Jacobin Radio: World Cup Controversy w/ David Goldblatt

Suzi talks to Alan Minsky and Meleiza Figueroa, creators and hosts of The People’s Game podcast, to get their unique perspectives on the 2022 Qatari World Cup. This is much more than soccer, but there is that too. They combine on-the-field analysis with discussions of the political, economic, and cultural subtexts of the World Cup—its intersection with climate, sport, society, rebellion, and everything else. This World Cup is all superlatives: the biggest sports spectacle in the world, with more people watching than ever. It is also the most expensive ever, by a long shot. The Qatari government has spent a staggering $250 billion building and remodeling the city for the event, a giant investment using sports for political influence.

Alan and Meleiza then talk to David Goldblatt, author of The Age of Football: Soccer and the 21st Century about his recent article in the London Review of Books that explores the political messaging and many controversies of this World Cup. We see the brave protests and athletes sporting armbands expressing solidarity with women and the LGBTQ community. Less visible is Qatar’s migrant labor force working in searing heat to build literally everything on temporary work visas, without rights, adequate pay, or decent housing.

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.