Hey, we are back, everybody. Thanks so much for listening. We close at the final half hour by talking about something that's going to be capturing the headlines shortly as we get set to the spring slash summer beginning in June and ending in July.

In the middle of that we celebrate a 250th birthday and that is the World Cup. A guy that does not need an explanation or a calendar to figure out what's happening is the author of how soccer explains the world

and unlikely theory of globalization. It's got a brand new preface covering the 2026 World Cup.

Franklin Four, author joins us now. Franklin, welcome. Hey, great to be here. All right, first off,

are you pumped up for the World Cup as a fan? Are you so dug into each team and what they bring

to the table?

You can't take a step back. No, of course. I mean, this is, this is mana for heaven for a soccer fan. It's going to be an interesting tournament because it's a much bigger field than they normally

have for a World Cup. They've expanded it. It's spread across three countries. But, you know, it's, for me, this is a spectacle that transfixes me every four years.

I do everything I can to avoid having to do my day job so that I can consume as much as possible.

Because, you know, as I wrote about in the book, the stakes are high, right? It's not just about

the game on the field. There's always some other subtext in the rivalries where politics and

history come into it or subtext within individual countries where, I mean, we could take,

we could talk about Iran, for instance, which is like a fascinating story I wrote

about in my book, and it extends up and through the president. We aren't even sure if Iran is coming

to this World Cup. But if they do, you know, fans back home in Iran are watching, you know,

presumably, hopefully, you know, God willing, they'll have access to the internet and access to

televisions to be able to watch these games. And the Iranian soccer team represents something

other than the Islamic Republic. It represents a tradition of nationalism that goes back that's

much more secular. And every time Iran has entered the World Cup, there tends to be protests

that take place that are, you know, because the whole world is watching, and because fans have this safety in a stadium. You have diaspora fans from Los Angeles who presumably will be coming into watch these games. They'll be able to hold up signs. There's a sense of solidarity with the outside world. And that's just one example to me of how, you know, as somebody who

is interested in both politics and soccer, there's this tapestry on display that I just can't

resist. Absolutely, Franklin. So first off, if Iran says no, did we have another team slide in there?

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