The Sporting Almanac Podcast
by Jack Senior and Ben Davies
What makes sport so special? Why do people fall in love with it, live it, breathe it? What is it about these games that move us so deeply? Behind every sport is a story, a story of where it came from, how it developed and who shaped it along the way. From the dreamers and the trailblazers to the scandals, tragedies and moments of pure joy, sport reflects everything it means to be human - our struggles, our triumphs, our need to belong. At The Sporting Almanac Podcast, we follow the global sporting calendar - not just to preview the events, but to explore the history, culture and characters that made them what they are today. Hosted by Jack, an engineer and grassroots football coach, and Ben, a lawyer with anti-doping experience, each episode dives into the stories behind the spectacle - the forgotten origins, biggest controversies and the moments that made the world stop and watch. Because after all, sport is nothing without the hist
Episodes
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World Cup Series Ep. 9 - World Cup Positivity
World Cup Series Ep. 9 - World Cup Positivity Having comprehensively failed to do so last time out, today Jack and Ben focus on the positives of the FIFA World Cup, their happiest memories of it and why it remains - despite FIFA, Gianni, and his orange mate's best efforts - the greatest…
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World Cup Series Ep. 8 - Are FIFA cheating?
World Cup Series Ep. 8 - Are FIFA cheating? This episode wasn't meant to be like this. What was meant to be a gentle chat about World Cup moments past got a little out of hand, when frustration borne of the 2026 tournament so far came to the surface. We love football. Of course we do. It'sthe...
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World Cup Series Ep. 7 - World Cup XI
World Cup Series Ep. 7 - World Cup XI In our latest World Cup episode, Ben and Jack go head to head taking it in turns to try and build their perfect World Cup team from the depths of the competitions history. Will they go modern or retro? Messi or Maradona, Ronaldo or Pelé? Do they throw caution...
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World Cup Series Ep. 6 - There's Only One Ronaldo
World Cup Series Ep. 6 - There's Only One Ronaldo Before Cristiano and Lionel, before Ronaldinho and Henry, there was Ronaldo. A man whose ability relative to his peers was so extraordinary it felt like a leap in football evolution. A man who redefined what it meant to be a footballer, whose as…
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World Cup Series Ep. 5 - Andrés Escobar
World Cup Series Ep. 5 - Andrés Escobar El Caballero del Fútbol - The Gentleman of Football - a nickname given to a centre back whose stature, calm head and elegance led him to the pinnacle of World Cup football amongst a generational team, only for their 1994 campaign to end in heartbreak and...
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World Cup Series Ep. 4 - Refereeing Controversy
World Cup Series Ep. 4 - Refereeing Controversy It is said referees have the hardest job in football. You can do your job perfectly 99.9% of the time, and have your entire career defined by the 0.1%. You are a figure of hatred, of derision, sometimes even of violent intent. But you lace up your...
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World Cup Series Ep. 3 - FIFA's Corruption
World Cup Series Ep. 3 - FIFA's Corruption FIFA would claim that it is individuals that are corrupt, not the organisation itself. Well, our counter to that would be that an organisation that sets itself up with such a concentration of power amid a sea of wealth, with little oversight and so much...
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World Cup Series Ep. 2 - Origin Story
World Cup Series Ep. 2 - Origin Story With the World Cup a little over 24 hours away, we talk about the tournament, its truly terrible format, and about exactly why it is coming home. We also delve into the World Cup and FIFA's origin stories, about Uruguay 1930 and how the tournaments finances...
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World Cup Series Ep. 1 - The England Squad
World Cup Series Ep. 1 - The England Squad With the club season for English teams now done and dusted, we turn our attention for the next two months to the biggest stage of all - the FIFA World Cup. In the first part of our multi-part series, we discuss who we'd have picked for the England squad,...
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The UEFA European Finals
The UEFA European Finals With one extraordinarily happy host in Ben, who has worn nothing but Arsenal shirts since the final whistle blew in Bournemouth last week, we preview the three European finals (even the one that already happened) as he hopes to go from obnoxiously delighted to utterly...
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The EFL Playoffs
The EFL Playoffs The playoffs. The best, and the worst way to get promoted. A season coming down to one winner takes all match-up. The Championship final, the richest game in football, this year between Southampton and Hull City. Or so we all thought... The unexpected development of a football...
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Oil, Oligarchs and the FA Cup Final
Oil, Oligarchs and the FA Cup Final Football has changed a lot since the glory days of the FA Cup. Some things are better left in the past - muddy Wembley pitches, heavy footballs and serious injuries every other final. Other things are still sorely missed - breakfast time coverage on Cup Final...
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The Cheerleading Worlds with Special Guest Kelly Loughlin
The Cheerleading Worlds with Special Guest Kelly Loughlin The sport of cheerleading is probably a lot bigger than you think it is. In fact, for our British listeners, there is no sport growing faster amongst girls in our country, nor has there been for years. The number of competitors is now fast...
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Boston and London Marathons
Boston and London Marathons 490 BC. Ancient Greece. A messenger with a funny name and patriotism surging through his veins spots a Persian ship alter its course towards Athens. He is in Marathon, 26 miles and 385-ish yards away from his nations capital, but decides to do the unthinkable. He sheds...
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The Sporting Almanac 1st Birthday: The Masters and The Grand National
The Sporting Almanac Birthday: The Masters and The Grand National To celebrate one whole year of the Sporting Almanac Podcast we go back to where it all began, ahead of the Grand National and with the Masters underway at Augusta National. We share some reflections on the year past, and a few new...
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The Savannah Bananas
The Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball "The noblest art is that of making others happy." P.T. Barnum The purity of baseball is something a lot of people take very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that orthodox approaches will be followed until stadiums are empty, sponsors have left and the team...
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The Boat Race
The Boat Race There are some people to whom there is no bigger event in the sporting calendar than the University Boat Race. It would be a sweeping generalisation to suggest all of those people will be wearing gillet's and yelling received pronunciation support of their particular shade of blue,...
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The Six Nations - England (A Post-Mortem)
Six Nations - England (A Post-Mortem) We don't usually do retrospectives on the Almanac. The vast majority of sporting engagement in our modern world is built around the sharing of opinion, frustration or adulation of thing's that have just happened, and it's normally not our style. But today, we...
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The Six Nations - All-Time XV
Six Nations - All-Time XV In a move not entirely lacking in self indulgence, Jack and Ben discuss, debate and select their all-time Six Nations XV from 26 years of the competition's history. Tune in to find the answers to the real big questions: Can two Englishmen bear to leave Martin Johnson on...
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The Six Nations - France
The Six Nations - France Les Bleus. Brilliant. Erratic. Inconsistent. Wonderful. The Six Nations has been a rollercoaster for French rugby fans, early dominance followed by a dozen wilderness years that sparked fierce criticism and debate, triggering as so often happens in France, revolution. And...
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2026 Formula 1 Season
2026 Formula 1 Season It's back, baby. And it's totally different from last year. More electrical power, lighter cars, active aero, boost buttons, less downforce, less grip - so far, the drivers aren't loving their new rides, but the real acid test will be at the Australian Grand Prix in…
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The Six Nations - Ireland
The Six Nations - Ireland In 52 completed Five Nations tournaments between the competition's resumption in 1947 and Italy's introduction in the year 2000, Ireland won six outright titles, four Triple Crowns and a lone Grand Slam in 1948. In the 26 seasons of the Six Nations they have won six...
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The Six Nations - Scotland
The Six Nations - Scotland Scotland have never won the Six Nations. 26 seasons of unpredictability and occasional, unquestionable brilliance along the way, but their last tournament victory - a memorable, unforgettable one at that - lies all the way back in 1999 in the final edition of the old…
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The Six Nations - Italy
The Six Nations - Italy 16 wins in 130 games in the Six Nations paints a picture of Italy as perennial whipping boys, fodder for the more established nations, perhaps even unworthy of their place at the top table of European and Northern Hemisphere Rugby Union. But it does not tell the full story...
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The Six Nations - Wales
The Six Nations - Wales It's only been five years since Wales last won the Six Nations, and only two more beyond that since their last Grand Slam in 2019. But for Welsh fans it probably seems a lifetime ago with the current team struggling for wins against even mid-ranked nations and threatening…
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The Super Bowl
Super Bowl LX - Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots The Super Bowl simply needs no introduction. It is, one way or another, the biggest event on the annual sporting calendar. Multi-million dollar advertisements, tickets in the tens of thousands of dollars and more, a half time show some...
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The Six Nations
The Six Nations Series - Introduction The Northern Hemisphere's biggest rugby competition is back. France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Wales will renew their decades long fight for European supremacy, starting with France vs. Ireland in Paris. In this series we will dive into each of…
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Winter Olympics X - Alpine Skiing and its Superwomen
Winter Olympics Series Episode X - Alpine Skiing and its Superwomen We bring our Winter Olympics series to a close just in time for the opening ceremony, and finish with the true blue ribbon events of the games - Alpine Skiing, consisting of the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G, Team Combined and…
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Winter Olympics IX - Lindsey Jacobellis and Snowboard Cross
Winter Olympics Series Episode IX - Lindsey Jacobellis and Snowboard Cross Snowboard Cross is fun, that much is certain. But what happens when a competitor chooses the wrong moment to have fun, with the eyes of the world upon her and the finish line in sight? In 2006, Lindsey Jacobellis had one…
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Winter Olympics VIII - Bobsleigh: Jamaica and Billy Fiske
Winter Olympics Series Episode VIII - Bobsleigh: Jamaica and Billy Fiske There's probably few Winter Olympic sports that have penetrated the general consciousness and culture than bobsleigh, thanks mostly to the wonderful 1993 film Cool Runnings, based on the true story of the Jamaican bobsleigh...
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Winter Olympics VII - Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan
Winter Olympics Series Episode VII - Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan From the dawn of sport, competitors have bent, stretched and downright circumvented the rules in order to gain an advantage over their opposition. Usually, this is in the form of gamesmanship and rule breaking on the field or...
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Winter Olympics VI - Eddie the Eagle
Winter Olympics Series Episode VI - Eddie the Eagle Michael David Edwards was an unlikely Olympic Ski Jumper, to say the least. Extremely far-sighted, a little on the heavy side and, most devastating of all to his chances in the event, British. But Eddie, as he was dubbed by school friends, was…
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Winter Olympics V - Steven Bradbury
Winter Olympics Series Episode V - Steven Bradbury For almost his entire career, it felt like if Steven Bradbury didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all. Collisions, crashes, missed opportunities and truly horrific injuries, if there was any athlete at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter…
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Winter Olympics IV - Shaun White and Halfpipe Snowboarding
Winter Olympics Series Episode IV - Shaun White and Halfpipe Snowboarding In the fourth episode of our ten-part Winter Olympics series we take a look at an Olympic and X-Games legend, Shaun White. Three Olympic gold medals in snowboarding alongside fifteen X-Games golds across snowboarding and...
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Winter Olympics III - The Miracle on Ice
Winter Olympics Series Episode III - The Miracle on Ice As hard as it might be for British ice hockey fans to grasp, there actually is a more famous ice hockey shock than the Brits upsetting the dominant Canadians in 1936 (twice). At Lake Placid in 1980, a team of amateur college players with an...
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Winter Olympics II - Rudi Ball, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936
Winter Olympics Series Episode II - Rudi Ball, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 The IOC have made a lot of questionable decisions through the years, and continue to do so to this very day, but few stand out more sharply than the awarding of both the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics to Nazi Germany.…
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Winter Olympics I - Chamonix 1924
Winter Olympic Series Episode I - Chamonix 1924 The first of our ten part Winter Olympic Series starts where it all began - in the shadow of Mont Blanc, where the French, Swiss and Italian borders meet, in Chamonix, 1924. These weren't called the Winter Olympics at the time - the French Olympic...
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The Australian Open
Season 2, Episode 2: The Australian Open They call it the Happy Slam, and there's probably nowhere in the world of sport where so many people could turn up and still maintain that well earned moniker than Melbourne. That almost unparalleled sporting city is now the permanent host of the once...
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The NFL Playoffs
Season 2, Episode 1: The NFL Playoffs Jack and Ben kick off 2026 with a preview and history of of the road to the Super Bowl, the NFL Playoffs. Fourteen teams, twelve matches across two conferences with the two conference champions meeting in Santa Clara next month - this is do or die football.…
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2025 Sporting Almanac Awards
Episode 38: The 2025 Sporting Almanac Awards and End-of-Year Review After eight months, 37 and a half episodes and a surprising number of listeners (we cannot thank you enough), we bring the first season of the Sporting Almanac Podcast to a close in the most fun way we could think of - with an...
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The African Cup of Nations
Episode 37: The African Cup of Nations In 1956 when the Confederation of African Football was founded, four African nations were members of FIFA: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Africa. The first Cup of Nations was played in Sudan between three of these, with South Africa's apartheid supporting...
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The PDC World Darts Championship
Episode 36: The PDC World Darts Championship - "This darts match will make you happy!" Every Christmas thousands cram into Alexandra Palace in fancy dress to scream in unison at a little black, white, red and green board on the wall. In this episode, we trace how that surreal festive tradition…
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Our Ashes XI (The Ashes, Part 3)
Episode 35: Our Ashes XI (The Ashes, Part 3) - Why We Love Cricket In Part 3 of our Ashes series, we reflect on almost 30 years of being cricket fans, and the players who’ve inspired us, shaped our love of the game, and delivered moments of both joy and agony. To do that, we stick on our…
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Beginnings, Bradman, Bodyline and Benaud (The Ashes, Part 2)
Episode 34: Beginnings, Bradman, Bodyline and Benaud (The Ashes, Part 2) - The Birth of a Rivalry. "Media were never allowed into an Australian dressing room until I became skipper. I changed that and invited them in at the close of play each day, thereby confirming for many administrators they…
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How to Cricket (The Ashes, Part 1)
Episode 33: The Ashes Part 1, How to Cricket - A Beginners Guide to a Very Old Sport “They'd win the first four Tests and we'd try to nick one at the end when they were all drunk.” - Former England captain Nasser Hussain on England's pre-2005 Ashes fortunes. Cricket, to the uninitiated, can be a...
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The Grey Cup
Episode 32: The Grey Cup - Canadian Football's Grand Finale Canadian Football is a weird and wonderful thing, especially to those only acquainted with its immensely popular equivalent played south of the border. To an NFL fan, watching the CFL can seem like a fever dream. The pitch is a bit too...
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The Brazilian Grand Prix
Episode 31: The Brazilian Grand Prix - Drama is Only Seconds Away "I only came back to reality when I saw the checkered flag. That's when I felt immense pleasure in being alive, in being at Interlagos, in my homeland, and seeing my people happy." - Ayrton Senna, speaking about his 1991 Brazilian...
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The Melbourne Cup
Episode 30: The Melbourne Cup - The Race That Stops the Nation "The Melbourne Cup is the Australasian National Day. It would be difficult to overstate its importance. It overshadows all other holidays and specialized days of whatever sort in that congeries of colonies. Overshadows them? I might...
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The Archery World Cup
Episode 29: Archery World Cup - Every Arrow Tells a Story “Archery is not about being better than anyone else; it’s about being better than you used to be.” - Unknown For tens of thousands of years, humans relied on the bow for survival. For thousands of years legendary archers have graced our...
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The Super League Grand Final
Episode 28: Super League Grand Final - Men of Steel “For me, it’s the hardest sport in the world. It takes dedication, discipline and mental strength. You accept constant physical punishment. You push your body right to the limit... It’s too tough for me. Deep down, I would love to be a rugby...
About this show
What makes sport so special? Why do people fall in love with it, live it, breathe it? What is it about these games that move us so deeply?
Behind every sport is a story, a story of where it came from, how it developed and who shaped it along the way. From the dreamers and the trailblazers to the scandals, tragedies and moments of pure joy, sport reflects everything it means to be human - our struggles, our triumphs, our need to belong.
At The Sporting Almanac Podcast, we follow the global sporting calendar - not just to preview the events, but to explore the history, culture and characters that made them what they are today.
Hosted by Jack, an engineer and grassroots football coach, and Ben, a lawyer with anti-doping experience, each episode dives into the stories behind the spectacle - the forgotten origins, biggest controversies and the moments that made the world stop and watch.
Because after all, sport is nothing without the hist
Hosted by
Jack Senior and Ben Davies