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PODCAST · sports

Hot Takedown

by FiveThirtyEight, 538, Neil Paine, Geoff Foster, Sara Ziegler

Hot Takedown is the weekly sports podcast from FiveThirtyEight. On it, the crew uses numbers to dissect the week in sports, taking down some silly hot takes in the process.

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Episodes

  1. Football Is Weird, Part Infinity

    In our last Hot Takedown, the team looks at NFL chaos from this week and college basketball chaos to come. Plus: a Rabbit Hole with a curse.

  2. Analytics, But From The Gut

    Hot Takedown discusses the World Series and a new college football playoff format. Plus: a Rabbit Hole that has all of the sports.

  3. It's Anybody's World Series

    Hot Takedown discusses the World Series and the Chiefs' woes. Plus: a RATPOR Rabbit Hole.

  4. Why Our Model (Still) Hates The Lakers

    Hot Takedown discusses our NBA predictions and the MLB playoffs. Plus: a Rabbit Hole all about first (and second) wins.

  5. Championships, Random-ships

    Hot Takedown discusses this last week in the NFL, MLB, WNBA and College Football and previews the NHL. Plus: A Rabbit Hole for losers.

  6. The Dodgers Need A Reseed

    Hot Takedown discusses the MLB playoffs and Cincinnati's CFB playoff chances. Plus: a special guest joins us for a family-themed Rabbit Hole.

  7. Brady vs. Belichick: Round Whatever

    Hot Takedown discusses Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick and the chaos in college football. Plus: a Rabbit Hole on what's wrong with match play.

  8. Math Nerds (And The Ravens) Win

    Hot Takedown discusses the Ravens' win over the Chiefs and the WNBA playoffs. Plus: a Rabbit Hole that's quite the catch(er).

  9. Actually, Week 1 Does Matter

    Hot Takedown discusses Week 1 in the NFL and the latest no-hitter in MLB. Plus: a Rabbit Hole that messes with Texas.

  10. How We See The NFL Season

    Hot Takedown talks through our NFL predictions. Plus a WNBA at 25 Rabbit Hole.

  11. Nebraska's Frost Is Melting

    Hot Takedown surveys the college football landscape and the results at the Paralympics. Plus: an immaculate (inning) Rabbit Hole.

  12. Turns Out 500 Is A Lot Of Home Runs

    Hot Takedown discusses Miguel Cabrera's 500th home run, the Little League World Series and the fall of Topps in our all-baseball extravaganza.

  13. Our Expectations Aren't Being Met By The Mets

    Hot Takedown discusses the NL East and the NFL preseason. Plus an interview with author Greg Larson.

  14. A Messi Situation

    Hot Takedown looks back at the Tokyo Games and looks ahead to Lionel Messi at PSG. Plus: a Rabbit Hole on the comeback of the eephus pitch.

  15. Simone Biles Beams Back

    Hot Takedown looks at the MLB trade deadline and Olympic Gymnastics. Plus a record-setting track Rabbit Hole.

  16. Big Trouble For The Big 12

    Hot Takedown discusses the latest college football conference realignment and mental focus in the Olympics. Plus: a team name Rabbit Hole in honor of the Cleveland Guardians.

  17. So The Olympics Are Still Happening?

    Hot Takedown discusses the Tokyo Olympics and the NBA Finals. Plus: an expansion draft Rabbit Hole.

  18. All NBA Finals Takes Are Possible

    Hot Takedown looks back at Game 3 of the NBA Finals and the MLB All-Star break. Plus: A rant about English soccer, as a treat.

  19. The Suns vs. The Bucks vs. Injuries

    Hot Takedown previews the NBA Finals and the controversies ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

  20. MLB Tries To Get A Grip

    Hot Takedown discusses MLB's crackdown on sticky stuff and the NBA conference finals.

  21. SCOTUS 9, NCAA 0

    Hot Takedown discusses the implications of the Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Alston and the NBA Conference Finals.

  22. The Enemy Of My Enemy Roots For The Islanders

    Hot Takedown looks at the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Brooks-Bryson rivalry ahead of the U.S. Open.

  23. A Fair Trade For Julio Jones

    Hot Takedown looks at Julio Jones's move from Atlanta to Tennessee and checks in on the NBA Playoffs.

  24. Everyone Lost In The French Open Fracas

    Hot Takedown discusses Naomi Osaka's exit from the French Open and the NBA playoffs.

  25. Can You Have Too Many No-Hitters?

    Hot Takedown looks at no-hitter trend in MLB and the success of older athletes like Phil Mickelson.

  26. Playoffs And Play-Ins

    Hot Takedown looks at the start of the NHL and NBA playoffs. Plus: a Rabbit Hole that puts age before beauty in MLB.

  27. It's Hard To Leave MLB Gracefully

    Hot Takedown reflects on Albert Pujols exit and previews our WNBA predictions.

  28. Draft Grades Are Meaningless But Also A+ Fun

    Hot Takedown reviews NFL draft grades and discusses the NBA play-in tournament. Plus a Rabbit Hole about the past (and future) of tanking.

  29. This NFL Draft Class Still Has Some QB Questions

    Hot Takedown discusses the top quarterbacks, after Trevor Lawrence, in the NFL draft as well as the hype around the Knicks.

  30. A Super League Super Fight

    Hot Takedown looks at how a Super League would change European soccer and the state of the NBA MVP race.

  31. Can We Keep Our Early Baseball Takes Cool?

    Hot Takedown looks at the start of the baseball season and previews the WNBA draft.

  32. An End To The Madness

    Hot Takedown surveys the NCAA Tournament results and previews The Masters. Plus special guest Harry Enten brings an MLB Rabbit Hole.

  33. All Hype Is Good Hype

    Hot Takedown looks at the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight and previews the baseball season.

  34. The NCAA Is Bad At Capitalism

    Hot Takedown looks at the NCAA's mistakes in this year's women's tournament and big upsets in the first two rounds of the men's tournament.

  35. Let's Pick Our Brackets

    Hot Takedown looks at both NCAA tournament brackets and picks our Men and Women's Final Four.

  36. A Year Of Pandemic Sports

    Hot Takedown looks back at how sports adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus: a 16/16 Rabbit Hole.

  37. Why's Everyone Writing Off The Jazz?

    Hot Takedown discusses where Tiger Woods' legacy goes from here and the surprising (regular season) success of the Utah Jazz.

  38. Osaka's Rise Doesn't Mean Serena Is Done

    Hot Takedown talks through the results of the Australian Open and previews March Madness. Yes, it is almost March.

  39. Grading The NHL's Start On And Off The Ice

    Hot Takedown looks at the start of the NHL season and the current state of sports video games. Plus: an MLB free agency Rabbit Hole.

  40. How The Bucs Sunk The Chiefs

    Hot Takedown breaks down Super Bowl LV: how the Buccaneers dismantled the Chiefs' offense and what this win means for Tom Brady's legacy.

  41. Baby GOAT vs. Grizzled GOAT

    Hot Takedown previews Super Bowl LV and discusses the tensions between MLB owners and players.

  42. The Analytics On Being Aggressive

    Hot Takedown discusses the NFL conference championship games and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

  43. One Super Bowl Win Isn't Enough Anymore?

    Hot Takedown discusses Drew Brees' legacy and James Harden's first days with the Brooklyn Nets.

  44. Alabama Was The Unstoppable Force AND The Immovable Object

    Hot Takedown reflects on Alabama's title win and how sports will keep intersecting with politics after Trump.

  45. Ohio State Made The Committee Look Good, And Bad

    Hot Takedown discusses the College Football Playoff finals and the NFL super wild card round. Plus: a Steph Curry-flavored Rabbit Hole.

  46. Let's Stuff 2020 Down A Rabbit Hole

    Hot Takedown closes out the year with three different Rabbit Holes: QB picks, 2020 chalk, and games played on odd weekdays.

  47. New Year, New RAPTOR

    Hot Takedown breaks down our NBA predictions this year and everything wrong with the college football playoff. Plus: A Negro Leagues Rabbit Hole.

  48. Along Came A (Cleveland) Spider

    Hot Takedown discusses the Cleveland Baseball team's name change and the College Football Playoff. Plus: A Rabbit Hole 11 seasons in the making.

  49. The Jets' Tank Is Empty

    Hot Takedown looks at tanking in the NFL and the Wall-Westbrook trade in the NBA. Plus: a chaotic good Rabbit Hole.

  50. Hard To Play Football Without A Quarterback

    Hot Takedown looks at the NFL's uneven attempts to manage the pandemic and a historic first for college football.

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Hot Takedown is the weekly sports podcast from FiveThirtyEight. On it, the crew uses numbers to dissect the week in sports, taking down some silly hot takes in the process.

HOSTED BY

FiveThirtyEight, 538, Neil Paine, Geoff Foster, Sara Ziegler

Produced by FiveThirtyEight.com

CATEGORIES

sports

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Hot Takedown have?

Hot Takedown currently has 351 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Hot Takedown about?

Hot Takedown is the weekly sports podcast from FiveThirtyEight. On it, the crew uses numbers to dissect the week in sports, taking down some silly hot takes in the process.

How often does Hot Takedown release new episodes?

Hot Takedown publishes regularly with 351 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.

Where can I listen to Hot Takedown?

You can listen to Hot Takedown on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Hot Takedown?

Hot Takedown is created and hosted by FiveThirtyEight, 538, Neil Paine, Geoff Foster, Sara Ziegler.
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