Hang Up and Listen

In this Plus episode preview, Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the latest plans to bring back professional and college sports. In the full show, Ultrarunner Zach Bitter also joins to talk about setting a 100-mile world record on a treadmill. Finally, Stefan speaks with Simon Anthony about his experience solving the “miracle Sudoku.”To help support Hang Up and Listen and listen to every episode in full, sign up now for Slate Plus. Members get to skip the ads and get bonus segments and episodes on many Slate podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the final episodes of ESPN’s documentary The Last Dance. Announcer Ian Eagle also joins to talk about the challenge of calling games remotely. Finally, they assess the NFL’s proposed modifications to the Rooney Rule.The Last Dance (01:29): What we learned, and didn’t learn, about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Remote broadcasting (22:22): A veteran sportscaster on what it’s like to call a huge sporting event from a studio.Rooney Rule (44:49): Does it make sense to offer teams better draft picks to hire minority coaches and executives?Afterballs (01:01:54): Stefan on 19th century baseball and smoking and Josh on Michael Jordan’s absence from NBA Jam.To help support Hang Up and Listen and listen to every episode in full, sign up now for Slate Plus. Members get to skip the ads and get bonus segments and episodes on many Slate podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the latest episodes of ESPN’s Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance.To help support Hang Up and Listen and listen to every episode in full, sign up now for Slate Plus. Members get to skip the ads and get bonus segments and episodes on many Slate podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin check in with ESPN’s Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance. They also discuss the latest turn in the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s equal pay lawsuit. Finally, the Hang Up and Listen Quarantine Magazine Club discusses the 1998 Sports Illustrated story “Where’s Daddy?”The Last Dance (02:33): Assessing the episodes on Jordan’s gambling and political stances (or lack thereof).Equal pay lawsuit (22:02): A judge ruled against the USWNT. What happens next?Quarantine Magazine Club (41:24): Looking back at a story on athletes and out-of-wedlock children and the controversy it kicked up.Afterballs (01:00:00): Stefan on Pele’s final competitive match and Josh with another round of pandemic sports trivia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Hang Up Plus preview, Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by David Roth to talk about the socially distanced NFL Draft.Further in the episode, Lindsay Gibbs of Power Plays joins to talk about when and if women’s sports leagues will come back. Finally, Mike Schur of Parks and Recreation and the Good Place helps us assess the 2020 Name of the Year bracket.To hear the full episode, sign up for Slate Plus at Slate.com/HangUpPlus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss ESPN’s documentary on the Chicago Bulls, The Last Dance. They also talk about whether the NBA’s new development program is a threat to college basketball and assess the state of sports media during the coronavirus pandemic.The Last Dance (05:38): What we made of the first two episodes of the 10-part documentary.G League (22:46): Jalen Green is passing on the NCAA to go pro. What does that mean for the future of basketball?Sports media (37:33): How the pandemic will change sports journalism.Afterballs (53:34): Stefan on his daughter’s Scrabble triumphs and Josh on KO Pete McBride.To help support Hang Up and Listen and listen to every episode in full, sign up now for Slate Plus. Members get to skip the ads and get bonus segments and episodes on many Slate podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss the latest on sports and the coronavirus. They also talk with the Athletic’s Ethan Strauss about his new book on the Golden State Warriors, The Victory Machine. And the Hang Up and Listen Quarantine Magazine Club convenes to discuss Bill Russell’s “How I Psych Them.”The pandemic (03:48): ESPN televising HORSE and Major League Baseball’s insane plan to restart the season.The Victory Machine (23:36): The decline and fall of the Warriors’ basketball dynasty.Quarantine Magazine Club (44:29): A conversation about a classic Sports Illustrated piece about sports and psychology.Afterballs (01:01:46): Stefan on SI’s 1963 profile of Bill Russell and Josh with some sports trivia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the push to bring football back and the psychology around restarting sporting events with crowds. Hurdling champion Dawn Harper-Nelson also joins to discuss how her life has changed now that the Olympics have been postponed.NFL (4:04): Donald Trump wants games to start back up again by August or September. Is that realistic? Dawn Harper-Nelson (26:25): Our live show guest from December returns for an update on her life and her training now that the Summer Games are off the calendar for 2020.Afterballs (47:24): Joel on Bobby Bowden, Stefan on Fountains of Wayne’s “All Kinds of Time,” and Josh on a 1948 race between old baseball men. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Joe Vardon to talk about the push to get games back on television. They also discuss the HBO documentary The Scheme, and Josh interviews tennis player Kristie Ahn about what an athlete does when she can’t leave her house.Sports on TV (03:16): TV networks have paid billions to televise sports. What’s going to happen to all that money? And will those dollar signs push leagues to get games on TV as soon as possible?The Scheme (18:24): Is the HBO documentary on corruption in college basketball worth watching? And what should we think of its protagonist, Christian Dawkins?Kristie Ahn (39:37): What’s life like for a pro tennis player who can’t be on the court?Afterball (01:02:13): Stefan on the spitball and the Spanish flu pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about Tom Brady’s move from New England to Tampa Bay. They also discuss the increasing calls to postpone the Olympics. Finally, they interview rugby announcer Nick Heath, who has taken to providing commentary on ordinary life events.Tom Brady (02:02): Did the Patriots disrespect the legendary quarterback? What can we expect of his tenure with the Bucs? Olympics (20:38): Why has the International Olympic Committee been so slow to understand the reality of the global coronavirus pandemic?Life commentary (35:19): How a play-by-play commentator adapted to a world without sports.Afterballs (54:50): Joel on claiming unearned national championships and Josh on the fake games played by the 1982 Saints. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices