The Is the Hot Hand Real? Edition

In this week’s episode of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by the Wall Street Journal’s Ben Cohen to talk about the latest on the coronavirus and sports. They also interview Cohen about his book The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks. Finally, they assess a chaotic week in New York professional basketball.

• Follow Ben Cohen on Twitter and buy his book The Hot Hand.

• Cohen and Louise Radnofsky on how the sports world is bracing for the coronavirus.

• LeBron James says he’s not playing if there aren’t fans in the stands.

• In Italy, Juventus beat Inter Milan in an empty stadium.

• Cohen on what NBA Jam’s hot hand reveals about the power of streaks.

• Jordan Ellenberg’s 2015 Slate piece on new research suggesting that the hot hand is real.

• The time LeBron James scored 16 points in 2 minutes.

• Slate’s Nick Greene explained Spike Lee’s feud with James Dolan.

• The Nets fired their head coach, Kenny Atkinson. Were the team’s players responsible for his ouster?

Hang Up and Listen’s weekly Mars Blackmons:

Stefan’s Mars Blackmon: Jay Cutler doesn’t appreciate that team handball is hard (but Luka Doncic does).

Joel’s Mars Blackmon: Megan Thee Stallion’s lawsuit against Carl Crawford and Crawford’s amazing, little-remembered high school football accomplishments.

On this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Joel, Stefan, and Josh talk about the Lakers’ big wins over the Bucks and Clippers.

Podcast production and edit by Rosemary Belson.

You can email us at hangup@slate.com.