The Gist

Latest Episodes:

David Pakman Calls Out Right-Wing Lies—and Is Challenged on the Left's Spin Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

On this, the eve of "Liberation Day," as key House and judicial races loom, we're joined by David Pakman to discuss his new book, The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America. Pakman argues that conservative media and politicians have constructed a parallel reality that undermines Americans' ability to think critically. But Pakman is also pressed on whether certain narratives on the left are similarly misleading, and if so, how much they contribute to the broader erosion of public trust.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Ideological Brain with Dr. Leor Zmigrod Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

A look at what makes some minds more prone to radical beliefs—and why, with Dr. Leor Zmigrod author of The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking, .

Plus, close read of how Judge James Boasberg has become a punching bag for those claiming he coddles Venezuelan deportees while harshing on Jan 6 rioters. The actual court documents—and his sentencing decisions—suggest a far more evenhanded story. And applying the "Michael Clayton Doctrine" to Greenland.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike on The Mark Reardon Show Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

Today on The Gist. We play Mikes appearance on The Mark Reardon Show and play an interview from 2022 with Rafael A. Mangual on Depolicing.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trump Loves Women and Many Other Things Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

A Turkish student at Tufts University was detained by ICE, but the only evidence presented so far is a co-signed campus op-ed critical of Israeli policy—raising serious concerns about the bounds of political expression and immigration enforcement. Also, an interview with former FBI Agent Scott Payne, author of Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis. Plus, Trump loves women, Ireland, Tesler, and Bobby Knight—maybe even all at once.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Code Name: Pale Horse — Scott Payne vs. the American Reich Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Scott Payne is an undercover FBI agent who infiltrated America's modern Nazis under the ominous alias Pale Horse. Plus, Trump's back on the tariff train, this time hitting autos, but we dig into the unseen economic cost of shoehorning jobs into unproductive places. And part 4 of the discussion of a police shooting in the NYC subway becomes a case study in media malpractice, this time focusing on public radio.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trump's Revenge Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Alex Isenstadt, national political reporter for Politico and author of Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power discusses how Trump's inner circle handles the boss. Plus, a House hearing with more culture war than clarity over the governance of NPR and PBS.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Great Houthi Whoopsie Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Chris Gethard reflects on how the comedy world has changed and what happened when Shane Gillis publicly took a shot at him—and then privately took it back. Also, the genetic info you gave to 23andMe might soon be available in a bankruptcy fire sale near you. And in the Spiel, a Signal chat goes sideways when Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg is accidentally added to a highly sensitive thread about airstrikes on the Houthis.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chris Gethard and the Great Helsinki Caper Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

Chris Gethard stops by to talk comedy, ethics, and how audience taste moves like an algorithm with a grudge. Meanwhile, the JFK files are finally released, and it turns out the real mystery was in Finland all along. Also, the government's got a chainsaw, and it's not just for photo ops: cuts are coming to everything from colorectal cancer screening to the office that won the Cold War-winning offices. Somewhere between chaos and court orders, we try to figure out what still counts as governance.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Penn Swimmer's Success Costs School Millions 3 Years Later Mar 22, 2025

Show notes

This week we discussed high school musicians losing their opportunity to perform with the US Marine Band. And we revisit Mike's 2022 commentary on NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas, newly relevant as the Trump administration moves to defund University of Pennsylvania grants.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Joe Gatto Continues Messing with People Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

On today's Gist, former Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto joins to discuss his new stand-up special Messing With People and how he pulls off pranks that leave folks smiling, not steaming. Then, Mike breaks down why Disney's Snow White remake may mark the end of an era where ideology outweighed audience. And in the Spiel, the U.S. retreats from Ukraine—not just militarily, but morally—while the cost of disengagement climbs.

Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g

Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM

Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.