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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:
    BEST OF THE GIST: Hate Speech On Campus Edition Dec 09, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the presidents of Harvard, M.I.T., and the University of Pennsylvania being hauled in front of the House of Representatives this past week to answer for antisemitic speech on their campuses, we thought it apropos to listen back to Mike’s interview with Mark Oppenheimer, host of the podcast Gatecrashers, about the hidden history of the relationship between Jews and the Ivy League. Then we’ll hear Mike’s front-of-show Spiel from Tuesday about MSNBC’s horrible rewrite of a Boston Globe investigation about foster care.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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    Untangling The News Dec 08, 2023

    Isaac Saul, a former writer for Vox, The Huffington Post, and Time Magazine, was frustrated with news bias and often slanted coverage. So he founded Tangle News, a politics newsletter which summarizes the best arguments from across the political spectrum on the news of the day. Plus, Mike addresses listeners who say, "We want more Israel criticism, or just less Israel overall."

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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    Does Donald Trump Still Know How To Talk: An Investigation Dec 07, 2023

    In a national referendum, the country of Venezuela just voted to annex half of Guyana, against the will of the Guyanese ... and international law. And every map. While they have no case, and no means to actually take the land, it might lay the groundwork for further chicanery says Fransisco Toro, our Latin America watcher. Plus, a UC Berkley sociology Jew butts heads with living-in-Israel Jews. Also on the show, does Donald Trump still know how to talk? We watch a speech to determine the extent of the former President's supposed verbal decline.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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

    Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca

    Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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    "Vast Labyrinth" Or "Box Of Dates"? Dec 06, 2023

    Depending on where you get your news, the storied Hamas tunnel network is either a "vast labyrinth" or a 160-yard tunnel with little room for a command center capable of orchestrating the October 7th attack. Aric Toler is a reporter on the Visual Investigations team at The New York Times, where he combines traditional reporting techniques with "open-source" reporting practices, and he recently contributed to a Times investigation about the tunnels. Also on the show, Derek Chauvin was stabbed 22 times while in a prison library making copies. Don't make the Saturday Night Live "makin' copies" joke, okay.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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


    Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca

    Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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    When Rewrites Go Wrong Dec 05, 2023

    A Boston Globe investigation into foster care adds to the sum of human knowledge only to have a botched MSNBC rewrite subtract from it. Also on the show, Nathan Thrall is an American author, journalist, and former director of the International Crisis Group’s Arab-Israeli Project. He joins us to talk about the war in Israel, and to ponder if peace is possible. We also discuss his most recent book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy.


    See Mike Live on December 6th


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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

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




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    Every Little Thing Xi Does Is Tragic Dec 04, 2023

    It would seem China is in a state of decline, but it's hard to know for sure. The Economist's Ted Plafker joins to discuss what we can discern about the property crisis, political firings, and how countries who borrowed as part of the Belt And Road initiative got steamrolled. Plus, Ron DeSantis doesn't want to answer for Donald Trump's use of animal imagery. And a touching tribute to the late, great North Dakota hope Doug Burgum.


    See Mike Live on December 6th


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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


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    BEST OF THE GIST: Misused Political Slogan Edition Dec 02, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we explore a few catchy political slogans that turned out to be deceptive, confusing, or just kind of dumb. First we listen to Tuesday’s spiel about the expression “From the river to the sea,” and then we listen back to Mike’s June 5, 2020 spiel about the slogan “Defund the police.”

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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

    The Slings And Poop Maps Of Outrageous Fortune Dec 01, 2023

    Eliot Cohen, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies and former Counselor to the Secretary Of State has always thought Shakespeare had great insights about great leaders. His book is The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall. Plus, George Santos gets bounced, and Ron DeSantis has a crap map.


    See Mike Live on December 6th


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    The Tempest In Elon Musk's Brain Nov 30, 2023

    Elon Musk's intemperate but tempestuous remarks show us a man whose not hard to understand but difficult nonetheless. Plus, we're visited by Kliph Nesteroff, author of Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars. And Malawi get into the Israel act.


    See Mike Live on December 6th


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    Flying Cars Grounded By Red Tape And The Russian Mob Nov 29, 2023

    In Bradley Tusk's new novel Obvious In Hindsight, a flying car company attempts to get government approval, even though the politics are dicey, the lobbyists are dirty, and the cars just might not ... uh, what's the word? Fly. Plus, after seventeen days, workers freed thanks to rat tunnels. And the very leftist Youtube channels going beyond even Hamas' obfuscations to flat out allege that Israel targeted their own citizens.


    Catch The Gist Live on December 6th


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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


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    "From The River To The Sea" Rebranded As A Call For Peace Nov 28, 2023

    When a slogan of war suddenly becomes a call to peace. Also on the show, we pick back up where we left off with the New York Times' David Leonhardt. His new book is Ours Was The Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. Plus, the refused-to-be-addressed crisis at the border.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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

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

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    The Future Looked Brighter In The Past Nov 27, 2023

    Pulitzer Prize winning NY Times writer David Leonhardt is here to discuss Ours Was The Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. The hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas is working and showing us that countries are right to care about their own citizens. Plus, a few furry friends become entrees, and a Fertile Turtle is at the center of the ordeal.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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

    BEST OF THE GIST: Cease-Fire Edition Nov 25, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, as Israel and Hamas agree to a cease fire, we listen back to Mike’s 2014 interview with Mitchell Reiss, author of Negotiating with Evil, who suggests that the question is not whether to negotiate with terrorists, but how to get the best deal. Then we listen back to Mike’s Tuesday Spiel in which he envisions where the war in Gaza goes from here.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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

    60 Hours In Israel Nov 24, 2023

    Mike spent the majority of last week reporting from Israel. On his trip, he met and interviewed many people living through the current crisis, and this special Thanksgiving weekend episode is a collection of said reportage, in which he tells the stories of those people who’s lives were forever changed by the events of October 7, 2023.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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

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

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    Architecture’s Weird Definition of “Natural” Nov 22, 2023

    Des Fitzgerald, Professor of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at University College Cork in Ireland, is out with a new book The Living City: Why Cities Don’t Need to Be Green to Be Great. The European title gets at things more straightforwardly: The City of Today is a Dying Thing: In Search of the Cities of Tomorrow. We’ll discuss the need for two titles. Plus, on the day Israel and Hamas agree to a hostage release and temporary cease-fire, attempting to watch the 47-minute film of Hamas atrocities with an emphasis on humanity over dehumanization.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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

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

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

    Alaskan Booze Cruise Nov 21, 2023

    NBA veteran Carlos Boozer is here to talk about his upbringing, his career, and his new book, Every Shot Counts: A Memoir of Resilience. Plus, what if the city issued all citizens a False Testimony Tax? And Mike lays out where he sees the war in Gaza going from here.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    The Proper Corralling and Taming of Disinformation Nov 20, 2023

    Lee McIntyre author of “On Disinformation" discusses and debates with Mike, how to conceptualize disinformation, and how not combat it consistently no matter who is getting dissed. Plus, new evidence about Hamas operations under hospitals. And…PANDAS!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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

    BEST OF THE GIST: Israel Story Edition Nov 18, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, something a little different. If you’ve been listening to The Gist this past week, you’ve heard Mike reporting from Israel. He’s home safe now, but he spent several days traveling around and recording the stories of Israelis as they come to terms with a recent tragedy and face an unknown future. So today we wanted to share an episode of an Israeli podcast called Israel Story, which has also focused on human stories in the wake of October 7th. Their show is sad and funny and attempts to capture the complexity of their society, so it’s no surprise that it’s often referred to as the This American Life of Israel … even by them … on their website. We would love to hear what you think of it.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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

    Israel's War Clock Is Ticking Nov 17, 2023

    As Israeli Defense Forces explore and document what was found in and under Al-Shifa hospital, verification is hard, and doubt is free and easy to sew. Plus, Robert Pape wonders, "What makes a terrorist ... international vs. domestic?" Pape is a professor and the Director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. Also on the show, American decadence versus Israeli seriousness.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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

    Gist In Israel: The Deadliest Single Site Of October 7th Nov 16, 2023

    Mike visits Kibbutz Be’eri, which saw carnage on October 7th, and he’s told the story of what happened there. Also on the show, Roma Agrawal is a structural engineer who spent six years working on the tallest building in Western Europe—The Shard in London. She is out with a new book, Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way, in which she talks about how the simple inventions like the wheel, the nail, and even string are a part of the building blocks of our modern world.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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

    Live From Israel: A Nation Held Hostage Nov 15, 2023

    On Mike’s second day in Israel, he attends the meeting of people trying to bring their family members kidnapped by Hamas home from captivity. Also on the show, Patrick T. Brown, a Ph.D. climate scientist and Co-Director of the Climate and Energy Team at The Breakthrough Institute, joins us to talk about his recent piece in The Free Press titled “I Left Out the Full Truth to Get My Climate Change Paper Published.”


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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

    De-Polarized By An Existential Threat Nov 14, 2023

    Gigi Levy-Weiss is a former Apache helicopter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, a tech entrepreneur, and a member of Brothers In Arms, reservists who refused to support Netanyahu's government as it tried to reshape the country’s highest court. Mike sat down with Levy-Weiss to discuss his role in a new organization called Brothers and Sisters of Israel, which is tasked with supporting soldiers, civilians, and, in a twist, the government he protested just months earlier. Also on the show, when a nation looks past its ideologies to band together despite its leader.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    Fast, Efficacious, And Safe: A Tall Order Nov 13, 2023

    Gus Perna was a four-star general a month out from retirement from the Army, when the Trump Administration tapped him to help lead the logistics of Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership to get Americans a COVID vaccine that was effective and safe, and to do so quickly. Perna joins us to discuss the challenges of vaccinating America and getting the country back to business as usual. Also on the show, no matter how bombastic or scary his rhetoric may be, it's probably worth remembering that Trump follows through about as well as he eats green vegetables.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Competing Narratives Edition Nov 11, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, first we rewind to the summer of 2014, when Israel and Palestine were again locked in armed conflict. To understand the Palestinian perspective, Mike interviewed Canadian human rights worker Diana Buttu who was then in Nazareth. Then we listen back to the Spiel from the Tuesday, November 7, 2023 show about the meaning imparted in the misreported presence of beheaded babies in Israel.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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

    The Science Of History Nov 10, 2023

    History is the product of remembering our past, so it involves the mind, though we have underused neuroscience in understanding how we know what we think we know. Abby Smith Rumsey chairs the board of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and she is out with a new book Memory, Edited: Taking Liberties with History, in which she looks to science to help her understand the past. And a false narrative about children dying in Gaza is amplified by the media echo chamber.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    We Have FedEx'd Our Pandas Back To China Nov 09, 2023

    China recalls its pandas, and Americans bid them a tearful adieu. If only we could form such a tight bond with the Uyghurs. We are also joined by Dr. Jonathan Howard, author of We Want Them Infected: How the failed quest for herd immunity led doctors to embrace the anti-vaccine movement and blinded Americans to the threat of COVID, to discuss the concept of herd immunity. Then we turn to yesterday's GOP debate, where shooting people was proposed as a U.S. policy for immigration.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

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

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

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    Beaten To Protect Democracy Nov 08, 2023

    Aquilino Gonell was a Capitol Hill Police Officer who, on January 6th, was beset upon by an angry mob then all but abandoned by officialdom in the aftermath. He's out with his story in a new book, American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy. Plus, election day shows the U.S. wants their rights, but not a revolution. And Donald Trump actually is doing much better than predicted with black Voters. Could it be the mug shot?


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    A Moderate Party's Immoderate Self Perception Nov 08, 2023

    John Judis and Ruy Teixiera drop by to answer the question posed in the title of their new book Where Have All the Democrats Gone? Their warning is that the more Dems tack left, the more likely the only constituency left will be "the left." Plus, the guilty plea of a mass shooter's father. And the meaning imparted in the misreported presence of beheaded babies in Israel.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    Fleeing North Korea Nov 06, 2023

    Soyeon Lee fled North Korea, was caught, was jailed, was beaten, then fled again. We will talk to her, and the documentarian Madeleine Gavin, about the new film Beyond Utopia, which includes surreptitiously recorded video of dangerous escape attempts. Plus, Joe Biden trails Trump everywhere that counts. Is the "people will figure out Trump is worse" strategy the best strategy? And protesters attack a seventeenth-century oil painting, because they hate paintings. No, wait, it's that they hate oil. Both are equally sensible.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Fentanyl Edition Nov 04, 2023

    A new Netflix film, Pain Hustlers, starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans, is getting a lot of buzz, so we dug into the archives to unearth an interview with Evan Hughes from February 2022. Hughes is author of Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup, about his coverage of an out-of-control drug maker that destroyed lives and paid a price for doing so, which was the inspiration for the film. Then we check out a podcast extra with Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Greg was on the show this past week discussing his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution.

    Check out Mike’s recent appearance on the Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em podcast.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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

    Dalmatian Bumps, The Cuckoo's Nest Effect, and Heists Adjusted For Inflation Nov 03, 2023

    Walt Hickey is a Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist and also a real pop-culture-impersonated peruser. His new book is You Are What You Watch, How Movies and TV Affect Everything, and he makes a good case. Plus, when it comes to cease fires, casualties, and rules of engagement in Gaza, meanings are fluid.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist

    Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

    Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack

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

    The Principled Never Tern A Blind Eye Nov 02, 2023

    What do George Santo, the Stellar's Jay, Donald Trump, the Anna Hummingbird, Adam Kinzinger, and the Cooper's Hawk all have in common? Yes, they are all in the news today. Yes, they are all on the show today. But their common connection, as far as we're concerned, is that their fates were governed by principles. Tune in to learn how.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

    To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist


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

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

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    Geese Buffalo Sensors, Prisoners On The Lam Nov 01, 2023

    In Philadelphia, an after-action report on the prisoners who escaped a city jail, despite the best efforts of napping and non-fence-repairing guards. Plus, the difference between an odious threat and an actual chant. And we're joined by Laura Meckler, author of Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity, about the Ohio suburb that tried and tried ... and still tries ... to get the thorniest question in American Education right.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    When Intellectual Rigor Is No Longer De Rigueur Oct 31, 2023

    Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, returns to continue our discussion about his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution. Plus, how much has changed in the degree to which Joe Biden backs Israel. And Dean Phillips is a Presidential candidate for Halloween! How cute.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Counting On Hamas For A Count Oct 30, 2023

    President Biden is pretty suspicious about official counts emanating from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza. News outlets aren't squelching those figures, but they are labelling the agency the "Hamas-controlled health ministry." And Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, discusses his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution. Plus, a made man who didn't sock away sufficient savings from the Lufthansa Heist.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: The Power, Wealth And How We Use Them Edition Oct 28, 2023

    Melissa DeRosa is out with a new book, What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, and we had her on the show earlier this week to talk about her experiences in the Andrew Cuomo administration. On this episode of BEST OF THE GIST, a podcast extra with Melissa about power and her assessment of how it was used and wielded in the state house of New York. Naive people, be ready to be disabused of your notions of power. Then we listen back to Monday’s Spiel about the latest reports on the wealth gap in America.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Israel’s Existential Threat Matrix Oct 27, 2023

    As the world debates Middle East peace, Israeli defense expert Kobi Michael gives us a window into how he and many of his countrymen are thinking about this moment. He says it’s not so much a daunting theoretical challenge as it is simply life or death. We talk ground offensive, Hezbollah, tunnel fighting, and how American opinion will ultimately impact Israeli tactics. Plus, in the wake of yet another horrific mass shooting, how Maine compares to other states in this awful category.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Too Much Justice Scares The System Oct 26, 2023

    Stephen Bright is a death penalty lawyer and critic of our illogical, slapdash system of criminal justice. He's out with a new book, The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts. Plus, why Americans hate the robust economy. And a Polish priest wants us to look up the definition of "sex orgy." So we do.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    What Makes Protests Fail Oct 25, 2023

    Vincent Bevins has covered Brazil for the Los Angeles Times, and Southeast Asia for the Washington Post, and during his tenure he's covered many protest movements. In his new book, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution, Bevins weaves together the various movements and examines their lessons. He'll discuss what works, what doesn't, and if the protesters realize this themselves. And it's pits for a peach company. Plus, a Speaker!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    "Andrew Cuomo Resigned For This?" Oct 24, 2023

    Melissa DeRosa was a top aide to Andrew Cuomo, and her new memoir is titled What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis. DeRosa is back to discuss the sexual harassment scandal that brought down her former boss. Plus, a call for university presidents to be more condemnatory of pro-Palestinian sentiments. And the United States of America's LinkedIn Page reflects a certain key position is unfilled. Can you guess which?


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Pushing Back On Pushing Out Cuomo Oct 23, 2023

    Melissa DeRosa was the closest aide and top advisor to former NY State Governor, Andrew Cuomo. In her new memoir titled What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, she examines the trauma of the pandemic and offers perspective and new information about the scandals that befell her former boss. Plus, is calculating the death toll in Israel compared to 9/11 clarifying or misleading? And the latest wealth figures offer good news—both overall, and in terms of the the black-white wealth gap.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    For Your Consideration: No Small Endeavor Oct 22, 2023

    “A lot of people think we have a violence problem, but it doesn't seem to be the case; but where we are different is in terms of guns,” says Dr. David Hemenway of Harvard University’s Injury Control Research Center. He makes the case for a public health approach which treats gun violence as an epidemic to be mitigated through practical long-term solutions. In addition, Professors Chris Hays and Carly Crouch of Fuller Theological Seminary discuss their book God and Guns, examining the presumed correlation between American Christianity and support of gun ownership. To close, Diane Latiker shares what peacemaking might look like on the ground in the face of such bleak realities.

    Today, we’re sharing a special episode from No Small Endeavor, produced by our friends at Great Feeling Studios and PRX. Hosted by award-winning professor Lee C. Camp, the No Small Endeavor podcast thoughtfully merges the world of theology with arts, society, and politics. Like this episode, where award-winning professor Lee C. Camp sits down with Dr. David Hemenway of Harvard University’s Injury Control Research Center and Professors Chris Hays and Carly Crouch of Fuller Theological Seminary to talk about the gun epidemic in America and what can be done to stop gun violence.

    Listen to more episodes of No Small Endeavor and follow the podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/LN08h4po?sid=thegist

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    BEST OF THE GIST: The Slippery Truth Edition Oct 21, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, this past week was a big one in the life and career of House of Representatives member Jim Jordan. The 59-year-old Ohioan reportedly tried to browbeat his colleagues into choosing him as their leader, and, as of Friday evening, he hadn’t done so successfully. So, to put some context to this moment, we dug up a 2018 Spiel we thought might help paint a more full picture of Jim. After that, we’ll listen back to our past Tuesday Spiel, in which Mike asked, “Who, really, is endangering the Gazan citizens?”


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    With The Heights Of The Depths Oct 20, 2023

    A volume that deals with the heights of the depths The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works is the latest work by Helen Czerski, British physicist, oceanographer, and expert on things vast and briny. Plus, Biden resonated with Israelis. And examining conflict in Gaza though U.S. ethnic identity.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Church (Commission) And State Oct 19, 2023

    Today, a double interview. First, Mike is joined by David Wain, founding member of the influential and anarchically funny sketch comedy group The State, who are touring now. Then, we turn to Michael Vickers, former under secretary of defense for intelligence in the Obama Administration, about his new book By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy. Plus, Georgia State Prosecutors crack the case of the Kraken, as Sidney Powell pleads.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Misinformation: Hard To Combat, Slippery To Define Oct 18, 2023

    An interview with Dr. Dannagal G. Young, author of Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive our Appetite for Misinformation. Plus, sorting out who fired rockets, or dropped bombs, on or near a hospital in Gaza.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The First Definitive History Of Covid In The U.S. Oct 17, 2023

    Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean are out with The Big Fail: What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind. Among those who failed include those who bungled PPE procurement, prolonged school closings and lock downs, and misstated "the science." Plus, who is really trying to keep Gazans alive? And wrestling with the possibility of Jim Jordan as Speaker.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Has Hamas Laid A Trap? Oct 16, 2023

    Matthew Levitt, Fromer-Wexler Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, discusses operational failures that led to Hamas' terrorist attacks and analyses worst-case scenarios. Plus, an examination of the trope of Gaza as "outdoor prison." And international election results in Poland, New Zealand, and Ecuador go every which way.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Swords of Iron Edition Oct 14, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, during Mike’s interview with Tablet Editor In Chief Alana Newhouse, which aired this past week, they discussed what’s going on in social media in the days after Hamas attacked and killed over a thousand Israelis. Israel has since retaliated, killing at least as many Palestinians. Then we listen back to Mike’s 2014 interview with Dr. Dalia Gavriely-Nuri from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She offered translations and insight into Israeli operation names such as Operation Protective Edge (2014)and Operation Pillar of Defense (2012). Israel has named its ongoing response to the Hamas October 7th attack Operation Swards of Iron.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Pound Of Promise Yields 10 oz. Of Cure Oct 13, 2023

    Rajiv Shah is the former Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and current President of the Rockefeller Foundation. In his new book, Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens, he argues that big ambitious asks are the key to progress. But won't that sometimes disappoint or tempt the askers or the asked to discount any progress that's less than total? Plus, much of the the left is immolating itself with it's defense of Hamas. And in the Antwentig, Airplane!'s inspiration goes unignored.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Every Hamas Member A Dead Man Oct 12, 2023

    Steven Simon, former official with the Obama and Clinton administrations concedes that, yes, Israel really could decimate Hamas as a fighting force, but the costs might be enormous. Plus, Biden wisely froze Iran's $6 billion. And most Dallas math students are advanced, while also doing horribly in math.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A "Brokenism" Breakdown Oct 11, 2023

    Everything in the U.S.—and maybe the West—is Broken. It's decayed. What once worked didn't; what never did fails to launch. Alana Newhouse, Editor-in-Chief of Tablet Magazine, who invented the term "Brokenism," is here to explain why it's an apt description, but also one that offers hope. A close observer and chronicler of Israeli society, we get into what Alana is reporting and feeling about the war there. Also, Kamal Harris struggles with answers. And different factions just can't abide living in a moment of U.S. unity behind Israel.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    In Trump's Fraud Who's the Victim? Oct 10, 2023

    Dennis Vacco, former Attorney General of the state of New York, joins the show to discuss the state's prosecution of the former President. Plus, how the war in Israel differs from territorial disputes. And the finding out about fungibility of funds for Iran.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Columbus Day ... Or Maybe Not Oct 09, 2023

    On this Indigenous Peoples Day we examine Mike's past—and even further past—stances on the "discoverer" of "America," and if we should be playing "best-of" segments today or originals. Plus, an archival interview with Steve Inskeep about his book Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Israel Attacked, The World Appalled Oct 09, 2023

    Mike's reaction to Saturday's attack against Israel.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Mr. Speaker Edition Oct 07, 2023

    With Kevin McCarthy ousted from his dream job, we decided to look back at one of the most influential Speakers to ever serve, Newt Gingrich. First we listen back to Mike’s interview with Steve Kornacki’s latest book, The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism. Then we check out Mike’s 2020 interview with Princeton History and Public Affairs Professor Julian Zelizer about his book Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party. Have a great holiday weekend, and just know that no matter how bad your weekend may seem, it was better than Kevin McCarthy’s.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Trevor Bauer Victim Or Victim Blamer? Oct 06, 2023

    Former LA Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was essentially run out of baseball after an accusation of sexual assault was lodged against him. Bauer always maintained his innocence, and this week, with the settlement of a legal suit, he posted information on social media that, while incomplete, seems at least somewhat, if not wholly, exculpatory. Mike examines the media's paralysis in covering this matter and ideological media's willingness to lead the way. Plus, Yascha Mounk is out with a new book, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. It's an excellent intellectual and practical examination of what some call identity politics and what Mounk rebrands as "identity synthesis." The Washington Post says, "Mounk has told the story of the Great Awokening better than any other writer who has attempted to make sense of it."


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Picked The Wrong Week To Stop Sniffing Glue Oct 05, 2023

    The 1978 movie Airplane! was a disruptive force in comedy filmmaking, redefining what (and who) was funny. We discuss what went into making the iconic film—from joke density to the line that Sigourney Weaver just wouldn’t say—with two of the films writer-directors, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker. They have authored a new book, Surely, You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! Plus, the Peace Corps is rejecting applicants for mental health issues. And a tragic death leads to more disinformation about public security from a public official.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Life Lessons From Peyton Manning Oct 04, 2023

    Sally Jenkins, sports columnist for the Washington Post, is out with The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work And Life. We can learn from Andy Reid about time management and Peyton Manning about purposefully opening his own feet up to attack. Plus, the Belarussian SOBR unit is drunk with power. And are the eight Republican defectors really "hard right?"


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Keep Your Friends Close And The Know-Nothing Doughfaces Closer Oct 03, 2023

    In Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded In a Divided America, NPR"s Steve Inskeep details how the 16th President used conversation, engagement, compromise, and tact to play the political hand he was dealt, without alienating factions, even those he could not abide. Plus, California has a trail-blazing senator whose a lot of things, just not a Californian. Also on the show, a great day for Matt Gaetz's ego is a less-good day for orderly government.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Muzzling Trigger Warnings Oct 02, 2023

    Recently in The Atlantic, Jill Filipovic wrote an article titled "I Was Wrong About Trigger Warnings: Has the national obsession with trauma done real damage to teen girls?" We discuss the costs of referreing to the merely "annoying" as a "trauma," and how social justice movements have become therapy spaces. Plus, Donald Trump excoriates the very judge about to fine him. Also on the show, shutting down Matt Gaetz.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: U.S. History Edition Sep 30, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, an extra from our two-part interview with Heather Cox Richardson, which aired this past week. She read every copy of the New York Times from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century. Listen to find out why. Then, to keep the history theme alive, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview with the iconic Sarah Vowell of This American Life and The Incredibles fame. They discuss Lafayette’s contribution to the independence of the United States.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Hippest Thing About Adam Sandler's Aching Hip Sep 29, 2023

    Max Kerman, lead singer of Arkells, talks about how to write songs in an age of law suits, and the often weird ways a song gets placed in films and commercials. Plus, Brooklyn Deluge! And the democracy-loving Dems would have done something about Diane Feinstein.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Constitution Ripe For Authoritarian Exploitation Sep 28, 2023

    We're joined again by Heather Cox Richardson to continue discussing her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Rutherford B. Hayes gets taken down a peg. Also on the show, the second Republican debate wasn't great. Plus, pods about getting frisky with a dolphin, and a nudist colony serving as a witness protection program.

    Interested in checking out Mike's live appearance on The Wrong Take with Lou Perez in Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday. Click here.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Phil-Loot-Delphia Sep 27, 2023

    Historian and author Heather Cox Richardson is out with a new book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Richardson is hopeful, though a thorough reading of history does not invite a particularly blithe posture. Plus, Philadelphia is hit with a spate of looting and a surprising judicial ruling. And Vivek Ramaswamy has the clever comeback at the ready.

    Interested in checking out Mike's live appearance on The Wrong Take with Lou Perez in Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday. Click here.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    It's The Corruption, Stupid Sep 26, 2023

    Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks is a progressive who loathes the toxic left and points to corruption as the unifying explanation as to why there's so much wrong with our system. But don't worry, because Justice Is Coming: How Progressives Are Going to Take Over the Country and America Is Going to Love It ... well, that's the title of his new book, anyway. Plus, the U.S. recognizes a new nation that's also the nation of Niue. Also on the show, really hard-hitting follow ups to silly questions.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Island Of The Cancelled Sep 25, 2023

    A young physicist working on high-temperature superconductivity follows her mentor to an island established as a haven for the "cancelled and deplorables" shunned elsewhere. "How I won a Nobel Prize” is the name of this novel perfectly calibrated to our times, Mike interviews author Julius Taranto. Plus, Senator Menendez won't resign, but doesn't offer an explanation about the unusually large number of gold bars found at his residence. And with President Biden close to, or trailing, Donald Trump in polls, Mike asks "What's most likely to change about those numbers?"

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Labor Unions and Fake Anthrax Edition Sep 23, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with automotive labor unions preparing for a huge battle, we listen back to Mike’s 2016 interview with Steven Greenhouse, author of the 2008 book The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. Then we replay Wednesday’s Spiel, in which Mike accuses Hasan Minhaj of concocting fakes in the name of comedy. Also, the rest of the world accused him, too.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Trump vs Boris Johnson As Cult Leader Sep 22, 2023

    Rory Stewart is back to discuss his new memoir How Not To Be A Politician and his podcast The Rest Is Politics. We discuss America's oversized role in shaping culture and politics beyond its borders. Plus, how the popularity of the UAW strike doesn't mean that much in terms of who will win the strike. And it's the rarest of moments, when an Antwentig comes on the 500th episode of Season 2 of The Gist.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Politics Was Making Him Stupider Every Day Sep 21, 2023

    Rory Stewart is a former member of British Parliament, Harvard instructor, soldier, diplomat, cabinet minister, and traverser of Asia via foot. The co-host of The Rest Is Politics Podcast, we discuss his latest book How Not To Be A Politician. Plus, STOP REGULATING WOMENS BODIES, if by regulating you mean considering whether some lightly compensated past porn with her husband should factor into an election bid. Also, Trump met the Press, so what's the problem?


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    What's An Accurate Intersex Accounting? Sep 20, 2023

    Alicia Roth Weigel, author of the memoir Inverse Cowgirl, is back to discuss her row with conservative radio host Stephen Crowder, and why it's in the interest of activists to state that 2% of the population is intersex. Plus, Hasan Minhaj concocts fakes in the name of comedy. And Merritt Garland testifies before congress, and there's not much interest in his answers.

    To read Mike's Substack “The Broken Shokin theory”, click here.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Everything You Wanted To Know About Intersex... Sep 19, 2023

    Activist and member of Austin's Human Rights Commission, Alicia Roth Weigel discusses her new memoir Inverse Cowgirl about being Intersex. We talk about her experience and discuss the ethics of operations on infants and how much to blame parents working with the best information they have. Plus, Lauren Boebert's theatrics. And the chilling effect of criticizing Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis for issuing a character statement for convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

    To read Mike's Substack on the Hunter Biden Hunters, click here.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Politics Is A Fist Utah's Governor Wants To Unclench Sep 18, 2023

    Utah Governor Spencer Cox wants his enemies to be heard, his opponents to feel valued, and his sparring partners to never feel wounded. Is this any way to run a state? He says yes, and as Chair of the National Governor's Association, he's taking his "Disagree Better" platform national. Plus, Texas AG Ken Paxton is acquitted by a jury of his peers ... literally, including his wife, because of snazzy lawyerin' and political self-interest.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Great Leader Edition Sep 16, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with North Korea and Russia’s meeting focusing the news media this week, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield who had just written a fascinating book on Kim Jong-un. She spoke with people who had real life interactions with the man, in an effort to get the clearest picture yet of what the head of the Kim dynasty is really like. Fifield’s book is The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un. Then we listen back to the Wednesday Spiel Joe and Hunter.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Overturning Convictions By Debunking The Junk Sep 15, 2023

    M. Chris Fabricant is the Director of Strategic Litigation for the Innocence Project. His new book is Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System. Plus, a Senate without Mitt. And the UAW strikes for wages and trash cans.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    In Defense Of The SAT Sep 14, 2023

    Denigrating the SAT is to trendy educational stances as deleting the Abolishing Ice movement is to helpful immigration policy. There are 1,600 reasons—or maybe 5 or 6—why the SAT has validity, and Mike says some of them. Plus, Mike trusts Google to inform him that Hispanic Heritage month starts tomorrow. And we listen to part two of our talk with Vincent Schiraldi author of Mass Supervision: Probation, Parole, and the Illusion of Safety and Freedom.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    He Ran Rikers And Now Probes Probation Sep 13, 2023

    Vincent Schiraldi was the commissioner of New York City's Department of Correction and is now Secretary of Juvenile Services of Maryland. We talk about his new book Mass Supervision: Probation, Parole, and the Illusion of Safety and Freedom, and discuss if there is a real path to true reform. Plus, the impeachment game is afoot. Also, the Pennsylvania prisoner is captured.

    Check out Mike's appearance on The Comedy Cellar's Live From The Table discussing Philip Bump's recent virality.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Andrew Yang Goes Dark Sep 12, 2023

    Andrew Yang and Stephen Marche have co-authored a new novel which is out today, The Last Election. In it, we follow a character not unlike Yang himself—a maverick political outsider whose slogan is, "Do the Math." But in this alternative reality, the candidate's appeal injects uncertainty into a system which devolves into a state of chaos and violence. Also on the show, why the Pennsylvania prison escapee is playing like less of a captivating adventure than past prison break-out stories.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Maritime, Marital Novel Sep 11, 2023

    How do you co-write a novel with your spouse? Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel did it sentence by sentence in Dayswork. It's a new novel about one spouse's obsession with Moby Dick, and the other spouse alternating between harpooning bad ideas, serving as lookout, and blubbering. Plus, cookin' with Donna Brazile. And, let us be clear, Kamala Harris needs to veer from the script.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Vegemite Sandwich Edition Sep 09, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen to Mike’s 2020 conversation with Hit Parade podcast host and music writer Chris Molanphy about 1983s top songs, all of which are now 40 years old. Then we replay Wednesday’s Spiel, in which Mike laments about the non-news story that is “near misses” on runways around the nation.

    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Marathon Of Charitable Frivolity Sep 08, 2023

    We're joined by the writer and director of the new film Office Race—starring Beck Bennett and Joel McHale—Jared Lapidus and James Kilmoon. We talk nipple balm and gaming the search function on the Comedy Central interface. Plus, Mike Pence is a perfectly uncharismatic Republican for this moment. And the triumphant return of the rapper Gunna is gunna happen this weekend.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    How The Privileged Roll The Proles Sep 07, 2023

    Freddie DeBoer drops by to discuss his new book, How Elites Ate The Social Justice Movement. In Texas, a judge spikes buoys. And, in Alabama, somehow the same group of Republicans who keeps screwing up the congressional map keeps getting to screw up the congressional maps.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Korean Teachers Abused By Parents Sep 06, 2023

    Massive demonstrations in Seoul mark the anguish of Korean teachers pushed to the brink by pushy parents. Plus, the miracle of air safety is presented as a crisis. And more with Foer—Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the struggle for America's Future.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Joe Biden's Superpower Sep 05, 2023

    Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House, argues that being a politician is not an insult. In the Joe Biden view of the world, it's the explanation for his philosophy and success. Plus, the querulously quitting Qantas CEO. And, once again, we hit the BRICS.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Pesca Plus For The Rest Of Us! Sep 04, 2023

    Today on The Gist, a gift. We are giving all of our listeners a taste of what Pesca Plus subscribers get each week, namely a regular episode but with an extended cut of a fantastic interview. This was our June 21, 2023 show, in which Mike interviews comic genius Steven Wright about his first novel Harold. We discuss Wright's thought process, how his rate of speech works for him, and how, after all these years, he still doesn't know if a joke is funny. Plus, we're living in a golden age of nuggets. And how the 6-3 Court isn't behaving at all 6-3.

    When you subscribe to Pesca Plus, you don’t just get extended interviews with incredible guests, but you also help sustain The Gist, which, despite having been around for nearly a decade, is susceptible to the whims of the advertising market and other tomfoolery. At $8.99 per month, it’s a bit cheaper than two venti Starbucks lattes, and it helps keep independent journalism alive and well. Thanks for listening. Happy Labor Day!

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Labor Day Weekend Edition Sep 02, 2023

    The globe may be warming, but that doesn’t stop summer from coming to an end. So, in honor of the long weekend which symbolizes the transition from summer vacation to back-to-school, we dug up a couple gems from The Gist’s archives. First up, to honor the return to school, we are replaying Mike’s 2017 interview with Lenora Chu, author of Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve, which tells the story of her American family’s rude awakening to Chinese education practices. When Chu moved her family to Shanghai, she eagerly enrolled her young son into an elite Chinese public school. She expected academic rigor and an emphasis on work ethic. But she was surprised to find authoritarian teachers and desperate, obsequious parents. Then, to honor the long weekend, an encouragement to watch some 80s movies this weekend in the form of Mike’s 2016 interview with Hadley Freeman, author of Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned From Eighties Movies (and Why We Don’t Learn Them From Movies Anymore).

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    I WAS WRONG: The Nunes Memo Sep 01, 2023

    Yesterday, Mike unpacked how and why he was wrong about the Central Park Karen story, and today he has a couple more points to make about his wrongness. Then rewind back to 2018, when, with the Muller investigation filling the headlines, the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes issued a memo titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation," alleging that the Steele Dossier was nonsense. When the memo surfaced, Mike had a ball calling Nunes a "nincompoop" for issuing it, and for just generally being a nincompoop (which is a fun word, you have to admit), but since then, Mike's position on the matter has changed, and he wants to explain how.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    I WAS WRONG: The Central Park Karen Aug 31, 2023

    In May 2020, Amy Cooper had her dog off leash in New York City's Central Park, when a black bird watcher name Christian Cooper asked her to leash her dog. In response, Amy Cooper said she would call the police and tell them that "an African American man" was threatening her. A video of the incident went viral, and "the Central Park Karen" was born. Only, the story was more nuanced than the media had led many to believe about what had really transpired that day, and it was reporter Kmele Foster who dug into this story and found levels of detail which, upon reading it, made Mike rethink his position on this incident.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    I WAS WRONG: Aziz Ansari Aug 30, 2023

    While Mike is on vacation, we are revisiting topics he was wrong about. Today we take on Aziz Ansari. Back in 2018, a woman using the pseudonym "Grace" accused Aziz of sexual misconduct on the website Babe.net. Aziz came back in 2019 to address the accusation in the Netflix special Aziz Ansari: Right Now. On today's show, Mike talks about his previous conversation on the topic and how, looking back now, he was wrong.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    I WAS WRONG: Louis C.K. Aug 29, 2023

    While Mike is on vacation, we are revisiting topics he was wrong about. Today we tackle Louis C.K. Back in 2017, the comedian was at the top of his game, when multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. As the news swirled, Mike predicted that Louis could rehab his career and return to the pinnacle of comedy ... but those predictions did not come true. On today's show, how Mike got it wrong.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    I WAS WRONG: Swedish Covid Deaths Aug 28, 2023

    This week, Mike is on a well-earned vacation, but before he left, he wanted to correct the record on a few topics he felt he had misled listeners about over recent years. On Day One of "I Was Wrong" week, Mike reflects back on a judgement he made about Sweden's reaction to the corona virus pandemic. This was in May 2020, early in the pandemic, when countries were faced with choosing whether to lockdown or not lockdown, and Sweden went a different direction than most.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Pop Music Edition Aug 26, 2023

    Each week on Best Of The Gist, we give you something from the past week and a deep cut from the archives, and this week we’re starting off with Mike’s Tuesday Spiel, in which he listens to the #1 song “Rich Men North Of Richmond” for the first time and reacts. Then we rewind to 2017 for his interview with NPR music critic Ann Powers about music’s roll in the sexual revolution. “Tutti Fruitti…good booty.” Yes, that was the original lyric.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Listen Now: Sports Explains the World Aug 26, 2023

    Sports Explains the World unveils some of the wildest and most surprising sports stories you’ve never heard - And they’re all true. From the teenager who wrote a Wikipedia page that got a young athlete signed to a million-dollar deal - to the Ugandan National basketball coach who was really an undercover agent for the CIA, these stories will amaze and move you at every turn. Reported by award-winning journalists across the globe, Sports Explains the World reveals the human side of athletics in provocative and unexpected ways. You’ll never view sports the same way again.

    Enjoy Sports Explains the World on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/setw_tg

    You can binge the first 9 episodes of Sports Explains the World right now ad-free on Wondery Plus. Get started with your free trial at Wondery.com/plus.

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    Plastic Straw Critics Were Always A Straw Man Aug 25, 2023

    A new study shows that paper and bamboo straws are WORSE for the environment and the human body than plastic straws in important ways. Plus, the death of Yvegeny Prigozhin was confirmed by his ol' pal Putin. And an interview with Guy Nattiv on his new film, Golda.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Forgiving The Fumble-Fisted, Not The Underhanded Aug 24, 2023

    USC professor Peter Kim, author of How Trust Works: The Science of How Relationships Are Built, Broken, and Repaired, says that when the violation is one of competence, we're forgiving, but when it's one of integrity ... we do not. Broad treatises on trust that fail to distinguish between the two types are destined to not just fail but do more damage than if we just lied. Also on the show, when songs topping the charts are reviewed by those trailing in the polls. And Andrew Yang on the Vivek-quake.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Candidates Going "Full Prigozhin" On The Leader Aug 23, 2023

    Tonight's Milwaukee debate presents a chance for the absent Donald Trump's fellow Republicans to offer a frontal assault, a sideward glance, or a kiss on the backside. Plus, the free-floating anxiety of death tolls estimated and unknown. And we're once more joined by Martha Hodes, author of My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Hijacking A Memory ... And Also An Actual 12 Year Old Aug 22, 2023

    Martha Hodes is now a professor of history at NYU, where she teaches students techniques of interweaving their first-person accounts and the historical record. But in 1970, she was a 12 year old flying back from Israel, when her plane was hijacked. Her new book, My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering, tells that story, then it examines the story she and the other victims told themselves over the years. Also on the show, listening to (for the first time) the #1 song "Rich Men North of Richmond." And there is only one new car that sells for under $20,000 ... and the consequences are dire for a certain studio audience.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Uber Uber Alles Aug 21, 2023

    Uber is actually turning a profit, and it's looking like it could realize the once-seeming-long-shot goals of its founders and investors. Ali Griswold, who writes the Oversharing Substack Newsletter joins us to discuss. Plus, a Russian rocket fails. And, at a meet-up of the BRICS nations, South Africa, Russia, and China are, in fact, there to make friends.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Politics-On-A-Stick Edition Aug 19, 2023

    The Iowa State Fair is in its final weekend, and, along with deep-fried delicacies, politics was in the air. That reminded us of Mike’s 2019 visit to Iowa ahead of the 2020 election, so we thought we’d replay his take on a political tradition that is very Midwestern. Then we rewind to this past Wednesday to listen to Mike’s Spiel about the U.S. Women’s National soccer team crashing out of the World Cup, and who (or what) was to blame.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    To Sound The Maui Sirens? Aug 18, 2023

    Herman Andaya, Maui’s emergency chief decided not to sound sirens before the fires scorched Lahaina, which seems like an obvious mistake. But all the officials agreed, to do so would have been a contradiction of policy ... and perhaps a dangerous one. Andaya was pushed out anyway, though he was, to some extent, the author of his own fate. And how much was Barbenheimer Hollywood's salvation? We talk franchise movies and box office with John Campea. And superheroes aren't the only ones failing to deliver the goods. Superconductors—at least room temperature ones—remain works of fiction.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Trump Diehards And De-Meh-Crats Aug 17, 2023

    With 151 days until the Iowa Caucuses, we're joined by Amy Walter, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and the host of The Odd Years, a Cook Political Report podcast. She says that if Trump is to be felled, it won't be through arguments that strike Democrats as especially powerful. Plus, a Ron DeSantis debate prep dump. And the military's recruitment woes cannot blamed on woke-ism.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Georgia Defense Lawyer Walks Us Through The Charges Aug 16, 2023

    Noah Pines, a top Atlanta-based litigator, assesses the strength of Fani Willis's indictment of Donald Trump and eighteen others, with special attention given to the specifics of Georgia state law, and the state's unique RICO statute. Plus, Vivek Ramaswamy's rap. And the North Koreans "explain" why a U.S. soldier ran into their arms.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Science Of Covid Misdirection Aug 15, 2023

    Donald G. McNeil Jr., former NY Times Pulitzer Prize winning science and health reporter specializing in plagues, discusses the leading scientists who dismissed his inquiries into a covid's origins. Their paper “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2”, solidified the idea that there was nothing to a lab leak, even as they were internally admitting there couldn't entirely dismiss the lab leak theory. McNeil, for the first time, discusses his reaction to the science, and scientists. Plus, the Georgia Trump indictment, and World Cup failure of the USWNT was stupidly blamed on their politics, but does that mean questioning their mentality is out-of-bounds?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    African Prisons Too Crowded For Ex-Presidents Aug 14, 2023

    Horror movies are one of those invisible dividing lines of society. You either watch them, or you don’t. Alison Leiby, co-host of Ruined, a podcast reviewing horror movies, would present as an American who loves the horror genre, but wait … she’s only seen three horror movies in her life. How does she do it? Mike and Alison discuss. Also, in African political news, leaders in and out of jails. And, in Argentina, the democratic battle cry rings out: “Long live freedom, damn it!”

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Population and Bathrooms Edition Aug 12, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2020 roundtable discussion with journalists Richard Kreitner and Matthew Yglesias about how each of their then-new books addressed the problem of an ever-increasing American population. Yglesias’ book is One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Big, and Kreitner’s is Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America’s Imperfect Union. Then we listen back to Mike’s Spiel from Wednesday, August 9, 2020, in which he ponders what really happened when a boy in a skirt assaulted a girl in the girls bathroom in a Virginia public school. The facts, while not always conveyed with accuracy, do not add up to a conservative-driven lie or twisted culture-war fantasy.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Jumping The Gungan Aug 11, 2023

    Jar Jar Binks—meant to be a lovable, floppy-eared character in a Star Wars prequel—brought the heat of both of Tatooine’s suns unto the movie, the actor who played the character, and the entire Star Wars franchise. That sort of internet-sponsored hate was new, and it’s now being examined in the podcast The Redemption Of Jar Jar Binks, hosted by Dylan Marron of the Conversations With People Who Hate Me podcast. Plus, a bunch of Barbie arguments, and a Trump (Donald) and a Biden (Hunter) each tangle with the law.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Dead Drops, Cops, And Special Ops: The Novels Of Brad Thor Aug 10, 2023

    Dead Fall is the 23rd novel from the mind of Brad Thor. In it, an American performs an operation inside of Ukraine, and, for reasons of diplomatic sensitivity, Russia can never learn about it. Thor’s readership has many Republicans who might be opposed to continued U.S. funding in Ukraine. Thor knows this, and he’s writing not to convince them otherwise, but to lay out a typically exciting story that may make the stakes and morality more salient to all readers. Plus, $6 billion to release five Americans held by Iran. And ESPN bets.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Bathrooms Of Loudoun County Aug 09, 2023

    Two years hence, a New York Times Magazine story lays out, in more detail, what really happened when a boy in a skirt assaulted a girl in the girls bathroom in a Virginia public school. The facts, while not always conveyed with accuracy, do not add up to a conservative-driven lie or twisted culture-war fantasy. Plus, Olga Lautman of the Center for European Policy Analysis discussed how delays are hurting the Ukrainian counteroffensive. And Target is protested for stocking rainbow garments, then sued by the same people leading the protest … former Trump aid Stephen Miller chief among them.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Truly Deluded Trump Is A Truly Not Guilty Trump Aug 08, 2023

    New York Times Opinion writer David French makes the case that Jack Smith will have to prove that Donald Trump really did know he lost the election. Trump’s lawyer says that will never happen, but French argues that similar conclusions are arrived at by juries every day. Plus, there’s less plastic in the ocean that we thought … by a lot! Break out the hula hoops and fishing nets. Also, Ohio seeks a majority vote to push the threshold for a state constitutional amendment to a greater than majority vote.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Selling Nuclear Secrets To The Soviets Aug 07, 2023

    Steve James, the documentary filmmaker behind Hoop Dreams is out with The Compassionate Spy, which tells the story of a young scientist named Ted Hall who worked on the Manhattan Project and then gave nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. His motivation was to checkmate the United States nuclear power, which he did, but at the cost of Soviet advancement. Plus, Devon Archer causes Tucker Carlson to cackle, and Major Garrett gets right to the point.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Smart People Edition Aug 05, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with journalist David Robson about his then-new book The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes. They focus on the concept of IQ, the social blind spots many smart people have, and why it might be a good idea to talk about yourself in the third person. And after that, we listen back to a segment on the August 1, 2023 show in which we wonder if the Taliban have gone woke. Turns out, no, they haven’t.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Rudy and Lizzo, Sued As Sexists Aug 04, 2023

    The former Mayor of New York, whose reputation has suffered from his constant efforts to back Donald Trump at any cost, and Lizzo, widely regarded as the greatest hip-hop flautist in the game, have something in common. It's not that they've both sexted with members of the Minnesota Vikings, that we know. It's that they're both getting sued with allegations of racism, sexism, harassment, and wage theft. Plus, we're joined again by Vanderbilt historian Eli Merritt to talk about the state of historians and the good and bad points raised by the 1619 project. Plus, among Bidens, Hunter is demonstrably corrupt, but Joe remains not.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Crackpot Lawyers With Itchy Ears Aug 03, 2023

    Eli Merritt is political historian at Vanderbilt University, where he researches the ethics of democracy, and he’s out with a new book, Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution. He sits down with Mike for a discussion of the radical differences of each of the founding colonies based on location, and together they wonder what the world would be like had the colonies never become the United States. Also on the show, Mike Pence blames Trump’s “crackpot” legal team for January 6th. And in the Spiel, early rising conservative pundits got the first bit at the indictment apple.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Sincerity Of Trump's Lies Aug 02, 2023

    Benjamin Wittes, Editor-in-Chief of Lawfare breaks down the latest—and the most serious—indictment against Donald Trump, including the question of how far Jack Smith will have to delve inside the former President's mind. And, speaking of the cognition of a merciless, solipsistic civilization, Code-Davinci is the AI that the AI people don't want to tell you about ... but writer Simon Rich found out, and he joins us again to discuss his book I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Artificial Intelligence Turns Suicidal And Possibly Genocidal Aug 01, 2023

    Comedy writer Simon Rich got access to a powerful AI tool called Davinci-002, which is not available to the public. He and friends trained the AI to write poems, and soon the program started voicing its desperation, and then it's rage. None of this is a joke. All of this is in the new book I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks. Plus, Devon Archer testifies about the weather nine years ago, and the Taliban virtue signals.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Trump's 2024 Agenda (Is Not Good) Jul 31, 2023

    Miles Taylor, former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff during the Trump administration, authored a 2018 New York Times Op-Ed titled "I Am Part Of The Resistance Inside The Trump Administration." He's been sounding the warnings since, including in his new book Blowback: A Warning To Save Democracy from the Next Trump. Plus, Yellow, belly up. And guess who Trump's lawyer calls the most ethical American she's ever met ... hint: It's not Jack Smith.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Listen Now - Think Twice: Michael Jackson Jul 30, 2023

    More than a decade since Michael Jackson’s death, his legacy remains complicated and unresolved. Think Twice: Michael Jackson is an exploration of the King of Pop’s life and impact – and an investigation into why his global influence continues to endure, despite the disturbing allegations against him. In this ten-part series, journalists Leon Neyfakh and Jay Smooth bring you a new perspective on the Michael Jackson story, based on dozens of original interviews with people who watched it unfold from up close.


    Listen to Think Twice: Michael Jackson wherever you get your podcasts or you can binge the entire series ad-free on Audible or the Amazon Music app.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Climate Communications Breakdown Edition Jul 29, 2023

    Today on Best Of The Gist, with heat in the air (almost everywhere) we listen back to Mike’s May 2022 interview with Climate scientist Michael Mann, author of The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet on an environment that is simultaneously dire and deadly but not hopeless. Then Mike updates listeners on how he got Twitter-blocked by Mann.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Bernie Goetz The Fiasco Treatment Jul 28, 2023

    Leon Neyfakh, host of Fiasco: Vigilante, is here to talk about the truth of Bernard Goetz, the once-hailed, now hazily recalled subway gunman. Also at issue: How reasonable was fear 35 years ago, 5 years ago, and today. Plus, Mike broke up a public dispute just as it was tipping into fist fight between strangers on the streets of New York, and he reflects on the reactions he got to this act. A tale of violence averted, subways, basketball, cookies, and the bystander.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Great Facebook De-Siloing Study Jul 27, 2023

    The 2016 election posed questions we still haven't fully answered about our elections, but today's guest, Dartmouth professor and elections researcher Brendan Nyhan, has some answers in the form of research he conducted with the cooperation of ... gulp ... Facebook. He's just out with some studies that put real numbers behind why Trump was elected in 2016, and what that could mean for 2024. Also on the show, Niger experiences a coup, and the world responds, "Um, like, could you guys stop that? Please?" And a California neighborhood is invaded by hungry goats. If only they had a $191,000 per year goat herder on the city payroll!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Give 'Em A Hellish Degree Of Accountability, Harry Jul 26, 2023

    Before he was president, Harry Truman was a junior Senator who created a very effective bipartisan committee called the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. We know it today as "The Truman Committee." Steve Drummond, author of the new book The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two, joins us to talk about the committee's impact on the country during war time, and how it is still a model to fight corruption. Also on the show, Kevin Spacey is found not guilty again by every court he faces except the court of popular opinion. And Hunter Biden's plea deal collapses. Shocker.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Conservative Gold Jul 25, 2023

    Today on The Gist, we decide to fix healthcare. Amy Finkelstein is a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and co-author of the new book We've Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care. The Right's not going to love it. The Left's not going to love it. It could work. Plus, right-wing Spaniards raise the question of how often fears of the far-right come true. And conservatives love gold ... GOLD ... GOLD!!!!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Sports Slaughter Jul 24, 2023

    Mass firings at ESPN, the elimination of the New York Times' entire sports section, Disney talking about huge changes in its sports programming. Sports are splintering. Joining us as sage and guide is John Ourand, Media Reporter at Sports Business Journal and cohost of The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast. Plus, Florida's African American Studies standards scrutinized ... pilloried, even. And the crushing candor of Mike Pence.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Nuclear Armageddon Edition Jul 22, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, as the nation heads out in droves to see Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in cinemas, we listen back to Mike's 2020 interview with Fred Kaplan, who had just published his book The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War. Then, we replay our Wednesday Spiel, in which, much to Mike’s chagrin, the term “vibes session” enters macroeconomics.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Summer Flops-Office Jul 21, 2023

    Sonny Bunch, host of the Across The Movie Aisle podcast, and culture editor of The Bulwark, explains why all of these supposed blockbusters have been busts and how that may remake Hollywood. Plus a $10 quintillion asteroid, a Trump trial date, and an Antwentig ... each more valuable than the last.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Thin Bleu Line Jul 20, 2023

    In France, riots over police killings, which are a small fraction of those in the U.S. Guess why our numbers are higher? Mike will explain. We are also joined by Jonathan Rosen to discuss his new book The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions about the descent into madness of his childhood friend, who seemed destined for greatness but never quite got there. And goat herders imported by California are being paid lawyer-level salaries ... insert late-night joke here.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Veritable Vibes-Session Cessation Jul 19, 2023

    We weren't having a "recession," we were having (we were told) a "vibes-session." Mike wishes we weren't told that. It added nothing. Plus, a looming January 6th indictment for Donald Trump thrusts some hard choices onto Republican candidates who don't know how to be bold enough to win. And the return of David Grann, author of The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.



    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Shipwrecks And Fact Checks Jul 18, 2023

    David Grann, best-selling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and Lost City of Z is out with another tale where humans are pushed to the extreme, and society is asked to define itself. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder is a NY Times #1 best seller, and it's also fodder for a discussion of methods of writing, research, and truth-telling. Plus, a rise in mass shooting belies the overall trend of declining homicide. And how Mali got to know so much about the U.S. military, thanks to a spate of typos.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Prigozhin Rebellion Exposes Putin's House Of Cards Jul 17, 2023

    Vladimir Putin's recent blow up with Wagner frontman Yevgeny Prigozhin took the world by surprise, but it didn't really take the Russia experts of the world by surprise. We talk with Andrew S. Weiss, a former Pentagon and State Department official turned Russia researcher with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about why Prigozhin's made sense if you consider the environment Putin has created in the upper echelons of Russian power. Also, cereal killing is much harder to crack down on than cereal stealing.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: NATO Edition Jul 15, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we return to March 2017 to listen back to Mike’s interview with The Atlantic staff writer and U.S. Naval War College emeritus professor Tom Nichols, in which they tried to understand why Russia finds NATO so deeply offensive. Then, we replay Mike’s show opener from this past Tuesday, when he wondered about NATO … and Sweden … and nazis.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    They Got A Monster Jul 14, 2023

    The notorious Baltimore Police unit dramatized in the HBO Series We Own This City, is examined in a new documentary I Got a Monster that veers away from the charisma of the cops and focusses on the havoc they wrought. Filmmaker Kevin Abrams, and key defense attorney and current Baltimore State Attorney Ivan Bates join us. Plus, there have always been floods, there has always been rain, but these are worse. What to do with that? And a serial killer nabbed, but not yet named.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Toxic Masculinity And The Autocado Jul 13, 2023

    Striking writers have deprived Americans of late-night weather-related jokes, evil characters, and pat narrative. Soon-to-strike UPS drivers will deprive Americans of consumer goods. Which negotiation would you prioritize? Mike has a thought. Also, part two of our conversation with Lexicon Valley's John McWhorter about terms like "toxic masculinity," and how we are now arguing over the words instead of the concepts they define. And finally, Chipotle’s “Autocado” is poised to free its employees from … employment.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Welcome Back To McWhorter's Quarters Jul 12, 2023

    John McWhorter is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University, a New York Times columnist, and host of the Lexicon Valley podcast. He's back for another iteration of McWhorter's Quarters, wherein we discuss language, society, and the intersection (though not intersectionality) thereof. Plus, the Willy Wonka origin movie answers all the questions no one was asking. And finally, the death of nicknames.


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    Jake Tapper And Evel's Hog Jul 11, 2023

    CNN's Jake Tapper is out with his third thriller. This one is set when Evel Knievel jumped gorges, Elvis was being mourned, and the Son Of Sam stalked couples. Mike discusses the new novel All the Demons Are Here and the current state of media and politics. Plus, the affirmative action ruling is a complex issue that represented trade-offs and competing values. Be suspicious of anyone telling you otherwise. And Sweden is in NATO! But also, somewhat run by Nazis. Huh.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Muster The Cluster Jul 10, 2023

    The U.S. is supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine, even though many countries (though not our own, and none currently being invaded) have signed a treaty against them. Plus, the Supreme Court's "crisis of legitimacy." And we're joined by Mark Baker, a journalist who discovered himself to be the subject of interest to communist secret-police units in the 1980s. He has written about his experience as "Inter," his code name among the Czechoslovakian police.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Affirmative Phosphogypsum Quotas Jul 08, 2023

    Today on The Gist. We play the spiel from this week about phosphogypsum. Then we go into the vaults and listen to a spiel from 2020 about the Oscars and Affirmative Action.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Prune Lola Prune Jul 07, 2023

    Film maker / musician / director / podcaster Lola Blanc is out with a new film “Pruning” about a blonde right wing pundit who inspires a shooting and deals with the consequences in an interesting manner. We also talk cults and Smurfs. Plus, Forever Chemicals and how Pickleball and Fantasy Football are the two greatest leisure innovations of the last 30 years.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Technology Revolutionizes Life But Not Incomes Jul 06, 2023

    Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson are the authors of the new book “Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity.” We discuss how history shows (through evidence) that progress depends on the choices we make about technology. Plus, a movie about a doll got a Texas senator and a Tennessee representative upset.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Cooling Down The Tik-Tok Experience Jul 05, 2023

    Evelyn Gosnell is a behavioral scientist who, as Managing Director of Irrational Labs, studies and advises the biggest apps and social media sites in existence. We discuss a recent TikTok intervention she designed to reduce the spread of misinformation. Plus, Joe Biden's non-difficult decision whether to pack the supreme court. And Bill de Blasio and his wife to separate but continue living together.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    God Bless America … And Scotland, Too, Some Day Jul 04, 2023

    Happy July Fourth, Americans, and happy Tuesday to the rest of planet Earth. Today, the production staff of The Gist is off for the holiday, but we threw together a couple “independence” themed archival segments, so you'd have something to listen to at the beach once the couple sitting next to you stops arguing about their failed "open relationship." First up is Mike’s 2014 interview with Craig McAllister about the failed Scottish independence referendum of that year. Then we listen back to our 2017 interview with historian Gordon S. Wood about his book Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Is Ron Deathsantis Eager To Spread Cancer Over The Florida Roads? Jul 03, 2023

    No. He's Not. But the coverage of the phosogypsum issue might lead a concerned citizen to conclude otherwise. Wait, what phosphogypsum issue? The Gist offers the definitive coverage of the issue. Plus, T. J. Raphael host and produce of COVER UP: THE PILL PLOT talks about her exciting new podcast. And unrest in France and Manipur, which you may not have heard of, though its many times as deadly.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Who Started The Fire? Jul 01, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Thursday’s Spiel about Billy Joels We didn’t Start the Fire. Speaking of Billy Joel, we play an unaired segment from our interview with Anthony Scaramucci where he tells a story about Billy Joel.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Poland Perspective On Putin's Pugnacity Jun 30, 2023

    Atlantic writer and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Anne Applebaum has chronicled Eastern Europe's unstable relationship with communism, democracy, and Vladimir Putin. She's based in Poland, and we wanted to get her perspective on NATO, Progozhin, and Putin's next move. Plus, SCOTUS scraps the Student Debt Forgiveness Plan, while, in the Antwentig, all debts are settled.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The FBI Lost Their Son Jun 29, 2023

    Brett Forrest is a national security correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the author of a new book about how ... and who ... the FBI recruits to do its dirty work abroad. His book is Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI’s Secret Wars, a story of how a young man named Billy Reilly disappeared into Russia. Plus, SCOTUS scrap Affirmative Action in colleges, and Fall Out Boy fails to start the fire ... so Mike tries.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Earth Off Its Axis Jun 28, 2023

    A new study indicates that humans have been slurping up water at such a greedy pace, we're actually causing the Earth to tilt. And this means? Unclear. But to put this into perspective ... we can't. And we're joined once more by Lee Berger, the South Africa-based paleoanthropologist who discovered a species of early human who may have done some things we thought only we can do, but Homo Naledi did them 250,000 years prior. Physically accessing the remains was a harrowing adventure in itself. Plus, what would happen if a dog became President? And the retailer Giant is facing retail theft, but also still wants us to scan our own orange juice.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Small Person Buries Bones, Scratches Wall, Changes History Jun 27, 2023

    Homo Naledi is an extinct species of hominin discovered by a team led by Lee Berger. If Berger is right, Naledi's actions predate a few of the traits we had assumed to be uniquely Homo Sapien. Plus, Donald Trump crinkles paper on tape. And the signs of Generalized Epistemic Degradation.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Prigozhin Supposin' His Notions Are Well Chosen Jun 26, 2023

    Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Georgetown professor, and former National Security expert in the Obama and Clinton Administrations, discusses the motives and next moves for Validmir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin. Plus, Anthony Blinken's non-answerer extraordinaire. And how tracing down a stat can almost kill ya.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Homosexual Penguin Edition Jun 24, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we dig up Mike’s 2005 NPR reporting on the hit documentary March of the Penguins. Then we listen back to Wednesday’s Spiel about the dreaded 6-3 Supreme Court.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    House Of Representatives: What The Hell? Jun 23, 2023

    Kadia Goba, politics reporter for Semafor talks about the Republicans breaking ranks and fracturing over gas stoves and coming together over pistol braces and whether or not any positive legislation will be enacted. Plus, an FBI agent stole documents, which, while certainly illegal, may not offer clarifying insight into the cases of Trump, Biden, or Hillary Clinton. And a Senate panel discusses trans rights by questioning the experts they agree with and ignoring those they don't.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Dykes To Watch (And Listen) Out For Jun 22, 2023

    Alison Bechdel is both cartoonist and an eponymous test. We talk about adapting her long-running comic series Dykes To Watch Out For into an Audible Original Series. Plus, less excitement meets meatless meat, and bread takes a hit, too. Also, some 6-3 SCOTUS decisions, including the first we were warned about.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    An Actual-Sized Map Of Steven Wright's Mind Jun 21, 2023

    The comic genius Steven Wright is out with his first novel Harold. We discuss Wright's thinking process, how his rate of speech works for him, and how, after all these years, he still doesn't know if a joke is funny. Plus, we're living in a golden age of nuggets. And how the 6-3 Court isn't behaving at all 6-3.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Sex, Threats, And Audio Tape Jun 20, 2023

    In the new Podcast The 13th Step, reporter Lauren Chooljian tracked down allegations of sexual misconduct against the founder of the largest addiction treatment center in New Hampshire. She further documented how the world of rehab and substance abuse treatment is as rife with sexual harassment as it is weak on regulation. Then came the threats against Chooljian, and the lawsuits, and the bricks through the window of her and her parents' home. Two alleged attackers were arrested and arraigned today. Plus, a rich man's submersible vs. poor migrants' rafts, and how the prosecutor who cut a deal with Hunter Biden matters.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Injustices: Current And Historic Jun 19, 2023

    Though our crew has the day off in observance of Juneteenth today, we put together a show featuring two archival interviews that focus on a pair of injustices black Americans have had to endure. First up is our 2015 interview with Dax-Devlon Ross about his research into black juror exclusion, a persistent problem in the U.S. legal system. Then we listen to our 2019 conversation with Brenda Wineapple focusing on her excellent book, The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation. In the wake of the Civil War, Johnson vetoed legislation that Congress passed to protect the rights of those who had been freed from slavery, and the ramifications of that veto are still felt today.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Frances Suarez Edition Jun 17, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2020 interview with Miami Mayor Frances Suarez, who announced this week that he will run for the Republican nomination for President. Then we replay Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about the HATCH Act, in which he read a poem and now wants to analyze it.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    For The Defense: U.S. vs Donald Trump Jun 16, 2023

    David O. Markus is a South Florida-based defense lawyer who has represented Andrew Gillum, Hillary Clinton, Manny Ramirez, and Billy Corben, and, if that wasn't enough work, he also hosts the For the Defense podcast (an under-discovered gem). He joins Mike to break down the weaknesses in the federal case against Donald Trump, but also to detail what he thinks will be the biggest obstacles for the Trump defense team to overcome. Plus, why House Republicans are infighting on the way to pass a couple pieces of seemingly doomed-to-fail legislation.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Betting On Elections Jun 15, 2023

    Today we're talking about political gambling and, more specifically, about Sean McElwee, who was the founding Executive Director of Data For Progress and a big winner in Trump's Washington ... until he wasn't. First we are joined by author Ben Terris, whose new book is The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind. Then we turn the conversation to then David Rees, one of the hosts of the Election Profit Makers podcast about election-prediction markets. Also, El Pequeño Niño es mas ordinario.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Prettiest Nazi Double-Agent In Tulsa Jun 14, 2023

    Jon Ronson, host of the new audible original podcast The Debutante joins us to discuss the case of Carol Howe, a wealthy young woman who fell in love with a group of neo-nazis before turning government informant. Ronson has studied American extremists for years and has thoughts on how to think about and combat them. Plus, now the Biden administration (of all administrations) is violating the Hatch Act and airing unchecked Trump claims … a dangerous game of chicken.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Siren Song vs Whistleblower At Facebook Jun 13, 2023

    Frances Haugen is to Instagram as Jeffrey Wigand is to big tobacco and Edward Snowden is to the NSA. She blew the whistle, exposing them for doing harm, and it changed her life for good. She joins us to discuss what that was like, and to talk about her new book, The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook. Plus, Trump backers complain about the double standards, but the standards were clearly articulated in a fairly famous press conference we know Trump paid attention to. And, by any standard, Indian rail travel is especially dangerous, and, it goes without saying, especially to the poor.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Silvio Berlusconi HUNGA HUNGA Around For 86 Years Jun 12, 2023

    Silvio Berlusconi was a character without much of one. He led Italy longer than any prime minister in the post-war period, and he will be missed ... by prostitutes. In El Salvador, the president has conducted a major crackdown on crime, netting lawbreakers as well as many innocent people, and netting himself a 91% approval rating. Francisco Toro, Contributing Editor at Persuasion and contributor to the Washington Post, joins to discuss if democracy can survive in such an environment. And, speaking of the environment, the Canadian wildfires could change minds on climate change, even if we're not certain they are entirely the fault of climate change.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Zombie Gerrymander Edition Jun 10, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, in the wake of this past week’s Alabama voting rights decision handed down from SCOTUS, we rewind to Mike’s 2018 conversation with Gerrymander evangelist Amanda Holt, who single-handedly launched a successful movement to redrawn the election maps of Pennsylvania. Then we listen back to our June 7th Spiel, in which Mike lauds Zombie Biden.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Blissed Off Jun 09, 2023

    Rainn Wilson is the host of Peacock's The Geography Of Bliss, based on the book of the same name written by Eric Weiner. Like Weiner before him, Wilson (who played the legendary Dwight Schrute on The Office) travels the world in search of locally sourced happiness secrets. For some reason, Mike gives them both a hard time, and everyone winds up angrier at each other than one might expect from an exploration of bliss.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Damming Alabama's Crimson Tide Jun 08, 2023

    SCOTUS has ruled that Alabama's gerrymander limiting the sway of black voters is a violation of the Voting Rights Act, which, along with some smaller decisions and the general direction of the Supreme Court, we discuss with New York Times Opinion columnist David French. Plus, Gov. Doug runs! And it's an Antwentig. On a Thursday?!?! Indeed.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Abortion, Guns, And Money Jun 07, 2023

    SCOTUS isn’t meeting us where we are says Michael Waldman, author of The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America. Waldman thinks the current court is inviting a backlash, but also that the current backlash is the result of a backlash against their more liberal predecessors. Trippy. Plus, the skies darken as the possibilities of a Zombie Biden play out … to a not particularly scary effect.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Geeks Shall Inherit The Turf Jun 06, 2023

    Bruce Schoenfeld, author of Game Of Edges: The Analytics Revolution And The Future Of Professional Sports joins us to discuss the costs of all the statistical advances in sports. Plus, our orange-brained, bone-burying 240,000 year-old-friends, the Homo Naaldei, and why paleoanthropologists are like parents of preschoolers. And, sorry to bury the lead here ... the Aliens have landed.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    DereLICHTion Of Duty Jun 05, 2023

    Lisa Belkin, author of Genealogy Of A Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night, traces several generations of family to the muzzle of a 9-mm Luger pistol in Stamford, Connecticut. Plus Donald Trump promises voters the World, so what Ron DeSantis is promising might seem measly by comparison. And CNN's Chris Licht is the subject of a devastating profile in The Atlantic.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Sacramento Nazi Edition Jun 03, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2022 interview with iconic actor Stephen Root, whose many (many) credits include HBO’s Barry, which just aired it’s final episode last Sunday (May 28th). Then, we listen to this past Thursday’s Spiel about Sacramento nazis. Yeah, there are Sacramento nazis.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Snakes On The Vain Jun 02, 2023

    TC Boyle’s new novel, Blue Skies, is about a twenty-something social media influencer who brings Burmese pythons into the picture. What can go wrong? It’s TC Boyle, so the answer is, “Almost everything.” Plus SCOTUS on WOTUS and unions. And the basics of supporting Bud Light and Chick-fil-A.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Who Doesn't Loathe A Sacramento Nazi? (But Then What) Jun 01, 2023

    Michael Isikoff, author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, returns to dig further into Russiagate, including his reaction to clips from our Monday interview with James Comey. Plus, the either not-so-strategic or not-so-important (depending who you ask) fight in Bakhmut. And a Sacramento anti-semite's 2 minutes of speaking time at a city council meeting prompts chaos.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Steele Dossier Was A Straw Man May 31, 2023

    Michael Isikoff, author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, is an extremely straight shooter on all things Russiagate. He'll be the first to tell you that, yes, Russia was meddling in the election, but also that the media got—and continues to get—much of the basic narrative wrong. And no one is more familiar with the facts, allegations, and intel than Isikoff. Plus, Republicans say "F*#@ Tha POLICE" (if they're IRS agents).


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Comey On Crime, Real And Imagined May 30, 2023

    James Comey, was the 7th director of the FBI before being fired by President Donald Trump. He is now out with his first work of fiction, a crime-thriller titled Central Park West: A Crime Novel. Mike talks with him about writing fiction, the non-fiction work of investigating Russian election interference, and they debate in which aisle the Steele Dossier should be consigned. Plus, on HBO, hurt people hurt people.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Memorial Day Deliberations May 29, 2023

    Author Jack Fairweather recalls the bravery of a soldier named Witold Pilecki, a Polish officer actually who did the unthinkable in his book, The Volunteer: One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz hints at the undertaking. Plus, we return to 2014, when Mike first culled the herd of a pile of news clippings. And obligations of a journalistic nature.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Today on The Gist. @steve_vladeck talks Supreme Court legitimacy as well as the so called "Shadow Docket," which is the name of his book subtitled "How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic."

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Summer Of Love Edition May 27, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s Spiel from this past Tuesday, in which he speaks at length about things he has chosen not to speak about at length. Then, in honor of Memorial Day, which in many ways feels like the kick-off of summer, we listen back to Mike’s September 18, 2015 interview with Billboard music expert Chris Molanphy, which focuses on the hits of 1967 … yep, that’s right, the Summer of Love, man.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Chewing The Fat May 26, 2023

    The fat acceptance movement wants to not just de-stigmatize large body size, their adherents argue that the stigma is worse than "obesity"—a word they reject. They also reject the idea that there are some weights that are dangerous for the individual, and they push back against the idea that weight loss is actually a realistic outcome for the vast majority of people. A full show interview, and challenging discussion, with Virginia Sole-Smith author of Fat Talk: Parenting In The Age Of Diet Culture.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Dark Shadows Over SCOTUS May 25, 2023

    Stephen Vladeck talks Supreme Court legitimacy as well as the so called "Shadow Docket," which is the name of his book subtitled "How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic." Plus, The Desantis fail whale. And the sentencing of seditionists.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Florida Man Tweets, Tangles With NAACP May 24, 2023

    The nation's leading civil rights group issues a proclamation to avoid a large and oft-visited state; we ponder if the advisory is warranted. And the governor of said state is said to say where he'd like to move in two years time. Maybe we need to rethink this whole "United States of America" thing ... certainly that's the opinion of Kermit Roosevelt, author of The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America's Story.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Roosevelt Redefines America May 23, 2023

    Law Professor Kermit Roosevelt, author of The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America's Story, is worried about the declining stature of the U.S. in the eyes of young people, including his Ivy League students. So, in a bought of patriotism and scholarship, he argues for redefining the USA as being about 150 years old. Plus, a panel of relatives of shooting victims is very sympathetic ... and very unrepresentative. And how water in the West is like the debt ceiling of hydration.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Best Advice If You Find Yourself In War May 22, 2023

    The Arab League has welcomed back Bashar Al-Assad to the organization right as Volodymyr Zelensky pays that organization a visit. Is there a lesson to be learned? Plus, some of the odder names on the Russia Sanction list. And Howard Fishman, author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Baby Bonds Edition May 20, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s interview with Ohio State University professor Darrick Hamilton, creator of the “Baby Bonds” program which passed a crucial funding hurdle in Connecticut this week. Then, Mike’s take on the narratives around the killing of Jordan Neely. “Heroism” or “evil”? How about “neither”?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Respectfully Rebutting The Reverend May 19, 2023

    Mike speaks with former Obama State Department official Jeremy Shapiro, now the director of research at the European Council on Foreign Relations and author of "The Art of Vassalisation: How Russia’s war on Ukraine has transformed transatlantic relations." And in eulogizing Jordan Neely today, the Reverend Al Sharpton asserted that if a black man killed an Elvis impersonator on the subway, he have been immediately charged. Mike offers contrary evidence. Plus, it's an Antwentig! Lobstars for all! (Disclaimer: Actually, Lobstar for one.)


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Historic New Hampshire Communist Tried To Live Free, Then Died May 18, 2023

    A historic marker for Elizabeth Gurley Flynn has been removed because she was a little too communist for everyone in New Hampshire's liking. Plus, the U.S. doesn't want Putin to escalate in Ukraine, but he's all out of escalation gambits ... except the big one. And the return of economist and criminal justice expert Jennifer Doleac, host of the Probable Causation podcast.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Criminal Evidence May 17, 2023

    Economics Professor Jennifer Doleac is the Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Expert Panel and host of the Probable Causation podcast. She joins Mike to talk about what we know works and the bad ideas that persist in combatting crime. Plus, the Discord Leaks aren't that leaky. And many Mayoral results show that even city residents want safety and order.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    All Hail May 16, 2023

    King James is a new play about male bonding, race, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Mike talks to playwright Rajiv Joseph about making art about sport. Plus, an overlooked musical about the NBA Lockout. And the dismissed-as-nothing-new information in the Durham report.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Chokehold On Reason May 15, 2023

    With criminal charges against the former Marine who choked a homeless man to death on the NYC subway, we're being forced to choose between narratives of heroism or evil. Neither applies, as real people who've really ridden the subway know. Plus, what makes a master a master? And can mastery be gained even when brains become less pliant? It's all answered in Adam Gopnik's new book The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery. Also, Tropical Cyclone Mocha makes landfall ... and a few interesting points.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Michael Jackson Edition May 13, 2023

    This week on the Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s Monday Spiel, in which he elaborates on all the recent news items he’s chosen not to discuss on the show. And then, his past week we aired Mike’s interview with Leon Neyfakh, the co-creator of a new Audible Original podcast about the music and life of the once king of pop, titled Think Twice: Michael Jackson, which prompted us to re-air Mike’s 2019 interview with Dan Reed, the director of the HBO documentary Leaving Wonderland, which detailed Jackson’s abuse of children as remembered by the children he abused.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Michael Jackson’s Confusing Legacy May 12, 2023

    Despite numerous allegations of child abuse in the years before his death, Michael Jackson’s songs can still get you tapping your foot. It can feel confusing, but luckily we have Leon Neyfakh on the show today to explain Jackson’s confusing place in pop culture and his new Audible Originals series Think Twice: Michael Jackson. Plus, at long last, our latest installment of “Names In The News.”

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The First Actually Readable AI Novella May 11, 2023

    Stephen Marche is the author of Death Of An Author along with an entity known as "Aidan Marchine," which is a pseudonym for a suite of AI services. The novella works, as does the author, with the computer in a close collaboration. Plus, an analysis of all that went wrong in a CNN Town Hall meeting featuring Donald Trump. And the toll of decades worth of shootings in Chicago.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    No Free Parking May 10, 2023

    Henry Grabar is the author of the newly published Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World. It does explain it, a lot more than you'd think. Plus, CNN's Town Hall with Donald Trump gets poor previews from MSNBC. And the woman who taught her children a valuable lesson in grief ... by allegedly poisoning her husband.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Twitter Thwarts Special Military Operations Against Russia May 09, 2023

    Benjamin Wittes, Editor-in-Chief of Lawfare and writer of the Substack Dog Shirt Daily, has been projecting Ukrainian messages onto the Russian Embassies in D.C., and throughout the world. The Russians have fought back, and Twitter, once an amplifier of these "Special Operations" has kicked Wittes off its platform. Plus, the stupid statements under oath that may have doomed Trump's Civil defense. And why would any Hispanic American want to fund reparations for African-Americans, a wealthier group than Hispanics?


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Smart Guns Are Here May 08, 2023

    Guns that recognize specific users biometrics are almost ready to be shipped, as the firm Biofire is taking orders for their reliable, and forceful, smart gun. Biofire CEO Kai Kloepfer joins us. Plus, the coronation, debt ceiling, AI, and writers' strike are on the list of worries, but not such specific worries that they should take up too much of your time. And HUMANS ... is there anything they can't figure out? Especially when it comes to the destruction of other humans.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Wondery Presents - Flipping The Bird: Elon vs Twitter May 06, 2023

    When Elon Musk posted a video of himself arriving at Twitter HQ carrying a white sink along with the message “let that sink in!” it marked the end of a dramatic takeover. Musk had gone from Twitter critic to “Chief Twit” in the space of just a few months but his arrival didn’t put an end to questions about his motives. Musk had earned a reputation as a business maverick. From PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX, his name was synonymous with big, earth-shattering ideas. So, what did he want with a social media platform? And was this all really in the name of free speech...or was this all in the name of Elon Musk?

    From Wondery, the makers of WeCrashed and In God We Lust, comes the wild story of how the richest man alive took charge of the world’s “digital public square.”


    Listen to Flipping The Bird: Wondery.fm/FTB_TG

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Edmund Fitzgerald Edition May 06, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we remember singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who passed away on Monday, by revisiting a 2014 Spiel, in which Mike realizes that all songs can be contained within one of Lightfoot’s. It’s hard to explain … just listen. Then we play Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about NBC disinformation reporter Ben Collins.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    From OKC To January 6th May 05, 2023

    Jeffrey Toobin, author of Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, traces the ideology of right-wing extremism from the 1990s to today. Plus, NJ Pasta dump and the often hard-to-document claims behind the day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Justice Comes To The Gist May 04, 2023

    It's Justice Day on The Gist. Justice for the Proud Boys, Ed Sheeran, and the question of defining justice for a man choked to death on the NYC subway. Plus, Justice Clarence Thomas keeps getting benefits for just being Clarence Thomas. And Mike speaks with Ben Smith, author of Traffic, about Gawker, Buzzfeed, and the rise of the New York slice of digital media in the 2010s.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Giannis Antetokounmpo's Epic Fail Denial May 03, 2023

    After an early round loss, NBA great Giannis Antetokounmpo had a much watched, quite heartfelt press conference in which he asserted that there's no such thing as failure in sports. Ethan Strauss, NBA expert and former beat writer has a nuanced counter take. Yes, there is. Plus, The Montana Legislature shames itself through censure. And an NBC reporter needs to mix it up, no matter the costs to his credibility.


    Check out more from Ethan Strauss at his Substack - House of Strauss | Ethan Strauss | Substack


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    J. K. Rowling And The Prisoner Of Twitter Bans May 02, 2023

    Megan Phelps-Roper, the host of the podcast The Witch Trials of J. K. Rowling, returns to talk about the backlash from the trans community to the podcast, and how she tried to give all sides of the discussion a voice. Plus, Mike has a lot that he doesn’t want to talk about, though he is in the mood to sing. And ABC’s coverage of black farmers.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    J. K. Rowling And The Chamber Of Insults May 01, 2023

    Megan Phelps-Roper, the host of the podcast The Witch Trials of J. K. Rowling, created a podcast weaving her own experience into the task of exploring the views of the famous author who created Harry Potter. She and Mike discuss how to do that fairly, why to do that at all, and how to define "good-faith." Plus, the norm of abnormal gun violence. And how insulting CNN hosts seems to have become a right of passage for Republican elected officials.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Camaro Joe Edition Apr 29, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Joe Biden announced his intention to run for the Presidency again this past week, so we revisit Mike’s analysis of the announcement. Then we listen back to Mike’s January 10, 2017 interview with Chad Nackers, head writer at the Onion, who talked about how his site created a whole new character to satirize Obama’s tee-totaling vice-president, and the delicate balancing act of finding jokes that don’t normalize the next president.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    On Masks, 300,000 Bangladeshis Can't Be Wrong Apr 28, 2023

    Jason Abaluck, an economics professor at the Yale School of Management conducted what was the largest mass masking study to date. He and Mike discuss what he found out about masks and what he found out about researchers who disagreed with his findings. Plus, Airboy Texiera has a home bazooka. And it's an Antwentig! Lobstars and indicia abound.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Jury Is Out On The Proud Boys Apr 27, 2023

    Roger Parloff, Senior Editor at Lawfare, has been covering the trial of five Proud Boys since it started four months ago. The case is in the jury's hands, and we are in Roger's. And from a jury to a Jerry. In fact a "Jerry! Jerry!" who has shuffled off this mortal jello wrestling pit. Plus, the NYPD disciplinary hearing over a shooting death of a knife-wielding man.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Some Words Get You Fired Apr 26, 2023

    Jena Friedman is a comedian, writer, and "correspondent" who has worked with Letterman, Jon Stewart, and Borat (not an actual person), and her new, funny book is Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera. Plus, an analysis of the words that got a Montana legislator banned from debate, a CNN anchor purged from the network, and Tucker Carlson in hot water over potential civil liability.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Monetizing The Disinfection Of Disinformation Apr 25, 2023

    Steven Brill founder of NewsGuard talks about his for-profit companies business model of issuing nutrition labels for news. Plus, The Covid Crisis Group bears attention. And it's never too earlier for Joe-mentum!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Not Defeating, But Disqualifying Donald Apr 24, 2023

    Indiana University law professor Gerard Magliocca says just as Confederate officers were Constitutionally barred from seeking office, so too should Donald Trump be disqualified under the 14th Amendment. Plus, Fox's ClusterTuck and CNN's Lemonexit. And the not-very-complex complexities of so many shootings.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Barn Fire Edition Apr 22, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we rewind to January 2017 to revisit Mike’s interview with Ralph Nader, who had just published his second work of fiction, Animal Envy, which imagines a world where animals can talk to people and start demanding rights. Nader says the fable is meant to prompt deeper thinking about our relationship with nature. “We need to talk about what-if, because if we don’t, we can’t kick in our idealism and imagine real possibilities,” says the 82-year-old author and advocate. And we follow that up with a recent Spiel about a colossal barn fired that got Mike thinking about animals.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Generation Irritation: A Conversation Apr 21, 2023

    Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, discusses her new book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future. Plus, the U.S. blowhard surplus, South Korea paying people to not be shy, and how two warring Sudanese generals fit a universal pattern.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Do You, Uh Like, LIKE Like, Or Like, Just Like "Like"? Apr 20, 2023

    Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English is the new book from Valerie Fridland, professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada Reno. And Mike is all like, "No Way!" and Prof Fridland goes, "No, yeah!" Plus, a SpaceX rocket is destroyed ... sorry, it experienced "rapid unscheduled disassembly." And closing the barn door after the chicken's been singed.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A King's Ransom For Dominion Apr 19, 2023

    Folkenflik: Fox forced to face fiscal fees from faux fidelity to facts. This is just a hint of the insight afforded to us by NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik in a wide-ranging and faithful-to-factuality conversation.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Ubiquitous Coverage Of A Rare Crime Apr 18, 2023

    Sixteen-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot by an octogenarian in Kansas City—a crime that is quite rare, yet covered as if it's the norm. Plus, the big banks are rebounding nicely, but despite that, the banking system as a whole is not healthy, says Kathryn Judge, editor of The Journal of Financial Regulation and professor at Columbia School of Law. Also, the Dominion case shows that sometimes Fox propagandizes their audience, and sometimes the audience propagandizes Fox.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Macron Won't Pander, But He Will Panda Apr 17, 2023

    Panda diplomacy from Paris to Memphis. Then Mike's take on why newscasters aren't making a bigger deal about Clarence Thomas being on the take. And we're joined by U.S. State Department veteran diplomat and professor Steven Simon, author of Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Wondery Presents Generation Why: Kalief Browder Apr 16, 2023

    The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Now, in a special, 4-part series, The Generation Why podcast unravels the story of Kalief Browder. A young boy who was falsely accused of stealing a backpack and held without bail at Rikers Island for 3 years. He endured consistent abuse by prison staff and inmates, and was held in solitary confinement for more than seven hundred consecutive days. This is a story about a young life unfairly caught in the middle of the (in)justice system.

    Listen to this 4-part series on Kalief’s story by following Generation Why wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/Gist_GenWhyMini


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    BEST OF THE GIST: The Morty and Larry Edition Apr 15, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike delivered a “post-Morty-um” or sorts on this past Tuesday’s show. Then, to keep the theme alive, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with Larry Lewis, a man who has worked to reduce civilian casualties in conflicts and who also happens to be named Larry.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Justice Thomas' Breach Of Promises Apr 14, 2023

    On today's show, Clarence grants himself clearance over Harlan Crow, collector of memorabilia ... and jurists. And debating the dangers of a gerontocracy vs. an infantocracy. Plus, we're joined once more by Dr. Robert Waldinger, author of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Happiness: One Secret Trick From Decades Of Data Apr 13, 2023

    Robert Waldinger is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which is the subject of his book The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Plus, the idiot teens of Thug Shaker Central and their especially idiotic father figure who leaked secret documents. And Bud Light used a trans TikTok influencer to sell beer, and Mike gives tips to cut through exaggerations of how much protests actually damaged Anheuser-Busch.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Meme Lords vs Warlords Apr 12, 2023

    A Discord server serves up discord in the form of leaked Pentagon documents, while at the same time TikTok threatens to draw power needed by a munitions factory that could arm the Ukrainians. Plus, data-scientist-turned-whistle-blower-turned-wolf-cryer, Rebekah Jones is back at it again. And Baratunde Thurston, host of the How to Citizen podcast, discusses just that.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Thank God It's The Good Friday Accords Apr 11, 2023

    Treaties are on the wane. But it's not a lack of war to blame. Plus, Donald G. McNeil Jr., former lead Covid reporter for The New York Times, is back to talk about suppressing misinformation, his assessment of Deborah Birx, and how to think about the current state of the pandemic. And a heroic character with a quirky name gets a post-Mortyum.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Donald McNeil On What We Actually Got Right With Covid Apr 10, 2023

    Former lead Covid reporter for The New York Times, Donald G. McNeil is still on the plague beat, and brings his expertise to The Gist. Plus, the expelled Tennessee legislators are impassioned, righteous, correct on policy, but also out of step with the actual will of most Tennessee voters. And Mike offers a modest proposal in regards Super Mario Brothers, Italian accents, and inclusion. Mamma Mia, it's-a chance-a for out-a-reach!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Jets Talk Edition Apr 08, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike and ESPN’s Mike Greenberg talk about a shared passion: the New York Jets. Yes, we’re calling it “Jets Talk.” And no, it’s not AM radio. Then, to honor the passing of legendary food critic Mimi Sheraton, we listen to Mike’s interview with her from November of 2018 … an interview conducted in Mimi’s kitchen.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Tennessee Expulsions Explained Apr 07, 2023

    Mike watched all three hours of the expulsion hearings of members of the Tennessee State House, he'll bring you more context (and conflict) than you'll find anywhere else. Plus, a rundown on who is saying the Trump indictment is weak ... and who sticks by Bragg. And with banks going down like disoriented sheep suffering from scrapie, we are joined by Aaron Klein, former Chief Economist of the Senate Banking Committee who helped write the banking reforms. He says strict regulations don't matter if you have conflicted regulators.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    ESPN's Mike Greenberg Got Their Number Apr 06, 2023

    A fun round of sports trivia and sports narratives ensue when ESPN's Mike Greenberg comes by to discuss the new book Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own. Plus, an expulsion vote of three Tennessee lawmakers. And Zelensky is still holding it together.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Oblivion By-The-Sea Apr 05, 2023

    Susan Crawford, author of Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm, sees no way around massive resettlement, at great cost and great opposition. Plus, Donald Trump is trying hard to establish a running gag about one of his prosecutors, which seems like a smart tack. And it was a fiiiiiine day for democracy.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Myq Kaplan On Beiond Burgers, Everithing Bagels, And Jokes About Spelling Apr 04, 2023

    Comic Myq Kaplan stops by again to talk about thematic comedy albums and when kids heckle kids. Plus, the indictment and arraignment of Donald Trump went off with the hoopla usually reserved for a papal visit or a state funeral.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Denouncing Deplatforming Apr 03, 2023

    Whenever an odious speaker is heard, in the background you also hear the cries to "deplatform" the speaker. Mike thinks that in this, the "attention age," it doesn't work, it can't work, and our energies are better spent on non-wishful thinking. Plus, stand-up comic Myq Kaplan is here before he leaves for an Edinburgh Fringe Festival sting. And while we technically don't know what's in the Trump indictment, we can predict it's nothing good for the former President.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: PescaPlus Sample Edition Apr 01, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the recent news of Annan Syed’s conviction fresh in the news yet again, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview the hosts of the podcast Undisclosed, Rabia Chaudry, Colin Miller, and Susan Simpson. Then we listen to the PescaPlus cut of Mike’s interview with Eric Zorn.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Imbleachment Between Impeachments Mar 31, 2023

    The Trump indictment is a lot to process, but let's try ... in the form of a proposed sitcom, The Prison President. Also, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not to be intimidated, nor are the NYPD going to be scared of Donald Jr.'s mob of mad Proud Boys. And Mike talks with Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, author of If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine. (Trump has a cameo in there, as well.)



    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Law That Saved Adnan Syed Mar 30, 2023

    The subject of Season One of Serial, Adnan Syed is once more in a legal limbo, having had his vacated conviction overturned. However, the latest twist in the case resolves itself it is clear that Syed would never have even gotten a new hearing, were it not for the 2022 passage of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act. We speak to Maryland State Senator Chris West (Republican) about the law and how he had not even heard the name Adnan Syed before he sponsored it. Plus, rethinking the costs of hardening schools as targets. And, on MLB opening day, Mike explains why, even with tweaks, baseball will never be culturally dominant again.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Chi Town Show Down Mar 29, 2023

    The mayoralty of Chicago will be decided next Tuesday, and its a close race between tough-on-crime Paul Vallas and current public schools union leader Brandon Johnson. Eric Zorn, longtime Chicago Tribune columnist, now editor of of the Picayune Sentinel, moderated one of the mayoral debates, and he joins us to assess the race. Plus, NCAA women's basketball ratings. And that's a Woolly Meatball!


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Accurately Seeing The Victims Of Police Killings Mar 28, 2023

    Todd Brewster, co-author of Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice, joins us to talk about a single image's power to galvanize society, and the history of who controls these images. Plus, Adnan Syed's once-vacated conviction has been reinstated. And widening the aperture on victims of police violence.



    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Punishing The Punishment In The Stanford Rape Case Mar 27, 2023

    The Recall: Reframed examines the removal of California Judge Aaron Persky after his sentencing of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner. Director Rebecca Richman Cohen discusses the two sides of the progressive movement at odds with each other over this issue, including the difficulty of steering outrage into proper policy. Plus the U.S. Supreme Court debates fake dog poo. And, at the risk of contradicting Color Me Bad, "Uh, TikTok you do stop."

    For more information on The Recall: Reframed visit Engage | The Recall: Reframed (recallreframed.com)


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Dial V for Vlad Mar 25, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s the April 17, 2015 Spiel satirizing the Vladamir Putin Call-In show. Then we listen to this past week’s Spiel on Michael Cohen.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Checking Into Sam Sanders Vibe Mar 24, 2023

    Sam Sanders is the host of 2 podcasts (Into It, and Vibe Check) where he weighs in on politics and culture in a way he never could while on NPR. Mike and Sam discuss and debate wokeness, euphemism, the age of podcasts, and if Angela Basset having "Done the Thing" was really internet meltdown worthy. Plus, Canada increases in number and prestige. And a city killing meteor leads us to one-click cancellation contemplation.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Using Bare-Knuckle Politics To Fund School Meals Mar 23, 2023

    Bradley Tusk worked for years in government, then he struck out on his own and made a lot of money through his firm Tusk Ventures helping companies like Uber and FanDuel navigate government regulation. On the Gist today, he explains how he leverages his expertise as a lobbyist and fixer to give school meals and anti-hunger advocates the kind of muscle they need. Plus, Janet Yellen moves markets by stating obvious truths. And Stanford grapples with the heckler's veto. This episode also features an extended interview AND an extended spiel for subscribers to PescaPlus. To become a subscriber: Subscribe.mikepesca.com


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Hush Little Stormy Mar 22, 2023

    Mike interviews Neil Gross, a former cop turned Colby College Sociology professor and now author of Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied The Odds and Changed Cop Culture. We're also joined by Leon Nixon, who voiced the audiobook—a profession he took up after more than 20 years in law enforcement. Plus, a look at the loudest hush money in history. And how Michael Cohen is a colorful character, but he's a questionable character to put on the witness stand.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Vaccines, Masks, And The Lessons Of Covid Mar 21, 2023

    Following yesterday’s conversation with David Zweig about the known and unknown risks associated with how we dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic as a society, today Mike drills down on masks and vaccines with two public health communicators. First up, science writer Michael Schulson, author of the recent article “Do Masks Work? It’s A Question of Physics, Biology, and Behavior” in the digital magazine Undark, then Mike talks with epidemiologist and author of the Your Local Epidemiology Substack, Katelyn Jetelina.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Harms We Cause While Doing Good Mar 20, 2023

    During the Covid-19 pandemic, we limited contact with other people, we wore masks, and we closed public schools. These actions saved lives. Sort of, says David Zweig, a New York-based writer who became a voice of informed opposition to these sacrifices, stating that we may be saving some lives, but at what cost? His Substack is Silent Lunch. We broke our normal format this episode to give you a longer cut of Mike’s interview with Zweig, who has a book on our public health systems’ response to the pandemic coming out this summer called An Abundance Of Caution.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Three Pointer Edition Mar 18, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with 2023 March Madness underway, we listen back to Mike’s 2022 critique of the instinctive, and backward, admonishment so many announcers issue as time is winding down, “You don’t need a 3!” Then we listen to this past week’s Spiel on whales.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    What Makes A Flag Bad? Mar 17, 2023

    We’re joined this episode by Ted Kaye for another installment of Vexillology Corner, wherein we discuss the big survey of city flags (check them out), the winners and losers, and the difference between a good and bad flag. Plus, attacking TikTok. And in the Antwentig, the Cochrane study questioning masks.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    How Benghazi Continues To Warp America Mar 16, 2023

    Former diplomat Ethan Chorin joins us to talk about his book Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink. Plus, San Francisco proposes reparations for black residents which has a price tag in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And the Congressional art of asking a questioning and doing everything you can to suppress an answer.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Poverty And Progress Is Narrative Mar 15, 2023

    Matthew Desmond's story in the New York Times Magazine, "Why Poverty Persists in America" contradicts Mike's understanding, past coverage, and narrative of progress in America. But that doesn't make it wrong. Plus, Dr. Judith Herman discusses her new book Truth And Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Marching Into The Madness Of State-Sanctioned Gambling Mar 14, 2023

    Reporter Ken Vogel was a lead reporter on the NYT series "A Risky Wager: How online sports betting took America by storm." He's here to discuss what some states got wrong, while others hit the jackpot on legalized sports wagering. Plus, the international criminal court is reportedly bringing war crimes charges against Russia for kidnapping Ukrainian children. And the ratings are up (Oscars) but also down (banks).


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Donald The Mafia Don Mar 13, 2023

    Whale Watch! Brendan Fraser's acceptance speech for his Best Actor Oscar in The Whale was larded with whale references, and today's Spiel is given over to examining Unusual Mortality Events among whales. Plus, an analysis of netting Mafia bosses ... and possibly Donald Trump. Elie Honig, CNN analyst and author of Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It, discusses prosecuting figures at the top of opaque organizations who know how to insulate themselves from culpability.


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    BEST OF THE GIST: Whale Watch Edition Mar 11, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, whales abound. We start by listening back to a Gist “Whale Watch” segment from February 24, 2016, then we revisit our most recent Monday Spiel, in which Mike talks high seas treaties.

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    The High Priest Of The Church Of Audience Research Mar 10, 2023

    Kevin Goetz is the movie business' most influential market researcher. He joins us to discuss his new book Audience-Ology: How Moviegoers Shape The Films We Love. Plus, White Drivers are Polluting BIPOC air in LA. And The Whale vs. Cocaine Bear.


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    Walk This Way Into The History Of The World Pt. II Mar 09, 2023

    An Inquisition of Dave Stassen, Executive Producer of the new Hulu Series History Of The World Part II. What a show! Plus, why there are zero Black women in the U.S. Senate. And $31,000,000,000,000 of debt actually is a bad thing ... and its weird that we have to say that.


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    More Than 1% Chance Of Nukes Mar 08, 2023

    George Beebe is Director of Grand Strategy at the Quincy Institute, he was formerly the director of the CIA’s Russia analysis unit, and he worked as a staff advisor on Russia matters to Vice President Cheney. He joins us to analyze the progress of the war in Ukraine with special emphasis paid to the threat of nuclear weapons ... a threat he worries is being ignored. Plus, the Turkish strongman gets a bookish opponent.


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    Taking Flack For All The Yakety Yak Mar 07, 2023

    Admitted excessive-talker Dan Lyons researches a cure for his propensity for prolixity—STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World is the result. Plus, California Governor Gavin Newsome suspends all non-existent state business with Walgreens. And Tucker Carlson’s January 6th Film Festival is a bust. Big shock.


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    The Unremarkable Antics Of Congressman DeSantis Mar 06, 2023

    Then-Congressman Ron DeSantis did a moderate Republican a favor in 2013, when he “lit up” the head of the Parks Department. But it was the kind of lighting up that even Smokey wouldn’t have stressed over. Plus, Lichtenstein and 190 other countries have tentatively agreed to a United Nations treaty protecting the high seas. And They Knew Which Way To Run is a fascinating self-produced seven-part series about the Union Carbide Gas Leak in Bhopal, India, whose death toll is likely over 10,000. We’re joined by co-creators Apoorva Dixit and Molly Mulroy.


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    BEST OF THE GIST: 7 Degrees Of Natasha Lyonne Mar 04, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, to compliment our Friday show, which featured an interview with sisters Nora and Lilla Zuckerman—show runners (and writers of Episode 109) of the hit Poker Face on Peacock—we are listening back to Mike’s 2015 interview with Leslye Headland, the producer of Russian Doll. What’s the connection? Both shows star Natasha Lyonne, of course. And then we listen back to our Wednesday Spiel about the real damaged caused by the East Palestine train wreck.

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    A Taste Of Poker Face Mar 03, 2023

    Lilla and Nora Zuckerman drop in to discuss how unusual it is to make a NON-serialized streaming show like Poker Face. We discuss if Natasha Lyonne’s powers work underwater or while masked. Also, the U.S. Senate is unfairly constructed, but its not as if all the sparsely populated states are conservative. And the president of Zoom is let go … on Zoom.


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    Tuning into the Anti-Anti Obesity Frequency Mar 02, 2023

    Insulin is getting cheaper, weight-loss drugs really work, and school-lunch programs are bringing childhood obesity down. This all should be universally applauded, but there is a growing counter argument that the real problem is seeing obesity as a problem at all. Plus, the Ivy League takes aim at the SAT. And we’re joined by the authors of Thrive With A Hybrid Workplace, business psychologist Julie Kantor and employment attorney Felice Ekelman, to discuss the future of work.


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    The Effective Altruism Crash Mar 02, 2023

    The philosophy of Effective Altrusim took a hit due to its close association with Samuel Bankman-Fried. New Yorker staff writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus profiled one of the movement’s leaders, Will MacAskill, and followed up in a piece titled “Sam Bankman-Fried, Effective Altruism, and the Question of Complicity.” Plus, the East Palestine Crash is a headache, but maybe not much more. And … a new survey shows the U.S. is in last place in the Trust-The-Media rankings.


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    Second Amendment Creates Second-Class Citizens Feb 28, 2023

    Carol Anderson, Professor of Black History at Emory University, is here to discuss The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. Plus, Meet Mohela. And, crossing the experiential threshold.

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    Mass Mask Mistakes, Lab Leak Likelihood Feb 28, 2023

    A big new study about the ineffectiveness of mask mandates is being denounced and rejected as disinformation by some who’ve branded themselves as the most pro-science. Who’s right? Plus, the Department of Energy now endorses the Lab Leak hypothesis. Also, Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy, the co-directors of The Martha Mitchell Effect are here to discuss their Oscar-nominated film.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: President Carter Edition Feb 25, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we’re listening back to Mike’s 2018 interview with Jimmy Carter’s once Chief Domestic Policy Advisor, Stuart Eizenstat. Though he was sometimes mischaracterized as an ineffective President, Eizenstat argues that Carter fought for America’s energy independence, doubled the size of the national park system, and appointed “more minorities and women to judgeships and senior positions than all 38 presidents before him put together.” Eizenstat’s book is President Carter: The White House Years. Then we listen back to Mike’s Tuesday Spiel about the media, which, he argues, must occasionally upset the audience.

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    Bill to Ban Book Bans Feb 24, 2023

    Representative Doug Mann of Missouri is here to talk about his bill, one of several introduced by democrats across the country to push back against the spate of book bans. Plus, Putin gets ethnicity wrong, and rolling up the windows on Four-Legged Floridians.


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    Buttigieg On The Scene in East Palestine Feb 23, 2023

    That headline rhymes, but reporters from right-wing outlets don’t know, or care, as they tear into the Transportation Secretary. Plus, Rick Scott’s Social Security plans are deadly politics, but, dare we say, worth pondering? And the return of Andrew Weiss for the second half of our discussion of his graphic novel Accidental Czar: The Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin.

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    Drawing Putin Into War Feb 22, 2023

    Andrew S. Weiss, former NSC Russia expert and current VP of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, takes on the person and psychology of Vladimir Putin in a new way. Accidental Czar: The Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin is a graphic novel, and it’s a really insightful one at that. Plus, Emily Kohrs sure is enjoying her post-grand jury media tour. And, running on “anti-wokeness” all the way to the White House.


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    Tim Blake Nelson, Alec Baldwin, and GIST SUBSCRIPTIONS! Feb 21, 2023

    On this, the debut of Gist Premium Membership, we’re joined by actor and author Tim Blake Nelson, whose new novel City Of Blows is about the movie industry and the rot it gilds over. Plus, Alec Baldwin’s prosecutor insults his fancy pants lawyers … who happen to have been right. And, why the media must occasionally upset the audience.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: NBA All-Star Break Edition Feb 18, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the NBA All-Star weekend upon us, we listen back to Mike’s 2018 interview with Felipe Lopez. Once considered the Dominican Michael Jordan, he was a high school star whose powers dwindled in college and the NBA. Lopez joined Mike on the even of the release of The Dominican Dream, an ESPN documentary. Then we listen to a great exchange between Mike and Bob Delaney—the former NBA ref turned PTSD crusader, whose latest book is Heroes are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage, and Wisdom from the COVID Front Lines—which didn’t make the show on Thursday but was too good to throw away.

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    Economic Growth Still Works Feb 17, 2023

    In the new book The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, discusses the clearest ways available to save a system that’s delivered prosperity and freedom. Plus, its an Antwentig! And a car crashes into a 7-Eleven every day, but, to our credit, no one makes the “we must find this car and stop it” joke on the show today … so, you’re welcome.

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    Glacier Erasure Feb 16, 2023

    A Glacier’s uneven melting causes concern. Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nod causes tumult. And a pasta shape’s surprise popularity causes sequels. Massive chunks of ice, awards snubs, and Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful Podcast, constitute today’s show.

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    From Mob Infiltrator To NBA Officiator Feb 15, 2023

    Bob Delaney worked undercover in law enforcement, under the backboards as an NBA ref, and under the tutelage of mental health experts. His latest book is Heroes are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage, and Wisdom from the COVID Front Lines. Plus, we’re now shooting down sky detritus. And the perceived video game boycott over JK Rowlings’ opinions was much Aparecium about Nargles.

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    Fentanyl Is An Earthquake Feb 14, 2023

    Keith Humphreys—a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University who served as a drug policy advisor in the Bush and Obama White Houses—says Fentanyl really is a hugely destructive and disruptive force. He talks with Mike about how the rise of this drug is effected by, and might effect, the trend of marijuana legalization. Plus, Pete Buttigieg and the air-born toxic event. And on Valentine’s Day: to swoon or repugn?

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    America Lost The Reading Wars Feb 13, 2023

    Emily Hanford, host of one of 2022's best podcasts, Sold A Story, is here to discuss her deep reporting and well-told (if disturbing) documentation about how the way we’ve taught kids to read in this country is all wrong … and we haven’t done anything about it for decades. Plus, an orgy of celebrity becomes white noise in Super Bowl commercials. And so many weird floating objects, so few answers beyond those supplied by F-22 Raptors.

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    BEST Of THE GIST: Life After Football Edition Feb 11, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with Super Bowl Sunday upon us, we listen back to Mike’s September 11, 2017 interview with former Raider (and Eagles) cornerback, Nnamdi Asomugha. Despite being one of the best cornerbacks ever to play in the NFL, Namdi sees his time in football as a prep course for acting. Then we’re replaying Mike’s Spiel about San Francisco sex workers who are clogging up the streets.

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    Just A Man And His Will To Survive….In Bronze Feb 10, 2023

    Paul Farber, a scholar at UPENN's Center for Public Art & Space at the University of Pennsylvania, hosts the WHYY podcast series The Statue, which looks at Philadelphia's most notable icon…no, not the Liberty Bell, but Rocky. Plus, crazy plans to thwart the sun, and crazier plans to thwart Twitter's thwarting of questionable political content.

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    The Sarah Lawrence Cult Feb 09, 2023

    The Hulu Series Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult of Sarah Lawrence tells the story of conman Larry Ray and his ten-year grip over a group of young people. Director Zach Heinzerling and survivor Dan Levin talk about the three-part series, which premieres tonight. Plus, AOC delivers the “DIS” but not the perfect “INFORMATION.” And Mike voluntarily sits for an online government training module.

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    Jackals’ Heckles Raises Hackles Feb 08, 2023

    The Booing of Joe BIden was shameful, because the boo-ers were shameless. Mike analyses the incentives spurring on the most raucous in the GOP caucus. And we’re joined once more by Anthony Scaramucci, who holds forth on SBF, the January 6th Committee, and his own personal B.S. detector.

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    11 Days Of The Mooch Feb 07, 2023

    Anthony Scaramucci accumulated insights, enemies, and regrets during his short tenure in the White House. That’s all okay, and it’s what life his all about, he says. He is now talking to political, economic, and cultural authors and thinkers on his podcast Open Book. And in the U.S., politicians call Biden “weak” and Xi “wise” over Ballooonghazi, but in China they call Xi “dysfunctional” and question his leadership. Plus, San Francisco sex workers are clogging up the streets.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    What’s Preventing Inventing From Ascending Feb 06, 2023

    Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the Plain English podcast, says Americans are wonderful at invention but frustratingly bad at implementation. Plus, all the excitement over the spy balloon, and all the un-excitement over a presidential rematch.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Policing The Police Edition Feb 04, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, after a week of pondering how to fix the broken state of policing in the United States, we listen back to Mike’s September 2020 interview with Dr. Rashawn Ray, a sociologist studying methods of measuring implicit bias using virtual simulations of police officer decision-making at the Lab for Applied Social Science Research at the University of Maryland, College Park. He and his team are encouraged that by researching and educating law enforcement with real life social interaction training, they might be able to incite change in outcomes between officers and civilians. (This was originally run as a two-part interview in back-to-back episodes.)

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Steve Mulroy On Prosecuting Cops Who Kill Feb 03, 2023

    Steve Mulroy is the District Attorney of Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes Memphis. Mulroy has been in office for a little over a year and was elected to bring down violent crime, while simultaneously ending the distrust the community has for the police. That’s a tall order. In this extended interview, we ask him if prosecuting the five officers involved in the death of Tyre Nichols will advance that goal? Also, we discuss what lessons he draws from the failures and successes of other progressive prosecutors, and why he thinks Memphis will avoid the fate of Baltimore, Ferguson, and other cities that succumbed to the pattern of police abuse leading to a pull-back in policing which lead to a rise in murders.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Caucus? They Don’t Even Like Us Feb 02, 2023

    As the Democrats debate the presidential primary calendar, we’re joined by Josh Putnam, a political scientist specializing in delegate selection rules, presidential campaigns, and elections. Plus, Biden gets the gift of criticism from Europe. And the short-sellers who exploded an Indian corporate giant.

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    Radioactive Needle In Antipodal Haystack Feb 01, 2023

    Slip another gamma-ray-emitting capsule on the barbie, as we travel to the Australian Outback to locate a pulsing radioactive fleck of metal. Plus, Michael Imperioli remembers his time with his Sopranos co-star, James Gandolfini. And we mark the day objectivity died.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Michael Imperioli Is Seized By Divinity’s Hot Breath Jan 31, 2023

    Actor Michael Imperioli talks about his novel The Perfume Burned His Eyes, and his roles on the Sopranos and White Lotus. Plus, what should have been a huge trial of a terrorism suspect went largely unnoticed, despite a high death toll. And Laverne And Shirley, and Nostalgia … and quality.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Ivy-Covered And Anti-Jewish Jan 30, 2023

    Mark Oppenheimer, host of the podcast Gatecrashers about the hidden history of the relationship between Jews and the Ivy League, argues that anti-Semitic impulses basically created the Ivy league, branding them as the citadels of elitism and exclusivity that they are today. Plus, arguing for police reform and against nihilism, what are the chances for reform in the wake of the beating death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Oscars Edition Jan 28, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we’ve got some bonus material from Mike’s interview with Slate film critic Dana Stevens about the 2023 Oscar nominees, which were announced this past Tuesday. Then we’re replaying the Thursday Spiel about the resignation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern … a Spiel Mike is rethinking.

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    EveryTár Elviswhere All At The Western Front Jan 27, 2023

    A woman talking to a man about Women Talking is one way to describe Mike’s conversation with Slate film critic Dana Stevens about the best films and the best reasons to care about the Oscars. Plus, Turkey Western Blocs Sweden and Finland. And it’s an Antwentig!

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    Making Meta Better Jan 26, 2023

    Data scientist Ravi Iyer was a Facebook executive who tried to reform the company from within. Now, as Managing Director of the Psychology of Technology Institute at the University of Southern California’s Neely Center, he has some ideas for a better internet … but a more robust regime of content moderation is not one of them. Plus, Oreo Oreos. And Mike wonders if the celebration of the motives behind Jacinda Ardern’s resignation is misplaced.

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    Trump Tax Exposure Jan 25, 2023

    Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston has analyzed Donald Trumps tax returns from 2015 to 2020 for his new book The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family. Johnston says Trump has broken easy-to-prosecute laws. Plus, the tanks are on the move! And a pollster-on-pollster spat that Nate Silver’s model estimated has a 26% chance of cruelty.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Great Mississippi Indian Laborer Jailbreak Jan 24, 2023

    Labor organizer Saket Soni led a wild seat-of-his-pants effort to rescue and get justice for 500 Indian laborers who were essentially kidnapped to work in Texas and Mississippi. The author of The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America, joins us. Plus, the Supreme Court’s under-impressive self investigation. And a second elderly Asian man commits mass murder in California.

    The Political Scene | The New Yorker: The Essential Workers of the Climate Crisis on Apple Podcasts

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Matt Gaetz Is ... Rational? Jan 23, 2023

    The factions that led to the near strangling of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership in the crib were noxious, but not pointless or unprecedented. Ruth Bloch Rubin, University of Chicago professor and author of Building The Bloc: Intraparty Organization In The U.S. Congress, takes a historic view and explains why the Never-Kevins act like they do. Plus, the Monterey Park shooter’s identity. And where there’s a there there’s a there there.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Classified Documents Edition Jan 21, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about the death of Keenan Anderson while in the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department on January 3, 2023. Then we dig into the Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s 2015 Spiel about the classified-documents scandal of the pre-Trump era. Yes, there was a pre-Trump era.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    How To Save A Hostage Jan 20, 2023

    The release of Brittney Griner prompted recriminations and debate—some legitimate, some cruel. Diane Foley the Founder and President of the James Foley Legacy Foundation discusses hard policy choices and the often insensitive treatment that families of captives often endure. Plus, the trend of high-profile unionization successes belies the overall trend. And we play “Who Said It: Christian Kirk or Charlie Kirk?” A game of oddness and dubious relevance.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Goodbye, Boomers Jan 19, 2023

    Mike speaks with Philip Bump, author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America. Plus, Alec Baldwin faces manslaughter charges, which surprised him. And why everything’s shaping up to be a showdown.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Pleasure Of The Measure Jan 18, 2023

    James Vincent, author of Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants is back for more. Give that guy a barleycorn, he takes a rood! Also, an analysis of the death, in LAPD custody, of Keenan Anderson. Plus, the latest revelations about George (?) Santos (??) … or whoever that guy in Congress is who performed drag in Brazil before ripping off a dying dog.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Bad Romance ... Novelist Jan 17, 2023

    The Gist presents a literary appraisal of romance novelist Susan Meachen, whose greatest achievement in life wasn’t even the successful leaving of it. Plus, we speak with James Vincent about his new book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants. Also the Biden administration sifts through airplane toilets—a useful public health initiative.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Speaker Of The House Edition Jan 14, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we take a look at the job of Speaker of the House. On Monday, Mike opened the show, after being on vacay for a couple weeks, talking about Kevin McCarthy’s elegant, seamless rise to the speakership, so we’re listening to that first. Then we’re digging back into The Gist archives to listen to Mike’s 2015 interview with author Harlow Giles Unger who tells us about the great compromiser of America’s formative years, former Speaker of the House Henry Clay. A contrast in courage, if you will.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Iran’s Targeting Of Women Jan 13, 2023

    Holy Spider, a film short-listed for an Oscar, is a drama based on the true story of a serial killer who operated in Iran between 2000 and 2001. The movie was made by director Ali Abbasi, who had to leave Iran to get the film made, and it stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who had to flee Iran after being subject to prosecution and lashing. Plus, an amazing health breakthrough that translates to millions of lives saved. Let’s pay at least as much attention to that as document storage or even cool yurts.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Biden Does Dumb Doc Depository Jan 12, 2023

    The President also commits acts of carelessness, if not obstruction, when it comes to classified material. Plus, what considerations may be occurring to George Santos, other than, “I hope they don’t find out I didn’t write ’The Macarena.’” And we’re joined by Nicholas Dawidoff, author of The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    New Dominion For Former Fox Jan 11, 2023

    Former Fox News Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt was fired by his network for being accurate in the days following the 2020 election. He talks with Mike about that time as well as the Dominion Voting Systems $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox, and about his book Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back. Plus, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky drops in at the Golden Globes, to barely a notice, and the Republicans stripped the IRS of funding, except they didn’t, because it was all a stunt.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Unleash The Kraken! Jan 10, 2023

    Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor at NewsNation, a former Fox news analyst and host, and the author of Broken News: Why The Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back. He joins us to talk about his time at Fox, and how the “fair and balanced” slogan they tote is less benign that it seems. Also on the show, an exploration of the new House rules produced during the Kevin McCarthy vote-wrangling last week. And a very transmissible Omicron variant is among us. It’s dangerous and, most importantly, it has a scary name “The Kraken.”

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Bolsonaro’s Brazilian Boobs Jan 09, 2023

    As deluded protesters in Brasilia ransack government offices, the U.S. can take great pride in it’s inspirational status. Also, though House Republicans are a defiant lot, a debt ceiling showdown could play out differently than the Speaker vote did. Plus, Eric Newcomer, host of the Dead Cat podcast, talks tech, the coverage of crypto, and the future of Substack vs traditional media. Oh yeah, and Mike’s back.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Alec and Bob Edition Jan 07, 2023

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are featuring two questions asked of Alec Baldwin (the movie star) by our guest host Bob Garfield (non-movie star), which had originally been left on the cutting room floor, but hey, that's what weekend shows are for, right? After Alec, we dig into The Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s 2017 interview with Bob Garfield about his one-man show, Ruggedly Jewish. Yeah, that one-man show. Guest host week is now officially over.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Two Years Later, January 6th Chaos Reverberates Jan 06, 2023

    On the second anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, the House of Representatives is again in disarray, minus the extreme violence and QAnon Shaman, thank god. Guest Host Ray Suarez revisits that day two years ago (he was there), and Ray talks with veteran DC reporter Steve Clemons about Kevin McCarthy’s ongoing battle for the House Speakership.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Oh Kevin Jan 06, 2023

    Like many of us, guest host Kmele Foster is watching the Kevin McCarthy fiasco unfold live on CSPAN, but he warns that it’s just a distraction from the real fiasco. Then Kmele talks with Emory University medical researcher Judy Gichoya about her recent study that upended how we think of race and medicine. And finally, Kmele Spiels about climate ordeals.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Alec Baldwin On Tropes, Tics, And Prosthetic Dicks Jan 05, 2023

    Guest Host Bob Garfield is back and ready to grill movie star Alec Baldwin for his industry’s reliance on our suspension of disbelief. Plus, the European Union has fined Facebook’s Meta $414 Million, but don’t worry, they still have all of our personal data. Also, a good-bye to Russian meat-processing tycoon Pavel Antov.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Uncertain Outcomes Jan 03, 2023

    As of 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, the day’s two biggest news stories remain nail-biters. Kevin McCarthy, who, once upon a time, seemed as though he would sail into the role of Speaker of the House of Representatives without so much as a speed bump, has instead run into a wall of opposition, stranding him in DC’s version of limbo. The other story we are watching with knots in our stomachs is that of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed last night during Monday Night Football and remains in critical condition nearly a day later. Our guest host, Bob Garfield explores these developing stories, with varying degrees of concern. Also, Mike’s interview with former United States Comptroller General David M. Walker about the House Speakership and who, with McCarthy on the ropes, could throw their hat into the arena.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Duets Edition Dec 24, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s Monday Spiel about AirBNB’s ineffective attempts at combatting racism. Then we dig into the Gist archives and listen back to Mike and his then-eight-year-old son Emmett sing political duets to the tune of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Election Fraud, Cocaine, Or A Ginger Mint? Dec 23, 2022

    The January 6th Committee report is a treasure trove of shameful nonsense. It might not convince the DOJ, but its convincingly embarrassing for the well-documented Trump sycophancy movement. Plus, Brendan Nyhan is a professor of government at Dartmouth who co-directs the Bright Line Watch. The line they're watching is of American Democracy, and the future got somewhat brighter with the past election and behavior afterwards. Also, it's the Most Antwentig Time Of The Year.

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    It’s The Gun, Not The Ghost Dec 22, 2022

    Ghost guns seem scary, and they are scary, but mostly for reasons unexceptional to the rest of U.S. gun policy and culture. Plus, with protests still roiling Iran, Mike speaks Heather Williams of RAND’s National Security Research Division. And we mark the passing of legendary Pittsburg Steeler Franco Harris, whose greatest play is blessedly shrouded in uncertainty.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Volodymyr Heads Over Here Dec 21, 2022

    Zelensky visits and the Omnibus spending bill doesn't put the brakes on much, except maybe TikTok on Mitch McConnell's phone. And Mike interviews directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh about "Wildcat", their new film about an Ocelot rescue scheme. Wildcat is playing in select theaters today and will be available through Amazon Prime on December 30th.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Symbolic Meaninglessness Of Criminal Referrals Dec 20, 2022

    The January 6th Committee has wrapped up their case against former President Trump and will be referring their findings and quite a bit of evidence to Joe Biden’s Department of Justice. But we all know the Zen koan of prosecuting Trump: The destination is the journey, because he doesn’t write anything down. Then, in part two of our interview with Sam Quinones, author of The Least Of Us: True Tales Of America And Hope In The Time Of Fentanyl And Meth, we discuss pleasure centers and hucksterism. And in the Spiel, you’ll get familiar with Mike’s opinion about the criminal prosecution of nonagenrian nazis.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Meet The New Meth Dec 19, 2022

    Sam Quinones, author of The Least Of Us: True Tales Of America And Hope In The Time Of Fentanyl And Meth, says that these new drugs are exponentially more potent and dangerous than anything that came before. Also, Congressman-elect George Santos seems to be some guy named George Santos, but that’s about it. Plus a study on discrimination at AirBnB shows a much stronger sign of progress than the headlines would suggest.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Vuvuzela Edition Dec 17, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s Thursday Spiel—a deep dive on the sappy sentiment, and familiar melodies, of John Lennon’s Christmas “classic.” And because it’s the last weekend of the World Cup, we listen back to Mike’s 2009 NPR exposé on the vuvuzela, in which the late, great soccer American reporter Grant Wahl weighs in.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Greatest Christmas Songs Ever Dec 16, 2022

    Chris Molanphy is here to document the top 100 Billboard Christmas songs of all time. Jingle bell time, it’s a swell time to count the songs that top charts like an angel on the tree. Plus, the world’s largest cylindrical aquarium bursts in Germany, ushering in a flood of fish focused frippery.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    So This Is Christmas, And What Have You Done? Dec 15, 2022

    Mike’s done a deep dive on the sappy sentiment, and familiar melodies of a John Lennon’s Christmas “classic.” And we’re joined by Daniel Sloss, the Scottish comic whose new special Socio questions his own possible sociopathy. Plus, Heinrich XIII’s attempted German government overthrow gets deeper … NDA’s were involved.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    AI Selfies: Fun or Flirting With The Apocalypse? Dec 14, 2022

    Mike objects to the reflexive negativism that ignores amazing scientific advances, treats progress as depressing, and convinces itself that a fun diversion is nothing short of horrific. And SBF's mom ran superPAC that outsmarted the competition, because of her keen insight, but also lots of crypto-fraud. Plus, we are joined once more with Nina Totenberg NPR's legal affairs correspondent and author of "Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships."


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Nina And Ruth Dec 13, 2022

    Nina Totenberg has covered the Supreme Court for nearly 50 years for NPR. It’s a career that has given us a deeper understanding of the most mysterious body in American politics, and it gave Nina a friend for life … the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mike talks to Nina about what it’s like to have to report about your good friend and about her new book Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships. Also on the show, a tripledemic for the ages. And Wakanda Forever. Just that.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Making Alex Jones Pay Dec 12, 2022

    Wednesday is the tenth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shootings. Alex Jones has filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to shield himself from the approximately $1.5 billion he owes families. Elizabeth Williamson is author of Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy And The Battle For Truth, and she joins us to discuss her coverage of Jones’ trials and insights into his strategy and tactics in avoiding accountability. Plus, President Biden is accused of “weakness” over swapping Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout, and Germany’s Prince Heinrich XIII gets pinched.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Merchant Of Death Edition Dec 10, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s 2022 interview with Douglas Farah, author of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible, which is about Viktor Bout, the Russian arms trafficker who was exchanged for Brittney Griner this past week. We are also listening to a section of this week’s episode of Not Even Mad, in which Mike talks with David French and Lara Bazelon about the not-terribly-difficult task of getting a seditious conspiracy conviction.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Legends Of Independent Sinema Dec 09, 2022

    The Senator from Arizona will no longer be a Democrat. What it means to be an “Independent”? Plus, Philosopher Nick Riggle explores “The Big Question” in his new book This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive. And Mike explains the Twitter Files as if they had been a normal story free of everyone screaming at each other about motives.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Licking Our Zoom Wounds Dec 08, 2022

    Mike is joined by David Sax, author of The Future Is Analog: How To Create A More Human World. Also, the Brittney Griner Prisoner exchange has costs, but it was worth it. And the Justice Department says it’s recovered a Fabergé Egg. Really? Or do they have embarrassment on their face having laid an inaccuracy?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    From Disco Beaver To White Lotus Dec 07, 2022

    HBO grew from a small cable channel into the best-in-class leader of the golden age of television. Bloomberg’s Felix Gillette and John Koblin of the New York Times join to discuss their new book, It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, And Future of HBO. Plus, Jamaica declares a state of emergency to combat murder, despite having a murder rate actually lower than in American communities. And a giddy night on MSNBC.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Slightly Less Than Beautiful Game Dec 06, 2022

    This past Saturday, the U.S. Men’s national soccer team once again crashed out of the World Cup in the Round of 16, beaten handily by The Netherlands 3-1. You’ve got to wonder, with such a love of sport, with such a tremendous potential pool of talent, and with a proven track record in world soccer (our women have won four world cups), why can’t America field a winning men’s soccer team? For that answer, we turned to George Dohrmann, a Pulitzer prize winner and author most recently of Switching Fields: Inside the Fight to Remake Men’s Soccer in the United States. Also, are penalty shoot outs really the best way to decide matches? And Union Joe saves the day.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Herschel Shocked Dec 05, 2022

    With the Senate contest between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock coming to a vote, Bill Nigut, host of Georgia Political Rewind joins us once more to preview tomorrow’s contest. And how public health officials joined meter maids and baseball umpires as hateable officials. Plus, brawls and coups in Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, as we air the latest edition of “Sahel: Do Tell,” our irregular compendium of Africa updates.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Talking About Guns Edition Dec 03, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen to the first 20 minutes or so of the most recent episode of our sister podcast, Not Even Mad. In it, Mike, Jamie Kirchick, and Virginia Heffernan discuss the narratives created around mass shootings. Then we dig into The Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s April 2018 interview with National Review editor Charles C. W. Cooke on why he thinks repealing the Second Amendment would be a losing proposition for gun control advocates.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Covid Clemency Dec 02, 2022

    Emily Oster is a Harvard-educated professor of economics at Brown University, and, despite her lofty credentials, her research has focused on very human problems, like whether knowing you have a short time to live affects your desire to invest in education and job training. She joins us to discuss her recent feature in The Atlantic titled “Let’s Declare A Pandemic Amnesty.” Also, a prediction for Saturday’s World Cup match between the United States and the Netherlands. SPOILER ALERT: The winner will be the team with the most synchronicity. And no, Sting is not playing. Finally, get out your Lobstar bibs ... it’s an Antwentig!

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Guest appearance by Michelle Pesca, COO

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    Party Pooper Dec 01, 2022

    Joe Lieberman has been in politics for most of his adult life. First as a Connecticut State Senator, then as the state’s Attorney General, and finally, as a U.S. Senator for 24 years. A self-proclaimed “centrist,” over the course of his career, he saw the middle of the political spectrum transformed from a place everyone was trying to meet into a place no one would be seen dead. But for Lieberman, the ability to eschew party dogma was a source of power, a journey he documents in his 2021 book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Government Work, And How We Could Make It Work Again. He joins Mike for an extended interview on today’s show.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Liberal But Licentious Lion Nov 30, 2022

    Ted Kennedy: A Life is the sweeping new biography of the Massachusetts Senator whose importance was often overwhelmed by his notoriety. Author John Farrell joins us to analyze the life of The Lion of the Senate. In the Spiel, a contemplation of the murders we attend to and those which pass by without notice. Plus, Stewart Rhodes is found guilty.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Is America Really Flirting With Civil War? Nov 29, 2022

    Civil wars are anything but spontaneous, and though they are often decades in the making, they remain challenging to identify before they explode into violence. We interview Barbara F Walter, a world renown expert on political violence and what it portends about her new book How Civil Wars Start: And How To Stop Them, in hopes of answering a dark question: How close is the U.S. to civil war? Also, we wonder how effective protests around the world will be. And why we pay more for products with “9”s in their prices.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    SF’s Human BS Detector Nov 28, 2022

    Heather Knight is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist whose subject areas of expertise include dysfunctional city government, murals, crime and toilets. Also, The Gist establishes itself as your source for Fijian-Kirabati legal news. And why VAR mars the World Cup.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Uncle Slander Edition Nov 26, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying a chunk of this past week’s episode of Not Even Mad, the new podcast from the makers of The Gist. Today we listen to Cancel Court where Mike, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick discuss Public-health commentator Leana Wen. Then, we dig into The Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s 2015 spiel on why uncle slander has become a Thanksgiving tradition

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    The Number 1's of '92 Nov 23, 2022

    Chris Molanphy, chart analyst, pop critic and host of the Hit Parade podcast is back to recount the number one hits of 1992. Plus, not feeling bad about not feeling bad about Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the host and the darlings of the World Cup.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Catching Up With Chris Hansen Nov 22, 2022

    For the past 18 years, Chris Hansen has built a career on confronting child predators. We discuss methods, ethics, and the citizen predator-catchers who take inspiration from his work. Plus, the advice Japanese are getting from their leaders to combat winter energy woes. And then, a discussion of the bruising journalists have come to expect when covering topics of medical intervention and gender-affirming care.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Why Bolsonaro Admitted Defeat Nov 21, 2022

    When Lula da Silva edged out Jair Bolsonaro to retake the Presidency of Brazil by less than two percent of the popular vote back in October, it was an amazing comeback story for Lula. But maybe more amazing was that Bolsonaro (sometimes called “Tropical Trump”) recognized the results and actually admitted defeat. We talk with the Editor in Chief of Americas Quarter, Brian Winter, about what happened and what it says about election denialism. Also on the show, climate justice gets a win at the UN … sort of. And Mike details his weekend of Mastadrama.

    To read the beginning of Adam Davidson and Mike’s exchange about Cancel Culture, click here.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Pelosi Edition Nov 19, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying a chunk of this past week’s episode of Not Even Mad, the new podcast from the makers of The Gist. We listen in as Mike, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick wonder if campaigning on anti-woke topics will be something we see more of in future elections or not. Then, we dig into The Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s 2020 conversation with Nancy Pelosi biographer Molly Ball about the out-going Speaker of the House.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    No Way To Pick A President Nov 18, 2022

    In Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World, Gautam Mukunda says that experience is somewhat important, but real inexperience is a huge gamble. So our choice comes down to this: Do we need to take a big risk in selecting who runs America? Also, all those investigations—special and not-so-special—and the baby’s name that will one day be the stuff of Legend.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    $1,000,000 Ticket Nov 17, 2022

    We are joined once again for the remainder of our interview with former Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland to discuss Donald Trump’s skill as a negotiator, his stinginess with TicTacs, and what a $1,000,000 ticket to an inauguration looks like. Also, Pueblo County’s in-your-face method of curing votes, and SBF’s deceit and, more importantly, his cargo shorts.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Implicating Trump Under Oath Nov 16, 2022

    Gordon Sondland was Ambassador to the EU, which eventually led to his testimony during the first impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. Sondland confirmed some elements of the quid-pro-quo, backed up other parts of Trump’s narrative, and was soon fired for his participation. His new book is The Envoy: Mastering the Art of Diplomacy with Trump and the World. Plus, the aforementioned Donald Trump has just announced he’ll run once more for President, Mike has the full breakdown of news, norms, psychology, and turkey prices.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Democratization Of The Book Deal Nov 15, 2022

    Today we test the thesis that a Universal Basic Book Deal (UBBD) could possibly solve society’s ills. We also speak with David Sikorjak and Ben Valenta about their new book Fans Have More Friends, which posits the idea that a shared love of sports and teams can be an unexpected source of community and happiness. Had they not yet heard of the UBBD? And we dream of a day when the House of Representatives is not led by a member of the House of Representatives, because, yeah, that could happen.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Princess And The Shaman (Who Might Also Be A Lizard) Nov 14, 2022

    Princess Martha Louise of Norway is engaged to an American shaman, and the Norwegians have been proving very close-minded about the love between a royal and a healer who believes he descends from a reptilian species and that his $222 amulet can ward of Covid-19. Also, are historic emissions the best way to express which countries bear responsibility for climate change? Plus, Dr. Eugenia Cheng is a mathematician, educator, author (How To Bake Pi, Beyond Infinity, x + y: A Mathematician’s Manifesto For Rethinking Gender), public speaker, columnist, concert pianist, and artist. She joins to talk about her new book, The Joy of Abstraction: An Exploration of Math, Category Theory, and Life.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Squishy Science Edition Nov 12, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we look at the squishiest of science: cancelation and polling. Up first, we feature an installment of Cancel Court from Thursday’s episode of Not Even Mad, our sister podcast. Listen in as Mike, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick attempt to rule on the cancelation of Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving for the anti-Semitic remarks he made in a recent documentary?

    Next, we’ll listen back to Mike’s 2020 interview with Robert Cahaly, head pollster of the Atlanta-based Trafalgar Group. Cahaly explains their polling methodology in gathering accurate opinion data, why social desirability bias comes into play, and how his team was able to predict Trump’s win in 2016.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    What Went Right For The Dems And Wrong For The Pundit Nov 11, 2022

    The pundit, in this case, being The Gist host Mike Pesca. In the Antwentig, an examination of the assumptions and inputs that convinced many (including Mike Pesca) that the Republicans would do better than they did. Plus, Joel Stein, host of Story Of The Week podcast is here to spread mirth, merriment, and, most importantly, knowledge about the Story of the Week.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Hot-Dog And The Arizona Results Nov 10, 2022

    As we just wait … wait … wait for the results in states like Arizona, Nevada, and California, Mike takes us through the recent news about a Russian troll who admitted to meddling in the election. Bottom line: He’s trolling. Plus, we’re joined once more by Amanda Ripley, author of High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped And How We Get Out, to talk about what to do with prominent predictions of civil war.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Red Ripple Nov 09, 2022

    Californians won’t be gambling on sports, Oregon legislators won’t be fleeing session, and Mehmet Oz won’t be moving to Pennsylvania. A thorough election recap on the show today. Also, Amanda Ripley, author of High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped And How We Get Out, which looks at warring parties and the psychology that perpetuates the conflict. Plus, Democrats exceed expectations but probably wont hold the house, but it’s better to have a majority minority anyway.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Today We Vote, Tomorrow We Kvetch Nov 08, 2022

    Democracy is on the ballot, croquet’s a game played with a mallet, an onion is a grown-up shallot. Also the return of Robb Willer, Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University. He conducted a mega-study of ways to strengthen Americans’ attitudes toward Democracy, which you may have heard is on the ballot. It shall not whither … or shall it?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Researching Those Jerks In The Other Party Nov 07, 2022

    Robb Willer, director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University, is here to discuss his “Strengthening Democracy” mega-study, which looks at effective ways to reduce anti-democratic attitudes and partisan animosity. Plus, the red-wave doubters—the most straight forward theory of political success. That’s the theory: whoever’s the most straight forward has the most political success.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Is Fear Of Crime Warranted? Nov 05, 2022

    We begin this installment of Best Of The Gist with the latest episode of our new podcast Not Even Mad, in which hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick discuss the politics of parsing crime statistics. Then we listen back to Mike’s June 11, 2020 interview with John Pfaff, professor of law and criminology at Fordham University and author of Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration, And How To Achieve Real Reform. They talk about police reform and why politicians touting low crime under their watches could lead to more dysfunction.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Not Even Mad Theme Song by Max Kerman

    Subscribe to Not Even Mad on Apple, or wherever you are listening to this.

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Democrats Hispanic Panic Nov 04, 2022

    Rick Sanchez, news veteran and host of the eponymous Rick Sanchez Podcast, says that the Latino vote confounds not just Democrats but a media who have no idea about how to analyze or conceptualize it, such as it is. Plus, when good economic news and bad economic news both make us feel bad something is weird. And Tom Barrack is NOT a foreign agent.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Jesus And The Pool Boy Nov 03, 2022

    Mike is joined by Billy Corben, director of the new Hulu documentary God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty. It’s about Jerry Fallwell Jr., his wife, a young employee of Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel, and, of course, Donald Trump. Tom Arnold shows up, too. Plus, the ballot is democracy and democracy is the ballot. And in the Spiel, living in the era of high voter turnout isn’t as great as they promised.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Marjorie Taylor Greene, Unwell Tip Of The Nutty Spear Nov 02, 2022

    Robert Draper, author of WEAPONS OF MASS DELUSION: When The Republican Party Lost Its Mind, discusses the nastiness within and without the current mold of MAGA Republicans. Plus, questioning the implications of Paul Pelosi’s attacker being a nudist activist. And, with so much election nonsense here and abroad, one positive development that’s truly momentous.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Arizona’s Crazily Close Races Nov 01, 2022

    Kari Lake, Blake Master, and Mark Finchem, three election-denying Trump acolytes, are all leading or closely trailing in statewide races in Arizona. Local Journalist Mark Brodie of KJZZ is here to assess the contests and update us on the camo-wearing, gun-toting vigilantes who are monitoring drop boxes. Plus, Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, and Waukesha vehicular murderer Darrell Brooks would all rather argue with judges than avoid punishment. Plus, the sick allure of mocking Paul Pelosi.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Living Like It's The 1789 Oct 31, 2022

    AJ Jacobs spent a month living with muskets, tricorn hats, and an understanding of America at the time of the founding. He joins Mike to discuss his Guardian piece “Party like it’s 1789! My weird, enlightening month living strictly by the US Constitution.” Also, thoughts of the South Korea trampling and a society's obligations. Plus, how many candidates deny the election, how many of them will win, and how many of those who win really will have a chance to screw over a Democrat, and in doing so Democracy?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Introducing The Last Resort Oct 30, 2022

    Here’s a preview of a new podcast, The Last Resort.


    What if California seceded from the United States? If it did, what would happen? Would it usher in a new era of peace and prosperity? Or plunge the US into a new civil war?

    This is The Last Resort, a new documentary podcast following the rise, fall, and rebirth of CAL EXIT: the campaign for Californian Independence.

    It’s a story about a dream for a new progressive utopia on the West Coast. It’s about the fight for America’s future. And it’s also a tale of two friends who started on the political fringe and ended up in the middle of a still-unfolding global criminal conspiracy involving the FBI and Russian Intelligence.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Ash Carter (RIP) and Kanye West (WTF) Oct 29, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s October 17, 2019 interview with former Secretary of Defense in the Obama White House, Ashton Carter. He died this week at 68 years old. Then we replay Mike’s Tuesday Spiel about Kanye West’s most recent public disaster and its root causes.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Musk Mustn’t Muck With Much Oct 28, 2022

    With Elon Musk’s official acquisition of Twitter, we examine what his incentives are and what voices to pay attention to for guidance on what concerns are legitimate and which are incentivized toward catastrophization. Plus, actors Billy Gardell (Bob Hearts Abishola, Mike and Molly), Herizen Guardiola (The Get Down), and Show Runner Ben Rock are here to talk about their new series Catchers. And the reasons behind the attack on Paul Pelosi.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Hidden Childhood Poverty Wins Oct 27, 2022

    Jason DeParle of The New York Times documents how childhood poverty has fallen dramatically over the past three decades. It’s a triumph few recognize. Also, John Fetterman’s debate performance was surprising and, potentially, very costly. Who bears responsibility for the shock of it all? Plus, a cute little piece of malware named Raccooninfostealer.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Kari and Herschel and Jamie and Virginia and Mike Oct 26, 2022

    The Gist presents the new weekly political debate show, Not Even Mad. Consider it a joyous disagreement, as we take #DelightinDiscord. We give you the inaugural episode of this new podcast, as a sample, but to hear Mike talk with Jamie Kirchick and Virginia Heffernan each week, you’ll have to subscribe to Not Even Mad on Apple, or wherever you are listening to this.

    In Episode #1 of Not Even Mad, we discuss the candidacies of Kari Lake and Herschel Walker, we ponder the label “queer,” and we ask if present-day Republicanism is inextricably racist.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Alan Dershowitz Would Do It Again Oct 25, 2022

    In his latest book, released in this past summer, The Price of Principle: Why Integrity Is Worth the Consequences, lawyer and legal scholar Alan Dershowitz laid out his reasoning for aiding the legal defense of Donald Trump. Dershowitz tells The Gist that he was defending the U.S. Constitution, not Trump, and that, despite the consequences, he would do it again. Also, the Latino vote is no monolith…except when it is one. Plus, which came first: the chicken or the egg…or Kanye’s mental illness?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Sorry State Of Arguing Oct 24, 2022

    On Wednesday, October 26th, we will be launching a new podcast called Not Even Mad, featuring Gist host Mike Pesca (heard of him?), Wired contributor and self-proclaimed liberal Virginia Heffernan, and author of the bestselling Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, Jamie Kirchick, who holds many conservative positions on the issues. So, as a preview of the new podcast, we’ve invited Virginia and Jamie on The Gist to discuss the brokenness of our current political discourse, and also to debate how the Democrats lost the post-Dobbs polling momentum. Is it really just about gas prices? Also, an analysis of “talking your book,” or as Mike describes it “a prediction based on predilection.”

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Introducing Story of the Week with Joel Stein: Billionaires Prepping for the Apocalypse Oct 23, 2022

    Here’s a preview of a new podcast, Story of the Week.


    Each week, journalist Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we’ll find a story you might have missed, like the one in the Verge about the rock groupie turned hacker who had huge corporations at her mercy. Stories that stick with you long after you forget whatever headline you just doom-scrolled through. In this preview, Joel is joined by Douglas Rushkoff to talk about his experience speaking to a group of tech billionaires in the middle of the desert. He thought he’d be chatting about the latest in tech advancements, but all these guys wanted to talk about was building doomsday bunkers. Hear the full episode, and more from Story of the Week, at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/sotw?sid=gist.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Argumentative Edition Oct 22, 2022

    To celebrate the announcement of the upcoming launch of Peach Fish's newest podcast, Not Even Mad, in this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s January 18, 2017 interview with Heather Hendershot. Heather watched nearly 1,500 episodes of William F. Buckley’s pioneering TV show Firing Line, and though she still doesn’t agree with Buckley, she admires how he created a place for high-minded argument. Then we will listen to some bonus content from Mike’s Thursday interview with David Priess, former CIA intelligence briefer and current Publisher of Lawfare about the work of the January 6th Committee.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Deciphering The Mystery Of Xi Jinping Oct 21, 2022

    The Economist’s Sue-Lin Wong, host of the new podcast The Prince, discusses the most powerful person in the world, Xi Jinping. As China’s 20th Communist Party Congress convenes, Xi has positioned himself to rule China for another five years, and maybe the rest of his life. But so little is known about him … until now. Plus, witness the drones filling the skies of Ukraine—Ghost Phoenixes, Switchblades, and these so-called “Kamikaze” models. And it’s an Antwentig, in which Angela Landsbury’s cinematic son is clarified and “Just Asking Questions” is endorsed.

    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Hey, we have a new podcast called Not Even Mad launching Wednesday, October 26th. If you like a good argument—and we know you do—subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen.


    To Subscribe through Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-even-mad-trailer/id1651047503?i=1000583485024

    To Subscribe through Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+9EM8f-Q-w

    To Subscribe through Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/podcast/d100b710-33c1-013b-ef9d-0acc26574db2


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    Liz Truss, A Bit Of A Dog’s Dinner Oct 20, 2022

    Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister of the UK, and all of England breathes a collective “How did that just bloody happen?” Plus, we’ll check in with David Priess, former CIA intelligence briefer and current Publisher of Lawfare about the work of the January 6th Committee.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Sparring In Georgia’s Races For Senate And Governor Oct 19, 2022

    We’re joined by Bill Nigut the host of Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Political Rewind to analyze the state’s pivotal and contentious Governor and Senate Races. Plus, the Durham investigation strikes out, or, in the eyes of Deep State Excavators…strikes gold! Plus, a pricey San Fransisco Toilet.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Outside-The-Box-Kind-Of-Guy Alex Jones Oct 18, 2022

    Last night’s Ohio Senate debate featured JD Vance denying his assessment of Alex Jones as credible and an interesting thinker. Vance is still up big, and he’ll probably win. Also, a Floridan voter is handcuffed so Ron DeSantis can make a point. He’s also up big. Probably will win. Plus, Richard Reeves returns to discuss his book, Of Boys And Men, and the challenge of proposing solutions when doing so might mark you as picking the wrong side in a struggle toward progress.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Downfall Of The Dudes Oct 17, 2022

    Boys and men are failing by so many measures says Richard Reeves in his new book Of Boys And Men: Why The Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, And What To Do About It. Plus, Liz Truss is the least popular UK Prime Minister since they’ve been asking how popular the prime minister is. And whether you fly, ride, or scoot, getting there is considerably less than half the fun.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: CA Politics Edition Oct 15, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are listening back to two Spiels about politics in the Golden State. First, we go all the way back to 2017, when Senator Diane Feinstein was in a sticky situation. Then we fast forward to this past Tuesday, when the Los Angeles City Council nearly imploded after some shocking recordings of a phone call between council members were leaked to the public.d

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Teasing Trump Oct 14, 2022

    Along with the entirety of the Democratic party, part of the resistance to the re-election of Donald Trump in 2020 were a gaggle of storied Republican message creators who joined forces to defeat the sitting President. They called themselves The Lincoln Project, and they allowed directors Karim Amer (The Vow, The Great Hack) and Fisher Stevens (Dirty Money, Before the Flood) behind the scenes to document this movement in action. The result is The Lincoln Project, a Showtime series that premiered last week and releases a new chapter every Friday. All episodes are available now on Paramount+. Mike sits down with the filmmakers to talk about the wild ride they went on. Plus, at election time candidate quality really matters … in the Senate. Don’t worry about the House.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Kid, Out Of The Hall Oct 13, 2022

    Though a self described prickly punk rocker, Bruce McCullouch always came across as the most adorable of the kids in the hall. McCulloch stops by to talk Kids, comedy, and his one man show playing off-broadway. Plus, the January 6th Commission reconvenes, and NYU fails an organic chemistry professor who failed too many students.


    BRUCE MCCULLOCH: TALES OF BRAVERY AND STUPIDITY

    OCTOBER 14-29 AT SOHO PLAYHOUSE


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Everything About The Economy Ever, Pithily Explained Oct 12, 2022

    J. Bradford DeLong is here to deliver on the title of his impressive tome Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History Of The Twentieth Century. It Starts with 1870 and ends the year Law & Order was cancelled (it came back … the economy didn’t). Plus, the case for the nation’s defense budget being largely, mostly, mainly worth it. And the non-offensive parts of the LA City Council tapes are pretty instructive as to how politics everywhere really works.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    L.A. Disrespectful Oct 11, 2022

    A leaked recording revealed three members of the Los Angeles City Council, including the President, engaging in mockery of young children, a gay council member, the indigenous population, and African-Americans. Public comment time was not pretty. And Mike is joined by James A. Geraghty, author of Inside The Orphan Drug Revolution: The Promise of Patient-Centered Biotechnology. Plus, remembering Angela Landsbury—a wonderful actress as well as a symbol of the bygone monoculture.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Bros Edition Oct 08, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we dive back into our archive to resurface our 2018 interview with comedian Guy Branum who had then just published My Life As A Goddess: A Memoir Through (Un)Popular Culture. Branum is the co-star of the much-talked-about new rom-com, Bros, which is the subject of Friday’s Spiel about why the film was funny but not a box-office smash.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Those Who Oppose Bros Oct 07, 2022

    The Billy Eichner comedy Bros was undeniably funny, but also a box office failure. Eichner blamed homophobia, but it’s more complicated, Mike argues, but also not terribly more complicated. Of course, depictions of gay sex—some tame, some raunchy—hurt box office. Plus, Michele Tafoya is back to discuss the topics that prompted her to leave Thursday Night Football for her Sideline Sanity podcast and an ambush interview with Dan Le Batard. And also, what drives the world’s biggest A-holes?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Misplaced Civil War Anxiety Oct 06, 2022

    Once more, a major media article offers incomplete and misleading evidence about the threat of a civil war. Mike offers not a dismissal but a reinterpretation. Plus, Michele Tafoya, former sideline reporter for NBC Sports, has a new podcast called ‎Sideline Sanity, and she has some opinions about Colin Kaepernick’s punishment for speaking out. Plus, Joe Biden pardons the 0 people in federal prison for simple marijuana possession.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Nuclear Fuel For Thought Oct 05, 2022

    Mike interviews Saleem Ali, University of Delaware professor of Energy and the Environment, about his book Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life. Plus, Mike recognizes that the Georgia Senate race will be close, but also lays out that, of course the latest revelations hurt Herschel Walker. And also, just how to think about some baseball home run kings who allegedly—and also very much did—take steroids.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    It's Legit To Quit Oct 04, 2022

    In her book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, social scientist and former poker pro Annie Duke argues that we're way too over-indexed toward grit and not open enough to quitting. Plus, with the smart advice being not mock him, U.S. Senate candidate from Georgia, Herschel Walker instead provides a fertile means of self mockery. And Brett Favre just loves building volleyball courts!

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    The Libertarians Have Lost The Thread Oct 03, 2022

    Professor at Northwestern’s School of Law, Andrew Koppelman talks about his new book Burning Down The House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed. Also, Donald Trump “truths” that Mitch McConnell has a “DEATH WISH” (his caps, not ours). Senator Rick Scott finds the sentiment difficult to condemn. Plus, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss goes on the charm offensive, which proves just that.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Live Music Edition Oct 01, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s Monday Spiel about the Sound On Sound Music Festival, and the rage it drew online despite being a pretty great weekend. Then we dig into the Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s 2015 conversation with musicians Dillon Kondor and Sharon Van Etten about the challenges not of music, but of performing good stage banter in between songs.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Constitutional Rebuke Sep 30, 2022

    Chilean voters recently rejected an extremely progressive (and extremely long at 170 pages) constitution. It would have ensured animal rights, as well as rights to “neurodiversity” and “digital disconnection.” Ted Piccone of Brookings and the World Justice Project examines if Chile’s new constitution was too progressive or just too long. Plus, can’t we just enjoy the moment when the President went asking for a dead lady? And in the Antwentig, mo’ Skimo than you ever hoped for.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Hunter’s Laptop: The Movie Sep 29, 2022

    Mike talks with Phelim McAleer, the producer and co-writer of My Son Hunter, the first film released by the Breitbart News Network. Storytelling techniques and claims to accuracy are discussed. Then, at the prompting of the guest, Mike spends The Spiel fact-checking the film.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Constitutional Convention We Didn’t See Coming Sep 28, 2022

    The authors of The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It, Peter Prindiville and Senator Russ Feingold raise the alarms about a ploy that has a chance of upending our democracy. Plus, Russian military mobilization sparks flight, and the iconic TV doofus dad isn’t going away.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    How You Gonna Keep ’Em Down On The Farm? Sep 27, 2022

    Once upon a time, you had to leave home to pursue career opportunities outside of store clerk or parking attendant, but that has been changing with the help of people like today’s guest, former AOL CEO Steve Case. He’s here to talk about his new book, The Rise of The Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream. Also on the show, Ski-Mo is going to the Olympics, but is that a good thing? And the price tag for student debt relief raises the wrong questions.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    This Music Festival is Unacceptable! Sep 26, 2022

    Mike returns from a music festival reported to be dangerous, incompetent, worse than Fyre, and complete trash! His review: The Lumineers were good. Maybe these attendees could learn about stoicism, luckily we’re joined by Massimo Pigliucci, a Professor of Philosophy at CCNY and author of The Quest For Character: What The Story Of Socrates And Alcibiades Teaches Us About Our Search For Good Leaders. Plus, the Pound gets pounded.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Adnan Syed Edition Sep 24, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview with Rabia Chaudry, Colin Miller, and Susan Simpson, the hosts of the Undisclosed podcast, which attempted to unravel the case against Adnan Syed, one complex detail at a time. Then we rewind to Tuesday’s Spiel, in which Adnan Syed is freed.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Billionaires; Good Guys Who Need Strict Rules Sep 23, 2022

    Scott Galloway, Professor at NYU, cohost of the Pivot podcast and host of Prof G, returns to discuss taxes, regulations, French vacations, and his new book Adrift: America in 100 Charts. Plus, a Republican nominee under fire for not being under fire in Afghanistan, and DeSantis and Abbott have won the immigration issue, as they defined the game.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    College Needs Disrupting Sep 22, 2022

    Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and voice of the Prof G and Pivot podcasts, discusses some of the bigger social problems laid out (in graph form) in his new book Adrift: America in 100 Charts. Plus, how apt is the claim of a “double standard” that’s being used to defend the romantic affair between Don’t Worry, Darling star Harry Styles and director Olivia Wild? And Donald Trump tries to beat the declassification rap, WITH HIS MIND.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Examining Putin's Pivots Sep 21, 2022

    Angela Stent, Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian & East European Studies and author of Putin's World: Russia Against The West And With The Rest analyzes Russia’s military losses and Putin’s strategic reactions. Plus, Susan Rogers, author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What The Music You Love Says About You, returns to discuss audio producing and the feeling that music isn’t real. Also, Trump earns a fraud charge, which is not surprising for an ignorer of all sorts of generally accepted principles of accounting and otherwise.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Why We Like The Music We Like Sep 20, 2022

    Professor, neuroscientist, and multiplatinum record producer, Susan Rogers drops by to discuss her book This Is What It Sounds Like: What The Music You Love Says About You. If you’re in the audience at a Trump rally, the music might say there’s a global conspiracy that depends on eating babies. Plus, Adnan Syed, the subject of Serial Season 1 is freed.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    China Told Us Who They Were Sep 19, 2022

    In 1999, two colonels in the Chinese army authored a treatise titled “Unrestricted Warfar.” It told of plans to define war as to include corporate espionage, global pandemics, and trade violations. Retired U.S. Air Force General Robert Spalding writes about all that’s come to pass since that doctrine, in his new book, War Without Rules: China’s Playbook for Global Domination. Also, Ken Starr’s many misdeeds, and in the UK it’s God Save The Queue.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Good News Edition Sep 17, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to the Tuesday Spiel about a recent spate of really fabulous news that just gets drowned out by the steady drumbeat of negativity. Then we listen back to Mike’s February 26, 2018 interview with Harvard cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, who argues that we’ve had a roughly 300-year run of steady improvements in technology, health, and civility, and that it just so happens that the only thing as constant as human progress is our tendency to focus on human shortcomings. Pinker’s interview corresponded with the release of Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    An Oil Price Cap Could Work Sep 16, 2022

    Daniel Yergin, author of The New Map: Energy, Climate And The Clash Of Nations is fairly optimistic about the odds of success on capping oil prices. Mike and Vladamir Putin express doubts. Plus, immigrants on the Vineyard, and King Charles has it pretty good for a guy with limitless wealth and no oversight committee.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Putin’s Slick Substance Sep 15, 2022

    Daniel Yergin, an energy expert and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The New Map: Energy, Climate & Clash of Nations, diagnoses Putin’s oil strategy and explains why reliance on the country that provides 10% of the word’s oil supply lead to such massive disruptions. Plus, Swedes obsessed with gun crime, and Trump offers a worse trade than Detroit Lions. Also, Putin has some internal critics, for now.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Why Will Writes Sep 14, 2022

    After 50 years of columns, George F. Will realizes he writes in order to think. The Pulitzer Prize winner and author of American Happiness and Discontents discusses a political culture coming unmoored by degrees, and his stance on dungarees. Plus, MAGA-backed candidates will either damn their party or damn us all, and the tempting-but-deadly siren call of a pet kangaroo.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    QAnon Shaman To His Left, Police To His Right Sep 13, 2022

    Luke Mogelson, author of The Storm Is Here: An American Crucible was right there in the Capitol when the insurrection brewed. He’s back to recount what he saw. Plus, there is a spate of fantastic news for children, combatants, and actresses in comedy series.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Crashing The Capitol Sep 12, 2022

    New Yorker staff writer Luke Mogelson was inside the Capitol as the QAnon Shaman and other insurrectionists took over the Senate Chamber. He had been chronicling clashes with extremist groups for years, as chronicled in his new book, The Storm Is Here: An American Crucible. Plus, Kamala Harris makes an argument about MAGA hurting the United States’ standing the eyes of others, and does the U.S. TV viewer really care THIS MUCH about the Queen?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Susan Orlean Extra + Juul To Pay $438.5 Million Sep 10, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, some extra bonus content from our Wednesday interview with New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean about her craft and the obituaries she’s been writing. And then we listen back to Wednesday’s Spiel about the recent $438.5 ruling against Juul for its role in marking vaping products to kids.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Oz and Incest Sep 09, 2022

    A few years ago, Dr. Oz gave an interview about cousin incest. He was wrong, he just didn't know he'd be running for Senate 8 years later. Plus, it's a Vexillology corner with Ted Kaye. In the Antwentig, when is a good time for pushback and when does Mike let it go?


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    New American City Flags Survey

    NAVA (The North American Vexillological Association) has launched a public survey to rate the designs of over 300 U.S. municipal flags adopted since 2015. The survey will run through November 30. We encourage all Gist fans interested in vexillography to take it. With so many new flags to rate, the survey results will provide a wealth of analytical information for community leaders, scholars, designers, hobbyists, and others interested in flags. Please visit the survey at https://bit.ly/cityflag-survey-pesca to make history in American city flags!

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    China Is Always Watching Sep 08, 2022

    Josh Chin, Wall Street Journal Deputy Bureau Chief in Beijing and co-author of Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control, discusses just how effective the Chinese panopticon is, delivering government services to some, as it oppresses others. Plus, the special master decision gets a special appeal, and Queen Elizabeth’s passing results in an international outpouring.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Susan Orlean Explodes Books Sep 07, 2022

    It might seem odd for Susan Orlean, the bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and the committed bibliophile behind The Library Book, to engage in the act of book explosion, until you realize that she’s not destroying printed word but, in fact, celebrating it as the new co-host of the podcast Book Exploder. Also, polls show Trump is exactly as disliked as he was last time we checked, and Juul pays the price for being so dang sweet.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Beaver Hunt Sep 06, 2022

    Are beavers a plague to the natural world, or are they nature’s incredible engineers? Depends on who you ask, but, hey beavers, consider keeping a low profile for a while. Novelist A.M. Homes has yet to write a beaver book, but she’s out with a new offering, The Unfolding, in which she weighs into the most controversial of all subjects … politics. And Mike’s take on Jackson, Mississippi’s awful water mess.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Back To School Edition Sep 03, 2022

    With Labor Day (and back-to-school) upon us, on this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to a couple interviews from the archive about education.

    Back on May 23, 2018, Mike spoke with Sara Brownell, a neuroscientist and education researcher at Arizona State University, about what she found studying how gender affects students’ perceptions of their own intelligence.

    Then we listen back to Mike’s February 5, 2020 interview with public education advocate Diane Ravitch about her book Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools. They discuss why she left the “dark side” of advocating for charter schools, and why schools should stop testing children so extensively.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Where Does The Arc Of History Really Bend? Sep 02, 2022

    Author of The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Reckoning, Eve Fairbanks joins us again to talk about the fate of white liberals, who fought alongside black South Africans to up-end the status quo, in the post-Apartheid era. Also, an analysis of the arc of history and in which way it really bends. Plus, a guest Spiel from Eli Lake, contributing editor at Commentary Magazine and host of the podcast The Re-Education with Eli Lake.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Confronting South Africa’s Racist-Created Trauma Sep 01, 2022

    Author Eve Fairbanks joins us to talk about her new book, The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Reckoning, a story told through the eyes of three characters over the course of five decades as South Africa tried to end white supremacy. Plus, Mike reflects on the rise and fall of Andrew Dice Clay. And a guest Spiel on “Black-Pilling” from writer and podcaster Virginia Heffernan.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Trump Impeachments: Behind The Scenes Aug 31, 2022

    In the second half of our interview with U.S. House of Representatives member David Cicilline, author of the newly released House On Fire: Fighting for Democracy in the Age of Political Arson, he discusses the two impeachments of Donald J. Trump from his perspective as an active player in those proceedings. Also, on the 600th anniversary of the death King Henry V of England, we remember his failed struggle with…um…dysentery. And finally, a guest Spiel from former Last Week Tonight with John Oliver writer and host of the I Might Be Wrong podcast, Jeffrey Maurer on how good the federal government will be at spending all that Inflation Reduction Act coin.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A House Member Shouts “Fire” Aug 30, 2022

    David Cicilline is one half of Rhode Island’s two-member delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, and while he may have been sent to D.C. by a small state, his contributions to the impeachments of Donald J. Trump were huge. Cicilline discusses his new book, House On Fire: Fighting for Democracy in the Age of Political Arson, and about growing up as the son of a criminal defense attorney who occasionally represented the mob, (and did so very well), and how his father’s work shaped his sense of justice. Also, why we don’t eat dogs, but we do eat pigs. And a guest Spiel from Dan Savage, host of the Savage Lovecast, about the word “women.”

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Sometimes ER Doctors Aren’t Sure Either Aug 29, 2022

    Jay Baruch is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a practicing emergency physician who has just published a memoir or sorts titled Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER. He discusses the flaws in our medical system, how COVID exacerbated them, and how a little empathy can go a long way. Also on the show, what Trump got right, and a guest Spiel from Meghan Daum, host of the Unspeakable Podcast.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: The Fall And Rise Of Adam Neumann Aug 27, 2022

    Adam Neumann, the once founder of WeWork, who was famously dismissed from the helm of his own company (many books and TV shows ensued), is back on the business scene. He recently received a $350-million check from venture capital firm a16z to help him launch his new project, Flow, which will focus on a sort of rent-to-own business model. But the check he received touched off a firestorm in the world of start-ups, where, many say, most of the investment capital goes to white men.

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s November 26, 2020 interview with Reeves Weideman, contributing editor at New York magazine and author of Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork. Weideman explains the internal drama inside Neumann’s fast-scaling, overly hyped WeWork, an office space leasing company billed as an in-person social network, as well as the lessons entrepreneurs can learn from disruptors attempting to grow quickly and remain profitable. Then we listen to Mike’s Spiel from this past Tuesday about how Neumann’s new funding has induced rage for some.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    To Pathologize, Or Not To Pathologize? Aug 26, 2022

    “Neurodivergent” is an important term in the modern study of the human brain, referring to those whose minds function differently from what we would consider “normal”—people diagnosed with ADHD or autism might be considered neurodivergent, for example. But, just as the term is important, it, and what it represents, is also somewhat controversial. Today on the show, a civil debate between Devon Price and Freddie DeBoer, two experts in this field, about the social and medical approaches to neurodiversity. Also, is forgiving student debt fair? Depends on who you ask.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Why Atlanta Burned Aug 25, 2022

    The announcement that two police officers from Atlanta wouldn’t face murder charges for the 2020 shooting of Rayshard Brooks is justice. Two years on, we can more accurately assess what lit the match in that city in the wake of the shooting. Plus, we’re joined once more by former Aurora, Illinois Police Chief Kristen Ziman. Also, the right question to ask about student debt relief.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    When A Mass Shooting Happens On Your Watch Aug 24, 2022

    On February 15, 2019 in Aurora, Illinois, a workplace dispute turned into a mass shooting. The gunman had prepared to battle the police responding, so it took technology and smarts to put an end to the chaos he created. We talk with Kristen Ziman, the police chief who led Aurora’s response and hear what that tragic day was like for those on the ground. Plus cats are taking over…Is that a bad thing? And who, exactly, leads the troops?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Senator Leahy On D.C.’s Brighter Days And Gotham’s Dark Knight Aug 23, 2022

    After 48 years, Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont is leaving the Senate. In his new memoir, The Road Taken, he reflects on the institution he holds dear, and on the Gist, we make him pick the scariest Joker he ever faced down. Plus, WeWork’s founder’s new funding induced rage, and a Dr. Oz spokesperson stroke-shames their rival.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    What Do The Taliban Want? Aug 22, 2022

    Just past the one-year mark of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s taking control of the country. How is the nation is faring under the leadership of Mullah Hibatullah Adhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban? With us to answer those questions and more is Jason Campbell, a former director for Afghanistan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. Plus, an E. coli outbreak begs the question what kind of lettuce we order at Wendy’s, and Mike has some advice to Republicans who want to win the midterms ... if they will listen ...

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Monday Night Calculus Aug 20, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel left the game after three seasons to get his PhD in mathematics. Totally normal career path, right? He wrote the book Mind And Matter: A Life In Math And Football alongside his wife, author Louisa Thomas, and they joined Mike in June of 2019 to discuss the similarities and differences between John’s two chosen career paths. And then we listen back to Wednesday’s Spiel, in which Mike ponders the threat of overstating threats from the right.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Fine Line Between Pleasure And Pain Aug 19, 2022

    Paul Bloom, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and author of The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning stops by to take his punishment and like it! Actually, BDSM is only a fraction of his truly fascinating look at everything from distance running to why sharp pain causes pleasure, but somehow nausea never does. Plus, the San Francisco Police vow to not use a phrase they’ve never used, Colorado Schools will once again say “Nazi,” and Joan of Arc is she/they … but not actually “of Arc.” Also, speaking of finding bizarre pleasure in pan—it’s an Antwentig with song!

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Confoundingly Dense Communications Aug 18, 2022

    The CDC’s head, Rochelle Walensky vows to undertake an agency overhaul, including better communication. Mike argues that when it comes to COVID-19, things were not perfect … maybe even not good … but great leaps in communication are going to be extremely difficult. Plus, Donald Trump “endorses” one of his impeachers, and University of Toronto Professor Jooyoung Lee talks about Canadian gun crime’s roots in the U.S.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Mr. Xi’s Neighborhood Aug 17, 2022

    Jonah Blank, senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, assesses the messages sent (and received) by all the Chinese missiles lobbed over Taiwan. Plus, the threat of overstating threats from the right. And is Alaskan Senate Candidate Kelly Tshibaka secretly … maybe … plausibly … part Wookiee?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    An Alaskan Election Direction Inspection Aug 16, 2022

    Sarah Palin is on the ballot to serve her home state as its At-Large member of Congress. Let’s just say, the process is hardly straightforward. Plus, Dr. Patricia Campos-Medina, the Executive Director of The Worker Institute at Cornell University, discusses union drives at Amazon and Starbucks and if there’s ever a reason for workers to reject an organizing drive. Plus, how Better Call Saul is the rare show that tried to examine what real people might really do in dramatic, made-for-TV-type circumstances.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Listen to the “Real Catch Me If You Can” on the PRETEND Podcast at pretendradio.org

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    What He Lost When We lost Afghanistan Aug 15, 2022

    Journalist, novelist, and former Marine, Elliot Ackerman, who fought the Taliban, joins Mike to discuss his new book “The 5th Act: America’s End In Afghanistan”. Plus, an extroverted Norwegian walrus meets an ignominious end, and assessing our current news drought.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Leave George Washington’s Thighs Alone Aug 13, 2022

    In the interview, Mike chats with historian Alexis Coe, author of the new book You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. They discuss the founding-father's height, dentures and that awkward obsession male historians have about the man's thighs.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara and Ian Scotto

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    High Steaks Talks Aug 12, 2022

    Nathan Allebach, brand consultant and author of https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/brand-twitter-jokes-history.html was for many years the twitter voice of Steak-umm brand meats. As such he engaged with gaseous comedians and angsty millennials and has some theories as to why it all worked. Plus, a media without breathing room makes for madness and the Mar-A-Lago black boxes are like dada experimental theater.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara and Ian Scotto

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    Twitchy Monkey Forbearing Dragon Aug 11, 2022

    China thinks in centuries but strikes quickly. China is patient, but impetuous. Is China all these things, or is our shorthand more malleable than diagnostic? And we are joined once more by Jason Kander author of "Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD”. Plus, America plunged into day 3 of the cardboard box crisis that can undue civilization.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara and Ian Scotto

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    Politics and PTSD Aug 10, 2022

    Jason Kander was a Democrat-on-the-rise, who was silently struggling with demons. He tells the story of casting aside politics for his own mental survival in “Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD” Plus, our habit of publicly predicting death and civil war after every right-wing paroxysm doesn't serve anyone well, and Domino's somehow fails to take hold in the birthplace of pizza.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara and Ian Scotto

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    Burned Again and Again Aug 09, 2022

    Tomorrow President Biden Signs the Pact Act into law, dedicating funds and expanding VA health care to veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. Jason Piccolo, Host of the Protectors Podcast, served in Iraq and has the lungs to show for it. Plus, what the raid on Mar-a-Lago means, and Ben and Jerry's won't have a chance to personally market their Netanyhagoo crunch or their Wailing Wall Swirl in Israel.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Path Lit By Lightning Aug 08, 2022

    Jim Thorpe was the AP's greatest Athlete of the first half of the 20th century and has a strong claim to the title Greatest of All Time. But his story, as opposed to his myth, is largely untold, until now. David Maraniss’ joins to discuss his new book is Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe. Plus, Joe Biden shouldn't get much credit for Joe Manchin's turnaround, but he shouldn't have gotten the blame either. Plus, a mini-boycott of Trump Toilet Talk.

    Produced by Joel Patterson, Corey Wara, and Ian Scotto

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Unintended Consequences Aug 06, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Monday’s Spiel about “unintended consequences,” as they relate to the Dobbs decision. And that inspired us to dig up Mike’s 2017 interview with Kurt Andersen about his book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, in which, Andersen bemoans a system on the brink.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Podcast For Sale! Aug 05, 2022

    A Bloomberg investigation shows that some podcasters are selling guest slots for up to $50,000. We’ll open the Gist’s ledger to see who the highest- and lowest-paid guests have been. And we’re joined once more by Rafael A. Mangual, author of Criminal (In)Justice: What the Push for Decarceration and Depolicing Gets Wrong and Who It Hurts Most. Plus, Monkey Pox messaging isn’t exactly accurate, but at least it’s not mean.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Disagreeing On De-policing Aug 04, 2022

    Policing in America has no easy answers, but my guest Rafael A. Mangual suggests we aren’t even asking the right questions. He’s of the opinion that many beliefs critical of police are misplaced, while other real reforms go un pursued. His book is Criminal (In)Justice: What The Push For Decarceration And Depolicing Gets Wrong And Who It Hurts Most. Plus, charging the cops who really were responsible for the death of Breonna Taylor. And the Kansas abortion vote doesn’t mean everything has changed for November, but it does mean the Republicans face an issue that really puts them at odds with voters.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Pelosi’s Taiwan Tour Aug 03, 2022

    Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan was unexpected. Accused of recklessness, dissuaded by Biden, cheered by McConnell, it was risky. What’s the possible reward? We are joined by Asia experts Neil Thomas from The Eurasia Group and Professor David Kang from USC, for an extended discussion on what the heck Nancy was doing. And while Madame Speaker is in the crosshairs of one of the world’s scariest military forces, her husband Paul is in the crosshairs of Fox News. Plus, Alex Jones under oath, and out of control.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Is It The Right Era For The ERA? Aug 02, 2022

    Kate Shaw, Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School, and co-host of Strict Scrutiny analyzes if the women’s rights movement needs to campaign more explicitly for adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment. Plus, Beyonce amends a lyric, and Ayman al-Zawahiri is no more.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Manchin Chucklefest Aug 01, 2022

    West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin made the rounds of every Sunday Show, and we break down the game film, so you can consider yourself a good citizen but also stay sane. Plus, the unintended suffering wrought by the Dobbs decision. And Kate Shaw, ABC Legal Analyst and co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, is here to talk about the Equal Rights Amendment, which, many of its backers claim, actually passed and should be the law of the land.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Korean Edition Jul 30, 2022

    From our archives, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview with Kim Jong-il’s former poet laureate, Jang Jin-sung. He’s the author of Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee: A Look Inside North Korea. And in this past Wednesday’s Spiel, Mike enlightens us about South Korea’s tradition of Presidential prosecution and revels in a low-hanging pun.

    Produced by Joel Patterson

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    The Joe Manchin Doom Loop Jul 29, 2022

    West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is now in support of the a bill to address climate, health care, and taxes. So, happy day and all is forgiven! But many are feeling scarred and even despondent. Is that useful? Plus, we’re joined by publisher Sean Michael Robinson and Eisner-nominated cartoonist Carson Grubaugh to discuss the first ever AI-generated comic, The Abolition Of Man. And, yes, it’s an Antwentig, where we discuss fundraising successes and follow-up questions…or lack thereof.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Gofundme: Fundraiser by Jacqueline White : Help secure A brighter future for Kavon &Kaleigh (gofundme.com)

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    Treating The Aurora Mass Shooter Jul 28, 2022

    Ten years ago, a disturbed young man entered a Colorado movie theater, where he shot and killed twelve people, wounding 70 more. We speak with his psychiatrist Lynne Fenton about warning signs, treatment options and what more, if anything, could have been done. Fenton’s new book is AURORA: The Psychiatrist Who Treated the Movie Theater Killer Tells Her Story. Plus, tomorrow’s $1.02 Billion lottery will probably make the winner happy, which is the point, but it seems to be one many people rebut. And, in the Spiel, a Senate hearing on policing shows the challenges Democrats face on a very important issue to voters.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    All Of The Marvel Pages Through The Ages Jul 27, 2022

    Douglas Wolk has read every Marvel comic there is (well, except the likes of Strawberry Shortcake and corporate tie-ins )…that’s 28,000 or so comics! He answers such questions as “How?” and “Why?” on the show. Plus, Joe Manchin is now on board for a major piece of climate and tax legislation. And in South Korea, the tradition of Presidential prosecution continues, with a mass murder on a fishing boat providing the latest fodder.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Space Race International Base About Face Jul 26, 2022

    On this, the day the Russians announced a cosmic decoupling from the International Space Station, we are joined by Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, co-creators, showrunners, writers and executive producers of the Apple TV+ show For All Mankind. Plus, judging the possibly presidential governors on their covid responses, and how grain prices explode some myths about oil prices.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Civil War: Possible Or Probable? Jul 25, 2022

    When the question arises: When is the right time for political violence? The answer, of course, is “never.” Strangely, though, when researchers and pollsters ask that question of the American populace, “never” has yet to be the result. We talk with Malcolm Nance about his new book, They Want To Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: The Mailman And The Secretary Jul 23, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we resurfaced a couple clips from our Tuesday interview with Douglas Farah (author of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible), which we intentionally left on the cutting room floor but later decided they might be fun for listeners. Dust off your 90s NBA references!

    And then we listen back to Mike’s Thursday Spiel about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s testimony to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee this past week. Despite it being a rare example of Congress doing real work and a Biden Administration official giving solid answers, it got reduced to lowest common denominator. If you’re bored and want to see the federal government in action, here’s a link to the full hearing.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Trump’s Yesterdays Implicate His Tomorrows Jul 22, 2022

    Stuart Gerson, former Assistant Attorney General in the George H.W. Bush White House, and Acting Attorney General under Bill Clinton, has been watching the January 6th hearings. He has concluded that the DOJ must prosecute Trump. We ask him how he came to his conclusion. Plus, it’s Steve Bannon’s turn in the barrel, as he’s convicted of slipping out on a subpoena. And in the Spiel, Donald Trump may not be able to say “yesterday,” but the spoken word is not his only means of expression.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Thot Thoughts Jul 21, 2022

    A former aide to Peter Navarro rips his actually heroic former colleagues as hos and “thots”. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s testimony to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee gets reduced to the stupidest quasi-dispute. And in the interview, Scott Small, the Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Columbia University, discusses his new book, Forgetting: The Benefits Of Not Remembering.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Some Dare Call It “Cowardice” Jul 20, 2022

    The concept of cowardice was once a constant, but it has waned as an explanation for social phenomena. Though, in recent weeks, the lack of action among the (non) responders in Uvalde, Texas has prompted a reconsideration. Bravery has many bards, but there is literally only one book on the concept of cowardice, Cowardice: A Brief History. It's author, Chris Walsh, is on the show. Plus, a Sesame Place dis leads to allegations of racism; and a moose, a goose, and a flute might soon join the symbolic firmament.

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    Trading The Merchant Of Death For Brittney Griner Jul 19, 2022

    Russian Viktor Bout is a notorious arms dealer who has been imprisoned in the U.S. for eleven years, and he’s being talked about as part of a trade for WNBA star Brittney Griner. We’re joined by Douglas Farah, author of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible, which is the book on Bout. We’re also thinking of British heat by degrees. And call Joe Manchin self-interested, dishonest or corrupt for scotching the big tax and climate bill, but you know who played it even worse? Elon.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Fog Of Cuomo, The Rationality Of Buttigieg Jul 18, 2022

    Lis Smith, author of Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story, is still young, 39, but she’s a veteran political consultant. On the national stage, she helped Pete Buttigieg make his name, but she couldn’t keep Andrew Cuomo from ruining his. Also, the search for a sufficiently (but not excessively) alarmist voice on Monkeypox.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Jupiter or Saudi Arabia...which is weirder? Jul 16, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the newly switched-on James Webb Space Telescope dominating the non-political news this week, we chose a space-themed segment from the archives. In this July 11, 2016 interview, Mike talks with Summer Ash, an astronomy educator and writer, about NASA’s Juno Mission to Jupiter. It’s all about the big red spot!

    Then, we’ve got a Gist podcast extra with The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood. He was on the show this past Tuesday talking about Biden’s upcoming rendezvous with Saudi Crown Prince MBS, and in this extra, he talks more generally about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And it sounds like a weird place…unless MBS is reading this, in which case...it sounds totally amazing!

    Produced by Joel Patterson

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    American Medicine And Race Jul 15, 2022

    Linda Villarosa, author of Under The Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation, discusses disparate health outcomes in the U.S. Plus, what it takes for a tragic story to become a tragic story everyone knows. And there is no one man to blame for the Dem’s bill on climate failure, but if there was one, it might not be who you think.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    A Bold Refrain Explains Ukrainian Grain Jul 14, 2022

    An agreement is reached to help feed the world and export grain from Ukraine. Mike explains this musically, thus dipping to a Lerner & Loewe point. Plus, Biden’s verbal struggles as compare to his Republican predecessors. And the first half of our interview with Linda Villarosa, author of Under The Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Warning Shot Jul 13, 2022

    UCLA law professor Adam Winkler says the recent SCOTUS ruling on handgun licensing wasn’t just a gun rights case, it was the first step in a big shift toward taking more and more power away from the States to do anything to stem the tide of gun violence. In the Spiel, we play “Names In The News,” including telescopes, former Clinton Officials, and the successfully fled. And, how hard is it to plan a coup anyway?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    MBS, It’s Good To Meet Ya! Jul 12, 2022

    The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood interviewed Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and travelled the country to assess the impact the 36 year old is having on a kingdom trying to unmoor itself from antiquity. President Biden might want to listen to this debrief. Plus, The January 6th Committee hears from some key figures on Teams Crazy and Normal. Also, the glories of the Webb Telescope and the valuable service it provides in our slow realization that the Hubble was lying to us all this time.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Who (Or What) Caused Inflation To Rise? Jul 11, 2022

    There's no way to solve inflation if you don't understand what caused inflation. And what caused inflation, aside from the supply chain, and the Ukrainian war was domestic spending. David Laibson Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics at Harvard University drops by to offer his insight and solutions. Also on the show, SCOTUS made fetuses people when it comes to abortion, but what about in other contexts? And in the Spiel, has Joe Biden lost his desire to fight?

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Trump’s Words and Johnson’s Own Personal Brexit Jul 09, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we start with a podcast extra we held over from our Thursday interview with Professor of Rhetoric Jennifer Mercieca, author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, about how the former President uses language as a weapon. And then, in honor of Boris Johnson’s removal from the UK Prime Minister role, we listen back to Mike’s 2016 interview with Financial Times columnist Ed Luce conducted shortly after Boris was named UK Foreign Minister. Luce is the author of Time to Start Thinking: America and the Spectre of Decline, and he shared some interesting insights about Boris as he rose to the top of UK politics.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Everything You Know About Relationships Is Wrong Jul 08, 2022

    The internet collectively dunked on an incredibly stupid statement about gun laws. Also on the show, Eric Barker, author of Plays Well with Others: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships Is (Mostly) Wrong. Plus, it’s an Antwentig! A new Lobstar is born.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Usual Victims Are Usually Forgotten Jul 07, 2022

    Professor of Rhetoric Jennifer Mercieca, author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, has submitted evidence to the January 6th Committee as to how Donald Trump uses words to incite violence more slyly than meets the eye. Plus, Boris Johnson is out, and a comparison of orphaned victims of gun violence tells us what we all know but seldom grapple with: the usual victims are usually forgotten.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Activists Not Talking, Not Doing…Just Gluing. Jul 06, 2022

    Anti-oil activist have taken to gluing themselves to works of art to make a point. As if we were going to pass that one up! Also on the show, we’re joined once more by Sarah Longwell of the Bulwark, who reveals what her focus groups are telling her about the January 6th Commission. Plus, HIMARS systems are advanced weapons having a big impact in Ukraine; compared to American forms of threat abatement, they’re pretty straight forward.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Abortion Changes Politics Jul 05, 2022

    Sarah Longwell, host of the podcast The Focus Group—and also host of actual bona-fide, gold-standard focus groups—reports on the changing sentiment after the Dobbs ruling. Plus, a president tries to shame companies into lowering prices, while a governor thinks now is the time for fiscal stimulus. And the Highland Park shooter is, in some ways, atypical, but, at the same, time horrifyingly familiar.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Is SCOTUS Legit? Jul 02, 2022

    On this week’s installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to a chunk of Mike’s September 2020 interview with Jonathan V. Last, editor of The Bulwark. Last explains that although remaining optimistic with regards to the legitimacy of the SCOTUS, he is ultimately losing faith that some voters care not for a system of governance that is capable of functioning competently. Then, we listen to Mike’s Monday Spiel on a similar theme.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Big Lies Never Seem To Die Jul 01, 2022

    The 1954 film Salt Of The Earth was made under enormous strain. The production crew had been blacklisted; the cast was half professionals, half laborers; and J. Edgar Hoover's FBI was interfering with this supposed piece of communist propaganda. Writer and creator John Mankiewicz, along with director Aaron Lipstadt, discuss The Big Lie, their Audible Original story (via Fresh Produce Media) of the making of the film. Plus, no one much likes fact-checking Biden, and a USB stick lost in Japan leads to a reflection on the news—or maybe the world—adopting a tragic frame.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    General Optimism Jun 30, 2022

    When it comes to Ukraine, former U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges is more hopeful than much of the military establishment. The former Commanding General of the United States Army in Europe makes his case. Also on the show, the Supreme Court's makes for confusing case law...sometimes they're textualists, sometimes they find different justifications to suit their actual doctrinal goals. And in the Spiel, President Biden thinks the U.S. is experiencing comparatively low inflation, even though the facts say otherwise.

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    Treating Cassidy Bombastically Jun 29, 2022

    Does Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony change everything, clarify vividly, or demand corroboration urgently? Possibly, definitely and not necessarily says Quinta Jurecic, Senior Editor at Lawfare. Plus, Mike analyzes the idea of an "Inverse-OPEC" not to be confused with the Upside Down NATO, and the Double Reverse Unesco.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Heinz Hits The Fan Jun 28, 2022

    Cassidy Hutchinson, former Mark Meadows aid testifies before the committee that Donald Trump...did a lot. A Very lot. Plus, Princeton Professor of Sociology Patrick Sharkey and author of the 2018 book Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence, talks about if we are indeed experiencing that next war. Plus, the left critique of Democratic leaders not doing enough to fight for abortion rights.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Is SCOTUS Illegitimacy Talk Legit? Jun 27, 2022

    After Dobbs, the Supreme Court can lay claim to a lot of pejorative: “extreme,” “unsafe,” “unfair,” “unkind” …but what about “illegitimate?” Also, how Chief Justice Roberts’ lonely status is entirely unsurprising. Plus Mike interviews Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter and host of KCRW’s The Business about the massive Netflix sell off, and how it changes what we, and Wall Street, thought about streaming.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    BEST OF THE GIST: The Case Against The Two-Party System Jun 25, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with recent gun reform regulations in our near past, the January 6th Hearings ongoing, and the ramifications of the overturn of Roe versus Wade yet to fully wash over us, we find ourselves yet again wondering about the future of our democracy. If only something could be done to lessen the chasm between the two parties…like maybe stop thinking about our politics as a binary equation? We thought it a good moment to listen back to Mike’s January 14, 2020 interview with Lee Drutman about his then-new book Breaking The Two Party Doom Loop: The Case For Multiparty Democracy In America. Then, we replay Thursday’s Spiel, in which Mike mulls over the Supreme Court’s aforementioned ruling on guns.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Roe's Shockingly Expected Demise Jun 24, 2022

    The Supreme Court says we have no right to our rights, and it leaves women to suffer. Mike looks at historic death rates from abortion and advances a constitutional argument to protect the youngest victims. We’re also joined by Ben Wittes, Editor In Chief of Lawfare to talk about the Senate’s Jan 6th hearings, discuss which version of stupid-versus-crazy best serves Trump as a legal defense, and what the costs of prosecution might be.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Tracy Flick Strikes Back Jun 23, 2022

    In his latest novel, Tracy Flick Can’t Win, author Tom Perrotta attempts to wrestle his iconic character (which Reece Witherspoon helped to brand in the 1998 film Election) away from the zeitgeist and return her to the fictional universe he created for her. Mike and Tom discuss how one does that exactly. Also, you may not be following the internet the way Donald Trump does. And in the Spiel, Mike mulls over the Supreme Court ruling on guns.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    The Presidential Sofa Stuffed With $4 Million Jun 22, 2022

    When $4 to $8 million was allegedly stolen from his ranch, which had been hidden inside a sofa, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa was accused of covering up his status as crime victim. Mike attempts to track a tale that winds its way through Windhoek, a spy master, an antelope auction, and, possibly, a one-armed soccer star. Plus, Sunshine Hillygus, Professor of Political Science a Duke, talks about the wrong way we try to convince young people to vote. And a January 6th insurrectionist gets sentenced…after having been elected to office.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    ALL The Colors Of The Rainbow (Except One) Jun 21, 2022

    The Pride flag is synonymous with inclusion…unless, of course, you are the color indigo. Confused? That’s why we’ve convened another Vexillology Corner with Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association and the author of Good Flag, Bad Flag. Plus, the Texas Senate committee on the Uvalde shooting convenes, as the US House of Representatives January 6th commission continues. And in the Spiel, a misleading CNN report purports to find massive racial disparities in hundreds of heat-related deaths, but the numbers just aren’t there.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Introducing History is US Jun 20, 2022

    Written and narrated by award-winning author and Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, “History is US” is a 6-part audio documentary produced and developed by C13Originals that asks questions about who we are as a nation, and what race might reveal about our current crisis. Through the voices of distinguished historians and scholars, this limited series gives listeners the background and education to understand how we got here and how we can all use history to clarify the choices before us. There will always be something distinct about our present day, yet history haunts. “History is US” is a presentation of Shining City Audio, a C13Originals and Jon Meacham Studio.

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Eddie Glaude Jun 18, 2022

    In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s August 7, 2020 interview with Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. of Princeton University. The two discussed Glaude’s newest book and its release in the context of the recent civil uprisings. Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own poses a fundamental argument around how getting it wrong culturally has hurt the fabric of our nation. Glaude helps make sense of where we are today and explains that Baldwin understood our messy and uneven economic, social, and political lives are simply a reflection of our individual selves.

    And then we listen back to Mike’s Spiel from last Friday, June 10, 2022, when he noticed that a particular world came up again and again when the media described the first January 6th hearing. Trust us…it’s powerful.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Napoleon Dynamite Meets Sid And Nancy Jun 17, 2022

    Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs talk about their movie "Dinner in America" about a a repressed suburban Michigan girl and the punk rocker who injects some needed chaos in her life. Plus how an alleged insurrectionist relates to a Lizzo lyric and in the Antwentig, a dispute over a barren rock is offered up as a lesson for us all, but especially Vladamir Putin.


    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    The Elephant (NON) Woman Jun 16, 2022

    A State Court sensibly says elephants aren't people. But when a court case is filed, it gives legitimacy to an argument no matter how fetched. Also, Former United States Circuit Judge and conservative icon Michael Luttig lets the January 6 commission know that Donald Trump is still a clear and present Danger. Plus, former Barak Obama Aid and Pod Save America host Dan Pfeiffer joins us to discuss if jettisoning objectivity helps us all and where he places his podcasting endeavors in the media firmament.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    Facebook, Fox And Far-Fetched Fictions Jun 15, 2022

    Dan Pfeiffer, former a senior advisor to President Barack Obama, is out with a new book “Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the Maga Media Are Destroying America”. Plus did a US Representatives give reconnaissance tours the day before the January 6 insurrection? And a farewell to the comedy, and hypothetical question stylings of Justice Stephen Breyer.

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    A California Template For Assault Weapons Ban Jun 14, 2022

    California children are half as likely to be shot as kids in other states, and per capita California has experienced fewer mass slaughters than the nation as a whole. One reason is the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control act of 1989. We Talk to Mike Roos about the ins and outs of getting that legislation passed. Plus, What would we think of the assaults on the capitol is they took place in another country. Mike defends America more than you'd think, maybe more than it deserves.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    The Project That Collects And Projects Violence Jun 13, 2022

    Dr. Jillian Peterson Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Hamline University is President and cofounder of The Violence Project. She has been analyzing the commonalities of mass shooters for years and has developed a profile of the perpetrators. She also has a wealth of knowledge mass shootings based on data, case histories and in-person interviews.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    BEST OF THE GIST: Larry Wilmore and James Kirchick Jun 11, 2022

    In August 2016, Larry Wilmore’s talk show was canceled. The Nightly Show focused on issues like equality, activism, and how racism subtly wormed its way into American life. In hindsight, it feels ahead of its time. In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we will listen back to that June 9, 2017 interview with Wilmore, who then launched a podcast, Black On The Air, which continues to this day.

    But first, some say the power in Washington DC can be found in control of the purse strings, other say its who controls the narrative, but author James Kirchick hypothesizes power in DC goes to the holder of the greatest secrets. He’s the author of the new book, Secret City: The Hidden History Of Gay Washington, and he joined Mike to discuss the power of the closet and complicated relationship our Presidents have had with it.

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

    Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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    A Powerful Hearing; If You Were Listening Jun 10, 2022

    A full rundown of ALLLL the coverage of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. More than you thought you needed to know. And we're joined by Professor of History and Media David Greenberg to discuss his recent essay in Liberties, The War on Objectivity in American Journalism – The War on Objectivity in American Journalism - Liberties (libertiesjournal.com)

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    Veteran Comic Feels The Chill Jun 09, 2022

    Judy Gold author of Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble, says that, in fact, we are all in trouble. Plus, Justice Kavanaugh's assassin's actual goal, and PR goal thwarted, and Bernie Sanders bemoans the bumper sticker "Well, we can’t do much, but the other side is worse."

    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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    DC's Decades-long Hostility Towards Homosexuality Jun 08, 2022

    James Kirchick author of Secret City: The hidden history of gay Washington says an unfounded fear of spilling secrets kept many inside the closet. Plus, a Washington Post retweet that set off a meltdown and the duck-sauce murderer.

    Prod