The Gist

Latest Episodes:

Chris Christie's Biggest Mistake Jul 05, 2017

Show notes

Gov. Chris Christie's time in the national spotlight has been full of bloopers. But no goof appears as consequential as his call to cancel the ARC project, halting construction of an additional train tunnel between New Jersey and New York City. WNYC's Matt Katz explains why Christie killed ARC.

In the Spiel, Chris Christie and the fat-man theory of optics.

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The Incredible Eddie Izzard Jul 03, 2017

Show notes

Eddie Izzard once thought about playing piano for a living. He's done one professional show. It was in front of tens of thousands of people. That's because fans will watch the comedian do pretty much anything, from running marathons, to telling jokes in German. His new book is Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens.

Also, we celebrate an unheralded date in history: July 3rd.

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Invisibilia Questions Your Emotions Jun 30, 2017

Show notes

NPR's Hanna Rosin and Alix Spiegel explain what they learned about feelings from their third season of Invisibilia. Society has come around to the idea that emotions are a force to be reckoned with – is that a good thing?

In the Spiel, it's time to name another Lobstar.

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Writing Cop Fiction in the Age of Black Lives Matter Jun 29, 2017

Show notes

Crime writer Don Winslow says writing a novel about cops and cartels involves some pretty serious research. "In researching these books," says Winslow, "I meet people. I've been to the funerals, talked to the cops. I've made the sympathy calls!" His newest book, about the NYPD, is The Force.

In the Spiel, Trump's worst tweet yet! Oh boy.

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I Hate This, Don't Quote Me Jun 28, 2017

Show notes

Reporter Marc Fisher explains why he called out a classic game of D.C. deceit in the pages of the Washington Post. And Michelle LaRue, the official Gist penguin expert, returns to explain some news about those troublesome birds.

In the Spiel, how would a normal president handle our world affairs?

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Big Turmoil in Big Sky Country Jun 27, 2017

Show notes

Anne Helen Petersen returns to discuss her new posting—as the Western correspondent for BuzzFeed. Petersen will be reporting on U.S. political culture from her new home, Missoula, Montana. "There's a reason every newspaper used to have bureaus in every part of the country," says Petersen, who recently covered the recent razor-thin House race in which notorious Republican Greg Gianforte came out on top.

On the Spiel, when everything becomes a calamity, nothing is a calamity.

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The Rise and Reign of Unruly Women Jun 26, 2017

Show notes

Anne Helen Petersen has made a career on the rigorous, deep, academic study of celebrity culture. In her new book Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, Petersen explores the rise of norm-breaking women such as Lena Dunham and Serena Williams and what their ascendency can tell us about the political moment we're living in. Petersen's day job is senior culture writer at BuzzFeed.

Also, the Supreme Court makes a surprise ruling, and the Congressional Budget Office makes an unsurprising report.

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Do Radicals Change the World? Jun 23, 2017

Show notes

Author Jeremy McCarter (co-writer of Hamilton: The Revolution with Lin-Manuel Miranda) has written a new book tracing five American radicals from the 1910s and '20s. "I had thought this was going to be a book about a chapter of progress in history we could learn from," says McCarter. "But 1917 is a lot closer to what I thought I would see in my lifetime." Young Radicals is available now.

In the Spiel, a lot of people really, really did not like Otto Warmbier.

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Scaachi Koul on Surviving the Trolls Jun 22, 2017

Show notes

Scaachi Koul, a writer for BuzzFeed, talks about growing up as a brown girl in Canada's "Cowtown," and how she set off a tweetstorm by soliciting job applications from writers who are "not white and not male." Koul's book of essays is One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter.

In the Spiel, legislative and executive reaction to the healthcare bill.

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The Musings of Wallace Shawn Jun 21, 2017

Show notes

There are two Wallace Shawns. There's the character actor, known for playing eccentrics in The Princess Bride and The Good Wife and voicing cartoon dinosaurs. ("I don't get cast as a lot of real people," he notes.) Then there's the acclaimed playwright, thinker, and ardent leftist. Shawn is out with a new collection of political musings, Night Thoughts, which address everything from inequality to the changing climate.

In the Spiel, Travis Kalanick, don't let the cab door hit you on the way out.

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