Science Weekly: heat stroke, sports washing, and the psychology of VAR: the science of the World Cup – podcast

Jun 4, 2026 21 min

About this episode

It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To celebrate, Madeleine Finlay sits down with Ian Sample to discuss the science behind the tournament. It’s set to be one of the hottest World Cups on record and a group of scientists has written to Fifa asking them to reconsider their heat mitigations for players and referees. Dr Oliver Gibson of Brunel University outlines their concerns. Also on the agenda is the huge fossil fuel impact of this tournament, and the impact of VAR on the psychology of referees, and fans. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/footballweeklypod">theguardian.com/footballweeklypod</a>. Watch us on YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast">https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast</a>

Listen to this episode in English to learn English

Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Science Weekly: heat stroke, sports washing, and the psychology of VAR: the science of the World Cup – podcast from Football Weekly gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.

In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.

Episodes to Learn English

More podcasts in English