--:-- Shamita Basu: Hey there, it's Shamita. This week on our interview podcast, Apple News in Conversation, we are talking all things soccer, or should I say football.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Women's World Cup is officially underway in Australia and New Zealand. It's a tournament with a lot of firsts. A record 32 teams are competing, with eight nations making their Women's World Cup debuts.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Players in so many countries, Canada, England, New Zealand, Spain, France, South Africa, and Zambia, are fighting with their local football associations for equal pay and better conditions. And they're making slow but sure progress.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This tournament is also a chance for the United States to do something historic. They are now heading into an attempt for the three-peat, which would be pure history. I mean, to win a World Cup three times in a row, to actually win any trophy in any sport three times in a row is near on impossible.
--:-- Shamita Basu: It's even harder when there are four years between each one. That's Rebecca Lowe. She's kind of an icon in the soccer broadcasting world. She's a host of NBC Sports Premier League coverage.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We are going to make some memories This is Premier League Mornings Live on location. She also co-hosts Apple News After the Whistle podcast with Brendan Hunt, one of the stars of Ted Lasso. The podcast is now back for a second season to cover the Women's World Cup.
--:-- Rebecca Lowe: Okay, winners. Who are your winners? This is the big one. Despite my reservations, despite my timidity, my cautiously wide view. Gotta go USA. Gotta go USA.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Here we come, Australia. Get ready for it. Yeah. You? Head, says Germany. Sort of full body, says USA. Heart, says those cheeky little lionesses. Oh yeah, I'm going for it.
--:-- Rebecca Lowe: I mean, by the way, by the way, how predictable are we? Literally, how predictable are our predictions? So predictable.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Hold on. You made me go first. Yeah. And you picked three winners. Correct. I've never seen a fence straddled so hard.
--:-- Rebecca Lowe: On In Conversation, I give us a sort of crash course on what to look out for, the teams and players to watch, and my own pathway into the very male-dominated field of sports broadcasting.
--:-- Shamita Basu: To hear the full interview, check out Apple News In Conversation in the Podcasts app.
