Podbit · Pod Save the World
Sepp Blatter gave a Swiss newspaper interview calling the Qatar World Cup a mistake — because the country is 'too small,' not because of human rights. Tommy and Roger dissect why men in power only find candor after they've lost it, and how Blatter's confessional was really just bitterness toward Infantino.
Where this was said
At 10:21 · chapter starts 7:55
After dropping the news that Qatar has apparently put them on their radar, Tommy walks through the backstory: he and Roger wrote a CNN op-ed cataloguing the reasons Qatar 2022 is a disaster, and Qatar's ambassador to the United States formally responded with a piece accusing them of spreading misconceptions and singling out Qatar in ways that amount to anti-Arab bias. Tommy's verdict is swift: it's defensive whataboutism from 'snowflake liberal autocrats.' But the deeper point is the irony — the Qatari government's attempt to silence criticism only amplified it, with the ambassador's response generating ten times the media attention for the original piece. A British investigation also surfaces during this segment, having found that hackers targeted over 100 critics of the World Cup, with Michel Platini among them, since 2019 [1] — Tommy Vitor "Hackers targeted 100+ World Cup critics: A British investigation found that hackers targeted over 100 critics of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, …" 09:42 .
Qatar's US ambassador wrote a formal op-ed response to Tommy and Roger's CNN piece, accusing them of racist and biased coverage. Tommy's take: it's textbook whataboutism from a 'snowflake liberal autocrat' — and the clap-back generated ten times more media requests than the original piece.
A British investigation found that hackers targeted over 100 critics of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, with Michel Platini among the targets, since at least 2019.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.