The Gist

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The Garbage Art of Handwriting Analysis Jul 19, 2017

Show notes

Maria Konnikova returns to look at a tool prosecutors have used for decades: handwriting analysis, or graphology. Older versions of the practice have used handwriting to predict everything from a person's mental state to their capacity for murder. "People have been convicted based on it," says Konnikova. "We're not talking about phrenology. Graphology is still something that exists in the United States. There are societies of graphologists." Konnikova is the author of The Confidence Game and host of the Panoply podcast The Grift.

For the Spiel, Trump's voting commission may be hobbled, but it can still do some real harm.

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Tyler Cowen Fears for Our Future Jul 18, 2017

Show notes

Economist Tyler Cowen is disdainful of social media, heartened by recent immigrants, and wary of pot. He thinks that, in our collective desire for comfort, we are postponing big and necessary changes that will sow instability in the years ahead. "Right now Americans are failing to regenerate sources of future progress," Cowen writes, "and thus they are borrowing against the future rather than paying their bills." Cowen's latest book is The Complacent Class.

In the Spiel, are things going any better abroad?

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Dan Pashman on the Psychology of Taste Jul 17, 2017

Show notes

Our friend Dan Pashman from the Sporkful podcast returns to explain the new field of study known as gastrophysics and why our brains have a big influence over how we taste food. For example, research shows we like the taste of food served with heavy cutlery and ice cream presented with brighter colors. "It could be something evolutionary," says Pashman. "With brighter colors, ice cream tastes sweeter." Check out Pashman's interview with gastrophysicist Charles Spence.

For the Spiel: Ann Coulter versus Delta, Day 3.

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Haunted By "A Ghost Story" Jul 14, 2017

Show notes

Director David Lowery has made one of the most remarkable films of 2017 so far, and he's built it around a ridiculous image: a white sheet with two eye-holes cut out. So what makes "A Ghost Story" feel so epic? And what's with that 10-minute pie scene? Spoilers abound. For the Spiel: so, who was in the room with Don Jr. and the Russians? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

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At Sea With James Stavridis Jul 13, 2017

Show notes

Retired Admiral James Stavridis wants to remind us: Despite headlines about the rise of ISIS, there are bigger existential threats to America. "Terrorism is not apocalyptic, it's a tool," says Stavridis. He warns that conflicts with Russia and China are much more worrisome and likely to include a maritime component. "Again and again when there's a crisis, the first question from the president is, where are the [aircraft] carriers? They are flexible and they can strike." His new book is Sea Power.

In the Spiel, making a supergroup of the musicians in Trump's White House.

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Look at All the Struggling Democracies Jul 12, 2017

Show notes

It's not that things are so terribly bad right now, it's that circumstances have failed to keep up with expectations. So says Edward Luce, chief U.S. columnist for the Financial Times, whose new book surveys the ensuing crisis of confidence in liberal democracies. Luce's book is The Retreat of Western Liberalism.

In the Spiel, Bridgegate winds down.

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Ben Wittes on the Latest News Bomb Jul 11, 2017

Show notes

Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes on the latest #ENSH (errant national security horses---) and the brewing scandal surrounding Donald Trump Jr.'s emails.

In the Spiel, we're going back to the event that set all this in motion: the Miss Universe pageant of 2013.

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Twitter Should Drop Trump Already Jul 10, 2017

Show notes

The jobs report has been good, the U.S. isn't in a shooting war, and the economy is booming. So why is Trump still in the high 30s in terms of popularity? Political scientist Seth Masket says it's because of Trump's abrasive presence on Twitter. Masket recently made the case for why it's in everyone's best interest for the president and the social media giant to part ways in the Pacific Standard.

In the Spiel, Kellyanne Conway, the gift that keeps on giving.

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In Defense of Ombudsmen Jul 07, 2017

Show notes

Daniel Okrent did not have a lot of fun as the first public editor for the New York Times. "I was like internal affairs in a police department," said Okrent. "Nobody liked to see me coming." That said, Okrent defends the role ombudsmen play at news organizations, and he thinks the Times messed up earlier this year when it axed the public editor position.

In the Spiel, there was no Labrador at the Trump-Putin meeting, so … good sign?

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Centrists Won't Save Health Care Jul 06, 2017

Show notes

Conservative Philip Klein doesn't think the presence of moderate senators means we'll get better health care policy. "Centrists always get credit and adoration by many elements of the media for talking to the other side and not being ideologically rigid," he says. "But I think that's another way of saying they can be bought off easily." Klein writes about health policy for the Washington Examiner.

Also, the failing New York Times op-ed.

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