The Gist

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Philly vs. Boston Feb 03, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Super Bowl LII is an occasion to ask the age-old question: Who's more obnoxious, people from Philadelphia or Boston?

Plus, Another Period takes the Gilded Age as its setting to satirize the worst of reality TV: extravagant wealth, petty arguments, and a shaky camera. Riki Lindhome co-created and stars in the Comedy Central show.

In the Spiel, a reprise of the vaunted documentary, Busted: 43 Minutes of Crisis and Conflict, a production of the American Dream is Deadworks.

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LBJ, Reconsidered Feb 01, 2018

Show notes

Lyndon B. Johnson doesn't always get the consideration he deserves as one of America's great presidents. On today's Gist, historian Joshua Zeitz says LBJ's fight for welfare reform and civil rights redefined the country, even as those legal achievements come under attack by today's Republican Party. Zeitz is the author of Building the Great Society: Inside Lyndon Johnson's White House.

Plus, a Spiel from the 2016 archives: Vote Jabba!

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We Still Have No U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Feb 01, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Trey Gowdy bows out.

Fred Kaplan explains why foreign policy experts are concerned by the Trump administration's move to renege on its choice of ambassador to South Korea at the last minute. Kaplan writes the War Stories column for Slate. He is the author, most recently, of Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War.

In the Spiel, you know what they say: The president who claps the loudest pleases the crowd best.

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When All the Jobs Are Gone Jan 31, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the pomposity and circumstantial evidence of the State of the Union.

Janesville, Wisconsin, had the oldest operating GM assembly plant in the country until 2008. The factory's closure left thousands of employees in the lurch. Amy Goldstein's book Janesville: An American Story describes the choices facing three families as they pick up the pieces of a busted local economy.

In the Spiel, the right things to say when you're being nuked and the right way to say them.

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The Scholarly Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jan 30, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, get your clutching pearls ready. Russia alleges that the U.S. is trying to interfere in its election.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been politically precocious since well before his own sports scholarship at UCLA. His latest column for the Guardian argues it's "time to pay the tab for America's college athletes." He says student players should unionize.

In the Spiel, the tactics that responsible Republicans use to communicate their potential opposition: They speak in their home-state argot.

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Good Night, Portlandia Jan 27, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, the Doomsday Clock would be scary if it weren't so bogus.

In the interview, after years of gently poking fun at Portland, Oregon's chill-but-not vibe, Portlandia is on its final season. Series co-star Carrie Brownstein unpacks the show's humor and tells us how a wedding toast kind of doubled as an audition to get the show greenlit.

In the Spiel, Mike awards a Lobstar after an especially lengthy antentwig.

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He Got Trump's Taxes Jan 26, 2018

Show notes

From the annals of monkey research, how 10 primates were gassed in the service of a bad study.

Today on The Gist, investigative reporter David Cay Johnston, who has been reporting on President Trump long enough to simply call him Donald. Johnston has an appreciation for Donald's trademark swindles: refusing payment, lying to vendors, abridging photocopies. He's not surprised to see the same methods at work in the Trump administration. He likens the Trump administration to "political termites," eating their way through the structures of the U.S. government, leaving holes throughout. Johnston is the author of It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America.

In the Spiel, the trial, coverage, and sentencing of Larry Nassar.

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Odds, Ends, and Senators Jan 25, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, Devin Nunes probably doesn't know squat.

In the interview, Democrats hold most of the Senate seats up for grabs in this year's midterms, which means they have a lot to lose. But importantly, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg says election predictions often fail to account for national mood. Ellenberg is the author of How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking.

In the Spiel, Mike defends his bougie laundry routine.

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MSG Is A-OK Jan 24, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, more details come out about Garrison Keillor.

In the interview, it turns out something can be good for your taste buds without being bad for your health. Monosodium glutamate has gotten a bad rap since 1968, when a medical journal suggested it might cause all kinds of symptoms. Dan Pashman, creator and host of the Sporkful podcast, tells us why MSG isn't the boogeyman it's been made out to be (and why he adds it to his own cooking).

In the Spiel, behold, the mystical power of Maine Sen. Susan Collins' talking stick.

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The Dems Have a Bad Hand Jan 23, 2018

Show notes

On The Gist, what just happened?

And are Democrats sniveling losers or Machiavellian savants? McClatchy reporter Alex Roarty explains why the animating force driving both Democrats and Republicans right now is a loud conservative minority.

In the Spiel, Greece has beef regarding which part of world gets to be called "Macedonia."

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