Stephen A. Smith joins Skip Bayless’ podcast in first reunion since ‘First Take’ split

Since Skip Bayless opted to depart from ESPN in favor of the lead role on FS1’s Undisputed in 2016, the careers of both he and former First Take co-host Stephen A. Smith have gone in vastly different directions. But for the first time since their breakup, the two are reportedly set to come together.

Smith is obviously one of the premier voices in sports media and has been for quite some time. And while Bayless may not be at the peak of his powers without a role on TV anymore after parting ways with FS1 this past August, his voice certainly still holds weight in the sports media landscape.

According to a report from Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Bayless recently taped an episode of his podcast, The Skip Bayless Show, where he was joined by Smith. The episode is reportedly set to be released early next week.

Glass Break: Hearing that Skip Bayless taped an episode of his podcast with Stephen A. Smith to release early next week. It’s the first time they’ve been together on-air since Bayless left First Take for FS1 in 2016. @FOS. pic.twitter.com/KlDFnz0zSI

— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) March 7, 2025

It will certainly be interesting to see what topics will be discussed by the two former on-air partners. One would assume that they would address the reasoning for why they went their separate ways, which both Smith and Bayless have discussed separately on numerous occasions.

Another topic that the two share is working alongside Shannon Sharpe. So perhaps we will further hear about how both of them perceive Sharpe as a co-host.

Stephen A. Smith has been adamant that he has no plans of working alongside Bayless in the future, which he was asked about shortly after Bayless was let go by FS1. So don’t expect this one-off podcast to spark some sort of lasting reunion between the two.

While the two may never work together again, they have been quite complimentary of each other when reflecting on what they meant for each other’s careers. So it should be interesting to hear the two longtime partners again whenever the podcast episode does end up dropping.