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.
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