The Gist

Latest Episodes:

The Rise and Reign of Unruly Women Jun 26, 2017

Show notes

Anne Helen Petersen has made a career on the rigorous, deep, academic study of celebrity culture. In her new book Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, Petersen explores the rise of norm-breaking women such as Lena Dunham and Serena Williams and what their ascendency can tell us about the political moment we're living in. Petersen's day job is senior culture writer at BuzzFeed.

Also, the Supreme Court makes a surprise ruling, and the Congressional Budget Office makes an unsurprising report.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Do Radicals Change the World? Jun 23, 2017

Show notes

Author Jeremy McCarter (co-writer of Hamilton: The Revolution with Lin-Manuel Miranda) has written a new book tracing five American radicals from the 1910s and '20s. "I had thought this was going to be a book about a chapter of progress in history we could learn from," says McCarter. "But 1917 is a lot closer to what I thought I would see in my lifetime." Young Radicals is available now.

In the Spiel, a lot of people really, really did not like Otto Warmbier.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Scaachi Koul on Surviving the Trolls Jun 22, 2017

Show notes

Scaachi Koul, a writer for BuzzFeed, talks about growing up as a brown girl in Canada's "Cowtown," and how she set off a tweetstorm by soliciting job applications from writers who are "not white and not male." Koul's book of essays is One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter.

In the Spiel, legislative and executive reaction to the healthcare bill.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Musings of Wallace Shawn Jun 21, 2017

Show notes

There are two Wallace Shawns. There's the character actor, known for playing eccentrics in The Princess Bride and The Good Wife and voicing cartoon dinosaurs. ("I don't get cast as a lot of real people," he notes.) Then there's the acclaimed playwright, thinker, and ardent leftist. Shawn is out with a new collection of political musings, Night Thoughts, which address everything from inequality to the changing climate.

In the Spiel, Travis Kalanick, don't let the cab door hit you on the way out.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is Terrorism Coverage Racist? Jun 21, 2017

Show notes

Tom Shapiro is back to explain the thinking behind the title of his book, Toxic Inequality. What's so toxic about it? Shapiro is a professor at Brandeis University, where he directs the Institute on Assets and Social Policy.

In the Spiel: Based on the information available, what can we conclude about the media coverage of terrorism? Mike talks to Erin Miller, who oversees the Global Terrorism Database.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lies vs. BS Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

The U.S. has a racial wealth gap problem. By one estimate, at current levels of wealth growth it would take 228 years for the average black family to catch up with levels of wealth among white families. Thomas Shapiro explains some of the surprising reasons parity remains so elusive in his book, Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future.

In the Spiel, there's a reason why the wise people over at Lawfare say this administration is malevolence tempered by incompetence.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jon Ronson on Writing the Year's Wildest Movie Jun 16, 2017

Show notes

The new movie Okja has pretty much everything. Car chases. Giant mutant pigs. A dystopian future. Jake Gyllenhaal with an outlandish moustache. A subtle social message. Tilda Swinton pretending to be Tony Blair. The movie is written by Korean director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) and returning guest Jon Ronson. Ronson takes us into the craft of writing the year's wildest movie.

In the Spiel, why congressional comity is overrated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Delicate Art of Political Persuasion Jun 15, 2017

Show notes

A big problem with political arguments, says Robb Willer, is that everyone sees himself or herself as the hero in a zombie movie. "American liberals see themselves as Brad Pitt warding off a zombie horde," says Willer. "But the problem is conservatives see themselves the same way," and no one is able to make arguments that appeal to the other side. Willer teaches sociology at Stanford and writes about the delicate art of political persuasion for places such as the New York Times.

In the Spiel, please Mr. President, don't throw the special prosecutor into the briar patch.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

He Ate Human Flesh for Science Jun 14, 2017

Show notes

Bill Schutt says no one from his childhood is surprised to find out he's been studying cannibalism—after all, he was into vampire bats as a kid. For his new book, he's investigated the (natural) history of people eating one another and why it's only been taboo in some countries, like China, for a short time.

In the Spiel, how we talk about domestic terrorism.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Awk-ward! Jun 13, 2017

Show notes

You're awkward, but maybe not in the way you think. Psychologist Ty Tashiro explains the hallmarks of social awkwardness, why we're sensitive to it, and why it's not such a bad thing. Tashiro is the author of Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome.

In the Spiel, more on Donald Trump's 'dear leader' cabinet meeting.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected