After an early round loss, NBA great Giannis Antetokounmpo had a much watched, quite heartfelt press conference in which he asserted that there's no such thing as failure in sports. Ethan Strauss, NBA expert and former beat writer has a nuanced counter take. Yes, there is. Plus, The Montana Legislature shames itself through censure. And an NBC reporter needs to mix it up, no matter the costs to his credibility. Check out more from Ethan Strauss at his Substack - House of Strauss | Ethan Strauss ...
May 03, 2023•43 min
Megan Phelps-Roper, the host of the podcast The Witch Trials of J. K. Rowling, returns to talk about the backlash from the trans community to the podcast, and how she tried to give all sides of the discussion a voice. Plus, Mike has a lot that he doesn’t want to talk about, though he is in the mood to sing. And ABC’s coverage of black farmers. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe t...
May 02, 2023•43 min
Megan Phelps-Roper, the host of the podcast The Witch Trials of J. K. Rowling, created a podcast weaving her own experience into the task of exploring the views of the famous author who created Harry Potter. She and Mike discuss how to do that fairly, why to do that at all, and how to define "good-faith." Plus, the norm of abnormal gun violence. And how insulting CNN hosts seems to have become a right of passage for Republican elected officials. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us...
May 01, 2023•32 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Joe Biden announced his intention to run for the Presidency again this past week, so we revisit Mike’s analysis of the announcement. Then we listen back to Mike’s January 10, 2017 interview with Chad Nackers, head writer at the Onion, who talked about how his site created a whole new character to satirize Obama’s tee-totaling vice-president, and the delicate balancing act of finding jokes that don’t normalize the next president. Produced by Joel Patterson...
Apr 29, 2023•22 min
Jason Abaluck, an economics professor at the Yale School of Management conducted what was the largest mass masking study to date. He and Mike discuss what he found out about masks and what he found out about researchers who disagreed with his findings. Plus, Airboy Texiera has a home bazooka. And it's an Antwentig! Lobstars and indicia abound. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe t...
Apr 28, 2023•39 min
Roger Parloff, Senior Editor at Lawfare, has been covering the trial of five Proud Boys since it started four months ago. The case is in the jury's hands, and we are in Roger's. And from a jury to a Jerry. In fact a "Jerry! Jerry!" who has shuffled off this mortal jello wrestling pit. Plus, the NYPD disciplinary hearing over a shooting death of a knife-wielding man. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast....
Apr 27, 2023•36 min
Jena Friedman is a comedian, writer, and "correspondent" who has worked with Letterman, Jon Stewart, and Borat (not an actual person), and her new, funny book is Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera. Plus, an analysis of the words that got a Montana legislator banned from debate, a CNN anchor purged from the network, and Tucker Carlson in hot water over potential civil liability. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show...
Apr 26, 2023•34 min
Steven Brill founder of NewsGuard talks about his for-profit companies business model of issuing nutrition labels for news. Plus, The Covid Crisis Group bears attention. And it's never too earlier for Joe-mentum! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn mor...
Apr 25, 2023•34 min
Indiana University law professor Gerard Magliocca says just as Confederate officers were Constitutionally barred from seeking office, so too should Donald Trump be disqualified under the 14th Amendment. Plus, Fox's ClusterTuck and CNN's Lemonexit. And the not-very-complex complexities of so many shootings. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscrib...
Apr 24, 2023•40 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we rewind to January 2017 to revisit Mike’s interview with Ralph Nader, who had just published his second work of fiction, Animal Envy, which imagines a world where animals can talk to people and start demanding rights. Nader says the fable is meant to prompt deeper thinking about our relationship with nature. “We need to talk about what-if, because if we don’t, we can’t kick in our idealism and imagine real possibilities,” says the 82-year-old author and...
Apr 22, 2023•36 min
Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, discusses her new book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future. Plus, the U.S. blowhard surplus, South Korea paying people to not be shy, and how two warring Sudanese generals fit a universal pattern. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/T...
Apr 21, 2023•37 min
Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English is the new book from Valerie Fridland, professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada Reno. And Mike is all like, "No Way!" and Prof Fridland goes, "No, yeah!" Plus, a SpaceX rocket is destroyed ... sorry, it experienced "rapid unscheduled disassembly." And closing the barn door after the chicken's been singed. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://adver...
Apr 20, 2023•40 min
Folkenflik: Fox forced to face fiscal fees from faux fidelity to facts. This is just a hint of the insight afforded to us by NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik in a wide-ranging and faithful-to-factuality conversation. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Subs...
Apr 19, 2023•42 min
Sixteen-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot by an octogenarian in Kansas City—a crime that is quite rare, yet covered as if it's the norm. Plus, the big banks are rebounding nicely, but despite that, the banking system as a whole is not healthy, says Kathryn Judge, editor of The Journal of Financial Regulation and professor at Columbia School of Law. Also, the Dominion case shows that sometimes Fox propagandizes their audience, and sometimes the audience propagandizes Fox. Produced by Joel Patterson an...
Apr 18, 2023•43 min
Panda diplomacy from Paris to Memphis. Then Mike's take on why newscasters aren't making a bigger deal about Clarence Thomas being on the take. And we're joined by U.S. State Department veteran diplomat and professor Steven Simon, author of Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://...
Apr 17, 2023•38 min
The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Now, in a special, 4-part series, The Generation Why podcast unravels the story of Kalief Browder. A young boy who was falsely accused of stealing a backpack and held without bail at Rikers Island for 3 years. He endured consistent abuse by prison staff and inmates, and was held in solitary confinement for more than seven hundred consecutive days. This is a story about a youn...
Apr 16, 2023•6 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike delivered a “post-Morty-um” or sorts on this past Tuesday’s show. Then, to keep the theme alive, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with Larry Lewis, a man who has worked to reduce civilian casualties in conflicts and who also happens to be named Larry. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The G...
Apr 15, 2023•21 min
On today's show, Clarence grants himself clearance over Harlan Crow, collector of memorabilia ... and jurists. And debating the dangers of a gerontocracy vs. an infantocracy. Plus, we're joined once more by Dr. Robert Waldinger, author of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https:...
Apr 14, 2023•35 min
Robert Waldinger is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which is the subject of his book The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Plus, the idiot teens of Thug Shaker Central and their especially idiotic father figure who leaked secret documents. And Bud Light used a trans TikTok influencer to sell beer, and Mike gives tips to cut through exaggerations of how much protests actually damag...
Apr 13, 2023•35 min
A Discord server serves up discord in the form of leaked Pentagon documents, while at the same time TikTok threatens to draw power needed by a munitions factory that could arm the Ukrainians. Plus, data-scientist-turned-whistle-blower-turned-wolf-cryer, Rebekah Jones is back at it again. And Baratunde Thurston, host of the How to Citizen podcast, discusses just that. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast...
Apr 12, 2023•39 min
Treaties are on the wane. But it's not a lack of war to blame. Plus, Donald G. McNeil Jr., former lead Covid reporter for The New York Times, is back to talk about suppressing misinformation, his assessment of Deborah Birx, and how to think about the current state of the pandemic. And a heroic character with a quirky name gets a post-Mortyum. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to...
Apr 11, 2023•33 min
Former lead Covid reporter for The New York Times, Donald G. McNeil is still on the plague beat, and brings his expertise to The Gist. Plus, the expelled Tennessee legislators are impassioned, righteous, correct on policy, but also out of step with the actual will of most Tennessee voters. And Mike offers a modest proposal in regards Super Mario Brothers, Italian accents, and inclusion. Mamma Mia, it's-a chance-a for out-a-reach! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mike...
Apr 10, 2023•34 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike and ESPN’s Mike Greenberg talk about a shared passion: the New York Jets. Yes, we’re calling it “Jets Talk.” And no, it’s not AM radio. Then, to honor the passing of legendary food critic Mimi Sheraton, we listen to Mike’s interview with her from November of 2018 … an interview conducted in Mimi’s kitchen. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe ...
Apr 08, 2023•40 min
Mike watched all three hours of the expulsion hearings of members of the Tennessee State House, he'll bring you more context (and conflict) than you'll find anywhere else. Plus, a rundown on who is saying the Trump indictment is weak ... and who sticks by Bragg. And with banks going down like disoriented sheep suffering from scrapie, we are joined by Aaron Klein, former Chief Economist of the Senate Banking Committee who helped write the banking reforms. He says strict regulations don't matter i...
Apr 07, 2023•47 min
A fun round of sports trivia and sports narratives ensue when ESPN's Mike Greenberg comes by to discuss the new book Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own. Plus, an expulsion vote of three Tennessee lawmakers. And Zelensky is still holding it together. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow...
Apr 06, 2023•35 min
Susan Crawford, author of Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm, sees no way around massive resettlement, at great cost and great opposition. Plus, Donald Trump is trying hard to establish a running gag about one of his prosecutors, which seems like a smart tack. And it was a fiiiiiine day for democracy. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://su...
Apr 05, 2023•39 min
Comic Myq Kaplan stops by again to talk about thematic comedy albums and when kids heckle kids. Plus, the indictment and arraignment of Donald Trump went off with the hoopla usually reserved for a papal visit or a state funeral. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Su...
Apr 04, 2023•39 min
Whenever an odious speaker is heard, in the background you also hear the cries to "deplatform" the speaker. Mike thinks that in this, the "attention age," it doesn't work, it can't work, and our energies are better spent on non-wishful thinking. Plus, stand-up comic Myq Kaplan is here before he leaves for an Edinburgh Fringe Festival sting. And while we technically don't know what's in the Trump indictment, we can predict it's nothing good for the former President. Produced by Joel Patterson and...
Apr 03, 2023•35 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the recent news of Annan Syed’s conviction fresh in the news yet again, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview the hosts of the podcast Undisclosed, Rabia Chaudry, Colin Miller, and Susan Simpson. Then we listen to the PescaPlus cut of Mike’s interview with Eric Zorn. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versio...
Apr 01, 2023•31 min
The Trump indictment is a lot to process, but let's try ... in the form of a proposed sitcom, The Prison President. Also, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not to be intimidated, nor are the NYPD going to be scared of Donald Jr.'s mob of mad Proud Boys. And Mike talks with Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, author of If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine. (Trump has a cameo in there, as well.) Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepe...
Mar 31, 2023•39 min
