Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Alarcón and Green will tackle questions big and small around international football

Listen to the trailer HERE

WHAT:  iHeartPodcasts is teaming up with Daniel Alarcón, host of My Cultura Podcast Network’s “Radio Ambulante” and John Green, New York Times bestselling author, for new original podcast series “The Away End,” exploring the universal love for international football leading up to The 2026 World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico.

Blending their sharp journalistic and reporting skills with their witty friendship banter, Green and Alarcón will examine the love of the game and its unique ability to build connections across borders, cultures and communities. Each episode will feature conversations about memorable matches, childhood memories and special stories that make soccer the world’s most important sport.

“Soccer has always been a part of my life, my identity and my story,” said Alarcón. “‘The Away End’ is a celebration of how the game connects us all – especially as we prepare for the 2026 World Cup where John and I will be, at least spiritually, the same age we were when we saw our first game as kids in 1986.”

“For me, soccer is a lens through which to consider everything about life,” said Green. “Soccer is about hope and community and also corruption and cruelty. It contains multitudes, and I can’t wait to explore those multitudes with one of my oldest friends.”

WHO: Daniel Alarcón, host of My Cultura Podcast Network’s Radio Ambulante, covers Latin America for The New Yorker. He’s the author of four works of fiction, including “The King is Always Above the People,” 2017 finalist for the National Book Award. He teaches at the Columbia University School of Journalism, in New York. In 2022 Daniel was awarded the Maria Moors Cabot prize, and in 2021 with the MacArthur Fellowship. He is writer, lead reporter and host of “The Good Whale”, a project of Serial Productions and the New York Times.

John Green is an author, YouTuber, podcaster, and activist. His bestselling novels including The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska have sold more than 30 million copies and are published in over 50 languages. With his brother Hank, he has cofounded many online video projects, including Crash Course, a series of educational videos that has reached hundreds of millions of learners worldwide. Green's most recent book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, is a #1 bestselling nonfiction history of the world's deadliest infectious disease. Green lives with his wife, the curator Sarah Urist Green, and kids in Indianapolis.

WHEN: “The Away End” will debut ahead of the 2026 World Cup on January 21, 2026 with new episodes released weekly on Tuesdays.

WHERE: “The Away End” will be available on the iHeartRadio app and wherever podcasts are heard.

EMBED CODE: <iframe allow="autoplay" width="100%" height="300" src="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-away-end-with-daniel-316027679/?embed=true" frameborder="0"></iframe>

COVER ART: HERE