The Gist

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Corruption Just Isn't Telegenic Mar 28, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, forget Stormy Daniels. The Kushners' massive loan deals are where the real dirt is at.

In the interview, the world's growing complexity can be measured in dusty cables, useless features, and lines of code. Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik talk about the problems that snowball when even the smallest thing goes wrong. Clearfield and Tilcsik are the authors of Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It.

In the Spiel, any census that asks people about their citizenship status will be pricey and inaccurate.

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Hitler's Art Dealer Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, "affair" is too rich a word to describe anything Donald Trump is emotionally capable of.

In the interview, arts reporter Mary M. Lane tells us about the art collection looted by Hitler's art dealer, inherited by that dealer's son, and finally confiscated by the German government.

In the Spiel, a survey of Republican bloviating on Sunday's news shows.

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Spies Are People Too Mar 24, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Donald Trump's presidency brings race relations, at best, to a standstill. Case in point: the police shooting in Sacramento, California.

The Americans is back for its final season next week. Showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg talk about their research into ruthless Soviet tactics, their obsession over historical detail, and why these spies are the good guys.

In the Spiel, what sound does a giraffe make? Also: It's time for the Lobstar of the Antentwig.

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As Statues Fall, Racism Stays Mar 23, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, what to make of yet another round of White House reshuffling.

As mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu has used his office to take down four of the city's Confederate monuments. His new book reckons with race relations in his city, the South, and the country. Landrieu's book is In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History.

In the Spiel, semantics, sexuality, and Cynthia Nixon.

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This Storm Ain't Brewing Mar 22, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, even if we get a law to make Robert Mueller unfireable, President Trump could trample all over it.

In the interview, sports journalist Mary Pilon tells the story of Olympic sailor Kevin Hall's struggle with the Truman Show delusion (where someone believes he or she is the focus of a reality TV program). Pilon's new book is The Kevin Show: An Olympic Athlete's Battle With Mental Illness.

In the Spiel, Stormy Daniels might win the right to talk. But can her story trouble Trump's presidency, or would it just be tabloid fodder?

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Will Democracy Survive Trump? Mar 21, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, before Donald Trump's headline-hogging presidency, things like bridge collapses made news for more than a few days.

In the interview, Cass Sunstein's new book asks if the U.S. is fundamentally immune to authoritarianism, or whether president Trump has proved the opposite. His new book—Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America—puts the question to more than a dozen leading writers.

In the Spiel, Betsy DeVos is totally incompetent, but at least that's made obvious every time she speaks.

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Are Receipts Toxic? Mar 19, 2018

Show notes

On today's Gist, we're nixing the Spiel to go on a Slate Podcasts retreat! Shouldn't the White House staff have their own officewide retreat day?

Plus, Maria Konnikova considers receipt paper toxicity: Is it BS? Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game.

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The Year Groove Went Mainstream Mar 17, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, "meddling" is too weak a word to describe what Russia did during in the U.S. election.

In the interview, Chris Molanphy walks us through the No. 1 hits of 1969, the year flower power and psychedelic pop went fully mainstream. Chris is the host of Slate's Hit Parade.

In the Spiel, our Congress members represent way too many constituents—700,000 on average—to stay in touch with their needs.

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Hot or Not: Presidents' Edition Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the Trump administration walks back a line about U.S. trade with Canada.

And which American president was the studliest? Kate and J.D. Dobson are out with a book that considers Ulysses S. Grant's quiet charisma, Franklin Pierce's youthful charm, and the distinguished eyebrows of a certain Warren G. Harding. The Dobsons are the authors of Hottest Heads of State, Volume 1: The American Presidents.

In the Spiel, the world's greatest toy store goes down.

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The Rogue at State Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

Well, it's a tough day to be Fox News.

On today's Gist, a closer look at the Department of State. It's not that Rex Tillerson was wrong to want to reform how we do diplomacy—it's that he utterly failed to deliver. Tom Hill, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, says the U.S. approach to international relations is antiquated and the diplomatic corps is bloated. Tillerson had a mandate to rethink our State Department. He blew it.

In the Spiel, why the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District was not so special.

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