The Final Four Countdown

Hosts Lindsay Gibbs and Ben Lindbergh discuss the maddest moment of March—from the UConn buzzer beater, to Women’s Final Four redux. Alex Kirshner rejoins for two interviews: the first with author and professor Seth Tannenbaum about the growing class divide inside baseball stadiums, the subject of his new book, Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites: Democracy and Division at the Twentieth-Century Ballpark . The second with Nina Mandell about an Ohio gymnastics dynasty, chronicled in her book: A Fraction of a Point: A Gymnastics Dynasty on the Line . Finally, Ben closes with an Afterball about the historic and cringey N64 video game Mia Hamm Soccer 64. In this week’s bonus episode for Slate Plus members: the T-Rex hunting for a draft spot in the NFL. March Madness: (6:37): Duke’s demise Bleacher Seats (26:32) : The haves and the have-nots Fraction of a Point (42:42): The gymnastics world beaters Afterballs (57:49): Mia Hamm Soccer 64 (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts.

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The Final Four Countdown is an episode from Hang Up and Listen.

This episode is 1:13:21 long.

This episode was published on Mar 31, 2026.

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