The Gist

Today on The Gist, the media misinformation surrounding historical focus groups and billionaire tax histories. Then, Boston College Law School professor Ray Madoff joins the show to discuss her new book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy . Madoff unpacks the modern "buy, borrow, die" strategy, detailing how the top tier of wealth utilizes the "step-up in basis" looph...

Today on the Saturday show, host Mike Pesca shares a revealing conversation with independent media veteran Chris Cillizza from a recent Substack Live  offering an unvarnished look behind the scenes of the modern creator economy. The duo breaks down the financial and administrative realities of running independent operations, tracing Mike’s impending departure from The Gist to the exhausting logist...

Today on The Gist, reaching into the archives for a pre-July 4th holiday treat, sharing a classic 2017 spoof that features dramatic readings of unexpected July 3rd historical texts. Then, the final episode of Not Even Mad , Mike Pesca, Elizabeth Bruenig, and Ben Kawaller debate the rising power of democratic socialism after several progressive upset victories. The panel then shifts to JD Vance’s n...

Today on The Gist, we explore the media framing of the Supreme Court's birthright citizenship decision. Then, author and cultural critic Isaac Butler joins the show to discuss his new book, The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars . Butler tracks our modern societal rifts back to the volatile 1974 Kanawha County textbook war in West Virginia, detailing how a routi...

Today on The Gist, a look back at a Webby Award nominated focus group spoof from the vault before diving into a major analysis of the Supreme Court's monumental ruling against Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order. Then, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author Eric Lichtblau joins the show to discuss his new book, American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazi...

Today on The Gist, Mike Pesca delivers a bittersweet announcement. Then, acclaimed novelist and political chronicler Ben Fountain joins for the entire hour to discuss his sprawling, scathing new satirical novel, Rasputin Swims the Potomac . Fountain details his decision to render the fictional president’s identity as a literal redaction, the fascinating parallels between the manufactured reality o...

Today on the Saturday special, we present Mike's full, two-part appearance on the public radio show and podcast The Middle with host Jeremy Hobson and California Congressman Ro Khanna. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the panel tackles the ultimate question: what would you change about the country? Congressman Khanna champions a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and...

Today on The Gist, exploring the stark disconnect between economic data and public perception Then, a new Funny You Should Mention with Canadian comedian Graham Kay. He discusses his moving new stand-up special, Pete and Me , which maps his life alongside his autistic brother. Kay shares the chaotic story of his 2011 deportation from America after a sarcastic graffiti arrest in Brooklyn, detailing...

Today on The Gist, we examine a wave of 6-3 Supreme Court decisions. Then, strategic communications analyst Anna Varfolomeeva of the Cognitive Security Institute joins the show to discuss her War on the Rocks report exposing the deep systemic rot inside the Russian military infrastructure. Varfolomeeva explains how intense Ukrainian drone innovation has ground Russia's advances down to a microscop...

Today on The Gist, we explore the collapse of the bipartisan affordable housing package on Capitol Hill. Then, former Obama deputy national security adviser and chief speechwriter Ben Rhodes returns for the conclusion of his conversation on All We Say: The Battle for American Identity, A History in 15 Speeches . Rhodes reacts to historical audio from nuclear negotiator Wendy Sherman to define the...

Today on The Gist, lack of civic information and public debates available to voters ahead of the New York state assembly primary elections. Then, former Obama deputy national security adviser and chief speechwriter Ben Rhodes joins the show to discuss his new book, All We Say: The Battle for American Identity, A History in 15 Speeches . He breaks down how historical icons from Seneca Chief Red Jac...

Today on The Gist, the alarming strategic ramifications of the $300 billion in indirect Gulf state investments heading to Iran as a ceasefire condition. Then, foreign policy expert Michael A. Cohen of the Stimson Center joins the show to discuss his co-authored report evaluating the hidden costs, failures, and hubris of recent U.S. military campaigns in Venezuela and Iran. Cohen breaks down why th...

Today on The Gist, we pull an archival interview from the vault as acclaimed writer-producer Michael Schur joins the show to dissect the ethical frameworks behind The Good Place . He details how everyday anxieties, like the self-consciousness of waiting for a barista to witness your tip, evolved into a cosmic sitcom about moral scorekeeping. Schur compares his fictional afterlife to the cold reali...

Today on The Gist, we explore the aftermath of the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting, as NEw York celebrates a historic Knicks championship victory. Then, former congressman Anthony Weiner and Reason editor-at-large Matt Welch join the panel for another edition of "Not Even Mad." The trio debates the massive market valuation of Elon Musk's SpaceX, analyzing how concentrated wealth reshapes gl...

Today on The Gist, we look at the complex racial and political dynamics surrounding a newly redistricted congressional seat in Florida. Then, journalist Sadie Dingfelder returns for another edition of "Is It Bullshit" to break down the myth of windburn, tracing the science back to a 1974 mouse wind tunnel experiment. Finally, in the spiel, a look at the historical taxonomy of miracles and how a pu...

Today on The Gist, a look into the local New York controversy surrounding Mayor Zoran Mamdani's initiative to stream World Cup and NBA Finals games on Link NYC kiosks. Then, television writer-producer Michael Schur and veteran sports columnist Joe Posnanski return for the conclusion of their interview discussing their collaborative book, Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful...

Today on The Gist, sorting through the deluge of "freedom" branding in modern politics. Then, television writer-producer Michael Schur and veteran sports columnist Joe Posnanski join the show to discuss their new book, Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love . The duo breaks down the distinct differences between the community of live sports and the parasocial mir...

Mike joined Chris Cillizza on Substack Live where they analyzed why California takes so long to count ballots, detailing how logistics and funding create a perception of dysfunction rather than deliberate corruption. They also dove into a recent Pew poll finding that Americans unique globally dislike their fellow countrymen, tracing this data to cultural polarization and strict two-party sorting....

Today on The Gist, a look at the Alaska's U.S. Senate race, where a retired teacher named Dan Sullivan was disqualified from running in a primary against the incumbent senator, who is also named Dan Sullivan. Then, physician and epidemiologist Dr. Gary Slutkin joins the show to discuss his book, The End of Violence: Eliminating the World’s Most Dangerous Epidemic . The Cure Violence founder explai...

Today on The Gist, Its Not Even Mad. Mike Pesca is joined by venture capitalist Bradley Tusk and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Charles Fain Lehman for a panel debate on political judgment and modern vice. The trio dives into the results of the Maine Democratic primary, questioning whether progressive candidate Graham Plattner can overcome a cascade of personal scandals to unseat longtime Repub...

Today on The Gist, examining the upcoming criminal verdict for the Golden Gate Bridge climate protesters, breaking down the debate over jail time for high-impact civil disobedience. Then, Sadie Dingfelder returns for another installment of "Is It Bullsh*t?" to investigate the historical and scientific reputation of raccoons and rabies. Then, in the spiel, comparing the foreign policy legacies of R...

Today on The Gist, Mike considers the difference between an election and election night. One is a careful accounting of the public will. The other is the made-for-TV version that gives conspiracy theorists something to yell about when mail ballots shift the totals. Then, Benoit Denizet-Lewis joins to discuss You’ve Changed: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation. The book asks a deceptively...

In this Saturday archive edition of The Gist, Mike asks the question on everyone’s mind, or at least Tom Steyer’s: is Tom Steyer back? With Steyer rising in the California gubernatorial primary, Mike revisits his 2019 reaction to Steyer’s presidential campaign launch, including the ads, the impeachment crusade, and the camera angles nobody asked for. Then, a later interview with Steyer on Cheaper,...

Today on The Gist, Mike asks whether everyone is a hypocrite, or whether hypocrisy has become so universal that the word barely functions. Graham Platner, Ken Paxton, Pete Hegseth, Susan Collins, and Jake Auchincloss all make appearances in a tour of political standards, double standards, and the rare politician willing to say his own side’s nominee fails the test. Then, Christian B. Miller, A.C....

Today on The Gist, Mike revisits the suddenly shifting Spencer Pratt/Nithya Raman race in Los Angeles, where prediction markets flipped as late-arriving California ballots changed the picture. The bigger question: is slow vote-counting actually a democratic problem, or mostly a problem for people who want election night to behave like a TV show? Then, Stanford social psychologist Claude Steele joi...