Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Blame It on Rio: Chicago Loses 2016 Olympic Games

    The International Olympic Committee today granted the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro, with Chicago eliminated in the first round of voting. The historic decision takes the games to the South American continent for the very first time. Also, unemployment continues to climb, and re-writing the book on evolution, based on a startling new discovery in the African desert. Conan Nolan guest hosts.

    • rss
    Download MP3
    • Share
    KCRW placeholderBy Conan Nolan • Oct 2, 2009 • 50m Listen

    The International Olympic Committee today granted the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro, with Chicago eliminated in the first round of voting. The decision is a historic one that will take the games to the South American continent for the very first time. Also, unemployment continues to climb, and a major find in the Ethiopian desert is painting a remarkable picture of what life was like for our earliest evolutionary ancestors. Conan Nolan guest hosts.

    Banner image: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L), Rio 2016 bid President Carlos Arthur Nuzman (C) and Brazilian football legend Pele (R) celebrate with their delegation after it was announced that Rio de Janeiro has won the bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games at the 121st International Olympic Committee session in the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark today. Photo: Charles Dharapak/AFP/Getty Images

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 0:00

      Unemployment Going Up, Up, Up

      Labor Department figures indicate that the US lost another 263, 000 jobs in the month of September. The loss, larger than that recorded in August, comes at a time when many economists believed the recession was coming to a close. Michael Mandel is chief economist for BusinessWeek magazine and the author of Economics : The Basics.

      Read the story
      7 min
    2. 7:11

      Rio Wins 2016 Olympic Games

      As with the Academy Awards, first came the set-up of contenders, followed by the opening of the envelope. Then, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge announced that the 2016 Summer Olympic Games would be held in… Rio de Janeiro .

      Read the story
      33 min
    3. 40:31

      Skeleton of 4.4 Million-Year-Old Human Ancestor Discovered

      A 4.4 million year-old skeleton has been uncovered in the Ethiopian desert, which is adding some new insight into how our evolutionary ancestors looked and behaved. The nearly complete skeleton, dubbed "Ardi," doesn't look at all like a chimpanzee or other large primate, and that has researchers intrigued.

      Read the story
      10 min
    • KCRW placeholder

      Conan Nolan

      Reporter, KNBC Television

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

      NewsNationalPolitics

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 0:007 min

      Unemployment Going Up, Up, Up

    2. 7:1133 min

      Rio Wins 2016 Olympic Games

    3. 40:3110 min

      Skeleton of 4.4 Million-Year-Old Human Ancestor Discovered

    Back to To the Point