The Edge: Houston Astros

Stephen A. Smith knows mercy…when it's warranted. On “Know Mercy,” Stephen A. will give you his straight shooter point of view beyond the world of sports, breaking barriers and pulling back the curtain on politics, entertainment, and business. Three times a week, you'll hear his unfiltered opinions on front page news and pertinent cultural events, as well as interviews with outspoken celebrities and thought leaders across the societal arena. You're guaranteed to be entertained, informed, and motivated. And one thing will be clear: you don't need to know sports to know mercy. “Know Mercy with Stephen A. Smith” is a presentation of Cadence13, an Audacy studio. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Ghostwriter, a new gripping and suspenseful podcast movie listening experience from C13Features. In Ghostwriter, Kate Mara and Adam Scott star in a psychological thriller about a former journalist who reluctantly accepts a job ghostwriting a new murder mystery novel for an eccentric billionaire. Kate Michaels has been living a solitary life after a traumatic experience, but after pressure from her rational agent and candid best friend, she begrudgingly concedes that she needs the work. As she collaborates with the enigmatic James Webber on the project, she finds herself growing dependent on him and starts to suspect that something is wrong…deeply wrong. Will Kate be able to trust herself with James' story, or even her own voice? Get ready to pop some popcorn, and get lost in your imagination in this invigorating new podcast movie experience, Ghostwriter, from C13Features, dropping December 6. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1987, a former prosecutor named Margaret Coon took her dog for a walk in one of Louisiana's safest and most affluent parishes. The next morning, she was found dead on the side of the road with a single stab wound in her back. St. Tammany Parish advertises itself as a safe haven from the crime and corruption of New Orleans, attracting thousands of residents over the last several decades. But there is a darker side to St. Tammany and that darkness ultimately consumed Margaret Coon. Welcome to Gone South Season 1: Who Killed Margaret Coon? Over the course of this documentary podcast series from C13Originals, a Cadence13 studio, journalist Jed Lipinski investigates the theories and motives surrounding Margaret Coon's unsolved murder, shedding new light on a bewildering crime that has haunted St. Tammany for over 34 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A perfect town comes with a terrifying price. From C13Features comes Treat, a podcast movie starring Kiernan Shipka as Allie West, an unpopular teenager who is dealing with issues beyond her years while struggling to fit in with her seemingly perfect small town. But, on one Halloween night, everything changes, and she discovers that her town's idyllic image comes at a deadly cost. As she learns about the mysterious Piper's powerful hold on the town, she, along with her younger brother, realize they are the only ones who can save their community before it's too late. Can Allie West help rescue her family, and their town, and even herself, from its evil past and own demise? Grab some popcorn, and get lost in your imagination in this new thrilling and frightening podcast movie experience, Treat, from C13Features, a Cadence13 Studio. Available now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Fallen Angel, a documentary podcast about Victoria's Secret...and its many, many secrets. The series investigates the origin story of one of the world's most iconic brands and its effect on American culture for nearly 40 years, all told by women who witnessed what really happened behind the curtain. Fallen Angel goes back to the beginning of the lingerie megabrand to confront the many ways the brand influenced how a generation of women think about sex, desire, and beauty. The series also explores Les Wexner, the private man who has been at the head of the company for over 35 years, and his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Follow Fallen Angel wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the conclusion of our series finale, the Astros return for the 2020 season as the villains of baseball – without their fired G.M. Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch. Meanwhile, skepticism rages about whether justice was served. Other developments in baseball raise questions about who really loses – and who wins – in a world where everyone is seeking an edge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an intensive investigation, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred issued his report about the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and punishments for some of its key figures. G.M. Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch received year-long suspensions, and were quickly fired by the Astros. But did the right people face consequences? In part 1 of our season finale, Luhnow breaks his silence about who knew what and when they knew it - and reveals that the Astros' scheme extended beyond trash can banging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The revelation of the Astros' trash can-banging, sign-stealing scheme ignited a firestorm. Players emerged to say that they'd known the Astros had been up to something – like Danny Farquhar, a former White Sox reliever who'd been the first to detect suspiciously-timed sounds from Houston's dugout. But the scandal really accelerated on the internet, where amateur sleuths like Tony Adams scoured video evidence to figure out what exactly the Astros had done. Adams's work allowed statisticians to analyze the impact of the Astros' scheme – and to arrive at some surprising conclusions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2018 Astros were even more talented than the previous season's champions. There was just one problem: they couldn't count on their closer. The good news? There was a great one, named Roberto Osuna, available on the trade market – but Osuna had been suspended for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. While many clubs wouldn't even consider bringing him on, Jeff Luhnow's Astros swooped in. It was the moment when many realized just how far the Astros would go to find a winning edge. And it was a seed that would metastasize into something deeply destructive: a shocking clubhouse incident that made the formerly lovable underdogs a target to be taken down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of baseball's unofficial slogans? “If you're not cheating, you're not trying.” Baseball's history of sign stealing is almost as old as the sport itself. Players have always gone to great lengths to decipher the non-verbal signals that opponents use to communicate on the field: using buried buzzers, military-grade telescopes, even cameras. In 2017, a respected veteran named Carlos Beltran joined the Houston Astros. Aided by the powerful, and largely unregulated, new technologies he had at his disposal, Beltran led the Astros to their long awaited championship – even as defeated rivals, like the Dodgers' Chase Utley, harbored suspicions about how they'd done it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Houston's first great sports innovator was named Judge Roy Hofheinz. He brought the Astros to town in the 1960s with the promise of what would become known as the Eighth Wonder of the World: the Astrodome, the first ever domed stadium. But there was one thing the Judge couldn't build: a championship team. That task fell to Hofheinz's modern successor, Jeff Luhnow, who applied the disruptive, data-driven techniques he'd learned in the business and tech worlds… with controversial results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Houston Astros were the worst baseball team in half a century. But when Ben Reiter wrote about the club for Sports Illustrated in 2014, he came to believe that they would soon be champions. In fact, he predicted on the cover of the magazine that they would win the 2017 World Series. Then they actually did, and Reiter wrote a bestselling book about their novel strategies and earned a new nickname: Astrodamus. But there was one thing Reiter hadn't predicted or known about, a secret that wouldn't come to light until two years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season One of The Edge is a six-part documentary podcast, presented by Cadence13 and Prologue Projects, following best-selling Astroball author Ben Reiter as he investigates the cheating scandal that tarnished the Houston Astros' World Series 2017 win. Through original interviews with key figures in the scandal, Reiter gets to the bottom of what happened, who's to blame, and why the scandal enraged the sports world more than any other in recent memory. He also answers the biggest question of all: What drove the most forward-thinking organization in the history of sports not just to the edge … but over it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices