The following podcast contains explicit language, including the words, well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Hi, I'm Josh Levine, Slate's national editor, and this is Hang Up and Listen for the week of

January 31st, 2022. On this week's show, we're going to talk about the Bengals and the Rams,

making it to the Super Bowl, the Chiefs and 49ers missing out, and Tom Brady, maybe, possibly

retiring. We'll also discuss the Australian Open where Rafael

Nadal won his record-setting 21st Grand Slam title. And Grant Wall will join us to assess

the U.S. men's national team's frigid loss to Canada and where they stand in World Cup

qualification. I'm in Washington, D.C., and I am the author of The Queen and the host of the

podcast one year. Joel Anderson is off again this week, which means there will be no gloating

about TCU's basketball victory over LSU, and sadly for him, the statute of limitations

expires today. Stefan Fatsis is here in D.C., and he's the author of the book's Word Freak, A Few Seconds of Panic and Wild and Outside.

And as a more elevated sports fan, he only roots for NFL playoff games to be boring and non-competitive.

So he can win the argument that the 17-game season ruined football.

Oh, my God, you're not going to let that go. You are not going to let that go.

I am most happy that these games are being decided by field goals. Also joining us this week,

with no petty kind of disagreements or score settling that I know of, although we'll see.

It's Louisa Thomas. She's a staff writer at The New Yorker, the author of three books,

co-editor of losers, dispatches

from the other side of the scoreboard. I'm sorry to drop you in to just this pit of

vipers, Louisa. My pettiness runs deep, Josh. It's so petty you, don't even know it.

All right. I look forward to hearing it throughout the show.

Late in the second quarter of Sunday's AFC championship game, the Kansas City Chiefs,

...