The Gist

Latest Episodes:

At Least The Seas Are Calm Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

US Naval dominance has assured an unprecedented age of peace and prosperity on world's waters. Gregg Easterbrook notes the little-observed near-miracle of Pax Marititum. Plus finding hope in the hopeless state of the climate. Here's Mike's Hopeful hint: Just think of it like Cancer!

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Ukraine Could Damn Putin Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

A slog in Ukraine could be Putin's undoing - what would that look like? Charles Kupchan, former special adviser to President Obama is in touch with Russian officials and insiders, he games out the consequences of Ukraine as Waterloo. Plus Rashida Tlaib's SOTU clap back, and Andrew Cuomo is claiming exoneration in a new 30 second ad.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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Deep Throat Was An Operative Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

Gerrett Graff author of Watergate: A New History talks about Mark Felt and what really pushed Nixon out

On today's show Mike concludes his interview with the author of an expansive new history of Watergate, Garrett Graff. Plus a few suggestions for how to describe the State of Our Union (Hangry?) and the debut of the first bonafide jingle of Season Two.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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Are We Crazy To Think Putin Is Crazy? Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

The Russian President is tough, cruel and ambitious. But now that he's suffered setbacks, we're hearing he's also mad.

On Todays Show Mike considers how useful it is to dwell on Putin's mental health and how accurate it is to tell ourselves that the Ukrainian resistance is indomitable. Plus, Garrett Graff author of Water Gate: A New History stops by to tell us what's new in the land of Nixon.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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BEST OF THE GIST: The Age Of Charlatans Feb 27, 2022

Show notes

In this week's Best Of The Gist episode, Mike talks with Moises Naim about the rise of the autocrat, and we time warp back to July 2014 to hear an eerily familiar tale about Putin.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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Glib Punditry Helped Putin Feb 26, 2022

Show notes

We didn't take Putin's seriousness seriously.

Benjamin Wittes, Editor in Chief of Lawfare, discusses if anything short of Ukrainian sacrificing their lives will keep Putin from keeping Ukraine. Plus, explaining why the Stock Market shrugged off the war.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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A Big, Long War Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Chris Miller, author of Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia says Putin is out for blood

Putin has said he's rolling into Ukraine to de-Nazify the country which fought the Nazis and whose president is a Jew. But Putin doesn't even care what he says, he cares where he bombs. And in the Spiel the importance of a great nation unable to prevent one war speaks poorly of the same nation unwilling to stop another.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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Police and Prostitutes in South Africa Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

Sex work in South Africa is a hazard because the policing is haphazard.

American Law Professor I India Thusi studied sex workers in South Africa, narrowly escaping some entanglements along the way. Plus, the 14-year-old mistake made by an American President that contributed to the war in Ukraine. And a congressional candidate has a believable reason for vomiting on 12-year-olds at a sleep over. Might it be that when she was 12 no one invited her to a sleep over? No, it's mixing drugs and wine.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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The Clever Thugs Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Moises Naim on The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics

The former Venezuelan trade minister who lived through Chavez wrecking his country has worked out something like the Autocratic Genome Project. What's alarming is that these clever thugs are learning from each other. Plus, the second guilty verdict for Ahmaud Arbery's killers and do sanctions ever really work?

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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BEST OF THE GIST: Protestors And Laundromats Feb 19, 2022

Show notes

This weekend, we're revisiting Mike's recent Spiel about the similarities between the protest tactics of BLM and Canadian truckers. And then we're going way back to the first few months of the Gist (June 2014, to be exact-ish), to a laundromat in order to talk about what we now see as the nascent gig economy.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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