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But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

When was the first World Cup?

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Right now, the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup is happening across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico and it’s time to learn a little bit about soccer…or should we say football? That’s one conundrum we’ll be tackling: why is it called soccer in some countries and football in others? We’ll also look at World Cup questions like where the first tournament was played and what makes the trophy so special. Plus: what are the basic rules of the game? Why are soccer balls often black and white? How come goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands? And what does offside actually mean? In this episode, we meet up with Meg Linehan, women’s sports lead for The Athletic at a Vermont Green FC training session and ask her all your soccer-related questions.

© Vermont Public Length 00:28:26 26 June 2026 Episode 294 Age: 6-10 , 11plus Topics: Educational , Science , Fact , Talk Country: USA Type: Episodic

Full episode description

© Vermont Public Length 00:28:26 26 June 2026 Episode 294 Age: 6-10 , 11plus Topics: Educational , Science , Fact , Talk Country: USA Type: Episodic

But Why: Intro For Adults

But Why: Intro For Adults

This is an episodic podcast, so you can listen to it in any order, but episode one is a great place to start.

Listen to episode one here

Right now, the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup is happening across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico and it’s time to learn a little bit about soccer…or should we say football? That’s one conundrum we’ll be tackling: why is it called soccer in some countries and football in others? We’ll also look at World Cup questions like where the first tournament was played and what makes the trophy so special. Plus: what are the basic rules of the game? Why are soccer balls often black and white? How come goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands? And what does offside actually mean? In this episode, we meet up with Meg Linehan, women’s sports lead for The Athletic at a Vermont Green FC training session and ask her all your soccer-related questions.

Download our learning guide: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript


© Vermont Public | 00:28:26

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