Upon Further Review

From Mike Pesca, host of the popular Slate podcast The Gist, comes the greatest sports minds imagining how the world would change if a play, trade, injury, or referee's call had just gone the other way. Upon Further Review is a limited edition Slate podcast based on the book of the same name. Over the course of five episodes Mike and a roster of podcast All-Stars will explore counterfactual sporting scenarios through a combination of speculative fiction, investigative journalism and sound-rich narrative. From turning points that every sports fan rues or celebrates, to the forgotten would-be inflection points that defined sports, Upon Further Review answers age old questions, and settles the score, even if the score bounced off the crossbar.

Episodes

What if Tom Brady Never Became The Patriots’ Quarterback?

June 12, 2018 • 28 mins

Live from the airwaves of WRNT, the 50,000 watt scorching (yet fictitious) voice of Boston sports radio….it’s The Dougie and The Donk Show. On today’s episode we take a trip to a fantastical football universe. A new TV special about a notorious 2001 Patriots game asks a lot of crazy questions. Like what if quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the hero of Pats Nation, had been pulled and replaced by benchwarmer Tom Brady? And what if Bill Beli...

Mark as Played

What If the 1999 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Had Lost the Women’s World Cup?

June 5, 2018 • 29 mins

What if Brandi Chastain’s penalty kick against China in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final had bounced off the crossbar resulting in defeat? Just imagine the devastating fallout. There would be no thriving women’s professional league, women’s soccer highlights wouldn’t dominate ESPN and female players would’ve never gotten the same pay as the men. The thing is none of that actually did happen, despite their triumph in 1999. Journalis...

Mark as Played

What If the Dodgers Hadn't Left Brooklyn?

May 29, 2018 • 21 mins

It’s 2018 and after decades of threatening to do so the Dodgers are finally leaving Brooklyn. What will this mean for the vibrant cultural scene and local economy? Or is it possible nobody will even notice since the Brooklyn Nets dominate this hoops and hip-hop-obsessed borough nowadays. Legendary NPR host and longtime Dodgers fan Robert Siegel reports on a bygone era that never actually left.

Mark as Played

BONUS: Jesse Eisenberg meets Dan Majerle

May 27, 2018 • 16 mins

An update on the 1993 letter a young Jesse Eisenberg sent to his NBA hero Dan Majerle. 25 years after Eisenberg wrote that fan letter, he and Majerle were brought together to talk about it on 98.7 FM Arizona's Sports Station.

Mark as Played

The Fan Letter That Doomed the Phoenix Suns

May 22, 2018 • 22 mins

Actor Jesse Eisenberg revisits a painful chapter of his youth when his beloved basketball team, the Phoenix Suns, lost to the Chicago Bulls in the final seconds of Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. Wracked by guilt at the possibility that his fan letter to the Suns’ Dan Majerle provided a fatal distraction, he imagines an alternate reality where he never put pen to paper. NBA legends Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan also make an app...

Mark as Played

What If Nixon Had Been Good At Football?

May 15, 2018 • 24 mins

Football really mattered to Richard Nixon. Only one problem — he sucked at it. That frustration fueled a persecution complex that would eventually bring down his presidency. How would history be different had Nixon been more than just a tackle dummy on his college football team? Upon Further Review and Slow Burn's Leon Neyfakh explores that question, and other great what ifs from sports history.

Mark as Played

Introducing Upon Further Review

May 7, 2018 • 2 mins

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

The Breakfast Club

The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

Advertise With Us

Upon Further Review

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}What if Tom Brady Never Became The Patriots’ Quarterback?

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}What If the 1999 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Had Lost the Women’s World Cup?

What If the Dodgers Hadn't Left Brooklyn?

BONUS: Jesse Eisenberg meets Dan Majerle

The Fan Letter That Doomed the Phoenix Suns

What If Nixon Had Been Good At Football?

Introducing Upon Further Review

Popular Podcasts

What if Tom Brady Never Became The Patriots’ Quarterback?

What If the 1999 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Had Lost the Women’s World Cup?