Adam Nagourney is the author of The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn and the Transformation of Journalism. Mike questions him about the extent that the NYT actually has escaped scorn. Plus, Israel takes out a top Hamas commander, which threatens to escalate regional tensions, suggesting the region might not want top Hamas commanders taken out. And is Claudine Gay a martyr, a victim or merely a transcription enthusiast? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Gift The ...
Jan 03, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast David Duchovny (like "the truth") is out there as an actor, director, musician, and novelist (or Novella-ist) in the case of his latest The Reservoir. Plus, Nikki Haley didn't say "slavery," but what in the world was she saying? A look at 14 years of her hard-to-parse comments on the causes of the Civil War. Also on the show, the highest paid employees of each state fight in a violent yearly ritual. Programming Note: Our interview with the President of Harvard has been cancelled. Please use the ...
Jan 02, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today is Mike Pesca’s birthday, and as a gift to himself, he requested we replay two classic interviews that he considers some of his favorites. So we’ll be listening back to his conversation with comedian Gary Gulman from 2019 and actor/writer/Fonzie Henry Winkler from 2017. See you in 2024! 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-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https:...
Dec 29, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mike gives his list of the best podcasts of the past calendar year. He also talks with Sonari Glinton, host of the Shattering the System podcast, which tells the story of a politically connected predator who operated out of West Hollywood, and Lauren Chooljian, host of the The 13th Step, which tells the story of a politically connected predator who operated out of New Hampshire. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advertis...
Dec 28, 2023•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian dissident Alexi Navalny has been located. It’s someplace cold and inescapable, but he's able to make some Christmasy jokes, so that's “good.” Plus, The Gist has found an interview thought lost, about a 17th Century mathematician who was also, in his way, a little lost. Bernoulli's Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science is the book, we talk with its author Aubrey Clayton. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the...
Dec 27, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this day after Christmas, we are choosing to eschew the news cycle and instead have a little fun. We found some oldies-but-goodies from Mike's pre-Gist time at New York Public Radio's On The Media and NPR's Day To Day. With puns, oddities, parodies, and peccadillos galore, it's the perfect soundtrack to accompany you while you return all the awful gifts you got for store credit. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://adver...
Dec 26, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we replay Mike’s Tuesday Spiel about Chicago’s disgruntled neighborhoods, overwhelmed by newly resettled migrants. But lest you think it’s wealthy white people doing the complaining, well … it’s not. Then we rewind to 2016, before Trump, back when newspaper headlines were less terrifying and a bit more song-inspiring. Also … Merry Christmas. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://adver...
Dec 23, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Don't Worry … it's actually good news. Part of the spate of good news that we can't quite accept or process. Plus, the greatest face-melting rock anthems of all time. And Minnesota's new flag rings out the last Vexillology Corner of 2023, with Ted Kaye, author of Good Flag, Bad Flag. 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-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscri...
Dec 22, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Reena Ninan, veteran broadcast reporter for CBS, ABC, and Fox has been in earlier versions of Hamas tunnels, and she tells us about underground ambitions and over-the-air coverage. Plus, Fat Leonard, Poor Rudy, and the Houthi Creed. And comedian Alex Edelman discusses the difference between anti-semitism and anti-Zionism and anti-Netanyahu-ism. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara The Gist Youtube Channel: The Gist - YouTube Gift The Gist at https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/gifts Email us at...
Dec 21, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump is barred from the ballot in Colorado, for now, interesting reasoning contributed to the court's decision, which probably won't survive SCOTUS. Plus, Lina Khatib, director of the SOAS Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London assesses Israel's neighbor's relations with Palestinians and what hopes there are for a permanent peace. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara The Gist Youtube Channel: The Gist - YouTube Gift The Gist at https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/gifts Email...
Dec 20, 2023•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's not just bomb-throwing conservative House members who think migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border are a problem. Turns out, the people who's communities are slated as their new homes feel similarly, and those people are often people of color. And we are joined again by Ryan Grim to continue our interview about his new book, The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution. And, whether you call them the Houthis or the "Hooties," they are a problem. Produced by Joel Patterson an...
Dec 19, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ryan Grim, author of The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution describes the ascent, tactics, behaviors, and personalities of AOC and other young leftists in Congress. Plus, it's hard to talk about immigration, as Joe Manchin, the President of Illinois' NAACP, and, most insensitively of all, Donald Trump show in myriad ways. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Gift The Gist at https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/gifts Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visi...
Dec 18, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we rewind to Tuesday to listen back to Mike’s treatise on New Jersey’s sludge barge, though, for reasons pertaining to the O’Jays song “Love Train,” we are calling it the Sludge Train. Then we rewind way back to 2018, when Mike felt the need to warn listeners about culturally sensitive seasons greetings. 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 ...
Dec 16, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ukraine's EU funding is thwarted by the Hungarian leader whose less Buddah and more Pest, Victor Orban. Plus, Kate Mara and Shawn Bannon drop by to talk about their documentary about hog pollution in North Carolina, The Smell of Money. And an emergency Antwentig, in which secret geopolitical lyrics to OJay's songs are divulged. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Gift The Gist at https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/gifts Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https:...
Dec 15, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Twelve hundred Israelis were killed by Hamas. Perhaps 15,000 Gazans have died as Israel has pursued its attacker, many Hamas fighters among them. But those numbers alone do not help us understand the concept of proportionality in international law. Ben Wittes of Lawfare is here to help us think through the idea. Plus, delving into "Homonationalism." Also on the show, Rudy has defamed and also suffers from having lesser fame than his old client, Donald Trump. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey ...
Dec 14, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chris Molanphy is here to discuss his new book, what is certainly the most authoritative work of non fiction about the Lil Nas X song "Old Town Road," which is also the name of the book. Plus, Hunter Biden does the old town road of attempting to sidestep a congressional inquest. Also on the show: while congress will vote on an impeachment inquiry, they won't vote on aid for Ukraine. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https...
Dec 13, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Angus Deaton, the Nobel Prize winner who popularized the notion of "deaths of despair" stops by to discuss his latest book, Economics In America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality. In it, he discusses the correlation of a college education and a longer life. Plus, digital fungus underrepresentation, and all aboard the SLUDGE TRAIN! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Gi...
Dec 13, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast After the 2019 death of Elijah McClain at the hands of Aurora Colorado police, no charges were filed. Then, spurred on by activism over the murder of George Floyd, the Governor of Colorado ordered the case reopened. After two trials resulting in mixed verdicts, the paramedics who administered ketamine to McClain stand accused. We check in with Alison Borden, an editor from Colorado Public Radio who has been following the case. Plus, the college presidents who muddled a seemingly simple answer ab...
Dec 11, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the presidents of Harvard, M.I.T., and the University of Pennsylvania being hauled in front of the House of Representatives this past week to answer for antisemitic speech on their campuses, we thought it apropos to listen back to Mike’s interview with Mark Oppenheimer, host of the podcast Gatecrashers, about the hidden history of the relationship between Jews and the Ivy League. Then we’ll hear Mike’s front-of-show Spiel from Tuesday about MSNBC’s h...
Dec 09, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Isaac Saul, a former writer for Vox, The Huffington Post, and Time Magazine, was frustrated with news bias and often slanted coverage. So he founded Tangle News, a politics newsletter which summarizes the best arguments from across the political spectrum on the news of the day. Plus, Mike addresses listeners who say, "We want more Israel criticism, or just less Israel overall." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advertise...
Dec 08, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a national referendum, the country of Venezuela just voted to annex half of Guyana, against the will of the Guyanese ... and international law. And every map. While they have no case, and no means to actually take the land, it might lay the groundwork for further chicanery says Fransisco Toro, our Latin America watcher. Plus, a UC Berkley sociology Jew butts heads with living-in-Israel Jews. Also on the show, does Donald Trump still know how to talk? We watch a speech to determine the extent ...
Dec 07, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Depending on where you get your news, the storied Hamas tunnel network is either a "vast labyrinth" or a 160-yard tunnel with little room for a command center capable of orchestrating the October 7th attack. Aric Toler is a reporter on the Visual Investigations team at The New York Times, where he combines traditional reporting techniques with "open-source" reporting practices, and he recently contributed to a Times investigation about the tunnels. Also on the show, Derek Chauvin was stabbed 22 ...
Dec 06, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Boston Globe investigation into foster care adds to the sum of human knowledge only to have a botched MSNBC rewrite subtract from it. Also on the show, Nathan Thrall is an American author, journalist, and former director of the International Crisis Group’s Arab-Israeli Project. He joins us to talk about the war in Israel, and to ponder if peace is possible. We also discuss his most recent book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy. See Mike Live on December 6th Prod...
Dec 05, 2023•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast It would seem China is in a state of decline, but it's hard to know for sure. The Economist's Ted Plafker joins to discuss what we can discern about the property crisis, political firings, and how countries who borrowed as part of the Belt And Road initiative got steamrolled. Plus, Ron DeSantis doesn't want to answer for Donald Trump's use of animal imagery. And a touching tribute to the late, great North Dakota hope Doug Burgum. See Mike Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey...
Dec 04, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we explore a few catchy political slogans that turned out to be deceptive, confusing, or just kind of dumb. First we listen to Tuesday’s spiel about the expression “From the river to the sea,” and then we listen back to Mike’s June 5, 2020 spiel about the slogan “Defund the police.” 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-free and/or PescaPl...
Dec 02, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eliot Cohen, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies and former Counselor to the Secretary Of State has always thought Shakespeare had great insights about great leaders. His book is The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall. Plus, George Santos gets bounced, and Ron DeSantis has a crap map. See Mike Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/...
Dec 01, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elon Musk's intemperate but tempestuous remarks show us a man whose not hard to understand but difficult nonetheless. Plus, we're visited by Kliph Nesteroff, author of Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars. And Malawi get into the Israel act. See Mike Live on December 6th 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/ Fo...
Nov 30, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Bradley Tusk's new novel Obvious In Hindsight, a flying car company attempts to get government approval, even though the politics are dicey, the lobbyists are dirty, and the cars just might not ... uh, what's the word? Fly. Plus, after seventeen days, workers freed thanks to rat tunnels. And the very leftist Youtube channels going beyond even Hamas' obfuscations to flat out allege that Israel targeted their own citizens. Catch The Gist Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey...
Nov 29, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast When a slogan of war suddenly becomes a call to peace. Also on the show, we pick back up where we left off with the New York Times' David Leonhardt. His new book is Ours Was The Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. Plus, the refused-to-be-addressed crisis at the border. 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 M...
Nov 28, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pulitzer Prize winning NY Times writer David Leonhardt is here to discuss Ours Was The Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. The hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas is working and showing us that countries are right to care about their own citizens. Plus, a few furry friends become entrees, and a Fertile Turtle is at the center of the ordeal. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/The...
Nov 27, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast