The Gist

Latest Episodes:

Olive Branch, Turkey Leg Oct 13, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, how coverage of bisexuality has changed (for the better).

Thanksgiving approaches, and with it all the tension that comes with mixing family and politics in the age of Trump. In that setting, Ike Barinholtz saw grist for a political comedy. He directs and stars in The Oath, in which a family reunion is cleaved by the federal government's push for Americans to sign a "loyalty waiver to the president."

In the Spiel, what Arizona Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema did as congresswoman is much more important than what she did … in a tutu?

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Going to The Good Place Oct 12, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz.

At first The Good Place on NBC appears to be a light and easy sitcom about a bad apple accidentally dropped into heaven, but look at little deeper and you'll find a smart and dense comedy about moral philosophy. Creator Mike Schur joins us to discuss this show's moral compass, baseball, and the Kant of it all. The Good Place airs on Thursdays on NBC.

In the Spiel, Trump's rally in Erie, Pennsylvania.

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And What About Yemen? Oct 11, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, should we continue to trust Facebook with our data?

Saudi Arabia's disastrous war with rebel tribes in Yemen is 3½ years deep, as is America's support for it. Michael Knights, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, details the kingdom's goals: stopping the missile attacks sailing in from Yemen, restoring the country's ousted leaders, and countering the rebels' biggest ally, Iran.

In the Spiel, the disappearance of abortion providers, the rise of crisis pregnancy centers, and what Google can do about it.

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Guarding the Court Oct 10, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, it would be cynical to view the Supreme Court as illegitimate.

Brett Kavanaugh has done it. But how will the other members of the Supreme Court treat him? And does his promotion affect the American people's faith in the nation's highest court? Slate's courts correspondent Dahlia Lithwick joins us to discuss.

In the Spiel, back in the private sector, Nikki Haley can look forward to making Hope Hicks–level money (which, incredibly, is a lot of money).

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Take Down the Poll Oct 06, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, after all of that, not a single senator changed his or her vote to back (or stop) Kavanaugh.

In the interview, Jill Lepore's new book focuses in part on the marginalized groups forgotten by other American histories. It also denounces the polling industry born in the '30s, which turned politics into business even as it ignored black Americans, slowing their march for civil rights. Lepore's book is These Truths: A History of the United States.

In the Spiel, don't forget that the political pendulum always swings back.

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Sitting President, Standing Anger Oct 05, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the hippocampus has its moment.

Tom Arnold believes incriminating tapes of Donald Trump are out there, and he wants to find them. In his new series for Viceland, The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, he's looking for anything from more Access Hollywood obscenities to the infamous pee tape. But would publishing any of these actually change anything about politics today?

In the Spiel, the rhetoric of "sitting Trump" versus "standing Trump."

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Reignited (and It Feels So Good) Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Brett Kavanaugh's high school and college buddies had some weird nicknames, and it's not helping his case.

Rebecca Traister is angry, and she knows other women are too. Events from Trump's election through the #MeToo movement inspired her new book, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger.

In the Spiel, Mike read the New York Times' expose on how Donald Trump got rich—so you don't have to.

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Mueller on the Mind Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Beto O'Rourke has the momentum but also a mountain to climb.

In the interview, Neal Katyal has argued 37 cases before the Supreme Court, and (better yet!) joined Mike Pesca on stage at Slate Day in Austin, Texas. Our condensed version of the interview covers the implications of a confirmed Brett Kavanaugh, why Robert Mueller "will have the last laugh" when it comes to taking on Trump, and what the indictment of a sitting U.S. president would look like.

In the Spiel, what mothers of sons have to say about Kavanaugh.

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College-Aged Coddling Oct 01, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, guest host John McWhorter considers campus safe spaces.

In the past few years, college campuses have been shifting away from havens for free speech to safe spaces that bar divisive speakers from campus. But is this the right move, or are we damaging the growth of college students by creating these spaces rather than offering intellectual challenges. Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt explore this in their new book The Coddling of the American Mind. Lukianoff joins us on the Gist to discuss.

In the Spiel, are the new models of protest a useful continuation of the civil rights movement?

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The Kavanaugh Conspiracy Sep 29, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, guest host Isaac Butler talks about all the news we forgot about thanks to the Kavanaugh hearing.

The Constitution is a sacred text in America, but should it be? Heidi Schreck's play What the Constitution Means to Me tackles that question through her high school experience of giving speeches about the Constitution to put herself through college. Today, she and her director, Oliver Butler, join us to discuss the fresh importance of the play, what sort of impact the Constitution has on women, and what can be drawn from a theatrical analysis of the Kavanaugh hearing. What the Constitution Means to Me is running at the New York Theatre Workshop through Oct. 28.

In the Spiel, Butler considers the nature of conspiracy theories in America and what Kavanaugh has made us forget.

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