Hang Up and Listen

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Sam Miller to discuss Boston’s fourth World Series title in 15 years. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin also joins to talk about LeBron and the Lakers, and the Ringer’s Kevin Clark explains why NFL coaches are finally getting aggressive on fourth down. World Series (3:31): How the Red Sox won a championship, how David Price got vindication, and how Dodgers man...

Stefan Fatsis is joined by Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer and Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated to discuss the baseball playoffs; by author Michael Sokolove and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports to talk about college basketball’s corruption trial; and by writer Liam Boylan-Pett and history professor Louis Moore to discuss Bob Beamon’s record-shattering long jump and his underreported civil-rights prote...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Yahoo’s Jeff Passan to discuss Red Sox pitcher David Price’s October awfulness. ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle talks about why Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew are staying in Ohio, and Deadspin’s Dvora Meyers assesses gymnast Simone Biles. Baseball playoffs (3:20): Why have David Price and Clayton Kershaw been so much worse in the playoffs than in the regular se...

Josh Levin, Ben Mathis-Lilley, and Slate’s Joel Anderson discuss Drew Brees becoming the NFL’s all-time passing yardage leader, the UFC fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor,  and college football at the season’s halfway point. Drew Brees (1:49): What does the New Orleans Saints quarterback’s success say about the NFL? And is his persona winning or grating? UFC (18:32): Was anyone s...

Stefan Fatsis and Deadspin’s Laura Wagner are joined by Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer to discuss the baseball playoffs, and by Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post to discuss New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Plus, a conversation with Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal about  Gritty. Baseball (1:44): Can “bullpenning” carry the Oakland Athletics past the New York Yankees in the playoffs?...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Jim Newell to talk about Tiger Woods’ first win in five years. Plus, Lee Jenkins explains why he left Sports Illustrated to take a job with the Los Angeles Clippers’, and Jonathan Hock discusses his documentary 14 Back . Tiger Woods (1:19): It had been 1,876 days since Woods won a golf tournament. Why did it mean so much to see him back on top of...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss Vontae Davis’ mid-game retirement and Le’Veon Bell’s holdout, Outside Magazine’s Alex Hutchinson talks about Eliud Kipchoge’s new marathon world record, and Aaron Gordon assesses The Athletic as a business and editorial venture. Vontae Davis and Le’Veon Bell (1:25): Davis’ sudden exit from the league and Bell’s refusal to suit up without getting a long-term con...

Josh Levin and guest host Vann Newkirk of the Atlantic are joined by the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas to discuss Serena Williams and the 2018 U.S. Open final. They’re also joined by Slate’s Derreck Johnson to assess LeBron James’ HBO series The Shop . Serena Williams (1:02): What happened in the 2018 U.S. Open final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, and how we should think about the confronta...

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Deadspin’s Laura Wagner to discuss Colin Kaepernick and Nike. Mark Leibovich also joins to talk about his new book on the NFL, Big Game . Finally, they interview the Washington Post’s Dave Sheinin about his piece on a baseball player who came agonizingly close to making the majors. Kaepernick and Nike (1:21): How cynical should we about this alliance betw...

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Jessica Luther to discuss Ohio State’s decision not to fire its football coach Urban Meyer; Stefan talks to John Branch about competitive Rubik’s cube solving; and the hosts play two of their favorite Slate Plus segments from 2018, on the perils of co-ed sports and Chinese NBA nicknames. Ohio State (2:53): What does it say about college football that Ohio...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by The Root’s Damon Young to discuss Jalen Ramsey, Jarvis Landry, and the state of NFL trash talk. They also talk about major rule changes in college basketball, and the Athletic’s Dana O’Neil joins to assess the future of UMBC basketball. NFL trash talk (1:52): Jalen Ramsey gave his honest opinion about a handful of NFL quarterbacks. Should more players ado...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Jim Newell to discuss Tiger Woods’ near-win at the PGA Championship, SB Nation’s Spencer Hall talks about toxic college football cultures, and ESPN’s Sam Miller assesses the effectiveness of shifts in baseball. PGA (2:15): Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship, but all eyes were on runner-up Tiger Woods. Is Tiger really back? And will Koepka fina...

Josh Levin is joined by Deadspin’s Laura Wagner and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham to talk about Urban Meyer’s possible ouster at Ohio State, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Terrell Owens and Ray Lewis, and the NFL’s new helmet rule. Urban Meyer (1:40): Ohio State has placed its head coach on administrative leave. Does that signal a societal shift in how institutions handle domestic violen...

Live from the airwaves of WRNT, the 50,000 watt scorching (yet fictitious) voice of Boston sports radio….it’s The Dougie and The Donk Show. On today’s episode we take a trip to a fantastical football universe. A new TV special about a notorious 2001 Patriots game asks a lot of crazy questions. Like what if quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the hero of Pats Nation, had been pulled and replaced by benchwarm...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Dallas Wings star Liz Cambage to discuss the state of the WNBA. VeloNews’ Frederick Dreier talks about the Tour de France. Finally, Keith Barnes of the Mamie Johnson Little League talks his history-making team. Liz Cambage (1:42): The All-Star center has spoken out against basketball's gender wage gap and WNBA officiating. Will the league listen? Tour de...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Howard Bryant to discuss the militarization of sports, Slate’s Christina Cauterucci talks about Jaelene Hinkle, and Deadspin’s Dom Cosentino assesses the future of flag football. Sports and the military (1:56): From flags the size of football fields to veterans throwing out the first pitch, sports and the military have become so closely tied since...

Henry Grabar and Josh Levin are joined by Men in Blazers’ Roger Bennett to discuss the World Cup. Racquet Magazine’s Caitlin Thompson talks about Wimbledon. And Sports Illustrated’s Emma Baccellieri assesses the terrible Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals. World Cup (2:33): France won the World Cup with an average age of 25 years and 10 months. Is this the beginning of a French soccer dynast...

Nick Greene and Josh Levin are joined by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl to discuss the World Cup. The New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham also joins to discuss Stephen A. Smith. Plus, an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.  World Cup (1:25): How will a young French team fare against Belgium’s front three? Will England’s reliance on a set piece–heavy o...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley to discuss LeBron to the Lakers, Sports Illustrated’s Luis Miguel Echegaray talks about the World Cup, and the Political Gabfest’s Emily Bazelon assesses the controversy over Luke Heimlich. LeBron (1:16): How will the NBA’s balance of power shift now that the league’s best player is on the West Coast? What does LeBron’s departure...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss the World Cup with Ken Early of the Irish Times, the fate of the DH and Major League Baseball expansion with Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer, and killing the NBA draft with Jay Caspian Kang of Vice News. World Cup (2:00): Ken Early joins for a conversation about Argentina’s fall from grace, England’s impressive play, and Neymar’s meltdowns. Baseball (20:20): Ben Li...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss the World Cup with Slate’s Nick Greene and Slate’s Jim Newell joins to talk about golf’s U.S. Open. Plus, an interview with BuzzFeed’s Ken Bensinger about his book on corruption in soccer, Red Card .  World Cup (2:20): Stefan, Josh, and Nick Greene discuss the start of the men’s World Cup in Russia, including exuberant Spanish-language goal calls, the World Cup...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin to talk about LeBron James' next stop; by Bruce Arena to discuss why the U.S. missed the World Cup; and by Slate's Jayson De Leon for a conversation about who to root for in Russia. LeBron's future (2:21): Nobody knows where the world's best player will end up. But where should he go? (Josh thinks New Orleans.) U.S. soccer (21:52): F...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin discuss the NBA finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors and the crazy story of anonymous Twitter accounts linked to Philadelphia 76ers GM Bryan Colangelo. Hockey writer Greg Wyshynski of ESPN joins the show to discuss the Stanley Cup finals between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights. NBA Finals (3:10): Stefan and Josh talk to Etha...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton to discuss the fourth straight Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals. NPR’s Gene Demby also joins to talk about the NFL’s anthem policy, and Deadspin’s Laura Wagner comes on for a conversation about her piece “So Who Is Barstool’s PFT Commenter?” Warriors and Cavaliers (2:16): Kevin Pelton explains whether the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics sho...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Marcus Thompson to discuss the Warriors and Steph Curry. Bloomberg’s Ira Boudway also joins to talk about legalized sports betting, and John Swansburg helps assess Tom Wolfe’s classic piece on NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. Golden State Warriors (4:20): With Steph Curry looking spry and healthy, can anyone stop the NBA’s best team? And what’...