The Gist

Latest Episodes:

Stories Are A Tool, And Tools Can Be Deadly Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Mike talks to Professor Jonathan Gottschall, who speaks about the sheer tonnage of stories that we all absorb, and how this basic human function affects us like a drug.

In the Spiel, Mike analyzes Boris Johnson's party proclivities, and addresses if defying Covid lockdowns is a tipple too far for the British public.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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BEST OF THE WEEK: Neil Young Takes Aim At Joe Rogan's Spotify Platform Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

In our debut Saturday Edition, we pull out a compelling segment you may have missed during the week.

Produced by Joel Patterson

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Free Speech Has Costs Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

Suzanne Nossel, author of Dare To Speak: Defending Free Speech For All , and President of PEN, on her organization's never-wavering, but not-always-easy, commitment to defend expression. In a conversation recorded almost a year ago, and aired here for the first time, Nossel discusses with Mike the current atmosphere around censoriousness and the conceptions of what free speech means, who it harms and how it should be managed.

Mike also talks about Kyle Rittenhouse's play to acquire the rifle that killed two people.

Plus, in the Spiel, A Kyiv pet pee-ev.

Produced by Joel Patterson

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"It's Me Or Joe Rogan!" (It's Rogan) Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

Neil Young wants Joe Rogan to either burn out or fade away over Covid mis-info. Mike spiels about Neil Young's Criticisms of Joe Rogan's Covid pronouncements. And in the interview, the NYTimes Magazine's Emily Bazelon talks about how the nationwide rise in murders will affect the agendas of progressive prosecutors.

Produced by Joel Patterson

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"I'm Beginning To Worry About Putin's Mental State" Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

Today on the Gist, The former President of Estonia on Russia's aggression and German obstruction. And news that SCOTUS's Breyer will retire inspires a Spiel about domestic obstructionism.

Produced by Joel Patterson

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Reports Of America's Internal Bloodlust May Be Slightly Exaggerated Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Dartmouth professor Brendan J. Nyhan looks at polls showing Americans endorse violence and says those findings are off. But there's still a lot to worry about. And in the Spiel, a troubling but little-remarked-upon argument made in the Derek Chauvin defense resurfaces in the Federal trial of former Minneapolis Police Officers.

Podcast production by Joel Patterson

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We're Back In Time For The Revolution Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

On the Gist, America may be poised for revolution. Or not. We're certainly obsessed with talking about it.

In the interview, Mike speaks with Stephen Marche, author of The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future. Marche sets the chances of a civil war at 67%. Mike challenges him by asking why this moment is so different from dozens of inflection points since the actual Civil War.

In the Spiel, a commitment to keeping the Gist a place free of catastrophizing, while not minimizing the number of very real problems we face.

Podcast production by Joel Patterson

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The Return of The Gist Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

The Gist Returns on Monday, January 24 for Season 2. Today, Mike recounts the guiding principles of Season 1 ( i.e. the first 1400 episodes), and delivers a promise of rigor and independence for Season 2.

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'Till the Cows Come Home Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

On the Gist, #TedFled.

In the Interview, his new documentary has been called "jaw-dropping," "incendiary," "riveting," and "engrossing." Sam Pollard's new film MLK/FBI is about the bureau's surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The film delves into new and declassified documents as well as restored footage to reveal the government's long past of targeting Black activists. Pollard tells Mike, "I was just trying to tell a good story. About two men on the same trajectory one with a goal to take his people to the Promised Land, and the other one with a goal to stop that man from doing that." Sam Pollard is an award winning director, editor and producer. He was nominated for an Oscar for his 1997 documentary 4 Little Girls, and has won two Emmys for his documentary editing.

In the Spiel, we're worried about the cows in Texas. Hat tip, Moo Muffs!

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Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth.

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Limbaugh's Lamentable Legacy Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

On the Gist, we rush to Limbaugh's judgment.

In the Interview, political and media historian, Brian Rosenwald, joins Mike to talk about Rush Limbaugh's rise to popularity in conservative media, his power as a voice and entertainer in talk radio, the influence he had on the Republican party, and who is primed to carry his torch over the AM dial or in podcasting. As a national broadcaster, Limbaugh developed a political perspective over his career that to the left perpetuated harmful ideas, and to the right, uplifted and championed their values. Limbaugh was awarded the presidential medal of freedom February 4, 2020, and died February 17, 2021 of complications from lung cancer at 70 years old. Rosenwald is editor of Washington Post's Made By History blog, scholar in residence at the Partnership for Effective Public Administration and Leadership Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Talk Radio's America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States.

And we give up the spiel to keep talking to Rosenwald about the aftermath of Limbaugh.

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Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth.

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