Upon Further Review

Great sports what-ifs with Mike Pesca.

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About the Show

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.

Host

  • Mike Pesca hosted Slate’s daily podcast The Gist from 2014 - 2021.

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What if the Greatest Women’s Sports Victory Never Happened?

In 1999, the U.S. scored a stunning win over China in the Women’s World Cup. Nearly 20 years later, female athletes are still fighting for recognition and equality.

It’s 2018. The Dodgers Never Left Brooklyn. Here’s How the World Would Be Different.

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How Actor Jesse Eisenberg Doomed the Phoenix Suns

Back in 1993, the actor’s fan letter proved to be a fatal distraction in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

If Nixon Was Good at Football, History Might Be Different

America’s favorite sport created a persecution complex for the 37th president.