW. [00:24:39] Reticulocytes. [00:26:02] Grigory Rodchenkov; World Anti-Doping Agency. [00:26:23] Podcast: How to Identify and Treat Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), with Nicky Keay. [00:26:33] Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN). [00:27:40] Dr. Tamsin Lewis; Causes of a high BUN. [00:31:54] Higher RDW = increased risk of mortality. [00:34:34] Triglycerides ideally < 100. [00:34:44] Fasting blood glucose - once past 110 not much change in mortality risk. [00:35:44] Blood glucose and biological age. [00:36:49] High fasting blood glucose in athletes. [00:38:35] Machine learning to identify diabetic retinopathy; Study: Gulshan, Varun, et al. "Development and validation of a deep learning algorithm for detection of diabetic retinopathy in retinal fundus photographs." Jama 316.22 (2016): 2402-2410. [00:40:51] Calcium; lower levels in athletes. [00:42:26] Podcast: Optimal Diet and Movement for Healthspan, Amplified Intelligence and More with Ken Ford; Grip strength; Study: Fain, Elizabeth, and Cara Weatherford. "Comparative study of millennials' (age 20-34 years) grip and lateral pinch with the norms." Journal of Hand Therapy 29.4 (2016): 483-488. [00:43:25] Article: Optimizing Vitamin D for Athletic Performance, by Brad Dieter, PhD with contributions from Tommy Wood, MD and Christopher Kelly. [00:43:46] Cholesterol levels in athletes; Study: Creighton, Brent C., et al. "Paradox of hypercholesterolaemia in highly trained, keto-adapted athletes." BMJ open sport & exercise medicine 4.1 (2018): e000429. [00:43:50] Podcast: How to Drop Your Cholesterol, with Dave Feldman. [00:44:40] Higher cholesterol = higher lifespan. Studies: 1. Stückle, Druckerei. "Towards a Paradigm Shift in Cholesterol Treatment. A Re-examination of the Cholesterol Issue in Japan: Abstracts." Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 66.Suppl. 4 (2015): 1-116 and 2. Ravnskov, Uffe, et al. "Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review." BMJ open 6.6 (2016): e010401. [00:46:04] How often to run a blood test for an athlete? [00:47:02] Elite Performance Program (EPP); Patreon; Elite Performance Members Club Forum.

LISTEN TO DAVID HOWMAN TALK WITH RADIO SPORT BREAKFAST ABOVE Former World Anti-Doping Agency director-general David Howman has lambasted the poor principles involved in the decision to usher Russia back into the WADA programme.The World Anti-Doping Agency declared Russia's scandal-ridden drug-fighting operation back in business Thursday, a decision designed to bring a close to one of sports' most notorious doping scandals but one bitterly disputed by hundreds of athletes and described as "treachery" by the lawyer for the man who exposed the corruption.On a 9-2 vote, the executive committee took the advice of the agency's compliance review panel and declared RUSADA as having satisfied conditions of reinstatement that were gradually softened over the summer.In most tangible ways, the decision doesn't change much: RUSADA has been up and running for a while, bringing one of the world's largest testing programs back on line with the help of officials from Britain and elsewhere. And Russia's Olympic committee was brought back into the fold after the Pyeongchang Olympics, where athletes who could prove they were clean were able to compete as "Olympic Athletes from Russia."But RUSADA's reinstatement, after nearly a three-year suspension, now clears the country to again bid for major international events — although soccer's World Cup was held there this summer despite that restriction.Howman says they haven't satisfied critical conditions, and people are dreaming if they think Russia will cough up evidence in the next six months that leads to the sanctioning of athletes.WADA have granted the concession at an executive committee meeting in the Seychelles.Howman told Radio Sport Breakfast how the politics work."What the Russians have been able to do is put pressure on through saying 'look, we will be able to hold international events if we were compliant, and the IOC is saying 'that's pretty important, because international federations want to hold their world championships at no costs."The IOC form half of the WADA board.Howman says he was once a cynical optimist about doping in sport, now he says he's a cynical pessimist.The move also clears a major hurdle for Russia's track team to be declared compliant by that sport's international governing body (IAAF) — one of the few to take a strong, consistent stand against the doping — though IAAF released a statement saying there were other milestones still unmet and its next update isn't due until December.Perhaps most importantly, hundreds of athletes and dozens of world anti-doping leaders see it as a stinging rebuke to the ideal of fair play."WADA's decision to reinstate Russia represents the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history," said Jim Walden, the attorney for Grigory Rodchenkov, the former Moscow lab director who exposed much of the Russian scheme.WADA had been telegraphing the move since Sept. 14, when it released the recommendation of its compliance review committee. Olympic champion Beckie Scott resigned from that committee afterward."I'm profoundly disappointed," Scott said to Canadian broadcaster CBC after the decision. "I feel this was an opportunity for WADA, and they have dealt a devastating blow to clean sport. I'm quite dismayed."Ben Hawes, chairman of the British Olympic Association's Athletes' Commission, said: "It is clear the process of the removal of these sanctions whilst key criteria has yet to be fulfilled has angered the athlete community."Even in Russia, where the news was welcomed, it came with a sense that there's still work to be done."These questions will always follow us," said RUSADA CEO Yuri Ganus, whose appointment to the job was part of the housecleaning at the agency that WADA demanded. "These aren't the kind of skeletons which can lie unnoticed in the closet. These are the skeletons which will be banging on the closet door all the time."The two biggest roadblocks to RUSADA's reinstatement (and still pen...

Max Linsky, co-host of the Longform podcast, interviews director Bryan Fogel about his Academy Award Winning documentary, Icarus. They discuss how the film has changed Byran and Grigory's lives, how it's impacted the world of sports, and the world at large.In the Netflix Original film, filmmaker Bryan Fogel sets out to make a documentary about how athletes were getting away with doping by doping himself. He gets Grigory Rodchenkov, then director of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, to help him figure out how. What unfolds, however, is an international doping scandal that shifts the worldwide dialogue for everything from the Olympics to the world cup, and beyond. 

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents Monday's telephone press conference held by the lawyers for Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, who became a key whistleblower exposing Russia's state-sponsored doping program for Olympic and other elite athletes. The main speakers, both representing Dr. Rodchenkov, were attorneys Jim Walden of Walden Macht & Haran, and Derek Borchardt of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. This press conference was held to announce that Dr. Rodchenkov, through his lawyers, had filed a motion to dismiss a libel case brought in the names of three Russian biathletes: Olga Zaytseva, Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina. Dr. Rodchenkov also filed his own lawsuit against Russian oligarch and Brooklyn Nets' controlling owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who Dr. Rodchenkov's lawyers said is "the self-confessed financier of the biathletes' claims", for violation of New York's anti-SLAPP statute (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation), which could entitle Dr. Rodchenkov to punitive damages and legal fees. On this call, Jim Walden denounced the International Olympic Committee for not supporting such an important whistleblower as Dr. Rodchenkov. "It's very clear that they are not going to support Dr. Rodchenkov," he said. "We have called them, emailed them, publicly admonished them, and they refuse to stand up for him, and they refused to stand strong against Russia. So we hope that clean athletes and the media will hold their complicity, hold them to account for it." More information on these legal actions can be found here. The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow. No Holds Barred is sponsored by: The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com. Skullz Double-End Bags, the perfect bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve timing, distance, and hand and eye coordination. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. For more information, go to SkullzDeBags.com. Thanks, Eddie Goldman EddieGoldman.com

Hello Filmy People! This week we review the reboot/remake of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished years earlier. Hoping to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance, Croft embarks on a perilous journey to his last-known destination. We also unvail our jingle for our new game "Connect the Dots" and we also deep dive on Icarus an American documentary film by Bryan Fogel, which chronicles Fogel exploring the option of doping to win an amateur cycling race and happening upon a major international doping scandal when he asks for the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory and it gets stranger and stragner from there. We also dive into the latest and greatest news in the world of Film and entertainment. Watch out for our mid week special podcast about Netflix's new Annihilation.   Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Podbean Follow us on Spotify  

Den russiske dopingskandalen sjokkerte en hel idrettsverden. To norske kollegaer føler seg totalt sviktet og lurt av Grigory Rodchenkov. Peter Hemmersbach var selv tilstede på laboratoriet under OL i Sotsji der det skal ha blitt svindlet i stor stil.

It’s the inaugural broadcast from our urine-filled, post-nuclear bunker. For those of you that have survived the aftermath, or mutated beyond the Homo sapien species, we update our thoughts on Rian Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi’. We also review two Netflix films, the sport doping documentary, ‘Icarus’ (Bryan Fogel, Grigory Rodchenkov, Dick Pound), and the National Lampoon semi-biopic, ‘A Futile and Stupid Gesture’ (Will Forte, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wain, Emmy Rossum). We question our normality, talk bird, and annoy the living hell out of each other. Please. It’s very important. Dick Pound is a real guy’s name.

Bryan Fogel joins Lance to discuss his Academy Award nominated Best Documentary, Icarus. They discuss Bryan’s original vision of the film and how that changed. Bryan goes into detail about he got to know former Russian anti doping lab director Grigory Rodchenkov. They review the doping program that Bryan was on to compete at the Haute Route. Part one concludes with Bryan elaborating on how Russia was able to circumvent the testing process during the Sochi Olympic Games. 

Now that Russia has been banned from the upcoming Winter Olympics, we thought it would be a good time to revisit our interview with ‘Icarus' director Bryan Fogel. We talk about his crazy journey of meeting, befriending, and then very likely saving the life of Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the architect of Russia's state-run Olympic doping program. Plus, an all-new Banter about the effort to keep the #MeToo momentum going.

“It appears that the consequences for truth are high.”Bryan Fogel Last week I sat down with Lance Armstrong to explore his competitive drive for greatness, precipitous fall from grace, and path forward. Irrespective of your opinion on Lance or that conversation, his story leaves us all with an indelible question:Just how far will we go to be considered the best?Obsessed with this inquiry, Bryan Fogel decided to answer it for himself.Struck by the fact that Lance never once failed a single drug test, the avid cyclist, playwright, and filmmaker decided to make a documentary with one goal in mind: to prove the system in place to detect doping athletes was bullshit.Because what the world watches on its sports fields should not be taken for granted as truth.Icarus was premised on an audacious idea: Bryan would undertake an aggressive doping protocol, experimenting with a wide variety of performance enhancing drugs. He would observe the changes in his athletic performance. He would attempt to evade detection. And finally, he would extensively and transparently document the entire experience, sharing the whole endeavor on film.To guide him through the mysterious and byzantine process of doping, Bryan enlists the professional aid of Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a renegade Russian scientist and then pillar of his country's “anti-doping” program. As they grow closer, it becomes clear that Rodchenkov is in fact the central figure in what we soon discover is Russia's vast and elaborate state-sponsored Olympic doping program – a program that can be traced to Russia’s highest chains of command, all the way up to Vladamir Putin.When the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory, Bryan's academic exercise in self-experimentation quickly pivots into spy thriller territory — a high-stakes and quite spectacular collision of politics, sports, espionage and danger more John LeCarré than Morgan Spurlock.Icarus premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it won “The Orwell” Special Jury Award and the first ever Audience Choice Award at Sundance Film Festival London. It’s been called a “game-changing documentary” by Variety and “The Best Non-Fiction film of 2017″ by the Financial Times and was acquired by Netflix in a historic sale.Bryan and the story behind the film have been profiled in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Variety , USA Today, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. Bryan has also discussed the film on NPR's All Things Considered, NBC's Meet The Press, ABC Dateline, Charlie Rose, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Breakfast with the BBC.An extraordinary portrait of self sacrifice in the interest of truth, Icarus is a gripping exposé that will forever color your perception of Olympic sport. But more than that, it's a palpable glimpse into the dark realpolitik of the global sports arena and the staggering implications it has on our already strained geo-political landscape.One of the best documentaries I have seen in recent memory, Icarus exemplifies the power of film to rewrite history.Today, Bryan joins me to share his fascinating tale.For the visually inclined, watch the podcast on YouTube.I sincerely hope you enjoy this exchange.Peace + Plants,P.S. If you are moved by either the podcast or film to help Dr. Rodchenkov in his mission to make things right, please visit the GoFundMe page.Listen, Watch & Subscribe See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bryan Fogel is an American film director, producer, author and playwright. His documentary "Icarus" available now on Netflix, documents the uncovering of the Russian doping scandal. GoFundMe Page for Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov https://www.gofundme.com/how-is-grigory

Bryan Fogel is an American film director, producer, author and playwright. His documentary "Icarus" available now on Netflix, documents the uncovering of the Russian doping scandal. GoFundMe Page for Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov https://www.gofundme.com/how-is-grigory

The recent documentary Icarus took an in-depth look at the recent Russian doping scandal through the lens of a relationship with the mastermind of the doping plan Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov. As controversy enveloped his Rodchenkov's life, director Bryan Fogel was drawn to the center of the storm and we get an inside look at how far athletes go to beat the system. On this week's episode we take a break from talking about training to discuss the film and the current state of doping and anti-doping. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2017/09/gaincast-episode-84-icarus/ This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus and GAIN. HMMR Plus members receive exclusive benefits like our monthly sports science newsletter, online hangouts with experts, and webinars. Learn more at http://www.hmmrmedia.com/

Bryan Fogel joins co-hosts Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher to discuss his astonishing new film Icarus, which belongs on a shortlist of documentaries that fortuitously captured history in the making. The film began as an expose on Fogel as a guinea pig, taking performance enhancing drugs in preparation for a major cross-country bike race. However, the specialist who is assisting Brian backs down and hands Bryan over to the head of Russia's “anti-doping” team, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov; who is, in fact, the mastermind behind Russia's massive national doping program. Rodchenkov decides he's had enough and turns to Bryan to protect him and assist in blowing the whistle on the biggest doping scandal in history. Icarus is a tale of friendship, heroism, and suspense; which also happens to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the dishonesty and corruption of Vladimir Putin's regime. Also, LARB Radio's own Eric Newman drops by to recommend Tom Atwood's new photography book Kings and Queens in Their Castles, which portrays 160 LGBTQ subjects in their homes.

"ICARUS" is an amazing documentary about the pervasive doping that takes place in sports world wide. In this truly audacious documentary Fogel (an amateur bike racer) would dope himself, observe the changes in his performance, and see if he could evade detection. In doing so, he was connected to a renegade Russian scientist, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a pillar of his country's "anti-doping" program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia's state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations of illegalities run to Russia's highest chains of command, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory. This is really two stories in one!

Bryan Fogel's original plan for his documentary Icarus was to investigate pervasive doping in cycling by becoming a human guinea pig. He recruited chemist Grigory Rodchenkov in Moscow to guide him. Then Rodchenkov was revealed as the architect of Russia's state-run doping program -- and he was ready to blow the whistle. Fogel helped Rodchenkov flee, and then things got really scary.

Bryan Fogel, the director and star of "Icarus," a new documentary about doping in sports, joins Chuck to explain how he stumbled onto Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia's lead scientist for the country's doping program.

Bryan Fogel, the director and star of "Icarus," a new documentary about doping in sports, joins Chuck to explain how he stumbled onto Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia's lead scientist for the country's doping program.

In the truly audacious documentary ICARUS, director Bryan Fogel's bold gambit was this: to investigate doping in sports, Fogel (an amateur bike racer) would dope himself, observe the changes in his performance, and see if he could evade detection. In doing so, he was connected to a renegade Russian scientist, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a pillar of his country's "anti-doping" program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia's state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations of illegalities run to Russia's highest chains of command, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory. Exemplifying the special bond between filmmaker and subject, this is a vital portrait of the sacrifice some people will make to stand up for truth. ICARUS places you at the heart of an international game of cat and mouse, where a miscalculation can cost you your life. Director Bryan Fogel joins us to talk about his unbelievably prescient film. Icarus opens on August 4 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center Watch Icarus on netflix.com

Filmmaker/cyclist Bryan Fogel set out to see if he could take performance enhancing drugs and get away with it, but he soon found himself in the middle of the most notorious doping scandal in sports history as he helped scientist Grigory Rodchenkov escape Russia and expose an elaborate state-run conspiracy to dope Russia's Olympic athletes.  It's all in his thrilling documentary ICARUS which is available on Netflix and in theaters starting on 8/4.   Bryan Fogel discusses how he used himself as a human guinea pig to prove just how easily athletes can cheat anti-drug tests, and he shares how he firsthand experienced the power and the limitations of human growth hormones.  Bryan Fogel reveals how Russia’s FSB agents helped athletes at the Sochi Olympics cheat the system, just how high up this scandal goes, and why he says scientist Grigory Rodchenkov is Russia’s Edward Snowden.  He also discusses the reaction when he presented this evidence to officials at the World Anti-Doping Agency, and he speculate on why the International Olympic Committee ignored WADA’s recommendations and allowed Russian athletes to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.  ICARUS comes out in select theaters and on Netflix this Friday, August 4.  For more information visit www.netflix.com.  Keep up with Bryan at www.bryanfogel.com and follow him on Twitter at @BryanFogel. Subscribe to Kickass News on iTunes and take a minute to take our listener survey at www.podsurvey.com/KICK. Support the show by donating at www.gofundme.com/kickassnews. Visit www.kickassnews.com for more fun stuff.

The Ultimate Sundance London 2017 Lowdown! Sundance London 2017 is the Official "spin off" festival to The Sundance Festival that focuses on independent filmmakers and documentaries. The Sundance Film Festival was started by Robert Redford has been instrumental in igniting the success of then small filmmakers and their art. Directors that have achieved acclaim at The Sundance Sundance Film Festival include Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Damien Chazelle, Amma Asante for films such as Reservoir Dogs, Four Lions, Whiplash, American Psycho, Man on Wire, Moon, Four Lions and the Usual Suspects. Sundance London 2017 takes place between 1st to 4th June and brings with it a selection of the films and from the bigger sister event that takes place in Park City in Utah in the United States every January. The list below gives a brief lowdown on the films showing at Sundance London 2017 at the AMAZING Picturehouse Central and hopefully, you'll get to see them when they come out on general release. This is another big list of films, similar to our Review of 2016 Let us know what you think! Normal services will resume shortly with our Netflix reviews such as the What We Do In the Shadows Episode. Visit the Flixwatcher Podcast Website and for a list of our recent episodes. If you want to download this episode and/or even better subscribe to Flixwatcher Podcast and share with your friends please find us on iTunes at this link. The links listed below are for the official Twitter Accounts or Wikipedia pages for the films and filmmakers.     Beatriz at Dinner Dir: Miguel Arteta Written for Screen by: Mike White Starring: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Chloe Sevigny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSi62GeoKkA Salma Hayek stars as the titular character Beatriz who inadvertently is invited to stay for a dinner party that one of her clients is hosting after car breaks down.  That does sound like a placid setup for a film until you realise that it's the setup for a "head to head" where Beatriz and the main antagonist "Doug Strutt" as played by John Lithgow clash and lock horns time and again. The writer Mike White based the Doug's character on the dentist that shot and killed Cecil the lion back in 2015. Beatriz is an eternal empath and rallies hard against the consciousless Doug who has no trouble sleeping at night despite leaving destitution in his wake. Beatriz at Dinner is a sublime chamber piece that is superbly helmed by Miguel Arteta and brought to life by the flawless casting.   The Big Sick Dir: Michael Showalter Written for Screen by: Emily V Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Adeel Akhtar, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3Regj6nAg   The Big Sick "dramadises" the real life story of Emily V Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. During their time of courtship Emily falls so ill that she had to be placed into a medically induced coma to help fight the infection and illness. The Big Sick focuses on their story during this difficult time as well as the trials and tribulations between Kumail and his own parents and getting to know and love Emily's parents. These three story threads are excellently played out and endearing. There is a lot of love for the writing of Kumail and Emily and the direction from Michael Showalter works perfectly with them. I cannot think of many comedies that should be longer than 90 minutes long and The Big Sick, with a running time of around two hours, is not one of them. That said it is a fantastic and heartfelt moden rom-com that you should make an effort to see.   Bitch Dir: Marianna Palka Written for Screen by: Marianna Palka Starring: Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, Jaime King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZVA2f_jtxQ   When a film starts off with an attempted suicide, as "Bitch" does, you know you're not going to be in for a smooth ride. The suicide attempt made by Marianna Palka's character is a vain attempt to resolve the problems of living with a cheating husband. Her husband, played by Jason Ritter, is so pathetic that he doesn't know where his kids go to school or even know how to start the car to take them there. The suicide is unsuccessful, however, the drastic measures are taken that results in her separation from the family as we know it. What follows is the family coming to terms with the type of loss that has never been committed to screen.     Bushwick Dir: Cary Munion, Jonathon Milott Written for Screen by: Nick Damici, Graham Reznick Starring: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddl6sHa48Zk A girlfriend, Lucy (Brittany Snow) and boyfriend couple arrive in Bushwick, an area of Brooklyn, with the intention of introducing him to her family. As they walk out of the underground and eerie silence is replaced by the sound of gunfire and the guy is soon firebombed. He dies but there is no time for tears as all hell has broken loose and she is soon having to dodge sniper fire and run for safety. Lucy finds assistance in Stupe (Dave Bautista), an ex-marine turned janitor, and they work together to find the scattered pieces of her family in the Bushwick neighbourhood and onto safety. Bushwick is all shot on Steadicam and in as real time as possible, trying to mimic film showing the passage of time in a single take. The concept is great and the film is a fun one with a few sections of improvised dialogue that are cringe inducing, but the fast pace and vicscera almost make that forgiveable!   Chasing Coral Dir: Jeff Orlowski Starring: Richard Vevers, Zack Rago, Chloe Sevigny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4PfXCKBPc Chasing Coral depicts the drastic dying out of the coral reefs around the globe. We see over the space of 2 months or less the vibrant coral turning white and then dying out. This is a result of global warming that has caused the sea temperatures to increase by 2-3 degrees. This doesn't sound like much but is enough to cause the coral and the infrastructure they support to die out. The documentary works in three parts, the environmental, technological and the character driven. All three impress and combine into a beautiful tour-de-force that is as impressive as it is depressing... Chasing Coral is coming to Netflix if it isn't there by the time you read this lowdown. Please do try and see this on the big screen if you can. Some of the visuals are eye-popping!     Crown Heights Dir: Matt Ruskin Written for Screen by: Matt Ruskin Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomuhga, Natalie Paul The story behind Crown Heights is a true one and was initially popularised on in a Podcast episode "DIY" of This American Life. Lakeith Stanfield stars as Colin Warner, a man convicted of life imprisonment for a murder he did not commit. The ordeal that he goes through is heinous especially given the amount of evidence in his favour. It follows the story of Colin on "the inside" and his best friend Chris who keeps on rallying for him "on the outside" following setback after knockback after setback. It's great stuff and the story is beyond unfortunate, however, one has to wonder if would have been better served as a documentary. We have to concede that this story will receive a greater audience as a biopic and that can only be a great thing! Dina Dir: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini Starring: Dina Buno, Scott Levin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVqMydFvHg The documentary "Dina" follows Dina Buno and her fiance Scott as they prepare for their wedding and their life together. That concept is not typical fare for a documentary until you add the fact that both Dina and Scott both are both on the autistic spectrum and Dina's life has been traumatic including her previous marriage ended in tragedy. The pairing of Scott and Dina is endearing and fraught with intrinsic difficulties. It's clear that they love each other but the way that this manifests physically is often difficult to bear. Scott is whilst being affectionate finds physical contact difficult, whilst Dina, a "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" is forthright, honest and craves physical passion.   A Ghost Story Dir: David Lowery Written for Screen by: David Lowery Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxLHP2IpBXw "A Ghost Story" is beautiful, ethereal, thought provoking and haunting (pun intended) film that provoked a lot of discussion after the screening. The setup follows a young couple played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara just before he is involved in a fatal car accident. Casey comes back as "Ghost Costume 101" in the form of a sheet with eye-holes cut out after referring to "Pac-man" as a guide for sewing pattern. We then follow the ghost as he is seemingly bound to the house where he used to live and experiences life carrying on around him. A Ghost Story is presented in a square image with a subdued filter, almost as if shot with a bespoke Instagram filter. This presentation when coupled with the sublime score and track "I Get Overwhelmed" by Dark Rooms makes for a film that will nest in your conciousness for a long time after you first watch it.   Icarus Dir: Bryan Fogel Starring: Bryan Fogel   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQNRm6NLTSI&t=60s   The setup for Icarus is a fascinating one. Bryan is an accomplished amateur cyclist who came 14th in the Alpine Haute Route in 2014, which is an amazing accomplishment. Bryan, who had been let down by his cycling hero Lance Armstrong, noted that in spite of the systematic doping program that Lance Armstrong had never failed a drugs test. Fogel set out to prove that it was relatively easy to evade the doping systems by participating in his own program with the intent of exposing the scams and methods to a wider audience. The program that Bryan undergoes is stringent and overseen by the Director of the Russian Anti-Doping Lab, Grigory Rodchenkov. We are initially disappointed that this promising premise is not fully realised, but what it makes way for is a mindblowing crime caper that involves KGB, Putin, The Olympics and death threats and leaves you paranoid as you leave the cinema. Icarus will be available on Netflix later this year and is must - see documentary.   The Incredible Jessica James Dir: Jim Strouse Written for Screen by: Jim Strouse Starring: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd, Lakeith Stanfield, Noel Wells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFKwg3V85Ng The Incredible Jessica James was written By Jim Strause specifically for Jessica Williams after he had worked with her on previous film projects. In the film, Jessica is a theatre playwright, performer, teacher and lover who is struggling to come to terms with her perception of success is whilst at the same time trying to deal with the break-up of a relationship and the start of a new one. Jessica Williams heads up the cast alongside Chris O'Dowd Lakeith Stanfield and Noel Wells in a film that has been expertly crafted for her. The Incredible Jessica James is endearing without being mawkish and comes sets up Jessica's character as outgoing without ever overstepping the mark. "The Incredible Jessica James" is a hilarious film that with is engaging all the way through.   Marjorie Prime Dir: Michael Almereyda Written for Screen by: Michael Almereyda Starring: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMGm6A7XHjo Marjorie Prime is the film adaptation of a stage play of the same name. In this world a "Prime" is a holographic representation of a real-world person that has previously died. There are a few primes in this film the first being depicted by Jon Hamm who Is employed to keep Marjorie, the titular character, company as she descends into older age and increasing dementia. We've seen similarly themed films such as with "Robot and Frank", "Her" and themes are shown in TV series Black Mirror and represents the move toward the Technical Singularity where people's memories and personality live way beyond the constrains of their physical form. It is evident that Marjorie Prime is based on a stage play in the form that the film takes. This, however, Is the perfect setting for actors of the calibre of Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Tim Robbins and of course Geena Davies.     Walking Out Dir: Alex Smith and Andrew Smith Written for Screen by: Alex Smith and Andrew Smith Starring: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic6A6ztJldA A shorthand to understanding the film "Walking Out" would be Refer to it as a more personalised version of The Revenant. In Walking Out we deal with threats from bears and cold weather, But that is where the parallels end. The story of walking out reunites a father and son, Cal and David, who are typically estranged by both distance and life experiences. The "city mouse" son joins his "Country mouse" father shortly after his 14th birthday with the aim of reconnecting and to kill a moose. The story starts with the initial disappointment from Cal's point of view as he sees David's reliance on modern technology turns into pride as his son strives to save them. Walking out is breathtakingly beautiful and benefits from the constraints of limited budget in the way you can see the epic beauty of real landscape and weather that would be staged larger scale films.   Wilson Dir: Craig Johnson Written for Screen by: Daniel Clowes Starring: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKHFZumOS94 Wilson is adapted from the graphic novel and depicts Woody Harrelson playing the titular Wilson. We are initially introduced to a lonely but happily cranky Wilson who after a family bereavement seeks to modify life and re-connect with his estranged wife. In this process of reconnecting Wilson learns that he is actually a father and sets out to get to know his daughter and become part of her life. Wilson's grumpy demeanour is as entertaining for the viewer as it is irritating for the other characters in the film but this slowly ebbs away as his good nature breaks through. The episodic nature of the story might have been best suited to a series but this is an enjoyable film non the less!   Ten Meter Tower   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8-Oc_TOPDI   This was shown as a short at Sundance London and here is the full film for you to watch. What do you think you would do?