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 in, who’s out, and what to expect in the semifinals.   Deion Sanders (49:25): Was he wrong to leave Jackson State?   Afterball (1:08:47): Stefan on soccer vs. football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 the USMNT’s big game.   Michigan-Ohio State (25:53): How the Wolverines took down the Buckeyes again.   Jerry Jones (46:30): How much responsibility does he bear for the NFL’s diversity problems?   Afterball (1:07:46): Joel on the resignation of Stanford football coach David Shaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 (35:06): What’s happening in Qatar, and what the media is (and isn’t) saying about it.   NBA (47:21): What’s wrong with the league’s most star-laden teams?   Afterball (1:07;12): Josh on the next big star in American tennis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 coaching experience. He’s running an NFL team now.   NIL (43:49): Women athletes are getting paid, but is there a potential problem lurking?   Afterball (59:26): Stefan on the pointed commentary about race in A Wife’s Guide to Baseball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 on with Texas A&M?   Herschel Walker (48:46): What’s motivating the former football star’s foray into politics?   Afterball (1:08:35): Joel on what he wishes Deion Sanders would say about Jackson State and HBCUs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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): Will the Prime Effect go away when Coach Prime moves on?   NWSL (47:10): The stardom of Sophia Smith and the future of the league.   Afterball (1:03:05): Stefan on a historic match-up between women soccer coaches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 postseason?   Wilson (28:00): Is Russ cooked?   NBA relegation (47:00): Could it ever happen?   Afterball (1:04:36): Josh on the key to sports fan happiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Redeem Team, about the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team. College Football (5:25): Alabama vs Tennessee and CFB's explosive offenses. Linnsanity revisited (28:32): 38 at The Garden. Is Jeremy Lin still underrated? Redeem Team (49:28): Lebron, Kobe, Wade's quest for gold. Afterballs (1:09:01): Joel examines which high basketball stars lived up to the hype. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Golden State?   Wembanyama (28:24): Can the 18-year-old Frenchman possibly live up to all this hype?   Soccer abuse (49:09): What we learned from the report and what comes next.   Afterball (1:12:20): Stefan revisits cheating in chess and Scrabble.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 injury?   Judge (31:50): Is the Yankees star chasing the “real” home run record?   Chess and poker cheating (54:40): What we know, what we don’t, and what comes next.   Afterball (1:14:06): Josh on the real home run record of 1884. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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): What makes his relationship with Rafael Nadal so special.   Favre (42:20): How the ex-quarterback got enmeshed in an escalating welfare controversy.   Afterball (1:02:46): Joel on Mississippi, a segregation academy, and a football field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Hackett (25:55): What is this coach thinking? Mark Spitz (45:57): One of the greatest Olympians ever remembers the dizzying highs and brutal lows of the 1972 Summer Games. Afterball (1:10:40): Vinson on the greatness of Manu Ginobili. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Alcaraz looks like a legend in the making.   Josh the Ninja (47:20): How he conquered his Ninja Warrior demons.   Afterball (1:11:07): Josh on notable moments in Knicks message board history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 she told Serena before and during her grand send-off in New York.   College football (24:22): How the game is changing, and how it’s staying the same.   Afghan women’s soccer team (49:23): The harrowing story of their escape from Kabul.   Afterball (1:11:42): Stefan on American soccer players on rival Scottish teams having the gall to eat dinner together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 too much for an 18-year-old to handle?   Welcome to Wrexham (47:60): Does the story of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buying a soccer team make for good TV?   Afterball (1:06:51): Josh on drinking beer through a hot dog straw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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?   Dion Wright (23:39): How it felt to go viral for going up against one of the greatest of all time.   No Crime Day (42:20): A conversation about basketball and athlete activism in the 1980s.   Afterball (1:05:56): Stefan on the agony and ecstasy of watching Pete Carril’s Princeton teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 superstar announced in Vogue that she is “evolving away from tennis.”   Psychedelics (35:20): Should more athletes be using them to treat mental health and injury? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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?   Tennis (48:33): Conversations with two of the most fascinating players on tour.   Afterball (1:16:42): Josh on the Shammgodd—or is it the Pooh Allen? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 the court.   England (23:28): How the Lionesses won, and how that victory will change women’s soccer.   Quarterbacks (44:46): The past, present, and future of Black QBs in the NFL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 as a whole?   Vince McMahon (25:24): Why did he retire now? What’s next for WWE?   Pickleball (47:23): Why is it so popular? Is a billionaire ruining it?   Afterball (1:05:40): Josh on Carl Lewis’ mythical 30-foot long jump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices