Pick of the weekOur CopaFormer US soccer player Merritt Mathias (pictured above) and journalists Musa Okwonga and Julio Ricardo Varela are a fascinating team of “football/soccer time-travellers”. They trace the history of how global power has tried to influence the game and make it political. After setting the scene with musings on this year’s World Cup, they first look at the 1934 tournament in Mussolini’s Italy, which Uruguay boycotted. Hollie Richardson
YouTube and Spotify, episodes weeklyThe Rest Is Politics: Who Funds Reform?Is the future of the UK being shaped by shady donations from crypto tycoons? It’s an alarming question this four-part podcast – a collaboration between Goalhanger and the Observer – attempts to answer by digging into Reform’s funding model (as well as Nigel Farage’s own unusual finances) and examining what donors want in return. Rachel Aroesti
Widely available, episodes weeklySlander & SlayGood sport … Tracy Sandler co-hosts the Slander & Slay podcast. Photograph: PR ImageThis series from seasoned US sports reporters Tracy Sandler and Nikki Kay (pictured above right) analyses the stories that sit at the crossroads of popular culture and sport, from the NBA’s “celebrity rows” to basketball player Josh Hart’s recent decision to bring a glass of red wine to a press conference. RA
