As the World Cup kicks off, what can soccer tell us about the state of the world?

Franklin Foer, author of “How Soccer Explains the World,” joins the show to discuss why the world's most popular sport remains one of the best lenses for understanding nationalism, globalization, identity, and political power. More than twenty years after the book's original publication, Foer reflects on how globalization reshaped the game, why national identity remains a powerful force, and what the World Cup reveals about today's geopolitical landscape.

Topics covered:

Why globalization often strengthened nationalism rather than weakened it
The possibility of a U.S.-Iran World Cup showdown on American soil
The roles of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the growing intersection of sports and geopolitics
President Trump’s relationship with FIFA

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Transcript here.

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