Podcast / Edge of Sports / Mar 11, 2025

Mapping a US Men’s Soccer Revolution 

On this episode of Edge of Sports, Robert Wilson joins the show to discuss his recent work, A Football Manifesto.

Colorado Rapids forward Kevin Cabral (91) looks for an open man during MLS game between the Colorado Rapids and Austin FC on March 8, 2025 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX.

(John Rivera / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

This week, we speak to US-born, Rio de Janeiro–based visionary Robert Wilson, whose short volume A Football Manifesto is a brilliant excavation of the systemic, structural problems in US men’s soccer and a radical fan-centric approach to radical change. It’s not just a diagnosis. It’s a wholly original cure.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Your support makes stories like this possible

From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

Dave Zirin

Dave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation. He is the author of 11 books on the politics of sports. He is also the coproducer and writer of the new documentary Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL.

More from The Nation

Prediction Markets Want to Financialize Everything—With Jathan Sadowski 

Prediction Markets Want to Financialize Everything—With Jathan Sadowski  Prediction Markets Want to Financialize Everything—With Jathan Sadowski 

Polymarket and Kalshi are everywhere. But what are they doing to society? 

Paris Marx

Extraction Behind the Green Transition—With Thea Riofrancos

Extraction Behind the Green Transition—With Thea Riofrancos Extraction Behind the Green Transition—With Thea Riofrancos

Danny and Derek welcome back to the show political scientist Thea Riofrancos to talk about the politics of extraction in the global energy transition. 

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

Winning State Legislatures and Winning Midterm Elections

Winning State Legislatures and Winning Midterm Elections Winning State Legislatures and Winning Midterm Elections

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Daniel Squadron argues that state governments provide the key check on Trump, and John Nichols reviews the political landscape.

Jon Wiener

Students marching in the “No Kings” rally in Burlington, Vermont.

Building Local Power to Win—With Dan Denvir Building Local Power to Win—With Dan Denvir

Aaron and Jonathan talk to Dan Denvir about his local organizing project, Reclaim RI.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and President Trump at the White House on April 6, 2026.

The CIA’s Assassination Campaign in Mexico The CIA’s Assassination Campaign in Mexico

Alexander Aviña on Trump’s new imperialism in Latin America.

Jeet Heer

Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown, CIA Mexico Strike

Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown, CIA Mexico Strike Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown, CIA Mexico Strike

Danny and Derek fight fake news as they fight their allergies. 

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

x