Beyond the Wall: Football and the Struggle for a Free Palestine
July 25, 2014
As the World Cup 2014 knockout rounds progressed, the bombs began to fall in Gaza. The latest Israeli campaign against the Palestinians has, as of this writing, devastated homes, schools, hospitals, and has killed over 800 Palestinians – including four boys playing soccer on the beach. Football holds a special significance for the Palestinian people.…
The People’s Game Podcast #36 – 7/18/14
July 19, 2014On the final podcast of The People’s Game 2014, Alan and Meleiza share their final reflections on the World Cup as a social text, its political implications, and of course, our favorite soccer memories across the 64 games played on the field. We also feature a final conversation between Margaret Prescod and Coach Mickey; and…
The People’s Game Podcast #35 – 7/16/14
July 17, 2014On today’s show, two of the foremost academics who study the significance of global football join Alan and Meleiza. Laurent Dubois reflects on the dynamically surprising 2014 World Cup, and shares his experiences as an active member of the futbol Twittersphere. Robert Edelman, one of the world’s preeminent sports historians and a Russia scholar, looks…
The People’s Game Broadcast Episode #7 – 7/16/14
July 17, 2014In our final national broadcast episode, we ponder our collective experience of this extraordinary tournament. German partisan Elaine Teng and Argentine fan Karen Anzoategui reflect on Sunday’s final; plus three of the leading radical English-language commentators on global football – Andrei Markovits, Robert Edelman, and Laurent Dubois – offer their insights on this year’s World…
The People’s Game Podcast #34 – 7/15/14
July 16, 2014It’s Tuesday after the final, and the World Cup withdrawal coma is starting to set in. But if we can’t have more futbol, then we’ll just keep talking about futbol. Alan and Meleiza reflect on why the World Cup is such a monumental planetary event, and the stuff of so many dreams. KPFK’s Margaret Prescod…
One Way of Saying No: Red Presnia’s Spartak Moscow
July 15, 2014In 2018, the World Cup’s next stop is in Russia, a country with a great radical tradition, but one with layers of contradictions – many of them embodied by the Spartak Moscow football club. As historian Robert Edelman writes: “Spartak Moscow emerged from the rough proletarian Presnia district of Moscow and spent much of its…
The People’s Game Podcast #33 – 7/14/14
July 15, 2014On today’s podcast, we collectively reflect on the World Cup on the day after the carnival, not entirely ready for it to be over. First, we speak to Elaine Teng, who talks about what it was like to be in southern Germany when the German national team won the World Cup. People’s Game Argentina correspondent…
Socialism Conquers the World!
July 14, 2014The People’s Game: A Final Reflection
July 14, 2014A final reflection on this year’s World Cup: Global football is a historical product; it has been shaped from its beginnings by multiple forces, shot through with politics, culture, pathos and pride. And, like all other social phenomena, it has two sides; it has always been a contested terrain. Thus, though not always, if you…
The People’s Game Podcast #32 – 7/13/14
July 14, 2014The brilliant, collaborative, whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts German national team won the World Cup on Sunday. This is the product of Germany recognizing the need to allocate resources to build an institution valued by the entire society. Germany has the most coherent, well-funded national soccer program in the world, and it should be no surprise that they just…