Tested

Aug 21 2024 1k
Tested Podcast artwork

Who gets to compete? Since the beginning of women’s sports, there has been a struggle over who qualifies for the women’s category. Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women, because of their biology. As the Olympics approach, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. To understand how we got here, we trace the surprising, 100-year history of sex testing.

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Episode 6: Lumpers and Splitters

Aug 01 2024 42 mins  
Christine and Max are some of the most recent female athletes in this century-long history to face tests, stigma, and restrictions. But they are unlikely to be the last. In this episode, we find out whether Christine qualifies for the Paris Olympics, as well as the fate of Max’s court case. And we explore the broader implications of the sex binary in sports. Is there a better way

Episode 5: Unfair Advantage?

Jul 29 2024 35 mins  
A battle over science and ethics unfolds. World Athletics releases and then tweaks multiple policies impacting DSD athletes, while critics cry foul. In this episode, World Athletics doubles down on its claims, Caster Semenya challenges the rules again, and we dig deep on a big question: what constitutes an “unfair” advantage on the track?For early access to Tested episodes and

Episode 4: Running In Circles

Jul 25 2024 32 mins  
In 2009, South African sprinter Caster Semenya won gold at the World Championships. But instead of a celebration, she endured endless speculation about her body, her biology, and her gender. And soon, sports organizations would launch a new round of regulations, lead to multiple court cases, and require sporting organizations to justify their claim that DSD athletes have an unfair

Episode 3: Card-Carrying Females

Jul 22 2024 39 mins  
We meet Kenyan sprinter Maximila Imali, who—like Christine—has been sidelined by DSD policies. She makes a different choice from Christine: to fight the regulations in court. And we learn about an earlier fight, when scientists, athletes, and journalists spent thirty years trying to end an earlier version of sex testing.For early access to Tested episodes and to listen ad-free,

Episode 2: Questions of a Physical Nature

Jul 18 2024 34 mins  
We go back to the beginnings of women’s inclusion in elite sports. It turns out that men had an odd variety of concerns about women athletes. Some doubted these athletes were even women at all. And that skepticism resulted in the first sex testing policies.For early access to Tested episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's Stories channel here.

Episode 1: The Choice

Jul 15 2024 37 mins  
Would you alter your body for the chance to compete for a gold medal? That’s the question facing a small group of elite athletes right now. Last year, track and field authorities announced new regulations that mean some athletes can’t compete in the female category unless they lower their body’s naturally occurring testosterone levels. In this episode you’ll meet one of tho

Introducing: Tested

Jul 11 2024 3 mins  
Since the very beginning of women’s sports, there has been a struggle to define who, exactly, gets to compete in the women’s category. A century later, this struggle is still very much alive. Host Rose Eveleth will explore a question that goes far beyond sports: What is fair and who decides?