Hang Up and Listen

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by SB Nation’s Matt Brown to talk about California’s Fair Pay to Play Act; the New York Times’ Joe Drape discusses Triple Crown winner Justify’s positive drug test; and ex-NFL player Ryan O’Callaghan joins for a conversation about his memoir My Life on the Line. Fair Pay to Play Act (01:54): What does this California legislation mean for the future of colleg...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas to talk about the women’s and men’s U.S. Open finals. Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley also joins to discuss Antonio Brown’s move to the Patriots and the secrets of the Clemson football program’s success. U.S. Open (01:43): Why does Serena Williams keep losing major finals and how good is Bianca Andreescu? How did Daniil Medvedev c...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin talk about the first week of the U.S. Open. Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders also joins to preview the NFL season, and Sheba Rawson of the Timbers Army fan group discusses the dispute over political signage in Major League Soccer. U.S. Open (01:16): How Taylor Townsend and Kristie Ahn had the best week of their careers. NFL (22:19): What should we expect from Baker M...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Jake Plummer and Nate Jackson to talk about Andrew Luck’s retirement; Billy Cundiff discusses the Chicago Bears’ bizarre kicker tryouts; and Slate’s Christina Cauterucci helps assess the state of the National Women’s Soccer League. Andrew Luck (01:53): What Luck’s sudden departure from the sport says about him and about football. Kicker tryouts (24:57): T...

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham talk about Jay-Z’s new partnership with the NFL. They also discuss Joseph Tsai’s multibillion-dollar deal to buy the Brooklyn Nets. Finally, they select the words they’d like to ban from the sports lexicon. Jay-Z (2:10): Did the NFL botch its move to bring on the hip-hop icon as a corporate partner or is the league savvier than we t...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin talk with ESPN’s Sam Borden about Christian Pulisic’s Chelsea debut. The Gist’s Mike Pesca also joins to discuss Antonio Brown’s feet and helmet issues, and Rebecca Schuman explains Simone Biles’ latest feats of gymnastics virtuosity. Christian Pulisic (01:30): What lessons, if any, can we take from Pulisic’s first Premier League match? Antonio Brown (18:04): What’s be...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin talk about Alejandro Bedoya speaking out against gun violence during an MLS game. The New York Daily News’ Kyle Wagner joins to discuss Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony, and the Omaha World-Herald’s Henry Cordes explains how school’s evade the requirements of Title IX. Bedoya (01:22): On the soccer player’s in-game call-out and how the sports media will cover it. Lin and...

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Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about ESPN’s stance on mixing sports and politics and LSU’s fancy new football facility. Sports Illustrated’s Emma Baccellieri then joins to discuss the Atlantic League’s role as a laboratory for new baseball rules. Sports and politics (01:19 ): Is it possible to construct a corporate policy on mixing sports and politics or is the problem the exist...

Josh Levin interviews Deadspin’s Dave McKenna about his life and journalism career. Topics covered include the greatness of Elgin Baylor and Gary Mays, getting sued by Washington NFL team owner Dan Snyder, and reporting out sexual abuse allegations against Kevin Johnson. D.C. sports and segregation (01:14): How black athletes like Elgin Baylor and Gary Mays were discriminated against and ignored b...

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis talk about how Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep won at Wimbledon. Sam Anderson also joins to discuss Russell Westbrook and the end of an era in Oklahoma City, and John Thorn helps assess Jim Bouton and Bouton’s classic book Ball Four. Wimbledon (01:26): On Novak Djokovic’s incredible win over Roger Federer, why fans don’t love Djokovic, the greatness of Simona Halep, an...

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis talk about the U.S. national team’s triumph at the Women’s World Cup; Ethan Strauss joins to discuss Kawhi Leonard’s move to the Los Angeles Clippers; and Louisa Thomas assesses the rise of 15-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff. Women’s World Cup (02:41): How the USWNT won its fourth title and what the future holds for the team and for pro soccer in the U.S. Kawhi to...

Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and Caitlin Murray discuss the U.S. women’s big win over France at the World Cup. Josh, Ben Mathis-Lilley, and Vinson Cunningham break down the big moves in NBA free agency. Finally, Josh and Ben are joined by the Guardian’s Nick Miller to assess baseball in London. Women’s World Cup (01:43): Breaking down the USA-France match and previewing the semifinal between the U.S...

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis discuss the U.S. national team’s win over Spain at the Women’s World Cup. Josh and Joel Anderson are then joined by David West to talk about the NBA draft and the Historical Basketball League. Finally, Josh and Joel assess the plan for the Tampa Bay Rays to play half the season in Montreal. Women’s World Cup (01:24): Stefan reports on his view from the stands in Reims,...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Canadian soccer player Diana Matheson to discuss the Women’s World Cup; Sports Illustrated’s S.L. Price talks about agent Rich Paul and Paul’s client Anthony Davis; and the Athletic’s Ethan Strauss ruminates on the possible end of the Warriors dynasty.   Women’s World Cup (2:27): Did we learn anything from the U.S. women’s national team’s two blowout wins...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Marcus Thompson to discuss the Raptors’ rise and the possible end of the Warriors’ dynasty. Louisa Thomas of the New Yorker also joins to talk about the French Open. Finally, Thompson returns for a conversation about analytics and race. NBA Finals (2:38): Can Kevin Durant save the Warriors’ season? Are the Raptors just the better team? Fren...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz to discuss the NBA Finals. ESPN’s Julie Foudy also joins to talk about the Women’s World Cup, and Ben Lindbergh comes on the show for a conversation about his book The MVP Machine. NBA Finals (2:55): Why the Warriors won Game 2, and how both teams are playing great defense. Women’s World Cup (23:40) : How the U.S. stacks up against t...

Stefan Fatsis, and substitute co-host by Gene Demby, are joined by Bruce Arthur to talk about the Raptors, Lindsay Gibbs to talk WNBA and Howard Bryant to talk about black players in the MLB. NBA (2:42) : Are the Warriors worried about the Raptors? Should they be? WNBA (19:42) : Women's leagues have always been an overlooked part of the sports world. But there is some hope for change. MLB (36:15):...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by The Athletic’s Ethan Strauss to discuss the Warriors and Zion Williamson. NFL retiree and mathematician John Urschel also joins to talk about his book Mind and Matter. Finally, Louisa Thomas assesses tennis player Nick Kyrgios. NBA (4:21): Are the Warriors better without Kevin Durant? Should Zion Williamson spurn the Pelicans? John Urschel (29:14) : Why h...

Linda Taylor was a con artist, a kidnapper, maybe even a murderer. She was also America’s original “welfare queen,” the villain Ronald Reagan needed to create a vision of a country being taken advantage of by its poorest citizens. In this new mini-series, Josh Levin reveals the never-before-told story of a woman whose singular life was forgotten in the rush to create a vicious American stereotype....

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer-beater with ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz. Slate’s Joel Anderson also talks about Warriors-Rockets and Blazers-Nuggets, and the New York Times’ Rory Smith analyzes the state of English soccer. Kawhi’s game-winner (1:51): What it was like in the arena when that shot bounced and bounced and bounced and bounced on the rim. Western Conference...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss the Kentucky Derby with Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden; author David Epstein talks about the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling on Caster Semenya; and Slate’s Nick Greene discusses Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokic. Kentucky Derby (2:46): Did officials at the Kentucky Derby make the right call in disqualifying Maximum Security and giving Country House the vi...

Josh Levin talks with Aymann Ismail, the host of Man Up, the new Slate podcast about masculinity in the modern world. The two discuss Ep. 1 of Man Up, which features Eric Kelly. Kelly was so successful at fighting off bullies as a kid in Brooklyn, that he grew up to become an Olympic level boxer, until a bar fight ended his career. Subscribe to Man Up in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , TuneI...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss Warriors-Rockets and Kevin Durant with the Athletic’s Marcus Thompson; the NFL draft with ESPN’s Mina Kimes; and ESPN’s new 30 for 30 documentary The Dominican Dream with director Jonathan Hock. Warriors-Rockets (3:00): Houston is complaining about the referees. Kevin Durant is putting up huge numbers. What else can we expect in the Western Conference semis? NF...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss NBA playoff beefs with Slate’s Nick Greene. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski joins to talk about the NHL playoffs. Finally, Sports Illustrated’s Jack Dickey assesses Jeopardy! genius James Holzhauer. NBA beefs (4:07): Durant vs. Beverley. Dudley vs. Simmons. Westbrook vs. Lillard. What’s the best NBA beef, and which postseason beef needs more seasoning? NHL playoffs (24:1...