Short Wave

Why did designing the World Cup pitches take eight years?

July 17, 2026·13 min·4-min readnarrativescience
Podzilla Summary (4 min)
TLDR
This episode of NPR's Shortwave dives into the sophisticated science behind the World Cup soccer fields, revealing how turfgrass experts ensure safe, consistent, and high-performing natural grass pitches across 16 diverse stadiums. The story underscores how meticulous research and innovat

Sign up to read the full summary

Free AI-powered recaps of every episode, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.

Guest

J

John Sorochan

narrative on Short Wave

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

John SorochanNate Rott

Companies

FIFA

Products & Tools

LED grow lightsRobotic foot simulator

Research & Papers

Research on shallow pitch profiles

Topics

BiologyClimate ChangeLong Form JournalismSustainability

Listen to This Episode

Get summaries like this every morning.

Free AI-powered recaps of Short Wave and your other favorite podcasts, delivered to your inbox.

Get Free Summaries →

Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.