On a day when former President Donald Trump told black journalists that Kamala Harris denied being black (fact check: untrue), we speak about former President John Adams, who himself ran athwart many Constitutional norms ... or, at least, what we have come to accept as norms. Our guest is Corey Brettschneider, author of Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It. Plus, what Israel's reported assassination of the political leader of H...
Jul 31, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast With charges of weirdness and cat lady-dom flying around, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana gets into the act by calling Kamala Harris a "ding dong." Fox News host Neil Cavuto was not having it. Plus, in other Kamala news, she apparently also can't stand Jewish people, which is weird, because she's married to a Jewish person. And Corey Brettschneider is out with a new book in which he contrasts anti-Constitutional acts by such presidents as Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, and John Adams, and iden...
Jul 30, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, after many months spent recovering from a shoulder injury, Clayton Kershaw, maybe the greatest pitcher of his generation, returned to the mound for the LA Dodgers. He is a singular talent in the long history of baseball, and we are joined by Andy McCullough, author of The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, to discuss how he earned that distinction. Also, Biden proposes major changes to how the Supreme Court works. And an ode to table tennis. Produced by Joe...
Jul 29, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the 2024 Summer Olympic Games underway in France, we listen back to a 2016 Spiel, in which, Mike tries to get to the bottom of an Olympian canard about the happiness of bronze medalists. Then we listen back to our Tuesday Spiel, when Mike ponders Kamala Harris’ past as a prosecutor and whether or not that will mean anything as she faces a convicted felon in the race for President. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesc...
Jul 27, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kamala Harris, or at least some fans, try to remix her way to Coolsville, but there's a detour into Dorksylvania. Sure, go ahead, every candidate gets that treatment, and it all evens out into a thin lime-green meme. Also on the show, we speak with Ibrahim Nash’at, an Egyptian filmaker who imbedded with a group of Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan following the US military withdrawal. The resulting film, Hollywoodgate, is a bizarre, tense, and unique glimpse into how a feared fighting force transi...
Jul 26, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast So Biden didn't say goodbye, but he did explain that duty surpassed ambition in his decision to not seek re-election. Jonah Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Dispatch, drops by to discuss some of the Biden theses. We will also diagnose where Kamala Harris now stands, and where she needs to move to win the favor of the median voter, a person too often forgotten as we chase the label of being "brat." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the sho...
Jul 25, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kyle Clark, anchor and debate moderator for 9NEWS, Denver's NBC affiliate, recently got a lot of attention for his deft moderation of a debate between Lauren Boebert and five Republican rivals. The kudos were deserved, and in this feature interview, Clark discusses how to conduct a good debate, his critique of CNN's recent debate, and which of the latest trends in long-form interviewing annoy him. Also on the show, Netanyahu goes to Washington ... where he's greeted by maggots. Produced by Joel ...
Jul 24, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Astead Herndon, host of The New York Times' podcast The Run-Up, has been covering Kamala Harris for a while. He was the Times' campaign reporter for Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, and last year he wrote the extensive and fairly devastating profile titled, "In Search of Kamala Harris" for The New York Times Magazine. He here to discuss Harris' skill set, why the cross pressures of the past are gone today, and what arguments she thinks will work against Donald Trump. Plus, as Harris embraces ...
Jul 23, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast After party leaders, donors, and voters made clear that they didn't want Joe Biden running, this past weekend, the President bowed out. Vice President Kamala Harris is there to take the mantle. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, staff writer for The New Yorker, joins us to talk about the factors that contributed to Biden's decision, the opportunities for Harris to make inroads, and if other Democratic politicians really wanted the job. Plus, how Harris can credibly answer the charge that she's a failed "Bo...
Jul 22, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we replay Mike’s examination of the polarizing effect of fiery political rhetoric is blamed for political violence. And, with political violence on all American minds, we listen back to our 2015 interview with Bryan Burrow who explains what America’s radical underground revolutionaries from the 1970s are up to now. He is the author of Days Of Rage: America’s Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence. Produced by Joel Pa...
Jul 20, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump spoke for the first time since being shot. He was muted, then rageful ... as usual. We also heard from Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, and a retinue of supporters and paid employees who spoke of his kindness, politeness, and golf swing. Plus, when politicians achieve a policy goal they've long promised, they crow about it, whether they be promises kept on tax cuts, military spending, or other programs. Then there's abortion. There was a cone of near silence in Milwaukee this week about the su...
Jul 19, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast On Day One of the 2024 Republican National Convention, five of the six black Republicans in congress spoke to the crowd. Burgess Owens was the sixth, and we tracked him down on the floor of the convention to hear why he, and other black men, are supporting Trump. Also on the show, misleading calls-and-response at the RNC. Plus, the unveiling of the J. D. Vance. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/T...
Jul 18, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast With Day 2 of the RNC now in the rearview mirror, we will listen to Mike's interviews with Lauren Boebert and Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate David McCormick, who was in the front row of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Plus, a cute bulldog's middling political prognostication, and a breakdown of the statistics around the crime rates of unlawful immigrants versus the impact on family members of the victims of these crimes. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us a...
Jul 17, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A run down of the major themes of Day One of the RNC, from gas prices to the many black Republicans who took the stage. Plus, JD Vance and DJ Trump are mirror images. Also, as the polarizing effect of fiery political rhetoric is blamed for political violence, we hear from dozens of Republicans who agree, deflect, deny, explain, excuse, acknowledge. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscr...
Jul 16, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Other than political brinksmanship, the fraying of societal norms, an ocean of bad information, and nearly unchecked gun ownership, how have we arrived at this moment in which people think the way to settle an election is with an assault rifle? Mike is in Miluakee for the RNC, and he will explain. Also, we are joined by Abby Kiesa, Deputy Director at Tufts University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), to talk about why young people vote—or, more like...
Jul 15, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we dedicate our weekend Best Of show to an interview Mike did on Yascha Mounk’s podcast, The Good Fight. Mike is the guest in this wide-ranging conversation about media and society, and Yascha’s voice is very calming. Enjoy. Thanks to Yascha, Brendan, and Jack at The Good Fight for letting us use their episode. 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 PescaPlu...
Jul 13, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Gabriela Cowperthwaite and investigative reporter Nate Halverson join Mike to talk about their film about the international militias and governments waging a war for water, The Grab. Plus, Biden passes his presser, judging on the curve of his capabilities. Also, when Broadway brilliance becomes basic. 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.mik...
Jul 12, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the United States, we're told that democracy is "on the ballot." But how do the very people making those claims enjoin the battle to save it? In France, they pulled back from a far right victory. We're joined by Yascha Mounk, the Editor in Chief of Persuasion, a Johns Hopkins Professor, and author of, The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: htt...
Jul 11, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast A New York Times front page investigation tallies up all the bird nests (nine total) and other flora, fauna, and civil war battlefields "discommoded" by launches of SpaceX rockets. We contemplate the price of progress vs. the piping plover. Plus, getting French elections shamelessly wrong, and a three-way 1950's Meet The Press-style conversion between Mike, journalist Eric Zorn of The Picayune Sentinel, and Tom Chittum, Senior Vice President of ShotSpotter, the audio detection technology that's ...
Jul 10, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sadie Dingfelder (or at least someone of her general shape wearing the same outfit) is back to talk more about her research and her new book, Do I Know You?: A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination. Plus, the Alec Baldwin trial begins, and how the extremist MAGA Republican nominee for Governor in North Carolina didn't say the things he's alleged to have said. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the ...
Jul 09, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast The faceblind but otherwise incredibly observant Sadie Dingfelder drops by to discuss her new book, Do I Know You?: A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination. Plus, Joe Biden does well in interviews which seek to assure the Australian nuclear submarine enthusiast community. He also takes credit for some things he previously distanced himself from, and voters will have to decide if the content or the delivery of his arguments matter most. Also, the deal bet...
Jul 08, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, a couple interviews from the vault in honor of Independence Day. First up, historian Gordon S. Wood explains why the friendship between founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams should give us hope. Then Mike talks about founding fathers’ thighs with Alexis Coe, author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advert...
Jul 06, 2024•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Americans talk a big game about the U.S. Constitution and its role in guiding the nation for nearly 250 years, but few try to live strictly by the words of said document. AJ Jacobs is one of them. For a year, this patriot upheld the high values, carried a musket in public, and struggled against the oppression of Revolutionary era socks, and he is out with the book, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning. Plus, Mike officially dis...
Jul 05, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Phil Elwood was a marketer and strategist who helped the governments of Libya, Qatar, Nigeria, and not quite but almost Syria make their cases on the world stage. He was also involved in the Mueller probe, and had a toe touch with Cambridge Analytica. In other words, he's a fascinating, conflicted, but mostly contrite figure, and author of All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians. Plus, the overstuffed South African cabinet, and a pundit who loved Joe Biden's...
Jul 03, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump lies a lot, and his acolytes construct permission structures to excuse those lies. On the other hand, Joe Biden put forward a cringe-worthy performance, and his VP engaged in some BET Awards cringiness of her own. Voters are more likely to punish cringe. Plus, Phil Elwood put together PR and public policy campaigns for dictators and rogue states. It paid ok, but also, it almost destroyed him, as he chronicles in his new book, All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tyco...
Jul 02, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast SCOTUS gives immunity to Presidents for official acts, and leaves it to lower courts to define (and maybe get overruled on) what constitutes "official acts." Plus, Sarah Isgur, of ABC and The Dispatch, is here again to break down a slew of other Supreme Court cases. Plus, a compendium of some of the most prominent voices arguing that concerns about Joe Biden's age were just Republican talking points, media both-sides-ism, the new Hillary emails, or something other than legitimate ... we're calli...
Jul 01, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this installment of Best Of The Gist, the remainder of Mike’s interview with Ben Smith and Nayeema Rasa, co-hosts of the new Semafor podcast Mixed Signals. Topics touched upon include (but are not limited to) naming a podcast, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the future of media. To hear part one of this interview, listen to our show from Wednesday, June 26, 2026. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscr...
Jun 29, 2024•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jospeh Robinette Biden did not cover himself in glory in last night's debate. As Democrats discuss changing horses midstream, The Gist analyses what went wrong besides the obvious mental discombobulations. Our guest is Sarah Isgur, ABC legal expert, Senior Editor at The Dispatch, and veteran campaign adviser including to Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Mitt Romney. Plus, we trace the circle of blame for Biden's potentially disastrous performance. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us a...
Jun 28, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast With big sporting, cultural, and political events occurring all at once, Mike offers a contemplation of the nature and purpose of speculation about things that are definitely going to happen one way or the other. Plus, Thomas Kail and Lior Ashkenazi are director and actor in the Hulu series We Were The Lucky Ones, the telling of a true story about a family's nearly impossible survival during the Holocaust. We discuss how this film lands differently after October 7th, the benefits and drawbacks o...
Jun 27, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza, co-hosts of the Semaphor podcast Mixed Signals, discuss the turmoil at the Washington Post. Plus Jamal Bowman's Israel pronouncements were an important part, but hardly the only factor, in his political demise. And NGOs and the media should be scrupulously accurate about the deprivation and hunger in Gaza. 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...
Jun 26, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
