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The English Disease | Legacy
Introducing: The English Disease
There was a time when football hooliganism was everywhere. For decades it dominated headlines, merging the two things England loves most: football and fear.
Over the course of six episodes, writer Sam Diss digs deeper – beyond the stereotypes and tabloid headlines – to understand what first brought people to this violent, sprawling subculture, and how it has forced its way back into our society today.
This is the untold story of The English Disease.
Subscribe now for new episodes every Tuesday throughout October.
Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Legacy.
***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***
More episodes
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1. Inside the Qatar World Cup | Episode 1
52:49||Season 1, Ep. 1How did we get here? Sports broadcaster Kate Mason travels back to 2010 and finds out how Qatar’s migrant worker crisis unfolded – and continues to endure to this day. She speaks to three workers about their experiences in the country, including one man who helped build some of the World’s Cup most prestigious venues. Their stories paint a stark, bleak picture of the abusive conditions suffered by those on which this tournament has been built.This is Episode 1 of Inside the Qatar World Cup, winner of Best Audio Documentary at the Sports Journalism Awards in 2023. Originally broadcast on the Football Ramble podcast feed in November 2022.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***2. Inside the Qatar World Cup | Episode 2
47:04||Season 1, Ep. 2What does this World Cup mean for Qatar? Sports broadcaster Kate Mason goes inside the Qatar club game and finds signs of a very deliberate footballing project.But are Qatar’s intentions going to survive their first contact with reality? We examine the tournament infrastructure for fans across Doha – from an unfinished fan park, to FIFA's luxury 'tent city' and desolate stadium surroundings – and find out that the World Cup is splitting Qatari society down the middle.This is Episode 2 of Inside the Qatar World Cup, winner of Best Audio Documentary at the Sports Journalism Awards in 2023. Originally broadcast on the Football Ramble podcast feed in November 2022.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Legacy.Winner of a 2023 Sports Journalists' Association award for Audio Documentary. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***3. Inside the Qatar World Cup | Episode 3
52:40||Season 1, Ep. 3What does the future look like for Qatar, football, and the people we’ve spoken to?Sports broadcaster Kate Mason finds out more about the precarious situation of the LGBTQ+ community in the country and speaks to the only publicly gay Qatari. After officials were in a standoff with Danish broadcasters this week, Kate also explores Qatar's media environment and asks whether this World Cup will – really – be a wake-up call for the football community. Once the spotlight moves on, there are simply no guarantees.This is Episode 3 of Inside the Qatar World Cup, winner of Best Audio Documentary at the Sports Journalism Awards in 2023. Originally broadcast on the Football Ramble podcast feed in November 2022.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***1. Kicking Off
37:50||Season 2, Ep. 1Sam goes to breakfast with an ex-hooligan friend to answer a question he’s circled for a decade, and sets off on a journey to reveal what’s really lurking beneath the surface of England’s game.Subscribe now to get the latest episode of The English Disease every Tuesday throughout October.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is the award-winning Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.***2. The Englishman
32:30||Season 2, Ep. 2Sam travels to Nottingham to meet a hooligan known as ‘The Englishman’ who used football violence to navigate the fractured ideals of working-class masculinity.Subscribe now to get the latest episode of The English Disease every Tuesday throughout October.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is the award-winning Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.***3. Us vs Them
40:53||Season 2, Ep. 3A young man in Sheffield attacks a rival supporter with irreversible consequences... But his story isn’t an anomaly. It’s a blueprint.Subscribe now to get the latest episode of The English Disease every Tuesday throughout October.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is the award-winning Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.***4. The Mask Eats the Face
45:13||Season 2, Ep. 4A WhatsApp group for football banter started as an escape from the real world. But it soon became a command centre for Britain’s culture war…Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is the award-winning Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.***5. The Price of Brotherhood
47:47||Season 2, Ep. 5Tensions are rising across the country until, one night in July, a single event changes everything…Enjoyed listening to The English Disease? We want to hear from you before the season finale – whether you have first-hand experience of this story or not. Message Sam Diss on X or Instagram.Extraordinary sporting stories that really matter. From Stak, this is the award-winning Legacy.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us.***