Hot Takedown

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.

Latest Episodes:

Baseline: The U.S. Open Begins Aug 29, 2016

Show notes

FiveThirtyEight's U.S. Open podcast returns! Carl Bialik talks to Racquet Magazine's Caitlin Thompson and the WTA's Courtney Nguyen about their predictions for the tournament.

Stat School Summer Vacation Special Aug 23, 2016

Show notes

Hot Takedown digs into the vault this week to bring you two NFL Stat Schools back-to-back. Now's the time to pick your fantasy football teams using only advanced metrics.

Make Olympic Medals Great Again Aug 16, 2016

Show notes

Nate Silver joins the crew to tell us why the Olympic medal table is broken and how we should fix it. We also talk about the USWNT and Usain Bolt.

Subtle (And Not So Subtle) Dominance Aug 09, 2016

Show notes

The HTD crew discusses the dominant performances by U.S. swimmers and gymnasts at the Olympics. Plus what Ichiro's stats would look like had he played his entire career in MLB

The Ultimate Deodorizer Aug 02, 2016

Show notes

It's an HTD Olympics special. Allison McCann joins from Rio to preview the upcoming action. Then, Dave Zirin comes on to tell us why the Olympics are bad news for host cities.

It's A Ropeswing, Not A Leap Jul 26, 2016

Show notes

The Hot Takedown crew discusses this year's Tour de France with the WSJ's Jason Gay, the Major League's trade deadline and the WNBA's stat-busting new star, Nnemkadi Ogwumike.

They Call Him The Godslayer Jul 19, 2016

Show notes

The HTD team discusses the developments in the Russian doping scandal, the mysterious return of the home run and Hungrybox, the Esports champ who's gone from god to GOAT.

Who Is John Q. Public? Jul 12, 2016

Show notes

The HTD Crew welcomes Mina Kimes to discuss Von Miller's fight against the franchise tag, Daniel Murphy's revenge tour and dead days in the sports calendar.

He's Not Throwing Away His Shot Jul 05, 2016

Show notes

The HTD crew discusses Kevin Durant's move to the Warriors, the matchup between Bale and Ronaldo at the Euros and Djokovic's shock loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon.

Because Pat Summitt Existed Jun 28, 2016

Show notes

The HTD crew discusses the legacy of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, the Derrick Rose trade and Kevin Durant's potential move to the Warriors.