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Who Is This World Cup For?
As Vancouver gears up for the World Cup, Downtown Eastside residents are being displaced from their homes, and the city is deploying its largest police…
Jun 1
•
Sharon Nadeem
21
1
7
May 2026
Episode 3: Pussy Riot and Putin’s World Cup
Listen now | Vladimir Putin seized the 2018 World Cup as a chance to reintroduce Russia on the global stage. Pussy Riot, an infamous Russian feminist…
May 29
•
Karim Zidan
and
Elie Bleier
8
4
1
45:54
Episode 2: Pelé, the Dirty Wars, and the Monster in the Streets
In the first episode of Power Plays, we explained how the 1934 World Cup became a fascist spectacle. Episode 2 travels to the 1970s, an era when FIFA…
May 25
•
Karim Zidan
and
Elie Bleier
9
2
3
39:10
The Pyramid Problem
Turki al-Sheikh rented the Pyramids of Giza for his gaudy boxing spectacle. But his soft power attempt was flawed. What we learned was that, while Saudi…
May 24
•
Karim Zidan
25
4
5
Episode 1: The Fascist World Cup
Listen now | The first episode of Power Plays traces how Benito Mussolini transformed the 1934 World Cup into a global showcase for fascist power.
May 21
•
Karim Zidan
and
Elie Bleier
22
1
6
30:56
Announcing Power Plays S01: The authoritarian history of the FIFA World Cup
After the success of In the Red Corner, I have once again joined forces with the talented Elie Bleier on a new narrative series about the authoritarian…
May 20
•
Karim Zidan
and
Elie Bleier
11
1
2
1:55
Lamine Yamal did nothing wrong
Barcelona’s teenage star raised a Palestinian flag during the team’s celebratory parade, prompting Israel’s defence minister to claim he was inciting…
May 15
•
Karim Zidan
23
5
Red Card: An excerpt from Jules Boykoff's new book on the 2026 FIFA World Cup
In an excerpt from his new book, Jules Boykoff argues that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is "Trump’s principal accomplice when it comes to…
May 12
•
Jules Boykoff
16
2
2
The UFC champ who sold his soul
Khamzat Chimaev’s story is no longer that of a fearless contender rising to greatness, but of a gifted fighter diminished into a warlord’s prized pet—a…
May 8
•
Karim Zidan
88
3
18
FIFA's Theatre of Unity
Despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino's insistence that "football unites the world," the reality behind the theatre of unity was hard to ignore…
May 3
•
Sharon Nadeem
19
1
6
April 2026
The Saudi Sports Bubble is Bursting
The US-Israel war on Iran, and the subsequent fallout in the Middle East, has jeopardized Saudi's sports ambitions and raised concerns that the…
Apr 23
•
Karim Zidan
37
3
8
Trump’s Colosseum
For years, Trump has used UFC appearances to burnish his image and drown out scandal. Now, as war with Iran drags on with no end in sight, he’s once…
Apr 12
•
Karim Zidan
23
3
5
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