• Kick Off: The World Cup, But Not Really
    May 12 2026
    The World Cup, But Not Really is the football podcast for people who love football, and the people who don't. Host's Rune Pedersen and Stefan Delatovic dive into the fascinating world that surrounds the game: the chants and the emotions, the stories off the pitch, jersey culture, a blind women's team taking to the field, and so much more. From the weird and the quirky to the deeply human, each episode explores what football really means, to the fans, the communities, and the cultures it touches around the world. Dive in if you're as into culture as you are into the beautiful game, or if you're just drawn to the strange, the curious, and the stories that don't usually make the highlights reel.
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    2 mins
  • Why The World Loves Football
    May 15 2026
    Meet two culture nerds, Rune and Stefan - one who has always loved football, the other who can't kick a ball - and find out why they're making a podcast together about the world's biggest sporting event. They'll be talking to fans and players about what makes the World Cup unlike anything else, the way it suspends normal life, defines eras, and pulls people together under one flag. And Stefan introduces Rune to Paul the Octopus - the clairvoyant German octopus who correctly predicted eight out of eight matches at the 2010 World Cup, survived death threats from losing nations, and has never truly been replaced.
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    12 mins
  • Why We Chant
    May 29 2026
    Rune makes the case that football chants are one of humanity’s greatest and loudest communal art forms. Stefan, meanwhile, would prefer if everyone just sat down and used their indoor voices. Joining them is Jorge Knijnik, Brazilian-Australian academic and lifelong football devotee, and Caroline Carnegie, CEO of Melbourne Victory, to unpack why chanting isn't just noise. It's belonging, carnival, and controlled war all at once. Learn how fans, stadiums, and police make sure the few who cross the line don't define the many who are simply there to sing. Along the way, Rune traces the Aussie Aussie Aussie chant back to Cornish pasty sellers, and follows a Gloria Gaynor disco track through Dutch pop music to the streets of Paris. This episode is about what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself, and how chanting is how we get there.
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    25 mins