The Gist

Latest Episodes:

Losing Hate Sep 27, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the Kavanaugh hearing.

By all accounts, Derek Black was supposed to become the next David Duke. He was the man's godson, after all, and his father, Don Black, had founded Stormfront, the world's first and biggest white nationalist website. But then Derek went to New College of Florida, where—as told by the Washington Post's Eli Saslow—he was shunned by many of his peers for his racist views, and embraced by a few despite them. Saslow's book is Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist.

In the Spiel, more on the Kavanaugh hearing, and Trump's continuing belief that 52 percent of women voted for him.

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The Land of Steady Filmmaking Sep 27, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the GOP hired a woman!

Nicole Holofcener's films have centered women for more than two decades, but her latest one, The Land of Steady Habits,focuses on a man's tumultuous story arc. She joins us to talk about adaptations (it was a novel before Holofcener made it into a movie), the slow and deliberate process of directing, and why she hates hearing people chew. The Land of Steady Habits is now on Netflix.

In the Spiel, Kavanaugh's three accusers tell different stories, but many Republican senators are somehow dismissing them all.

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Generation Anxiety Sep 26, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Trump gets laughs at the United Nations.

After a few eccentric comedy specials, Bo Burnham next turned to his sympathy for the anxieties of middle school girls, and made a movie. If Eighth Grade (starring Elsie Fisher) seems to imitate life so well, it's because Burnham watched hundreds of vlogs made by today's junior high generation.

In the Spiel, standards of proof in the Kavanaugh case.

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That's the First Straw Sep 25, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, how the breaking news machine bungled the Rod Rosenstein story.

In the interview, California is set to ban certain restaurants from serving straws unless customers ask for one. But given that straws represent a tiny fraction of the plastics choking our oceans, can initiatives like these really make a difference? Ban-the-straw advocate Dune Ives says targeting the straw is, in part, a way to move on to blocking other plastics from the world's waste stream.

In the Spiel, the air is thick with terrible arguments both for and against Brett Kavanaugh.

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Tight Countries, Loose Countries Sep 21, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, National Review has one good take on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation story … and a lot of bad ones.

In the interview, we're used to thinking of societies along the "liberal/conservative" spectrum, but cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand has her own axis to consider: tight versus loose. They aren't quite the same: Abu Dhabi, for instance, may be conservative, but its role as the crossroads of the Middle East lends it looser norms. In Scandinavia, we've got the opposite. Gelfand's book is Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World.

In the Spiel, you wrote in, and Mike read up: It's time for the Lobstar of the Antentwig.

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What Is … a Podcast, Alex? Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Christine Blasey Ford deserves a hearing on her own terms, and that's all we can say for now.

Bert Kreischer is a comic who started out as just the biggest college partier in America according to Rolling Stone magazine in 1997. Since then he's been grappling with fame, how much of his own life to use for comedy, and the way his father shamed him into doing stand-up comedy. Kreischer's new special on Netflix is Secret Time.

In the Spiel, Jeopardy finally notices podcasts.

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Coal Over Climate Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the latest in inane Trump statements.

Climate change is bigger than any one of us, including the president of the United States. Given his backward policies and denials of scientific fact, he deserves his share of criticism in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. Climate scientist Andrea Schumacher explains which aspects of hurricane season can be expected to get worse as the planet warms. Schumacher is a research associate at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University.

In the Spiel, more on John Hockenberry.

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Owe Me the Money Sep 19, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, taking issue with the sloppy headlines about the support (or lack thereof) for Brett Kavanaugh.

In the interview, Stacey Abrams' run for governor in Georgia has been criticized because of her huge outstanding debt. That got Ozy.com reporter Nick Fouriezos wondering how much political candidates typically owe as they run for office. He dug into the finances of 396 political candidates to see how much they owed, and to whom.

In the Spiel, a presidential penis prognostic. You're welcome.

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Ethan Hawke's Earnest Art Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Hurricane Florence.

Ethan Hawke has stunned us with his earnest, moving performances on-screen, but he's also a talent behind the camera. His new directorial feature Blaze explores the life and love of the largely forgotten musician Blaze Foley. He joins us to talk filmmaking, the difficulty of music, comic book movies, and why we should appreciate criticism from our elders. Blaze premieres nationwide on Sept. 21.

In the Spiel, the allegations of Kavanaugh's sexual assault.

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Democratic Socialists of America, for the Win? Sep 15, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Vladimir Putin, RT, and the Salisbury poisoning.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might have scary values to conservatives. But to the national director of the Democratic Socialists of America, she's a moderate. Maria Svart calls the DSA a "big tent organization," meaning it makes room for everything from AOC's Scandinavian-style social policies to the more radical workforce ownership of businesses.

In the Spiel, the end of primary season.

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