2/2: The Eurovision Song Contest - Campy, Chaotic and Completely Serious

2/2: The Eurovision Song Contest - Campy, Chaotic and Completely Serious

Author: Philipp Gollner May 13, 2026 Duration: 54:27
Eurovision has many things that soccer does - underdogs, spectacular collapses, bloc loyalties, political scores settled through performance, and a continent watching the same spectacle at the same time. And this year, the Eurovision Song Contest, a live-for-TV music contest with continent-wide public voting, is happening in Vienna, this coming weekend. Why there? Austria won it last year. Here is a primer of, a short debate about, and a quiz about the Song Contest. And an outlook on how this...

Hosted by Philipp Gollner, The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History. is for those who feel the sport’s true depth lies far beyond the final score. This podcast digs into the rich soil from which the global game grows: the local histories, fan subcultures, and political undercurrents that shape its unique character, especially when viewed from an American perspective. Each episode functions like a seminar, with a different expert joining as a "visiting professor" to guide a deep, critical exploration of a specific topic. You’ll hear discussions that treat soccer not just as a spectacle, but as a powerful lens on society, place, and travel. The conversations are unafraid to examine the sport’s role within larger systems, including its operation as a massive commercial enterprise. It’s a European-guided journey through the complexities of the world’s game, designed for listeners who already love soccer but crave a more substantive understanding of its cultural weight and historical echoes. Tune in for a thoughtful, academic-adjacent treatment that connects the dots between the pitch and the wider world.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History.
Podcast Episodes
"Lost a Bet:" Soccer, Gambling, Addiction - and the Power of Recovery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:54
Thomas Melchior placed his first soccer bet in 2005. He was addicted to gambling for 13 years, and imprisoned for the crimes he committed in his addiction. Now, he stands in front of stadiums on gamedays around Europe to…
Soccer History is American History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:30
In the US, the big soccer boom is always supposedly around the corner. The most recent example: right now, in the lead-up to next year's World Cup. But that waiting until the beautiful game is the "number 1 sport in the…
No More BS: It's Boycotts this time, at West Ham [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:21
It's a fall of unrest in East London again. Hammers United, the largest organized fan group at West Ham United, has so far refrained from calling on members of the board or the CEO to resign. Until now. They have launche…