We're joined again by Heather Cox Richardson to continue discussing her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Rutherford B. Hayes gets taken down a peg. Also on the show, the second Republican debate wasn't great. Plus, pods about getting frisky with a dolphin, and a nudist colony serving as a witness protection program. Interested in checking out Mike's live appearance on The Wrong Take with Lou Perez in Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday. Click here. Produced by Joel Patte...
Sep 28, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Historian and author Heather Cox Richardson is out with a new book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Richardson is hopeful, though a thorough reading of history does not invite a particularly blithe posture. Plus, Philadelphia is hit with a spate of looting and a surprising judicial ruling. And Vivek Ramaswamy has the clever comeback at the ready. Interested in checking out Mike's live appearance on The Wrong Take with Lou Perez in Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday. Click here....
Sep 27, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks is a progressive who loathes the toxic left and points to corruption as the unifying explanation as to why there's so much wrong with our system. But don't worry, because Justice Is Coming: How Progressives Are Going to Take Over the Country and America Is Going to Love It ... well, that's the title of his new book, anyway. Plus, the U.S. recognizes a new nation that's also the nation of Niue. Also on the show, really hard-hitting follow ups to silly questions. Prod...
Sep 26, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast A young physicist working on high-temperature superconductivity follows her mentor to an island established as a haven for the "cancelled and deplorables" shunned elsewhere. "How I won a Nobel Prize” is the name of this novel perfectly calibrated to our times, Mike interviews author Julius Taranto. Plus, Senator Menendez won't resign, but doesn't offer an explanation about the unusually large number of gold bars found at his residence. And with President Biden close to, or trailing, Donald Trump...
Sep 25, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with automotive labor unions preparing for a huge battle, we listen back to Mike’s 2016 interview with Steven Greenhouse, author of the 2008 book The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. Then we replay Wednesday’s Spiel, in which Mike accuses Hasan Minhaj of concocting fakes in the name of comedy. Also, the rest of the world accused him, too. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show:...
Sep 23, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rory Stewart is back to discuss his new memoir How Not To Be A Politician and his podcast The Rest Is Politics. We discuss America's oversized role in shaping culture and politics beyond its borders. Plus, how the popularity of the UAW strike doesn't mean that much in terms of who will win the strike. And it's the rarest of moments, when an Antwentig comes on the 500th episode of Season 2 of The Gist. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the...
Sep 22, 2023•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rory Stewart is a former member of British Parliament, Harvard instructor, soldier, diplomat, cabinet minister, and traverser of Asia via foot. The co-host of The Rest Is Politics Podcast, we discuss his latest book How Not To Be A Politician. Plus, STOP REGULATING WOMENS BODIES, if by regulating you mean considering whether some lightly compensated past porn with her husband should factor into an election bid. Also, Trump met the Press, so what's the problem? Produced by Joel Patterson and Core...
Sep 21, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alicia Roth Weigel, author of the memoir Inverse Cowgirl, is back to discuss her row with conservative radio host Stephen Crowder, and why it's in the interest of activists to state that 2% of the population is intersex. Plus, Hasan Minhaj concocts fakes in the name of comedy. And Merritt Garland testifies before congress, and there's not much interest in his answers. To read Mike's Substack “The Broken Shokin theory”, click here. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mik...
Sep 20, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Activist and member of Austin's Human Rights Commission, Alicia Roth Weigel discusses her new memoir Inverse Cowgirl about being Intersex. We talk about her experience and discuss the ethics of operations on infants and how much to blame parents working with the best information they have. Plus, Lauren Boebert's theatrics. And the chilling effect of criticizing Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis for issuing a character statement for convicted rapist Danny Masterson. To read Mike's Substack on the Hun...
Sep 19, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Utah Governor Spencer Cox wants his enemies to be heard, his opponents to feel valued, and his sparring partners to never feel wounded. Is this any way to run a state? He says yes, and as Chair of the National Governor's Association, he's taking his "Disagree Better" platform national. Plus, Texas AG Ken Paxton is acquitted by a jury of his peers ... literally, including his wife, because of snazzy lawyerin' and political self-interest. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegi...
Sep 18, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with North Korea and Russia’s meeting focusing the news media this week, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with Washington Post reporter Anna Fifield who had just written a fascinating book on Kim Jong-un. She spoke with people who had real life interactions with the man, in an effort to get the clearest picture yet of what the head of the Kim dynasty is really like. Fifield’s book is The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Co...
Sep 16, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast M. Chris Fabricant is the Director of Strategic Litigation for the Innocence Project. His new book is Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System. Plus, a Senate without Mitt. And the UAW strikes for wages and trash cans. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com 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 |...
Sep 15, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Denigrating the SAT is to trendy educational stances as deleting the Abolishing Ice movement is to helpful immigration policy. There are 1,600 reasons—or maybe 5 or 6—why the SAT has validity, and Mike says some of them. Plus, Mike trusts Google to inform him that Hispanic Heritage month starts tomorrow. And we listen to part two of our talk with Vincent Schiraldi author of Mass Supervision: Probation, Parole, and the Illusion of Safety and Freedom. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Emai...
Sep 14, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vincent Schiraldi was the commissioner of New York City's Department of Correction and is now Secretary of Juvenile Services of Maryland. We talk about his new book Mass Supervision: Probation, Parole, and the Illusion of Safety and Freedom, and discuss if there is a real path to true reform. Plus, the impeachment game is afoot. Also, the Pennsylvania prisoner is captured. Check out Mike's appearance on The Comedy Cellar's Live From The Table discussing Philip Bump's recent virality. Produced by...
Sep 13, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Yang and Stephen Marche have co-authored a new novel which is out today, The Last Election. In it, we follow a character not unlike Yang himself—a maverick political outsider whose slogan is, "Do the Math." But in this alternative reality, the candidate's appeal injects uncertainty into a system which devolves into a state of chaos and violence. Also on the show, why the Pennsylvania prison escapee is playing like less of a captivating adventure than past prison break-out stories. Produce...
Sep 12, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you co-write a novel with your spouse? Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel did it sentence by sentence in Dayswork. It's a new novel about one spouse's obsession with Moby Dick, and the other spouse alternating between harpooning bad ideas, serving as lookout, and blubbering. Plus, cookin' with Donna Brazile. And, let us be clear, Kamala Harris needs to veer from the script. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https:/...
Sep 11, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen to Mike’s 2020 conversation with Hit Parade podcast host and music writer Chris Molanphy about 1983s top songs, all of which are now 40 years old. Then we replay Wednesday’s Spiel, in which Mike laments about the non-news story that is “near misses” on runways around the nation. The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to our ad-f...
Sep 09, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast We're joined by the writer and director of the new film Office Race—starring Beck Bennett and Joel McHale—Jared Lapidus and James Kilmoon. We talk nipple balm and gaming the search function on the Comedy Central interface. Plus, Mike Pence is a perfectly uncharismatic Republican for this moment. And the triumphant return of the rapper Gunna is gunna happen this weekend. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisec...
Sep 08, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Freddie DeBoer drops by to discuss his new book, How Elites Ate The Social Justice Movement. In Texas, a judge spikes buoys. And, in Alabama, somehow the same group of Republicans who keeps screwing up the congressional map keeps getting to screw up the congressional maps. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Subs...
Sep 07, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Massive demonstrations in Seoul mark the anguish of Korean teachers pushed to the brink by pushy parents. Plus, the miracle of air safety is presented as a crisis. And more with Foer—Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the struggle for America's Future. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepes...
Sep 06, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House, argues that being a politician is not an insult. In the Joe Biden view of the world, it's the explanation for his philosophy and success. Plus, the querulously quitting Qantas CEO. And, once again, we hit the BRICS. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.co...
Sep 05, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on The Gist, a gift. We are giving all of our listeners a taste of what Pesca Plus subscribers get each week, namely a regular episode but with an extended cut of a fantastic interview. This was our June 21, 2023 show, in which Mike interviews comic genius Steven Wright about his first novel Harold. We discuss Wright's thought 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 nugget...
Sep 04, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast The globe may be warming, but that doesn’t stop summer from coming to an end. So, in honor of the long weekend which symbolizes the transition from summer vacation to back-to-school, we dug up a couple gems from The Gist’s archives. First up, to honor the return to school, we are replaying Mike’s 2017 interview with Lenora Chu, author of Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve, which tells the story of her American family’s rude awakening to Chinese edu...
Sep 02, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yesterday, Mike unpacked how and why he was wrong about the Central Park Karen story, and today he has a couple more points to make about his wrongness. Then rewind back to 2018, when, with the Muller investigation filling the headlines, the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes issued a memo titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation," alleging that the Steele Dossier was nonsense. When the ...
Sep 01, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In May 2020, Amy Cooper had her dog off leash in New York City's Central Park, when a black bird watcher name Christian Cooper asked her to leash her dog. In response, Amy Cooper said she would call the police and tell them that "an African American man" was threatening her. A video of the incident went viral, and "the Central Park Karen" was born. Only, the story was more nuanced than the media had led many to believe about what had really transpired that day, and it was reporter Kmele Foster w...
Aug 31, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast While Mike is on vacation, we are revisiting topics he was wrong about. Today we take on Aziz Ansari. Back in 2018, a woman using the pseudonym "Grace" accused Aziz of sexual misconduct on the website Babe.net. Aziz came back in 2019 to address the accusation in the Netflix special Aziz Ansari: Right Now. On today's show, Mike talks about his previous conversation on the topic and how, looking back now, he was wrong. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To ...
Aug 30, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast While Mike is on vacation, we are revisiting topics he was wrong about. Today we tackle Louis C.K. Back in 2017, the comedian was at the top of his game, when multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. As the news swirled, Mike predicted that Louis could rehab his career and return to the pinnacle of comedy ... but those predictions did not come true. On today's show, how Mike got it wrong. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show...
Aug 29, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Mike is on a well-earned vacation, but before he left, he wanted to correct the record on a few topics he felt he had misled listeners about over recent years. On Day One of "I Was Wrong" week, Mike reflects back on a judgement he made about Sweden's reaction to the corona virus pandemic. This was in May 2020, early in the pandemic, when countries were faced with choosing whether to lockdown or not lockdown, and Sweden went a different direction than most. Produced by Joel Patterson a...
Aug 28, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Each week on Best Of The Gist, we give you something from the past week and a deep cut from the archives, and this week we’re starting off with Mike’s Tuesday Spiel, in which he listens to the #1 song “Rich Men North Of Richmond” for the first time and reacts. Then we rewind to 2017 for his interview with NPR music critic Ann Powers about music’s roll in the sexual revolution. “Tutti Fruitti…good booty.” Yes, that was the original lyric. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at theg...
Aug 26, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sports Explains the World unveils some of the wildest and most surprising sports stories you’ve never heard - And they’re all true. From the teenager who wrote a Wikipedia page that got a young athlete signed to a million-dollar deal - to the Ugandan National basketball coach who was really an undercover agent for the CIA, these stories will amaze and move you at every turn. Reported by award-winning journalists across the globe, Sports Explains the World reveals the human side of athletics in p...
Aug 26, 2023•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
