The Gist

Latest Episodes:

Are Receipts Toxic? Mar 19, 2018

Show notes

On today's Gist, we're nixing the Spiel to go on a Slate Podcasts retreat! Shouldn't the White House staff have their own officewide retreat day?

Plus, Maria Konnikova considers receipt paper toxicity: Is it BS? Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game.

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The Year Groove Went Mainstream Mar 17, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, "meddling" is too weak a word to describe what Russia did during in the U.S. election.

In the interview, Chris Molanphy walks us through the No. 1 hits of 1969, the year flower power and psychedelic pop went fully mainstream. Chris is the host of Slate's Hit Parade.

In the Spiel, our Congress members represent way too many constituents—700,000 on average—to stay in touch with their needs.

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Hot or Not: Presidents' Edition Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the Trump administration walks back a line about U.S. trade with Canada.

And which American president was the studliest? Kate and J.D. Dobson are out with a book that considers Ulysses S. Grant's quiet charisma, Franklin Pierce's youthful charm, and the distinguished eyebrows of a certain Warren G. Harding. The Dobsons are the authors of Hottest Heads of State, Volume 1: The American Presidents.

In the Spiel, the world's greatest toy store goes down.

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The Rogue at State Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

Well, it's a tough day to be Fox News.

On today's Gist, a closer look at the Department of State. It's not that Rex Tillerson was wrong to want to reform how we do diplomacy—it's that he utterly failed to deliver. Tom Hill, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, says the U.S. approach to international relations is antiquated and the diplomatic corps is bloated. Tillerson had a mandate to rethink our State Department. He blew it.

In the Spiel, why the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District was not so special.

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The Heroes of Colombia Mar 14, 2018

Show notes

On today's Gist, the lesser-known story of Colombia: Maria McFarland Sanchez-Moreno has written a moving account of Colombia's post–Pablo Escobar years, when the illegal drug trade was taken up by one of the factions in the country's long-running civil war. Her book, There Are No Dead Here, spotlights the work of Colombians who risked their lives to wrest their country back from lawlessness. It also reveals the incoherence of the United States' war on drugs, which indirectly fueled so much of Colombia's suffering. McFarland is the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

In the Spiel, why a surprise primary win in Texas makes complete sense when you learn the victor's name.

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Russian Doping, Revisited Mar 12, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, is it OK to ape a Russian accent when saying Russian names?

And we revisit an interview with filmmaker Bryan Fogel, whose documentary, Icarus, recently won an Academy Award.

In the Spiel, a short conversation with author Steven Pinker about the state of academia. Is it really doing that badly?

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North Korea Is Setting the Table Mar 10, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, if sitting down with North Korea wasn't a good idea for past U.S. presidents, how is it a good idea for our current one?

In the interview, Slate's Fred Kaplan and former Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson are both cautiously optimistic about upcoming negotiations between Trump and Kim Jong-un.

In the Spiel, some miscellaneous (positive!) news.

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No Rules for the Wicked Mar 09, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, it's a Jon Favreau–flavored mash-up: Swing Wars.

In the interview, the walls cave in, the props catch fire, the actors stammer and forget … and it's all part of the plan. Kevin McCollum, one of the producers of Broadway's longest-running play, tells Mike how The Play That Goes Wrong makes audiences laugh.

In the Spiel: By breaking them, at least the Trump administration is making us bone up on obscure but important rules.

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Guns, Controlled Mar 08, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, who's left to work for Trump when even the nincompoops are quitting?

In the interview, Richard Aborn has helped get gun control laws on the books. As president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, he has the data on what works, what doesn't, and how New York City got so safe.

In the Spiel, the average Joe has no idea how tariffs actually work. That makes it tough to reason with him.

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The Scapegoat in Chinatown Mar 07, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Lego business is hurting.

In Steve James' latest documentary, the bank is the good guy. New York's district attorney brought charges against a Chinatown-based bank after the 2008 financial crisis, even though the bank had little to do with subprime mortgages. James is the director of the Oscar-nominated Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.

In the Spiel, the unpersuasive handwringing over putting Sam Nunberg on live TV.

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