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Sports · ESPN, Stephen A. Smith, Shae Cornette

First Take

by ESPN, Stephen A. Smith, Shae Cornette

First Take is always a heated discussion as Stephen A. Smith and guests debate about the day's top stories.

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Hour 2: Is Lamar Jackson still on the same tier as Josh Allen?

First Take resumes as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have a major decision to make on Sunday. The Ravens have not yet made a decision on whether Lamar will be able to play

Oct 28
46 min

Hour 1: Should the Colts trade Jonathan Taylor?

#45 trending · Sports

First Take begins with the Colts fire sale that took place yesterday. All-Pro guard, Quenton Nelson, was traded to Seattle and DeForest Buckner was reunited with his old

Oct 28
47 min

Hour 2: Are the Cowboys the best team in the NFC East??

First Take resumes as Chris Canty, co-host of UnSportsmanLike on ESPN2, joins the show to break down the Cowboys big win over the Eagles. Did that win put the Cowboys in

Oct 27
46 min

Hour 1: What did we learn about the Cowboys after last night's win??

First Take begins with the Cowboys dismantling of the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. The Cowboys offense seemed to finally wake up dropping 38 points. Was this a product

Oct 27
47 min

Hour 2: Is the Cowboys season on the line tonight??

First Take resumes as Michael Irvin joins the show to preview the Monday night football matchup between the Cowboys and the Eagles. Facing an injured and struggling Eagle

Oct 26
45 min

Hour 1: Is the bigger story from last night the Chiefs struggles or the Seahawks Dominance?

First Take begins in Seattle as the Seahawks took down the undefeated Chiefs and held Kenneth Walker and their offense in check all game. Is this a turning point for Seat

Oct 26
48 min

Hour 2: Who will win the NFC North?

First Take resumes as we have a battle in the North on Sunday. The Lions and the Packers face off as both teams try to keep pace with the Bears and Vikings. Which team is

Oct 23
46 min

Hour 1: How dangerous does Caleb Williams make the Bears?

First Take begins as the Chicago Bears took down the New England Patriots last night. Caleb Williams and Luther Burden III balled out as the offense shined once again. Ho

Oct 23
49 min

Hour 2: Are we more impressed with the Lakers or Timberwolves?

First Take resumes as Yankees owner, Hal Steinbrenner, said that the players were the reason for their playoff exit during his press conference yesterday. Was it really a

Oct 22
46 min

Hour 1: Does LaMelo Ball unlock an MVP year for Anthony Edwards?

First Take begins last night in the NBA. We had our first look at the new duo in Minnesota as Ant-Man and LaMelo led the Twolves to a win in Miami. How far can a healthy

Oct 22
47 min

Hour 2: Are the Bears good enough to win the Super Bowl?

First Take resumes as this weekend sees a matchup between two top picks in Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. If Caleb Williams is able to stay healthy the rest of the year,

Oct 21
45 min

Hour 1: What's the biggest reason the 76ers won last night?

First Take begins as the Knicks had their banner night and officially unveiled their championship rings last night. But LeBron and the 76ers had to rain on their parade t

Oct 21
48 min

Hour 2: Are the 49ers the best team in the NFL?

First Take resumes as the 49ers keep on winning. However, the injuries continue to pile up as Mike Evans may be the most recent casualty after leaving the game late in th

Oct 20
46 min

Hour 1: Which team is the biggest threat to a Knicks Repeat?

First Take begins with more coaching controversy coming from the Commanders. After last week's absolute blunder of late game management, the Commanders threw the ball awa

Oct 20
49 min

Hour 2: Are both Notre Dame and BYU threats to win the CFP?

First Take resumes as Stephen A., Dan Orlovsky and Michael Irvin all try to break down exactly what's gone wrong with the Cowboys this season. However, the Packers have n

Oct 19
46 min

Hour 1: Who is most to blame for the Cowboys woes on offense?

First Take begins as the Cowboys have hit a new low. Not only has their defense been horrendous this whole season, but now their offense is starting to struggle as well.

Oct 19
48 min

Hour 2: Will the Cowboys players-only meeting have a positive impact on their game Sunday?

First Take resumes as Dallas heads to Green Bay on Sunday to face the Packers. Will we see a rejuvenated Cowboys defense after their players-only meeting this past week?

Oct 16
46 min

Hour 1: Is it fair to criticize Bo Nix after last night's win?

First Take begins in Mile High as the Broncos defense stood up tall against the Seattle Seahawks. Five sacks and two interceptions for the defense helped propel the Bronc

Oct 16
47 min

Hour 2: Is Bo Nix holding the Broncos back from being Super Bowl Contenders?

First Take resumes as Thursday Night Football is a matchup between two of the league's best defenses in the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. But, both of these te

Oct 15
46 min

Hour 1: Does the 3-0 series say more about the Brewers or Dodgers?

First Take begins as the Los Angeles Dodgers are in real jeopardy of losing their dynasty. The Milwaukee Brewers hold a 3-0 lead in the NLCS and look to close out the swe

Oct 15
47 min

Chart trend

Position in the Sports chart (US), last 90 days.

#11
all-time peak
591
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where First Take ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 29, 2026).

#37 ▲ 5 Sports US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I had stop listening to this podcast when they had Keyshawn Johnson as a regular guess. At the time it seemed like the show was more of who could tell the loudest and cut off the other speaker the fastest. Thankfully they realized that format sucked now it’s my favorite podcast. Great intelligent organized discussions now

Lazy worker66479 · Jun 2026

Anytime I want to listen to a good sports podcast that’s funny and has personality I listen to First Take. Stephen A or MR. SMITH is my favorite sports journalist and the fact that they have guys like Wendy, Big Perk, and Shannon made it even more enjoyable. I really like this podcast and I highly recommend listening to it.

flacker boy · Jul 2024

I took some time today to listen to your show!! First Take, is a fantastic podcast with great info, advice, and perspectives. You won't regret listening to and learning from the podcast.

Credibility specialist · Mar 2023

One of the best sports talk shows out there. Would be 5 stars if not for the audio engineers who fail to address the fact that audio only comes into one side of headphones.

Prime26 · Mar 2023

Followed this show for years. It’s just not the same without a consistent crew. There’s some new wise guy on here every other day. Worst thing they could’ve done was go away from Skip and Max. The open seat just rotates with uninteresting unentertaining people. The show is now in a state that is ABSOLUTELY UNWATCHABLE if Stephen is off. Then it’s just 2 randoms talking sports. Molly ain’t even there a lot of the time now First Take might be the most boring sports media show as currently constructed.

Vfrjfd · Apr 2023

ALWAYS GLITCHY STILL!! More times than not this podcast is glitchy. From the audio coming out of 1 ear bud to the audio coming out choppy. The show, the actual show is great but the podcast’s audio issues are annoying and hard to listen to.

B.I.G. Caesar · Dec 2022

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About First Take on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of First Take, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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