This week's podcast has a special episode: It's Episode 1 of Throwback, SI's new podcast series on the untold stories of legendary sports moments. This season is on the first FIFA women's World Cup in 1991 and the fascinating U.S. team that played in it. It's an origin story on how the USWNT got started in the mid-1980s and how FIFA finally got its act together and began staging a women's world championship. Interviewees include Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Carin Gabarra, Anson Dorrance, Kristine Lilly, April Heinrichs, Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, Caitlin Murray, Jean Williams, Linda Medalen, Ellen Wille and Sepp Blatter. SUBSCRIBE to Throwback to listen to the next four episodes, which drop every Thursday through June 6.

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Grant has a fun discussion with John Strong, the lead play-by-play voice of Fox Soccer, about what it’s like to reach your professional life goals in your early 30s, why he took singing lessons for work, his thoughts on MLS and this summer’s Gold Cup, and what it’s like to share the same name with a prominent adult film actor.

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Grant has a wide-ranging conversation with one of the biggest stars of U.S. soccer media, Adriana Monsalve of Univision Deportes. They talk about her recent donation of a kidney to her brother, Adrián; her thoughts on the big soccer events in 2019; her favorite career moments; the progress of that career from being the lead singer of a musical group to her current status as one of the most respected sports broadcasters in America; and her response to the ongoing turmoil in her native Venezuela. 

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Grant chats with longtime Seattle Sounders beat writer Matt Pentz of The Athletic about his new book, The Sound and the Glory: How the Seattle Sounders Showed Major League Soccer How to Win Over America. Pentz explains how the Sounders became the blueprint for MLS to feel truly "major league" in their city, which has been followed since then by others like Atlanta United and LAFC.

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In a special podcast, Grant moderates a panel discussion at the International Champions Cup launch in New York City with five members of the 1994 U.S. men's World Cup team: Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna, Tab Ramos and Cobi Jones. They discuss not just the story and the influence of that '94 USMNT team, but also their thoughts on American soccer today. 

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Grant interviews the fascinating Gary O'Reilly, who had a 14-year pro career with Tottenham, Brighton and Crystal Palace and scored a goal for Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final against Manchester United. O'Reilly discusses his varied career and how he got into media, including as a co-host these days for the podcast "Playing With Science."

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Grant has a wide-ranging conversation with Peter Vermes, the manager and sporting director of Sporting Kansas City, the only MLS team to reach the semifinals of this year's CONCACAF Champions League. They talk about the special preparations that Sporting made to get ready for CCL (including hyperbaric chambers and a special dispensation from the MLS Players Union), the advantages of controlling the entire soccer side for SKC and his thoughts on the U.S. men's national team under new coach Gregg Berhalter.

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Grant speaks with University of Michigan professor Andy Markovits about his new book “Women In American Soccer and European Football: Different Roads To Shared Glory.”

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Grant speaks to JP Dellacamera of Fox Sports about his preparations for this summer’s women’s World Cup and to Ben Mackriell of OptaPro about what U.S. Soccer and MLS are doing these days in soccer data analytics.

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Grant sits down for a fun conversation with Julie Stewart-Binks, whom American soccer fans got to know as a terrific host and sideline reporter for Fox Sports and ESPN. She fills me in on what she’s doing now, including New York City standup comedy, and why returning to regular soccer work may be in her future as well.

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