The Gist: Inside the research on compression sleeves worn by athletes and senior citizens.

What Does a Compression Sleeve Do Anyway?

What Does a Compression Sleeve Do Anyway?

A daily news and culture podcast with Mike Pesca.
June 2 2015 9:17 PM

Nothing Up Their Sleeves?

A look at the benefits offered, if any, from compression sleeves worn by LeBron James, alpine skiers, and ailing senior citizens. 

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LeBron James Sleeve.
LeBron James during an NBA playoff game at Quicken Loans Arena on May 26, 2015, in Cleveland.

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Listen to Episode 269 of Slate’s The Gist:

gist_dailyemails

Today on The Gist, Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker returns for another installment of “Is That Bullshit?” Maria and Mike take a closer look at compression sleeves used by elite athletes, senior citizens, and injured folks alike.

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Plus, we talk about the U.S. military’s Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb and Russia’s Armata supertank with Rebecca Grant, the president of IRIS Independent Research and a contributor to Air Force magazine.

For the Spiel, Mike raises an eyebrow at the body count in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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Twitter: @slategist

Mike Pesca is the host of the Slate daily podcast The Gist. He also contributes reports and commentary to NPR.