At the 2022 IFSC Climbing Asian Championships, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed without a hijab, sending shockwaves through Iran's political establishment. Many Iranian athletes have been targeted by the country's "morality police," and driven from their homes to seek new lives, and new competition, elsewhere. Captivated by her mother’s stories of pre-revolution Iran, reporter Sanam Skelly has watched waves of her home country's unrest her entire life. Sanam travels to Germany to meet two I...
Jun 12, 2024•55 min•Ep. 46
Stanford University holds the record for most Division I NCAA titles -- which means its marching band has plenty to root for. The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band became a student-run organization in the midst of the turbulent 1960's. Decades of debauchery, irreverence, and protest ensued. The group now faces a crossroads in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the scrutiny of college hazing rituals. Can it survive? Should it? Reporter Rachel Miller-Howard interviews the members tr...
Jun 05, 2024•55 min•Ep. 45
Reporter Tommy Andres comes face-to-face with the intruder he saw in his living room. After Jermain Thompson is released from prison and agrees to sit down for an interview, Tommy begins to understand the tragic series of events that led the former wrestler on a downward trajectory and to break into the Andres' home. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple...
May 29, 2024•45 min•Ep. 44
Two lives were forever changed one night in May of 2021, when an intruder broke into the home of reporter Tommy Andres while his wife and daughters lay sleeping. After the police were called and the broken glass swept up, Andres learned that the intruder was a former college wrestling star named Jermain Thompson. In part one of The Eyes of the Fighter, Andres begins to piece together the man's story, and tries to figure out how Thompson ended up in his family room that fateful night. Listen to S...
May 22, 2024•29 min•Ep. 43
Following the bloodshed of Port Said, the families of the supporters killed in the stadium are left to mourn their loved ones and seek justice in whatever way they can. The Ultras themselves, now labeled as a terrorist organization, are left to ponder their unclear future. Reporter Kieran Morris catches up with the Ultras more than a decade after the massacre, and investigates whether a government can ever truly ban the passion of football fans. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery...
May 15, 2024•25 min•Ep. 42
Amidst the protests that swept through Egypt during the Arab Spring, an unlikely group helped tip the scales towards Democracy – soccer fans. The Ultras Ahlawy were hardcore supporters of the Cairo-based football club, Al Ahly. They were also effective in the fight to oust Egypt’s leaders. But after the attempted revolution, pro-government forces took their revenge on The Ultras in a violent attack inside the Port Said soccer stadium. In the end, dozens were killed. Reporter Kieran Morris tells ...
May 08, 2024•27 min•Ep. 41
When late NBA Commissioner David Stern arrived in Beijing, he came with a lucrative business proposal. Stern pushed for American basketball games to be broadcast on Chinese national television, introducing millions of Chinese people to inspiring NBA narratives of individual glory. As the country’s spirits rose, so did the league’s revenues. In the final installment Two Dreams, reporter Kerry Seed explores the budding partnership between China and the NBA at the turn of the millennium, before the...
May 01, 2024•24 min•Ep. 40
Former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey Morey’s ill-fated tweet in support of the 2019 Hong Kong protests sparked an existential showdown between the NBA and China, where, by some estimates, there are more basketball fans than people in the United States. In part two of Two Dreams, reporter Kerry Seed looks back at the crucial time during the 1980s when the NBA and the People’s Republic of China began to form a unique partnership. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App...
Apr 24, 2024•32 min•Ep. 39
The NBA is considered one of the most socially progressive leagues in all of sports. Yet the league's fortunes are intertwined with China, a country with a complicated history of human rights abuse allegations. The tension between these competing interests exploded into the public discourse in 2019, when then Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sent a controversial tweet during massive protests in Hong Kong, and the NBA found itself at the center of a storm. In part one of Two Dreams, re...
Apr 17, 2024•23 min•Ep. 38
The Dominican Republic produces more professional baseball players per capita than any other country in the world -- but one city in particular specializes in shortstops. Reporter Jeffrey Bissoy travels to San Pedro de Macorís to discover how the city consistently exports excellence for one of the most difficult positions in all of sports. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in...
Apr 10, 2024•35 min•Ep. 37
As mensur combatants Felix and Max prepare to fight, reporter Leo Hornack documents their training, while exploring larger questions about the sport. Leo tries to understand how such an antiquated sport still exists, and what it does for those who dare to take part in a match. But as the fight nears, police begin to infiltrate fraternities in the hopes of putting an end to mensur, placing months of training, and an ancient art at risk. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wh...
Apr 03, 2024•40 min•Ep. 36
How far would you go to prove yourself? Is there still a place in modern society for violent competition? Should frat bros carry swords? These are some of the questions surrounding Mensur, an ancient but underground form of sword fighting practiced at fraternities throughout Europe -- like "Fight Club", but with swords. In part one of this story, reporter Leo Hornack embeds with two mensur fighters in Germany as they prepare for an upcoming match. Along the way, we hear the history of the underg...
Mar 27, 2024•47 min•Ep. 35
Davy Rothbart struggles with whether to tell Allison what he's learned about the murder of her mother nearly four decades ago. He seeks out advice from an unlikely source: Allison and Davy's all-time favorite baseball player, former Detroit Tigers outfielder, Chet Lemon. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by ...
Mar 20, 2024•41 min•Ep. 34
11-year-old Chet Lemon superfan Allison cheers on the Detroit Tigers on their path to World Series glory in 1984. The team's success is a comfort for a girl whose mother was tragically murdered by a stranger in a robbery gone wrong. Nearly four decades later, Allison's friend, reporter Davy Rothbart, reaches out to the woman convicted of the crime to learn more about the tragic day that changed all of their lives. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your po...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 33
In the sixth grade, Davy Rothbart fell in love — with a girl named Allison...and Detroit Tigers outfielder Chet Lemon. It didn't hurt that Allison loved Chet Lemon at least as much as Davy did. But months into their innocent courtship, tragedy struck when Allison’s mother was shot and killed in a random robbery. More than 30 years later, unable to forget the heartbreak Allison endured, Davy goes back in time for answers to questions he couldn’t have known to ask as an 11-year-old. Listen to Spor...
Mar 06, 2024•43 min•Ep. 32
In part three of the Big Dipper, Wilt Chamberlain signs a record-breaking contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and wins L.A's first NBA title. But despite his storied career full of MVP awards and every basketball accolade imaginable, his legacy also includes well-publicized sexual exploits and a controversial alignment with conservative politics. How will one of the greatest to ever play ultimately be remembered? Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your po...
Feb 28, 2024•34 min•Ep. 31
Wilt Chamberlain goes from sideshow to superstar early in his career. But as his profile rises, so do the challenges of being a famous black athlete in the midst of the Civil Rights Era. Wilt's formative years in the NBA are spent repeatedly losing to Red Auerbach's Boston Celtics; one of the most successful dynasties in league history. In part two of the Big Dipper, Wilt's outlook and political ideologies are at odds with his rival team's biggest star, Bill Russell, making him a target for crit...
Feb 21, 2024•25 min•Ep. 30
Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest basketball player ever. This may sound like a controversial statement to some and even heresy to others, but reporters Shaun Assael and Peter Keating can prove it. They unearth archival footage, get a little help from Reddit and enlist data scientists to gather new and more accurate stats from Wilt's career. And those numbers don't lie. Tune in to part one of the incredible story of Wilt Chamberlin's life and career. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Won...
Feb 14, 2024•30 min•Ep. 29
In part two of Sneaker Con, the other shoe drops. Michael Malekzadeh’s alleged scheme comes to light and his company, Zadeh Kicks goes under. With thousands of orders left to be filled, Reporters David Gardner and Diana Moskovitz visit the former Zadeh Kick’s warehouse, and go to Michael Malekzadeh’s parent’s house looking for answers.
Feb 07, 2024•38 min•Ep. 28
Social media sensation and sneaker reseller Michael Malekzadeh helmed Zadeh Kicks, an online company that netted $6 million a month. He was at the top of his game until the U.S. Department of Justice accused Malekzadeh of running a Ponzi scheme. The unregulated sneaker reselling market is projected to reach $30 billion in sales by 2030 and everyone from common criminals, to Nike executives, to Michael Jordan’s own son have tried to secure their part of the bag. In part one of Sneaker Con, report...
Jan 31, 2024•32 min•Ep. 27
The legend of Rashun Richardson's rise to high school basketball glory crumbles, and a much older man named Sidney Gilstrap-Portley is left to pick up the pieces. What starts as a tale of deceit and second chances, turns into an introspective look at who gets to profit from someone's story. In part two of The Imposter, reporter Max Marshall concludes Richardson's saga, and catches up with the former high school star for an honest conversation. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondery A...
Jan 24, 2024•35 min•Ep. 26
In 2017, Rashun Richardson enrolled as a freshman at Hillcrest High School in Dallas. He claimed to be a Hurricane Harvey refugee from South Houston who had just lost his home, and everything else along with it. Just a few weeks later, Rashun became the star of the Hillcrest Panthers varsity basketball team, perennial losers who suddenly found themselves winning big behind an unstoppable player putting up 30, and sometimes 40 points a game. But just after the season, where Rashun was named the d...
Jan 17, 2024•41 min•Ep. 25
In part three of The Mighty Bucks, the Pinebridge Bucks try to weather the storms of a losing season, dwindling ticket sales and a steep drop in team morale. But the Buck's survival is crucial to the health of all of professional hockey, whether the owner Robert Bailey knows it or not. Could a new coach mean a fresh start for the fledgling team? Reporters Sean and Louise Flynn examine the impact of the small but mighty team hailing from deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Listen to Sports Explains...
Jan 10, 2024•52 min•Ep. 24
In part two of The Mighty Bucks, the town of Spruce Pine falls in love with the Pinebridge Bucks, even if the stands are full of novice hockey fans. The Bucks players become local celebrities around Spruce Pine, as the Bucks represent a first step and even a last hope for NHL prospects. The financial realities of fielding a professional sports team prove to be tricky, and are complicated even more by a mysterious religious cult that tries to lay claim to Robert Bailey's business. Listen to Sport...
Jan 10, 2024•45 min•Ep. 23
In 1983, Spruce Pine, North Carolina set a record for the smallest town to ever have a professional sports team, a record that remains intact to this day. In an act of perseverance and blind ambition, a remote town of only 2,000 residents ended up with a 5,000-seat hockey stadium. In part one of The Mighty Bucks, reporters Sean and Louise Flynn introduce us to Robert Bailey, a starry-eyed stove maker who knew nothing about hockey, but battled the elements and mixed expectations to build the Pine...
Jan 03, 2024•37 min•Ep. 22
In a westside suburb of Cleveland called Brecksville, nothing is more important than football. Well, football and gymnastics. The girls gymnastics team at Brecksville-Broadview Heights has won every single state title since 2002. In Dynasty: The Legend of the Brecksville Bees, reporter Nina Mandell looks back at how the team rose to dominance— starting with the Ganims, an unlikely coaching family, and reveals why the incredible pressure the gymnasts are under this season is a 10 out of 10....
Dec 27, 2023•36 min•Ep. 21
After budget cuts put the fate of the Quinnipiac University women’s volleyball team in jeopardy, the players dug in against an unlikely opponent: competitive cheerleading. The battle didn’t take place on a court, though. It took place IN one. In 2009, the volleyballers, along with the ACLU, sued to have cheerleading officially nixed as an NCAA sport. Their cause was backed by a major corporation that claimed to own cheerleading. In part two of Cheering For Themselves, Reporters Rose Eveleth and ...
Dec 20, 2023•27 min•Ep. 20
In the early 2000s, a group of coaches banded together to try to make cheerleading an official NCAA varsity sport. But it turns out that was no small feat. The torchbearers faced sexism, disrespect, and a powerful corporation hell-bent on keeping cheerleaders on the sidelines. In part one of Cheering For Themselves, reporters Rose Eveleth and Lisa Pollak tell the story of a group of students and parents who went to the mat to develop cheerleading into a recognized sport.
Dec 13, 2023•29 min•Ep. 19
Yao Ming was the number one pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, and he came in with the hope of the entire country of China behind him. Basketball had become a hugely successful American export in the country, and Ming was the face of the confluence between cultures and continents. But after his playing career ended, Ming flipped the script, bringing a talented but largely unproven coach from the US to China to head up the Shanghai Sharks, a professional basketball team Ming bought in 2009. Reporter Ker...
Dec 06, 2023•53 min•Ep. 18
After suffering sanctions and scrutiny, the Howard University soccer team rises to the top again, earning another chance to play for the national championship in 1974. A win would be redemption for the Bison, who believe they were targeted unfairly. Reporter Mark Wright dives back into the story with five decades of hindsight to examine the NCAA's decision to strip the Bison of their 1971 title.
Nov 29, 2023•42 min•Ep. 17
