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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: How Critical is Sunday's Game for the Cowboys?

First Take Resumes as the Dallas Cowboys look to avoid going 0-2 for the first time since 2010. Dallas takes on the feisty Commanders who look to bounce back from their c

Sep 18
46 min

Hour 1: Are the Bills the Team to Beat in the AFC?

First Take Begins with a breakdown of Thursday Night Football's matchup between the Bills and Lions. Josh Allen and the Bills offense shined for the second week in a row

Sep 18
47 min

Hour 2: Whose Offense is More Concerning: Steelers or Patriots?

First Take Resumes as the crew touches on two teams in week one who struggled to put points on the board and did not impress anyone. Should we be worried more about the P

Sep 17
48 min

Hour 1: Is it a Mistake for Joe Burrow to Play if he isn't 100%?

First Take Begins with some big QB injuries. LSU may be going into their biggest game against Ole Miss WITHOUT Sam Leavitt as Lane Kiffin mysteriously listed him as doubt

Sep 17
46 min

Hour 2: Can the Vikings Defense Slow Down the Bears Offense?

First Take Resumes with a big NFC North matchup this weekend. The Vikings take on the Bears as Carson Wentz and Brian Flores' defense look to bring the Vikings to 2-0 whi

Sep 16
46 min

Hour 1: Which Team Needs to Win More: Lions or Bills?

First Take Begins with some disruption in Dallas. Jerry Jones said he's optimistic that they can fix the defense and play better. This is now multiple years of a dreadful

Sep 16
47 min

Hour 2: How do the Cowboys Fix their Defense?

First Take Resumes with Dallas' dreadful defense. The Cowboys spent the offseason revamping their entire defensive unit which was worst in the NFL last season. However th

Sep 15
47 min

Hour 1: Are Chiefs Back as the Team to Beat in the AFC?

First Take Begins as we finally get some more Mahomes magic as the Chiefs down the Broncos on Monday Night Football. Chris Canty, host of UnSportsmanLike on ESPN, joins t

Sep 15
46 min

Hour 2: Does SNF Say More About the Giants or Cowboys?

First Take Resumes with more disfunction in Dallas. The Giants defense kept the Cowboys offense in check for the whole game. What does this say about a Cowboys offense we

Sep 14
46 min

Hour 1: Did Lamar or Josh Allen make a Bigger Statement with their new Head Coach?

First Take Begins with Josh Allen's takeover in Houston. Both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson make big statements with their new head coaches with big week one wins. Should

Sep 14
47 min

Hour 2: Why Were The Rams So Sluggish?

First Take resumes with the sluggish Rams! Perhaps arriving in Australia mere hours before their dual against the 49ers was the wrong move? Then, the Giants face the Cowb

Sep 11
46 min

Hour 1: Did We Overhype The Rams?

First Take Begins with Australia's newest team. After staying in Melbourne for a week the 49ers cruise to a win over the Rams who were clearly missing that L.A weather. T

Sep 11
47 min

Hour 2: Who Needs a Fast Start More: Jordan Love or Kyler Murray?

First Take Resumes as Mina Kimes joins to break down last night's stunner between the Seahawks and Patriots. How much did Drake Maye's lackluster performance change your

Sep 10
47 min

Hour 1: How Much is the Patriots Loss on Drake Maye?

First Take Begins with a Super Bowl Rematch in Seattle. Injuries galore as both Sam Darnold and AJ Brown left the game. But in the absence of Darnold, Drew Lock was able

Sep 10
47 min

Hour 2: Should The 49ers be Concerned About The Rams Offense or Defense?

First Take begins with The NFL's Australia game. Do you give the 49ers any chance to score on the dominant Rams offense? Then, Stephen A. wonders if Joe burrow is lying a

Sep 9
36 min

Hour 1: Should The SEC Expel LSU?

First Take begins with Finebaum flaming a failing entity. The NCAA and SEC embarrasses themselves daily! Now, the SEC may expel LSU? No shot, right? Then, NFL IS BACK!! W

Sep 9
37 min

Hour 2: How will Aaron Rodgers be Viewed if the Steelers Miss the Playoffs?

First Take Resumes as co-host of UnSportsmanLike on ESPN, Chris Canty, gives his first top five NFL teams of the season. The Los Angeles Rams are not his number one team,

Sep 8
26 min

Hour 1: Which Team Will Make a Bigger Statement with a Win on Wednesday, Seattle or New England?

First Take Begins with a look ahead to tomorrow night's first game of the NFL season, Seattle vs New England. Which team comes out on top in this Super Bowl rematch? Shou

Sep 8
47 min

Hour 1: Was Western Michigan Robbed?

First Take begins with a major clock controversy at the Big House. Michigan connects on a last second hail mary to beat Western Michigan by one. But on the broadcast ther

Sep 7
50 min

Hour 2: Could this be Dabo's Final Season with Clemson?

First Take resumes with a break down of the mayhem in Michigan. A hail mary wins it for the Wolverines, but did they really deserve it? Next a conversation is had about D

Sep 7
50 min

Chart trend

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

#11
all-time peak
558
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where First Take ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 20, 2026).

#48 ▼ 3 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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