American Fiasco

American Fiasco episodes:

• 06.11.2018

  Bonus Episode with Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics Radio

  After chronicling the rise and fall of the 1998 U.S. national team, Roger Bennett -- like Marty McFly in Back to the Future -- jumps into the DeLorean, sets the coordinates for present day, and blasts through space and time to return...

  
• 06.11.2018

  Episode 10: Injury Time

  What do you do after you’ve just crashed and burned in a World Cup? That’s what the entire 1998 U.S. Men’s National Team was asking themselves, including the coach. The day after the team lost to Yugoslavia in its third and...

  
• 06.11.2018

  Episode 9: The World Cup Ends

  So far, the 1998 World Cup was going pretty badly for the U.S. men’s national team. They’d just played the Germans, losing 2-0 when they’d been counting on a tie. The next two games, against Iran and Yugoslavia respectively, now...

  
• 06.11.2018

  Episode 8: The World Cup Begins

  On June 15, 1998, the U.S. men’s national team was waiting to kick off their first World Cup game. The players warmed up in the tunnel before taking the field at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. Their German opponents...

  
• 06.11.2018

  Episode 7: The Chateau

  When the U.S. men’s national team departed JFK International Airport for France on June 5, 1998, many players assumed they were headed straight into the heart of World Cup action. Fourteen hours later, they arrived in the middle of nowhere. It’s common...

  
• 06.11.2018

  Episode 6: Final Roster

  The U.S. men’s national team had done it. They’d qualified for the 1998 World Cup. Now it was time to find out which teams they would face. The World Cup draw determines the matchups for the tournament’s first round, the so-called...

  
• 06.05.2018

  #11: Little Umbrella People

  Guest host Jordan Carlos is filling in for Michelle this week – and he’s got some BIG opinions on weather gear. He is joined by comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham for a thoughtful conversation about his upcoming movie Eighth Grade...

  
• 06.04.2018

  Bonus Episode with Big Cat (Dan Katz) of Barstool Sports

  Does soccer deserve our love? If there’s one person host Roger Bennett has to convince, it’s Dan “Big Cat” Katz of Barstool Sports. The self-described “epitome of the American sports fan” argues, “What’s more American than hating soccer?”

  
• 06.04.2018

  Episode 5: Captain for Life

  Two months before the 1998 World Cup, captain John Harkes is abruptly kicked off the national team. The reason for Harkes’ departure is kept under wraps. Twenty years later, the team opens up about what really happened.

  
• 06.04.2018

  Episode 4: Decisions, Decisions

  Fresh off their impressive showing at the Copa America tournament, the U.S. team was feeling ready to take on the world. Or, more specifically, the World Cup. That was coming up in 1998 and the players were primed to begin...

  
• 06.04.2018

  Episode 3: We’ll Always Have Paysandu

  What do you get when you put 22 soccer players on a plane headed to South America? A labor standoff with their bosses, and a team turning into a band of brothers. Plus: Expectations soar after the 1995 Copa América...

  
• 06.04.2018

  Episode 2: Steve

  Meet Steve Sampson: the all-American regular guy who was plucked from obscurity to become interim head coach of the national squad. From living on a couch to leading the U.S. into battle, how an unlikely placeholder coach with no international...

  
• 06.04.2018

  Episode 1: The Dream (On) Team

  At the end of the Dark Age of Soccer in the United States, when the world’s favorite sport was a punchline, there came a ray of light: The U.S. was chosen to host the 1994 World Cup. Roger Bennett of Men...

  
• 05.24.2018

  How Not To Win The World Cup

  Coming June 4: Join host Roger Bennett of Men in Blazers for this true tale of the U.S. men's soccer team's quest to conquer the 1998 World Cup. American Fiasco is a 12-part series based on over 30 interviews with...

  
• 05.24.2018

  A Word From Rog

  Long before Men in Blazers, Roger Bennett was just a kid growing up in Liverpool with contradictory obsessions: soccer and America. He moved to the U.S. just in time to witness the sudden rise of the U.S. men's national team...