New NPR podcast ‘Tested’ addresses sex testing in elite sports ahead of Olympic Games

NPR

The rules surrounding gender verification in women's sports have been discussed, debated, and scrutinized for decades, but maybe no more so than in recent years.

Specifically, the issue of testosterone in women athletes, whether the athlete is transgender, or someone who has developed in a way that causes her to naturally produce atypical levels of the hormone; the question is whether higher testosterone levels, however they are achieved, give a female athlete an unfair advantage.

In the new NPR and CBC podcast series Tested: A Surprising History of Women’s Sports, host and science journalist Rose Eveleth traces the century-long history of sex testing in elite sports through the eyes of athletes, historians, scientists, and doctors.

In the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, Delaware Public Media’s Kyle McKinnon sits down with Eveleth for a closer look at the issue and how Tested explores a question that goes far beyond sports: What’s fair? And who decides?