The Gist

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They Tried to Cancel You Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, journalist Katie Herzog fills in for Mike Pesca and focuses on cancel culture.

In the interview, Herzog interviews filmmaker Rhys Ernst about his new film Adam, and the queer backlash against the film. What's it like for your own community to try and cancel you? Is all the extra publicity a good thing? And how does attempted cancellation age?

In the Spiel, unproductive Antifa protests.

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What's in a Face, Anyway? Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Trump is a bad negotiator.

In the interview, you've probably heard of face blindness. And you possibly wondered whether it was a real thing. Do some people really walk the world, full of other people as it is, without the ability to recognize them from their features? They do. Sadie Dingfelder shared her experience over at the Washington Post, and does so now on The Gist.

In the Spiel, the Everything Is Alive tariff-a-thon.

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David Koch Was Bad. But Evil? Eh. Aug 24, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, if an eleventh Democratic candidate makes the next debate in Houston, we'll hear more from all of them (because they'll be split across two nights!).

In the interview, it's part II of Mike's discussion with Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley. They talk about the filibuster (this junior senator says "it has to go") and the daunting task that is healing the upper chamber of Congress. Merkley is the author of America Is Better Than This: Trump's War Against Migrant Families.

In the Spiel, the David Koch obituaries are in. But are they fair?

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Visiting the Migrant Families in Crisis Aug 23, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, the Amazon is on fire.

In the interview, Sen. Jeff Merkley was the first member of Congress to visit the migrant detention centers along the border and view the atrocious ways we were treating the people forced to live there. He's here to talk with Mike about the crisis, the failure of the Trump administration, and what we can do about it. His new book is America Is Better Than This: Trump's War Against Migrant Families.

In the Spiel, Trump and Israel.

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Trump Is America Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Scaramucci was wrong about Trump.

In the interview, journalist David Robson is here to talk about his new book The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes. He and Mike talk the intelligence quotient, the blind spots smart people have, and why it might be a good idea to talk about yourself in the third person.

In the Spiel, Trump as all of America.

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When the CIA's "Dark Side" Works Aug 21, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, if Peter Navarro wants to criticize the Wall Street Journal, he really ought to read it once in a while.

In the interview, it's easy to condemn the CIA's post-9/11 interrogation techniques in retrospect. But as agency alumnus Philip Mudd puts it, "boy, back then, people said 'take out the stops, make sure it doesn't happen again.'" He talks about the relative effectiveness of harsh interrogation techniques, and why that shouldn't be a factor if ever American forces countenance them again (answer: the issue is a moral one). Mudd is a former deputy director at the Counterterrorism Center and the author of Black Site: The CIA in the Post-9/11 World.

In the Spiel, there isn't all that much conservative hand-wringing over the New York Times' special coverage of historical slavery in America… but what's there is pretty uninspired.

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Tim Ryan's Big Plans Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, despite what Peter Navarro says, a yield curve inversion there was indeed (and a recession there may be).

In the interview, in a Democratic field crowded with grand policy promises, Tim Ryan's more centrist ideas have been crowded out. But should they be? The Ohio congressman tells Mike about increasing manufacturing and focusing education on social and emotional learning.

In the Spiel, the difference between bad politics and bad policy.

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What Happened to Sha Na Na Aug 17, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, the varying sizes of Trump and Greenland.

In the interview, journalist Steve Rushin is here to talk with Mike about his new memoir Nights at White Castle. They discuss the amorphous nature of nostalgia, why children should go on boring vacations, and the podcast Ball & Chain that he hosts with his wife, basketball great Rebecca Lobo.

In the Spiel, Sha Na Na.

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The Leftist Takeover Edition Aug 15, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Slate's Jordan Weissmann tells guest host Sean McElwee which presidential candidates' signature ideas are hot (and which are not).

In the interview, the Green New Deal isn't just a set of climate policies—it's a chance to break with the uneven benefits afforded by the original New Deal and other progressive policies. Julian Brave NoiseCat (McElwee's colleague at Data for Progress) and activist Adrien Salazar (of the think tank Demos) are in the studio to share their expertise on the stimulus package.

In the Spiel, McElwee digs into polling results from his own Data for Progress.

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The Problem With "White Supremacy" Aug 14, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, getting a bit willy-nilly with "white supremacy."

In the interview, John Hickenlooper may be mulling a pivot from presidential to Senate candidate, but he was at the Iowa State Fair to weigh in on issues that affect the entire country—and to strike a moderate tone. In last year's midterms, he says, "the successful Democrat did not embrace the Green New Deal and did not embrace 'Medicare for All.' That's what we're going to need to do to beat Donald Trump."

In the Spiel, there is no greater joy than knowing which kids' shows—from our own generation or not—are crap.

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