33. Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong
Summary
Steve Levitt interviews Travis Tigard, CEO of USADA, about the agency’s role in catching cheaters, focusing heavily on the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. They discuss how corporate interests and conflicts of interest allowed Armstrong’s fraud to persist until USADA’s independent investigation exposed it. The conversation also covers advancements in detection technology, the ethics of performance-enhancing drugs, and USADA’s upcoming mandate to regulate doping in thoroughbred horse racing.
Topics discussed
Introduction: USADA CEO Travis Tigard and the Lance Armstrong case
The moral code of athletes and the deterrent effect of getting caught
The rise of EPO in cycling and the initial investigation into Armstrong
Cycling's cover-up, corporate complicity, and the 'too big to fail' myth
Dismantling the doping system, whistleblower challenges, and personal attacks
Ad breaks and listener questions on behavioral economics
Philosophical debates on doping, natural talent, and the arms race
Detection technology: Sample retesting and the Athlete Biological Passport
The role of whistleblowers and the psychology of deterrence
USADA's new role in regulating thoroughbred horse racing
Personal integrity, data detection in horse racing, and conclusion
Listen ad-free on Castria