Homo Naledi is an extinct species of hominin discovered by a team led by Lee Berger. If Berger is right, Naledi's actions predate a few of the traits we had assumed to be uniquely Homo Sapien. Plus, Donald Trump crinkles paper on tape. And the signs of Generalized Epistemic Degradation. 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 Gist: https://subs...
Jun 27, 2023•42 min
Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Georgetown professor, and former National Security expert in the Obama and Clinton Administrations, discusses the motives and next moves for Validmir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin. Plus, Anthony Blinken's non-answerer extraordinaire. And how tracing down a stat can almost kill ya. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe...
Jun 26, 2023•36 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we dig up Mike’s 2005 NPR reporting on the hit documentary March of the Penguins. Then we listen back to Wednesday’s Spiel about the dreaded 6-3 Supreme Court. 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 Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack...
Jun 24, 2023•21 min
Kadia Goba, politics reporter for Semafor talks about the Republicans breaking ranks and fracturing over gas stoves and coming together over pistol braces and whether or not any positive legislation will be enacted. Plus, an FBI agent stole documents, which, while certainly illegal, may not offer clarifying insight into the cases of Trump, Biden, or Hillary Clinton. And a Senate panel discusses trans rights by questioning the experts they agree with and ignoring those they don't. Produced by Joe...
Jun 23, 2023•35 min
Alison Bechdel is both cartoonist and an eponymous test. We talk about adapting her long-running comic series Dykes To Watch Out For into an Audible Original Series. Plus, less excitement meets meatless meat, and bread takes a hit, too. Also, some 6-3 SCOTUS decisions, including the first we were warned about. 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://subs...
Jun 22, 2023•32 min
The comic genius Steven Wright is out with his first novel Harold. We discuss Wright's thinking process, how his rate of speech works for him, and how, after all these years, he still doesn't know if a joke is funny. Plus, we're living in a golden age of nuggets. And how the 6-3 Court isn't behaving at all 6-3. 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://sub...
Jun 21, 2023•36 min
In the new Podcast The 13th Step, reporter Lauren Chooljian tracked down allegations of sexual misconduct against the founder of the largest addiction treatment center in New Hampshire. She further documented how the world of rehab and substance abuse treatment is as rife with sexual harassment as it is weak on regulation. Then came the threats against Chooljian, and the lawsuits, and the bricks through the window of her and her parents' home. Two alleged attackers were arrested and arraigned to...
Jun 20, 2023•37 min
Though our crew has the day off in observance of Juneteenth today, we put together a show featuring two archival interviews that focus on a pair of injustices black Americans have had to endure. First up is our 2015 interview with Dax-Devlon Ross about his research into black juror exclusion, a persistent problem in the U.S. legal system. Then we listen to our 2019 conversation with Brenda Wineapple focusing on her excellent book, The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Ju...
Jun 19, 2023•36 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2020 interview with Miami Mayor Frances Suarez, who announced this week that he will run for the Republican nomination for President. Then we replay Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about the HATCH Act, in which he read a poem and now wants to analyze it. 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 o...
Jun 17, 2023•29 min
David O. Markus is a South Florida-based defense lawyer who has represented Andrew Gillum, Hillary Clinton, Manny Ramirez, and Billy Corben, and, if that wasn't enough work, he also hosts the For the Defense podcast (an under-discovered gem). He joins Mike to break down the weaknesses in the federal case against Donald Trump, but also to detail what he thinks will be the biggest obstacles for the Trump defense team to overcome. Plus, why House Republicans are infighting on the way to pass a coup...
Jun 16, 2023•36 min
Today we're talking about political gambling and, more specifically, about Sean McElwee, who was the founding Executive Director of Data For Progress and a big winner in Trump's Washington ... until he wasn't. First we are joined by author Ben Terris, whose new book is The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind. Then we turn the conversation to then David Rees, one of the hosts of the Election Profit Makers podcast abou...
Jun 15, 2023•51 min
Jon Ronson, host of the new audible original podcast The Debutante joins us to discuss the case of Carol Howe, a wealthy young woman who fell in love with a group of neo-nazis before turning government informant. Ronson has studied American extremists for years and has thoughts on how to think about and combat them. Plus, now the Biden administration (of all administrations) is violating the Hatch Act and airing unchecked Trump claims … a dangerous game of chicken. Produced by Joel Patterson and...
Jun 14, 2023•36 min
Frances Haugen is to Instagram as Jeffrey Wigand is to big tobacco and Edward Snowden is to the NSA. She blew the whistle, exposing them for doing harm, and it changed her life for good. She joins us to discuss what that was like, and to talk about her new book, The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook. Plus, Trump backers complain about the double standards, but the standards were clearly articulated in a fairly famous press conference ...
Jun 13, 2023•34 min
Silvio Berlusconi was a character without much of one. He led Italy longer than any prime minister in the post-war period, and he will be missed ... by prostitutes. In El Salvador, the president has conducted a major crackdown on crime, netting lawbreakers as well as many innocent people, and netting himself a 91% approval rating. Francisco Toro, Contributing Editor at Persuasion and contributor to the Washington Post, joins to discuss if democracy can survive in such an environment. And, speaki...
Jun 12, 2023•38 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, in the wake of this past week’s Alabama voting rights decision handed down from SCOTUS, we rewind to Mike’s 2018 conversation with Gerrymander evangelist Amanda Holt, who single-handedly launched a successful movement to redrawn the election maps of Pennsylvania. Then we listen back to our June 7th Spiel, in which Mike lauds Zombie Biden. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show: https://advertis...
Jun 10, 2023•26 min
Rainn Wilson is the host of Peacock's The Geography Of Bliss, based on the book of the same name written by Eric Weiner. Like Weiner before him, Wilson (who played the legendary Dwight Schrute on The Office) travels the world in search of locally sourced happiness secrets. For some reason, Mike gives them both a hard time, and everyone winds up angrier at each other than one might expect from an exploration of bliss. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To ...
Jun 09, 2023•53 min
SCOTUS has ruled that Alabama's gerrymander limiting the sway of black voters is a violation of the Voting Rights Act, which, along with some smaller decisions and the general direction of the Supreme Court, we discuss with New York Times Opinion columnist David French. Plus, Gov. Doug runs! And it's an Antwentig. On a Thursday?!?! Indeed. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to Th...
Jun 08, 2023•42 min
SCOTUS isn’t meeting us where we are says Michael Waldman, author of The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America. Waldman thinks the current court is inviting a backlash, but also that the current backlash is the result of a backlash against their more liberal predecessors. Trippy. Plus, the skies darken as the possibilities of a Zombie Biden play out … to a not particularly scary effect. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the...
Jun 07, 2023•39 min
Bruce Schoenfeld, author of Game Of Edges: The Analytics Revolution And The Future Of Professional Sports joins us to discuss the costs of all the statistical advances in sports. Plus, our orange-brained, bone-burying 240,000 year-old-friends, the Homo Naaldei, and why paleoanthropologists are like parents of preschoolers. And, sorry to bury the lead here ... the Aliens have landed. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https...
Jun 06, 2023•41 min
Lisa Belkin, author of Genealogy Of A Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night, traces several generations of family to the muzzle of a 9-mm Luger pistol in Stamford, Connecticut. Plus Donald Trump promises voters the World, so what Ron DeSantis is promising might seem measly by comparison. And CNN's Chris Licht is the subject of a devastating profile in The Atlantic. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: h...
Jun 05, 2023•37 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2022 interview with iconic actor Stephen Root, whose many (many) credits include HBO’s Barry, which just aired it’s final episode last Sunday (May 28th). Then, we listen to this past Thursday’s Spiel about Sacramento nazis. Yeah, there are Sacramento nazis. 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 PescaPlu...
Jun 03, 2023•34 min
TC Boyle’s new novel, Blue Skies, is about a twenty-something social media influencer who brings Burmese pythons into the picture. What can go wrong? It’s TC Boyle, so the answer is, “Almost everything.” Plus SCOTUS on WOTUS and unions. And the basics of supporting Bud Light and Chick-fil-A. 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...
Jun 02, 2023•38 min
Michael Isikoff, author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, returns to dig further into Russiagate, including his reaction to clips from our Monday interview with James Comey. Plus, the either not-so-strategic or not-so-important (depending who you ask) fight in Bakhmut. And a Sacramento anti-semite's 2 minutes of speaking time at a city council meeting prompts chaos. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikep...
Jun 01, 2023•39 min
Michael Isikoff, author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, is an extremely straight shooter on all things Russiagate. He'll be the first to tell you that, yes, Russia was meddling in the election, but also that the media got—and continues to get—much of the basic narrative wrong. And no one is more familiar with the facts, allegations, and intel than Isikoff. Plus, Republicans say "F*#@ Tha POLICE" (if they're IRS agents). Produced b...
May 31, 2023•35 min
James Comey, was the 7th director of the FBI before being fired by President Donald Trump. He is now out with his first work of fiction, a crime-thriller titled Central Park West: A Crime Novel. Mike talks with him about writing fiction, the non-fiction work of investigating Russian election interference, and they debate in which aisle the Steele Dossier should be consigned. Plus, on HBO, hurt people hurt people. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To adve...
May 30, 2023•41 min
Author Jack Fairweather recalls the bravery of a soldier named Witold Pilecki, a Polish officer actually who did the unthinkable in his book, The Volunteer: One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz hints at the undertaking. Plus, we return to 2014, when Mike first culled the herd of a pile of news clippings. And obligations of a journalistic nature. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https:...
May 29, 2023•32 min
In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s Spiel from this past Tuesday, in which he speaks at length about things he has chosen not to speak about at length. Then, in honor of Memorial Day, which in many ways feels like the kick-off of summer, we listen back to Mike’s September 18, 2015 interview with Billboard music expert Chris Molanphy, which focuses on the hits of 1967 … yep, that’s right, the Summer of Love, man. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at ...
May 27, 2023•27 min
The fat acceptance movement wants to not just de-stigmatize large body size, their adherents argue that the stigma is worse than "obesity"—a word they reject. They also reject the idea that there are some weights that are dangerous for the individual, and they push back against the idea that weight loss is actually a realistic outcome for the vast majority of people. A full show interview, and challenging discussion, with Virginia Sole-Smith author of Fat Talk: Parenting In The Age Of Diet Cultu...
May 26, 2023•47 min
Stephen Vladeck talks Supreme Court legitimacy as well as the so called "Shadow Docket," which is the name of his book subtitled "How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic." Plus, The Desantis fail whale. And the sentencing of seditionists. 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 ...
May 25, 2023•38 min
The nation's leading civil rights group issues a proclamation to avoid a large and oft-visited state; we ponder if the advisory is warranted. And the governor of said state is said to say where he'd like to move in two years time. Maybe we need to rethink this whole "United States of America" thing ... certainly that's the opinion of Kermit Roosevelt, author of The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America's Story. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] T...
May 24, 2023•41 min
