45 episodes

Sports Explains the World unveils some of the wildest and most surprising sports stories you’ve never heard. And they’re all true. From the unemployed history teacher turned CIA agent and Uganda national basketball coach, to the teenager who invented a mythical athlete…then watched him sign a million-dollar deal, these stories will amaze and move you at every turn. From award-winning journalists across the globe, Sports Explains the World reveals the human side of sports in provocative and unusual ways. Whether you’ve ever thrown a spiral or been in one, prepare to experience the action on and off the field from an unexpected – and sometimes shocking – vantage point.

Enjoy Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Get started with your free trial at Wondery.com/plus.

Sports Explains the World Wondery

    • Sport

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Sports Explains the World unveils some of the wildest and most surprising sports stories you’ve never heard. And they’re all true. From the unemployed history teacher turned CIA agent and Uganda national basketball coach, to the teenager who invented a mythical athlete…then watched him sign a million-dollar deal, these stories will amaze and move you at every turn. From award-winning journalists across the globe, Sports Explains the World reveals the human side of sports in provocative and unusual ways. Whether you’ve ever thrown a spiral or been in one, prepare to experience the action on and off the field from an unexpected – and sometimes shocking – vantage point.

Enjoy Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Get started with your free trial at Wondery.com/plus.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Ultras | Part ll

    Ultras | Part ll

    This episode comes out for free on 05/15, and is available early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers.

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    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.

    Ultras | Part l

    Ultras | Part l

    This episode comes out for free on 05/08, and is available early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers.

    Sign up on http://wondery.fm/applepodcasts and stay up-to-date on the latest new podcasts and more from Wondery.

    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 the story of when sports and politics collide.

    Listen Now: Once Upon a Beat

    Listen Now: Once Upon a Beat

    Get ready to hear your favorite stories remixed with beats and hooks that you can’t find in books!




    In Once Upon a Beat, host DJ Fyütch and his sidekick/turntable Baby Scratch drop the needle on classic stories, spinning them up with a hip-hop twist. They’re turning the tables on your favorite fables – putting the Rap in Rapunzel, letting Goldilocks rock out, and helping the Ugly Duckling march to his own beat! Where hip hop and fables meet, It's Once Upon a Beat!




    Listen to new episodes of Once Upon a Beat here.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 7 min
    Two Dreams: China and the NBA | Part III

    Two Dreams: China and the NBA | Part III

    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 infamous Daryl Morey tweet.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 23 min
    Two Dreams: China and the NBA | Part II

    Two Dreams: China and the NBA | Part II

    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.







    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 31 min

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