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    Daily News

    The Gist

    For thirty minutes each day, Pesca challenges himself and his audience, in a responsibly provocative style, and gets beyond the rigidity and dogma. The Gist is surprising, reasonable, and willing to critique the left, the right, either party, or any idea.

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    Latest Episodes:
    Steven Johnson: "We Have Three Levels of Probability. It's Gonna Happen, It's Not Gonna Happen, and Maybe" Jul 13, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, guest host Bob Garfield introduces the show's new format before diving into a special double-feature interview with science and tech author Steven Johnson. Blending conversations from 2018 and 2016, the episode deconstructs how humanity handles complex, long-term choices and how the simple pursuit of play and delight has secretly driven global history. Johnson breaks down the flaws of binary decision-making, the cognitive value of true group diversity, and how elite historical deliberations rely on tools like the to override tracking errors. Shifting to his book Wonderland, he flips the script on the idea that necessity is the mother of invention, tracing how luxury pursuits like Tyrian purple dye and rare spices accidentally mapped the globe, triggered international espionage, and birthed the modern capitalistic world.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Funny You Should Mention: Jeff Arcuri Jul 10, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, its Funny You Should Mention with stand-up comedian Jeff Arcuri, whose crowd-work proficiency anchors his new Netflix special. Arcuri counters comedy purists by framing audience interaction as a structured illusion, detailing how his early years navigating gatekeeping open mics in Michigan and grinding out repetitive sets on Carnival cruise lines forced him to develop a deep toolkit of ready-to-go punchlines. He also reflects on his whirlwind romance and quick marriage to his wife, a former Bachelorette contestant, and opens up about navigating her stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Pesca La Vista Jul 09, 2026
    Show notes

    Today, on the final episode of The Gist...

    After 12 years and more than 3,000 episodes, Mike revisits his very first top-of-the-show segment, from May 29, 2014, which centered on "baby shoes." In the final Antwentig, Mike lays out his broadcasting philosophy: the importance of production values, the tradeoffs between chasing advertisers and risking insularity with paid subscriptions, and what makes for a great interview and great audio. Mike takes the "L" on his presidential election predictions but celebrates what The Gist got right — and did right. Lest we memory-hole the horror of paper straws, he revisits one of the show's most satisfying victories, offers recommendations for what to listen to in a Pesca-free future, and reflects on where podcasting goes from here. Finally, Mike offers a heartfelt thank-you — and steals some office supplies on the way out.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    David Wain & Ken Marino: "We're Always Modulating The Madcap" Jul 08, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, Mike explores his gist list, not that gist list, the other gist list. Then, filmmakers and actors David Wain and Ken Marino join the show to discuss their collaborative history originating from the seminal MTV sketch troupe The State and their new film, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. Wain and Marino detail their unique creative alchemy, break down the deliberate visual nods to classics like Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Body Heat, and share behind-the-scenes stories from the set. Also, the logistics of cheating actor availability on Wet Hot American Summer compared to Netflix's Arrested Development.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Batya Ungar-Sargon: "Anti-Zionism Now Is A Central Plank Of Leftist Politics" Jul 07, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, host Mike Pesca reflects on the art of the contentious debate and the ongoing siloing of the modern media landscape, looking back at his spirited 2015 interview. Then, NewsNation host and author Batya Ungar-Sargon joins the show to discuss her new book, The Jews and the Left. Ungar-Sargon maps the historical trajectory of American Jewish political alignment from early 20th-century working-class labor movements to the civil rights era, arguing that a post-structuralist "oppressor vs. oppressed" binary has completely colonized the modern academy and trickled down into mainstream neoliberal journalism.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Ray Madoff: "The Tax System No Longer Taxes Investments And Inheritances" Jul 06, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, the media misinformation surrounding historical focus groups and billionaire tax histories. Then, Boston College Law School professor Ray Madoff joins the show to discuss her new book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy. Madoff unpacks the modern "buy, borrow, die" strategy, detailing how the top tier of wealth utilizes the "step-up in basis" loophole to wash away billions in capital gains upon death. She challenges the legal and rhetorical definitions that prioritize taxing working-class wages over massive generational asset transfers and explains how the estate tax was systemically defanged into a multi-billion-dollar cover for dynastic wealth.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Chris Cillizza: "Most Of Those People Don't Pay" Jul 04, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on the Saturday show, host Mike Pesca shares a revealing conversation with independent media veteran Chris Cillizza from a recent Substack Live offering an unvarnished look behind the scenes of the modern creator economy. The duo breaks down the financial and administrative realities of running independent operations, tracing Mike’s impending departure from The Gist to the exhausting logistics of multi-state regulatory compliance and algorithmic shifts that force audio creators to prioritize video clips over actual long-form text.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Not Even Mad: Elizabeth Bruening & Ben Kawaller Jul 02, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, reaching into the archives for a pre-July 4th holiday treat, sharing a classic 2017 spoof that features dramatic readings of unexpected July 3rd historical texts. Then, the final episode of Not Even Mad, Mike Pesca, Elizabeth Bruenig, and Ben Kawaller debate the rising power of democratic socialism after several progressive upset victories. The panel then shifts to JD Vance’s new faith memoir, Communion, analyzing the theological contradictions of Vance's self-professed lack of fear regarding damnation and his framing of Catholicism as a tool for Western social control. Finally, they air out their signature "goat grinders," taking aim at the emotional manipulation of true-crime documentaries and the irritating rise of the storefront phrase "welcome in."

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Isaac Butler: "Part Of Living In A Society Means Giving Over A Certain Amount Of Agency" Jul 02, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, we explore the media framing of the Supreme Court's birthright citizenship decision. Then, author and cultural critic Isaac Butler joins the show to discuss his new book, The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars. Butler tracks our modern societal rifts back to the volatile 1974 Kanawha County textbook war in West Virginia, detailing how a routine school board vote spiraled into bombings and sophisticated right-wing direct-mail infrastructure. He maps the unexpected political coalitions of the Reagan era, evaluates the intense federal funding battles surrounding transgressive masterpieces like Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ, and outlines how the devastating vacuum of the AIDS crisis forced the LGBTQ community to use provocative art as a vital vehicle for authenticity and survival.

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


    Eric Lichtblau: "Hate Speech Leads Directly To Hate Crimes" Jul 01, 2026
    Show notes

    Today on The Gist, a look back at a Webby Award nominated focus group spoof from the vault before diving into a major analysis of the Supreme Court's monumental ruling against Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order. Then, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author Eric Lichtblau joins the show to discuss his new book, American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate. Lichtblau unpacks the tragic 2018 murder of Ivy League student Blaze Bernstein by his former high school classmate, Sam Woodward, mapping Woodward's toxic path from an online "journal of hate" to a paramilitarized neo-Nazi hate camp in Texas. Finally, in the spiel, a deep dive into the 14th Amendment's original congressional debates reveals why the high court's 6-3 rejection of the citizenship ban successfully held the constitutional line against fringe conservative theories

    Produced by Corey Wara

    Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

    Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

    For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

    For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

    Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/
    X https://x.com/pescami
    TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

    To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com


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


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