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  • 58 | UFC Freedom 250 & US Imperialism

    58 | UFC Freedom 250 & US Imperialism
    2026/07/04
    Miguel was joined on the Sports As A Weapon podcast by Dr. Gerald Horne and Anthony “Tony” Ballas to discuss the June 14, 2026 UFC “Freedom 250” event that was staged as an imperialist political spectacle by Donald Trump and Dana White. Dr. Horne, Anthony, and Miguel framed the spectacle as US imperial theater echoing “bread and circuses” and even late-stage Roman Empire decline. Additionally, Dr. Horne, Anthony, and Miguel discussed the parallels between Dana White and historic boxing promoters, fighter labor exploitation, and the event being used as a propaganda tool for US patriotism and militarization. Also, Miguel posed the question of alleged match-fixing amid the wider boom in sports gambling, crypto payments, and prediction markets, including the alleged leaked viral Twitter exchange between former UFC fighter and now commentator Daniel Cormier and Eric Trump. In the leaked message, Eric Trump sought insider betting information ahead of the UFC event. The episode conversation also links these dynamics to finance capital, media consolidation, and the crisis of US imperialism. Miguel, Dr. Horne, and Anthony also examined the UFC’s new partnership with an AI military startup called Anduril and the normalization of AI within culture and warfare. To conclude the podcast, they discussed Dr. Horne and Anthony’s article on Whiteness, Jake Paul, and the crisis of US Imperialism.Gerald Horne is John Jay and Rebecca Moors Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. Dr. Horne is the author of 50 books, including The BitterSweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing. His latest book is The Counter-Revolution Of 1893: The Hawaii Coup and the Roots of U.S. Imperialism in the Asia-Pacific Basin. Anthony Ballas is an organizer with NFEE Local 4935. He is also a PhD student in Literature at Duke University. His work appears in Monthly Review, Protean Magazine, Caribbean Quarterly, 3:AM Magazine, Truthout, Middle West Review, CounterPunch, Scalawag Magazine, Peace, Land and Bread Magazine, and elsewhere. He is also the host of the De Facto Podcast and co-host of Cold War Cinema. Links:* Follow Dr. Gerald Horne on Facebook * Black & Red — 40th Anniversary Edition by Dr. Gerald Horne (Pre-order) * Slave Trade and the Roots of U.S. Imperialism by Dr. Gerald Horne (Pre-order) * De Facto Podcast with Anthony Ballas * The Cold War Cinema Podcast with Jason Christian, Anthony Ballas, & Paul T. Klein * TKO and Anduril Announce Partnership Across UFC and Zuffa Boxing/UFC.com * Eric Trump Accused of Seeking UFC Fight Intel, Calls It ‘Completely Fake by Eric Fisher/Front Office Sports * Shadowboxing with Ghosts: Whiteness, Jake Paul, and the Crisis of U.S. Imperialism by Dr. Gerald Horne and Anthony Ballas/The Black Agenda Report * What American Fascism Has Already Looked Like by Dr. Gerald Horne and Anthony Ballas/PLB Magazine * Gerald Horne Around The Horne: America 250 July 4th Anniversary, Birthright Citizenship & Juneteenth/Activist News Network (YouTube)Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow us on:Twitter/X: @sportsasaweaponFacebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcastInstagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcastUpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeaponYouTube: @SportsAsAWeaponBlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.socialVisit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    57 分
  • 57 | Hands Off Cuba!

    57 | Hands Off Cuba!
    2026/06/18

    On this episode of the Sports As A Weapon Podcast, Miguel interviews Hakim Jihad and Wells Todd of the US Hands Off Cuba Committee about a recent youth and labor delegation to Cuba. Hakim and Wells Todd discussed the meetings the delegation had with Cuban mass organizations such as CENESEX (Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual), participation in May Day marches, and visits to clinics and Havana’s Calixto García hospital to deliver medical aid amid shortages and blackouts they attribute to the US blockade and new oil restrictions.

    Hakim and Wells respond to the Fox News coverage on the delegation and Cuba by arguing that Cuba is framed as a “national security threat” because of post-revolution gains in healthcare, education, LGBTQ rights, and pharmaceuticals, including vaccines and other treatments. Miguel, Hakim and Wells Todd also discuss signs they believe indicate possible US military escalation or even invasion, address the push by the Trump administration to indict Raúl Castro tied to Brothers to the Rescue flights, and outline Hands Off Cuba’s current priorities in their Jacksonville chapter and nationally: “No War on Cuba” organizing, humanitarian aid efforts, and the Let Cuba Play campaign to make sure Cuban athletes can obtain Visas and participate at the 2028 Olympic Games.

    Links:

    * Hands Off Cuba Committee Website

    * Let Cuba Play Campaign Website

    * Cuba Denounces Devastating Impact of U.S. Blockade on Childhood at UNICEF/teleSUR English

    * Why Students From the U.S. and Around the World Study Medicine in Cuba/Belly of the Beast Cuba (YouTube Video)

    * Coalition Demands ICE-Free World Cup / Cuba activists educate at Los Angeles World Cup / Radio Habana Cuba

    * Why Is the U.S. Targeting Raúl Castro Now? / Belly of the Beast Cuba (YouTube Video)

    * Anti-Fascist Football Coalition Website: https://peoplescenteredhumanrights.com/move-the-games/

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
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    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
    YouTube: @SportsAsAWeapon
    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    43 分
  • 56 | Mexico, US Imperialism and The 2026 World Cup

    56 | Mexico, US Imperialism and The 2026 World Cup
    2026/06/04

    Miguel is joined by Alexander Aviña — associate professor of Latin American and Mexican history at Arizona State University and author of Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside — for a deep conversation where fútbol and imperialism collide. First, Alexander breaks down Mexico’s World Cup-hosting history, linking the 1970 tournament to the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre and 1986 to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and public jeering of PRI presidents, while noting protests during 1986 and Sócrates’ solidarity gestures as Maradona worked his magic on the pitch. They compare those political tensions to the upcoming 2026 tournament. Alexander and Miguel also break down the younger, Liga MX and Euro club-heavy Selección Nacional Mexicana roster, what home-field advantage at Azteca could mean, and why FIFA's hyper capitalist grip on this tournament — from displaced vendors and street workers in Mexico City to $30,000 World Cup final tickets in the US — has both Miguel and Alexander feeling less excited about this World Cup than any before.

    Miguel and Alexander also dig into the CNN and New York Times reporting on CIA-linked assassination operations targeting cartel figures on Northern Mexican soil, asking whether the line between intelligence sharing and outright foreign intervention has already been crossed. They also break down Mexico's Ministry of Public Education, reversing its plan to end the school year early for the World Cup, the US State Department's announced review of all 53 Mexican consulates and the far-right conspiracy theory behind it, and the broader Trump administration push to install a right-wing political order across Latin America — from Venezuela to Cuba to Mexico.

    Lastly, Miguel and Alexander discuss the contradictions of being a politically conscious Fútbol fan: rooting hard for El Tri while critiquing the mega-event capitalist FIFA machine hosted in the imperial core.

    Links:

    * Specters of Revolution by Alex Aviña

    * Cursed? Always let down? Whatever the truth, Mexican support is unconditional -The Athletic

    * Mexico agrees to host Iran at World Cup instead of US - BBC Sport

    * U.S. and Mexican Officials Deny C.I.A. Had Lethal Role in Mexico Operation - New York Times

    * State Department reviewing all Mexican consulates in U.S. as tensions grow - CBS News

    * Ministry of Education Backtracks; Social Pressure Derails Plan to End School Year Early - Mexico Solidarity Media

    * President Sheinbaum Calls on US Ambassador to Limit Himself to Bilateral Coordination & Collaboration - Mexico Solidarity Media

    * Anti-Fascist Football Coalition Website

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
    Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
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    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    1 時間 10 分
  • 55 | No 2026 World Cup for Ge****de

    55 | No 2026 World Cup for Ge****de
    2026/05/05

    Miguel is joined by Dana DuBari (national co-coordinator, Black Alliance for Peace Solidarity Network) and returning guest Robert Wilson (author of The Football Manifesto and Club Handbook) about the Anti-Fascist Football Coalition and its boycott campaign for FIFA to move World Cup 2026 matches from the U.S. Dana explains the coalition’s origins in 2025 through the North South Project’s people-centered human rights framework and outlines a two-phase strategy moving from mass outreach to coordinated on-the-ground resistance in World Cup host cities; citing concerns about militarization, ICE presence, travel restrictions, and safety.

    Additionally, Miguel, Robert, and Dana discuss FIFA’s preferential treatment of the U.S. and Israel compared with past bans of other countries, Robert discusses the parallels to Brazil’s World Cup/Olympics experience, and Dana also discusses organizing examples like Kansas City's opposition to a new jail tied to the tournament.

    * Anti-Fascist Football Coalition Website: https://peoplescenteredhumanrights.com/move-the-games/

    * Endorse the Campaign: http://bit.ly/EndorseNow

    Join the Global Network for the Advancement of People(s)-Centered Human Rights: http://bit.ly/GNPCHR

    * Join the Anti-Fascist Football Coalition!
    Contact Dana at solidarity@blackallianceforpeace.com

    * FIFA could make billions from the World Cup. Texas host cities will get little in return by Dylan McGuinness/The Texas Tribune

    * Hotels in U.S. World Cup host cities claim underwhelming demand, new report says by Henry Bushnell and Adam Crafton/The Athletic

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
    Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
    YouTube: @SportsAsAWeapon
    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    1 時間 1 分
  • 54 | Iran and World Cup

    54 | Iran and World Cup
    2026/04/12

    Miguel is joined by returning guest Adnan Husain, professor of Medieval Studies and Chair of Religious Studies at Queens College and host of The Adnan Husain Show and co-host of Guerilla History, to discuss the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran. Miguel and Adnan cover the strikes on oil infrastructure, Iran’s responses targeting U.S. assets in Gulf states, and broader consequences for global energy prices and the petrodollar. Adnan argues the Trump administration expected a quick decapitation and social collapse, but Iran’s society unified around defense amid expanding attacks on civilian infrastructure and assassinations of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani.

    Additionally, Miguel and Adnan link the war to sport, focusing on Iran’s uncertain participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada. Iran, whose group matches will be in the US, contemplated boycotting the World Cup due to safety concerns and social media threats from President Trump. Lastly, Miguel and Adnan discuss the controversy over Australia offering asylum to Iran’s women’s football team, which later returned home. Note: This was recorded almost 3 weeks into the war.

    Links:


    * The Adnan Husain Show - Iran vs the Epstein Empire 11w/RIF and Bikrum Gill

    * Guerrilla History - The War on Iran w/ Nina Farnia & Navid Farnia

    * Iran urges FIFA to strip US of World Cup hosting by Al Mayadeen English

    * Iran sets Lebanon ceasefire as key condition in US talks by Al Mayadeen English

    * FIFA’s Infantino: Iran Will Play World Cup In US by Margaret Fleming/Front Office Sports

    * Donate to the Comrade Brotha Amp Da Truth

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
    Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
    YouTube: @SportsAsAWeapon
    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    1 時間 19 分
  • 53 | WNBA's Labor Fight and Activism

    53 | WNBA's Labor Fight and Activism
    2026/03/19

    Miguel is joined by sports journalist Zachary Draves about WNBA activism and labor struggles. Zachary covers the WNBA for SB Nation's Swish Appeal, and you can follow Zachary on X/Twitter @DravesZachary. Zachary discuss his article on player responses to the ICE killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good in Minneapolis, citing public statements from players including Breanna Stewart (who held an “Abolish ICE” sign), Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese, and connects this to earlier WNBA activism in 2016 and during the 2020 “Bubble,” including the league’s political organizing in Georgia.

    Miguel and Zachary also address growing women’s sports media attention, Draves’ article linking Jesse Jackson’s civil rights legacy to the WNBA, and current CBA negotiations focused on increasing players’ revenue share (from about 9–10% to 30%). Zachary also discusses his Sport and Society initiative and his forthcoming women’s basketball history podcast, “She’s Always Had Game."

    Note: This episode was recorded prior to the WNBA Players Association and the WNBA agreeing on a New Bargaining Agreement.

    Links:

    * It should be no surprise that WNBA players are not hesitating to speak out against ICE by Zachary Draves/SBNation Swish Appeal

    * The legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson is embedded within the foundational principles of WNBA players by Zachary Draves/SBNation Swish Appeal

    * Sources: WNBA salary cap set to top $10M by end of new CBA by Alexa Philippou /ESPN

    * ‘They Will Never Pay You What You Deserve’: WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike Blasts NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s Misinformed Take On CBA Negotiations by J.R. Gamble/The Shadow League

    * Donate to the Comrade Brotha Amp Da Truth

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
    Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
    YouTube: @SportsAsAWeapon
    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    1 時間 15 分
  • 52 | Cricket, Imperialism, and India

    52 | Cricket, Imperialism, and India
    2026/03/03

    Miguel is joined on the podcast by Priyansh, a University of Toronto PhD candidate and new co-host of The End of Sport Podcast. In this episode, Priyansh outlines cricket’s spread through British colonialism, elite club patronage, and later mass popularity in India via television and commercialization, noting the earlier prominence of field hockey and persistent class and regional inequalities.

    Furthermore, Miguel and Priyansh discuss Modi-era Hindu nationalist institutional capture of Indian cricket (BCCI), symbolic nationalism around stadium naming, and cricket’s geopolitical implications, including Bangladesh being removed from the T20 World Cup amid tensions and Pakistan’s threatened boycott of the India match, later reversed after talks. Priyansh connects this to state-capital consolidation, Indian corporate power in global cricket leagues, India’s Olympic ambitions, and revisits C.L.R. James to stress fans’ marginalization under capitalist sport.

    Links:

    * India-Bangladesh tensions rock cricket, as sport turns diplomatic weapon by Tauseef Ahmad and Sajid Raina/AlJazeera

    * Bangladesh firm on not playing T20 World Cup in India despite risk of exclusion by ESPNcricinfo

    * BCB accuses ICC of double standards over T20 World Cup venue issue by ESPNcricinfo

    * How India’s politics is reshaping international cricket by Priyansh/360Info

    * PSL signs record broadcast deal until 2029 by Danyal Rasool/ESPNcricinfo

    * Donate to the Comrade Brotha Amp Da Truth

    * RU Spring 2026 Cuban Legal Studies Donation Drive

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
    Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
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    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    1 時間 4 分
  • 51 | Liberating Skating

    51 | Liberating Skating
    2026/02/12

    In this episode of The Sports As A Weapon Podcast, host Miguel Garcia is joined by a new friend of the podcast, Eri Lee, a PhD grad student and researcher at the University of Minnesota. Eri shares their insights on how the US national team serves as a tool of US imperialism and neoliberalism on the global stage, the role of Asian diasporic athletes and the model minority myth, and the impact of media representation in sports.

    Eri also delves into their personal experience as a former Team USA synchronized Ice skater and current skating coach, highlighting the challenges and biases in the sport. Miguel and Eri also cover topics such as gender testing in sports, the meaning of liberating skating, and the urgent issues surrounding ICE activities in Minneapolis. Additionally, Eri also touches on their work with the Sports Scholars for Justice in Palestine, @ss4jPal. This episode is a prime example of how sports can be both a site of resistance and a perpetuator of systemic inequities.

    Links

    * Eri Lee Website

    * Bridging the Gap Between Sport Studies & Asian American Studies by Eri Lee

    * On Assimilation Politics: Reflections of an Asian American Athlete by Eri Lee

    * Milan’s Winter Olympics met with protests against ICE and Israel by Ana Vračar/Peoples Dispatch

    * Why the Olympics—Not the Super Bowl—Became a Political Football By Michael McCarthy/Front Office Sports

    * Chloe Kim & More Fire Back at Donald Trump Calling Team USA Teammate a ‘Loser’ by Paige Strout/Yahoo Sports

    * A Minneapolis Teacher Wants the Whole Country in the Streets by Dave Zirin/The Nation

    Miguel Garcia and Comrade E produced this episode. The Sports As A Weapon Podcast is part of the @Anticonquista Media Collective. Subscribe to the ANTICONQUISTA Patreon and follow ANTICONQUISTA on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

    All the video episodes are on the ANTICONQUISTA YouTube, and listen/subscribe to the Sports As A Weapon Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Deezer, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    Follow us on:

    Twitter/X: @sportsasaweapon
    Facebook: fb.com/sportsasaweaponpodcast
    Instagram: @sportsasaweaponpodcast
    UpScrolled: @SportsAsAWeapon
    YouTube: @SportsAsAWeapon
    BlueSky: @sportsasaweapon.bsky.social
    Visit our website: www.sportsasaweapon.com
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    1 時間 9 分