The Gist

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There's No Real Dirt on the Dems So Far Apr 05, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Mueller's report (or much of it) is bound to go public.

In the interview, Wright Thompson has his place on the Mount Rushmore of sports writers, and his signature form is the profile. Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan and the like are fascinating in their relationship to fame, but also in their ordinary flaws. "On some level these stories are all about exploring whether or not there is even such a thing as free will," Thompson says. "I'm fascinated by the way things in our past continue to exert gravitational pull on us now." Wright's new book, a collection of his past work, is The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business.

In the Spiel, a list of all the non-scandals hitting the Democratic 2020 candidates so far. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more.

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We All Need to Talk Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Trump should avoid healthcare.

In the interview, Lori Gottlieb is a journalist and a therapist, and she's here to discuss her new book Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed, why she became a therapist, how to deal with patients who've Googled you, and why therapists need therapy too.

In the Spiel, the Joe Biden crisis isn't a crisis.

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The Societal Optimist Apr 03, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, calming down about Trump's bombast.

In the interview, Nicholas Christakis is here to discuss his new book Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society, how he studied the progression of goodness throughout human history, the way healthy communities evolve, and why shipwrecks were so important to his research.

In the Spiel, the problem with microaggressions.

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The Thrilling Don Winslow Apr 02, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Joe Biden's nose nuzzle.

In the interview, Don Winslow's new book The Border is the final part of his trilogy on drug cartels. He's here today to discuss the work, how it's been twenty years in the making, and the difficulty of trying to get things right.

In the Spiel, Betsy DeVos' indefensible Special Olympics funding cuts.

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"Guest is God" Mar 30, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, the next wave of start-ups should be like the tech companies we have now, but with a conscience.

In the interview, filmmaker Anthony Maras is more wedded to a theme—people in extremis—than a form, and his latest is a thriller based on true events. Hotel Mumbai follows a band of diverse survivors holed up in the Taj, one of the targets in India's 2008 terrorist attacks. "Something kind of magical happened, which is all these barriers that usually divide people evaporated."

In the Spiel, Donald Trump: bullshitter or shitposter?

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Adam Schiff Is Not Okay Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Mike Pesca, in true hipster fashion, laments the end of Wow Air.

In the interview, much of the news media was guilty of hyping up the knockout blow that Mueller's report would deliver president Trump. But a few journalists on the left were always skeptical of the investigation's origins and potential. Among them is Nation contributor Aaron Maté, who saw in the Mueller probe a distraction from the Democratic Party's failure in 2016—and from the stories that really matter.

In the Spiel, Rep. Adam Schiff comes out swinging.

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The Boeing Lesson Mar 28, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, Boeing is in a tight spot.

In the interview, the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas was one for the ages. Everyone so expected Tyson to win that people weren't even placing bets until the odds were 42 to 1. In the new 30 for 30 film 42 to 1, Gist guest Jeremy Schaap (and Ben Houser) explore this shocking upset and how the fight changed boxing and these fighters' lives.

In the Spiel, if we're going to build a wall, how about the one between church and state? Looking at you, Pennsylvania.

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Trump's Post-Mueller Strategy Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, the latest gridlock facing the Green New Deal should clue in its backers in Congress.

In the interview, Huwe Burton was 16 years old when detectives browbeat him into a false confession of murder. He spent about 20 years in prison as a result, and found an outlet in the quarter-mile track that he and other inmates built their endurance on. Since his release and exoneration, he hasn't stopped running. Burton's story is told in a Lope Magazine article—"Innocent People Don't Run"—by Liam Boylan-Pett, who also joins us in the studio.

In the Spiel, the Trump reelection campaign's bizarre memo to all "Television Producers" leans on cherry-picked quotes.

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The Mueller Report Report Mar 26, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, we should be willing to accept that the Barr letter and Mueller report won't lead to any indictments.

In the interview, David Priess, former CIA staffer and daily intelligence briefer for Robert Mueller, is here to talk about the Mueller report. What do we know? What questions are still unanswered? And where do we go from here? Priess' latest book is How to Get Rid of a President: History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives.

In the Spiel, the Mueller report does not exonerate Trump, even if Trump thinks it does.

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The Real March Madness Upset Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

On The Gist, ISIS may be defeated, but the people who made up its forces aren't gone.

In the interview, novelist John Lanchester is here to discuss his new novel The Wall, the symbolic and practical use of walls, and how closely we should pay attention to our dreams.

In the Spiel, Jim Nantz shouldn't be in those Capital One commercials for March Madness.

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