Hot Takedown

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

What's 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.

4.5

326326 ratings

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Hot Takedown episodes:

11.09.2021
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.
11.02.2021
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.
10.26.2021
It's Anybody's World Series
Hot Takedown discusses the World Series and the Chiefs' woes. Plus: a RATPOR Rabbit Hole.
10.19.2021
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.
10.12.2021
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.
10.05.2021
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.
09.28.2021
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.
09.21.2021
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).
09.14.2021
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.
09.07.2021
How We See The NFL Season
Hot Takedown talks through our NFL predictions. Plus a WNBA at 25 Rabbit Hole.
08.31.2021
Nebraska’s Frost Is Melting
Hot Takedown surveys the college football landscape and the results at the Paralympics. Plus: an immaculate (inning) Rabbit Hole.
08.24.2021
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.
08.17.2021
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.
08.10.2021
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.
08.03.2021
Simone Biles Beams Back
Hot Takedown looks at the MLB trade deadline and Olympic Gymnastics. Plus a record-setting track Rabbit Hole.
07.27.2021
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.
07.20.2021
So The Olympics Are Still Happening?
Hot Takedown discusses the Tokyo Olympics and the NBA Finals. Plus: an expansion draft Rabbit Hole.
07.13.2021
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.
07.06.2021
The Suns vs. The Bucks vs. Injuries
Hot Takedown previews the NBA Finals and the controversies ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
06.29.2021
MLB Tries To Get A Grip
Hot Takedown discusses MLB's crackdown on sticky stuff and the NBA conference finals.
06.22.2021
SCOTUS 9, NCAA 0
Hot Takedown discusses the implications of the Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Alston and the NBA Conference Finals.
06.15.2021
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.
06.08.2021
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.
06.01.2021
Everyone Lost In The French Open Fracas
Hot Takedown discusses Naomi Osaka’s exit from the French Open and the NBA playoffs.
05.25.2021
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.
05.18.2021
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.
05.11.2021
It's Hard To Leave MLB Gracefully
Hot Takedown reflects on Albert Pujols exit and previews our WNBA predictions.
05.04.2021
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.
04.27.2021
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.
04.20.2021
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.
04.13.2021
Can We Keep Our Early Baseball Takes Cool?
Hot Takedown looks at the start of the baseball season and previews the WNBA draft.
04.06.2021
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.
03.30.2021
All Hype Is Good Hype
Hot Takedown looks at the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight and previews the baseball season.
03.23.2021
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.
03.16.2021
Let’s Pick Our Brackets
Hot Takedown looks at both NCAA tournament brackets and picks our Men and Women's Final Four.
03.09.2021
A Year Of Pandemic Sports
Hot Takedown looks back at how sports adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus: a 16/16 Rabbit Hole.
03.02.2021
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.
02.23.2021
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.
02.16.2021
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.
02.09.2021
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.
02.02.2021
Baby GOAT vs. Grizzled GOAT
Hot Takedown previews Super Bowl LV and discusses the tensions between MLB owners and players.
01.26.2021
The Analytics On Being Aggressive
Hot Takedown discusses the NFL conference championship games and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
01.19.2021
One Super Bowl Win Isn't Enough Anymore?
Hot Takedown discusses Drew Brees' legacy and James Harden's first days with the Brooklyn Nets.
01.12.2021
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.
01.05.2021
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.
12.29.2020
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.
12.22.2020
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.
12.15.2020
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.
12.08.2020
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.
12.01.2020
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.

What's Hot Takedown about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Hot Takedown episodes:

Football Is Weird, Part Infinity

Analytics, But From The Gut

It's Anybody's World Series

Why Our Model (Still) Hates The Lakers

Championships, Random-ships

The Dodgers Need A Reseed

Brady vs. Belichick: Round Whatever

Math Nerds (And The Ravens) Win

Actually, Week 1 Does Matter

How We See The NFL Season

Nebraska’s Frost Is Melting

Turns Out 500 Is A Lot Of Home Runs

Our Expectations Aren’t Being Met By The Mets

A Messi Situation

Simone Biles Beams Back

Big Trouble For The Big 12

So The Olympics Are Still Happening?

All NBA Finals Takes Are Possible

The Suns vs. The Bucks vs. Injuries

MLB Tries To Get A Grip

SCOTUS 9, NCAA 0

The Enemy Of My Enemy Roots For The Islanders

A Fair Trade For Julio Jones

Everyone Lost In The French Open Fracas

Can You Have Too Many No-Hitters?

Playoffs And Play-Ins

It's Hard To Leave MLB Gracefully

Draft Grades Are Meaningless But Also A+ Fun

This NFL Draft Class Still Has Some QB Questions

A Super League Super Fight

Can We Keep Our Early Baseball Takes Cool?

An End To The Madness

All Hype Is Good Hype

The NCAA Is Bad At Capitalism

Let’s Pick Our Brackets

A Year Of Pandemic Sports

Why's Everyone Writing Off The Jazz?

Osaka's Rise Doesn't Mean Serena Is Done

Grading The NHL's Start On And Off The Ice

How The Bucs Sunk The Chiefs

Baby GOAT vs. Grizzled GOAT

The Analytics On Being Aggressive

One Super Bowl Win Isn't Enough Anymore?

Alabama Was The Unstoppable Force AND The Immovable Object

Ohio State Made The Committee Look Good, And Bad

Let's Stuff 2020 Down A Rabbit Hole

New Year, New RAPTOR

Along Came A (Cleveland) Spider

The Jets' Tank Is Empty

Hard To Play Football Without A Quarterback