Hang Up and Listen

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Grant Wahl to discuss the U.S. loss to the Netherlands at the World Cup. Josh and Joel Anderson are then joined by Slate’s Alex Kirshner to talk about the College Football Playoff pairings and Deion Sanders’ move to Colorado.   World Cup (3:43):  The positives and negatives of the USMNT’s run to the round of 16.   College Football Playoff (27:50):  Who’s...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by journalist Meg Swanick to preview the U.S. men’s soccer team’s matchup against Iran. Ben Mathis-Lilley, the author of The Hot Seat, also joins to discuss Michigan’s win over Ohio State. Finally, they talk about the Washington Post’s feature on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.   USA-Iran (4:09):  The on-field and off-field implications of...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Eric Betts to discuss the U.S. men’s national team’s 1-1 draw against Wales. They also discuss the controversial opening days of the World Cup. Finally, they assess the Warriors’ and Lakers' early-season woes and Kyrie Irving’s return to the Brooklyn Nets.   USA-Wales (4:24):  How the USMNT fizzled after a promising start.   FIFA (...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Grant Wahl to talk about the World Cup in Qatar. They also discuss the NFL head coaching debut of the Colts’ Jeff Saturday and examine how women athletes are benefitting from the new name, image, and likeness rules in college sports.   Qatar (3:08):  Bribery, authoritarianism, and soccer.   Jeff Saturday (24:07):  He has no college or pro...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports to talk about the Houston Astros’ World Series triumph. They also discuss LSU’s win over Alabama and the current state of SEC football. Finally, they assess Herschel Walker’s Senate candidacy.   World Series (5:02):  How Houston won it all.   SEC football (26:12):  Is Alabama on the way down? And what’s going...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss Kyrie Irving and anti-Semitism. They also talk about the continued rise of Deion Sanders and Jackson State. And Claire Watkins of Just Women’s Sports comes on for a conversation about the championship game of the National Women’s Soccer League.   Kyrie (3:09):  Is it finally time for the Brooklyn Nets to get rid of him?   Jackson State (28:09): ...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by the Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh to talk about the Astros-Phillies World Series. They also discuss the decline of Russell Wilson, and possibly Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. And they assess whether Adam Silver’s NBA promotion and relegation talk is for real.   World Series (5:35):  How are the Astros so consistently good in the randomness of the p...

Joel Anderson and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley to review a crazy weekend in college football. ESPN’s Pablo Torre talks with Joel, Stefan, and Vinson Cunningham of The New Yorker about the new documentary 38 at the Garden on Jeremy Lin’s short but brilliant run with the New York Knicks a decade ago. Finally, Joel, Stefan, and Vinson discuss another new documentary, The Rede...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the Warriors’ Draymond Green punching his teammate Jordan Poole. They also discuss 7-foot-4 basketball phenom Victor Wembanyama. Finally, the Athletic’s Steph Yang joins for a conversation about Sally Yates’ report on abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League.   Warriors (4:59):  How should the team handle Draymond’s punch? Is he done in Go...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the fallout from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussions. They also talk about Aaron Judge’s quest for the American League home run record. Finally, chess champion and poker pro Jennifer Shahade joins for a conversation about cheating allegations in both sports.   Tua (3:52):  Why was he allowed to play after suffering an obvious head...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the Boston Celtics’ decision to suspend head coach Ime Udoka. They also talk about Roger Federer’s tearful retirement. Finally, Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today joins for a conversation about Brett Favre and the state’s enormous welfare scandal.   Udoka (4:24):  Did the media and the Celtics mishandle the news of his suspension?   Federer (21:01)...

Josh Levin, Joel Anderson, and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham discuss the NBA’s suspension of Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett’s bizarre decisions. Finally, Josh and Stefan Fatsis speak with Olympic champion Mark Spitz about the new documentary series  72—A Gathering of Champions . Robert Sarver (4:07):  Should Adam Silver have done more? Nathaniel Ha...

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham discuss the opening weekend of the NFL season and the rise of tennis phenoms Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. They’re also joined by Josh Levin (same name, different guy) to discuss how he made the final stage of American Ninja Warrior.   NFL (3:10):  The cognitive dissonance of a new season.   Tennis (23:27):  Why 19-year-old Carlos...

Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis speak with Rennae Stubbs of ESPN and Racquet about coaching Serena Williams at the U.S. Open. Alex Kirshner of Slate and Split Zone Duo joins to discuss the start of college football season and the new 12-team playoff. Finally, the New York Times’ Juliet Macur talks about her story on how the Afghan women’s soccer team escaped the Taliban.   Rennae Stubbs (3:24):  What...

Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and Vinson Cunningham are joined by Ben Mathis-Lilley to discuss his new book on college football,  The Hot Seat . They also discuss the hype around American tennis star Coco Gauff and review the soccer documentary  Welcome to Wrexham .   The Hot Seat  (2:14):  Why does college football make so many of us insane?   Coco Gauff (24:54):  Is the publicity warranted, or is t...

Josh Levin, Stefan Fatsis, and Vinson Cunningham are joined by Defector’s Maitreyi Anantharaman to discuss the WNBA playoffs. Dion Wright also joins to explain what it was like to guard LeBron James. Finally, they talk about Isiah Thomas’ “No Crime Day,” the subject of the first episode of Slate’s One Year: 1986 podcast.   WNBA (2:48):  Can   Sue Bird lead the Seattle Storm to a fifth title?   Dio...

Vinson Cunningham and Stefan Fatsis are joined by the New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas to discuss the latest on Deshaun Watson’s sexual abuse case and Serena Williams’ impending retirement. Also, Sports Illustrated’s Julie Kliegman joins to talk about athletes and psychedelics.   Deshaun Watson (5:00):  The new Browns quarterback debuted with the team to boos and jeers.   Serena Williams (21:52):  The s...

Josh Levin, the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham, and Slate’s Henry Grabar take an audio tour of Vin Scully’s broadcasting career. They also discuss the documentary  NYC Point Gods . Finally, Josh interviews tennis players Maxime Cressy and Daria Saville.   Vin Scully (2:36):  Eight moments from 66 years in the booth.   NYC Point Gods  (33:11):  Is the new basketball documentary worth watching?   Te...

Josh Levin is joined by Aram Goudsouzian for a conversation about Bill Russell’s life and legacy; by Grant Wahl to talk about England’s historic victory at the women’s European soccer championships; and by Andscape’s Jason Reid to discuss Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, and Reid’s book  Rise of the Black Quarterback . Bill Russell (2:21):  The basketball legend’s biographer on his impact on and off...

Josh Levin and the New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham are joined by Tim Layden to discuss the record breakers of the world track and field championships; by Abe Riesman to talk about Vince McMahon’s scandal-laden retirement from WWE; and by Sarah Larson for a conversation about her New Yorker feature on pickleball.   Track and field (1:30):  What’s next for Sydney McLaughlin, Noah Lyles, and the sport...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the opening weekend of the world track and field championships. They also talk about why the Angels are so bad in spite of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout and the Nationals’ Juan Soto dilemma. Finally, Puck’s Julia Ioffe joins for a conversation about Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia.   Track (4:07):  Why   an   American hurdler got a raw deal...

Joel Anderson, Josh Levin, and Ben Mathis-Lilley discuss their proposals for fixing college football. Josh then speaks with Ben Rothenberg about Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon win over Nick Kyrgios. Finally, Joel, Josh, and Ben assess the rising stars of NBA Summer League.   College football (3:26):  How will the sport reshape itself in the next five years?   Tennis (27:01):  Wimbledon got the final i...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trade drama. They also talk about UCLA and USC moving to the Big Ten and assess the verbal sparring between Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon.   Nets (2:26):  Could they still keep KD and Kyrie?   Big Ten (24:28):  What the latest big move means for the future of college football an...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by Olympic gold medalist Crissy Perham to discuss what  Roe v. Wade  getting overturned means for women athletes. They also discuss Arch Manning’s decision to play football at the University of Texas and Ohio State getting a trademark on the word “the.”   Crissy Perham (2:56):  A champion swimmer on why she’s speaking out about her abortion....

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski to discuss the Stanley Cup Finals. They also talk about  Dream On , the ESPN documentary on the 1996 U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team. Finally, they assess Nike upon its 50th anniversary.   Stanley Cup (2:40):  Inside   the match-up between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning.   Dream On  (26:57):  Look...