The Gist

Boston Globe columnist Carine Hajjar and The Commercial Break's Bryan Green debate whether Joe Rogan's platforming of antisemitic conspiracies signals a deeper rot—or just the cost of open conversation. Plus: should Harvard be defunded? And will Kilmar Abrego Garcia stay in a Salvadoran prison? In Goat Grinders, we take aim at student driver bumper stickers, White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood's bitin...

In their new book chronicling the 2024 election, Fight , Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes document the disarray inside the Democratic camp during Biden's final months and Kamala Harris's precarious rise. Also some items from the debut of The Gist List : Cuomo's one-handed housing expert explains the typos, and a modest proposal not to euthanizing monkeys. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@m...

Can Trump run for a third term? Someone who has contemplated that is Bruce Peabody author of the law review titled The Twice and Future President Revisited: Of Three-Term Presidents and Constitutional End Runs who joins us to discuss. Plus, Mike questions the political upside of detaining an innocent man, especially when Trump's allies haven't mustered a coherent narrative to justify it. And in th...

Donald Trump just walked back key tariffs on Chinese electronics — but his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, is still out on a full-throated pro-tariff tour, as if nothing happened. To make sense of Trump's strategy (or improvisation), Mike turns to Yale Business School professor Barry Nalebuff, who finds the approach confusing because it doesn't align with what appear to be Trump's actual goals...

Today on The Gist. We go back to the The Colin McEnroe Show where Mike was on as a guest not talking about Tapirs. Then We end with Wednesdays Spiel on Trumps press conference about tariffs. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikep...

Clay Risen, author of Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America , joins to discuss the era when suspicion was a political tool and civil liberties were sidelined. Today we have echoes—and outright repetitions—of McCarthyite tactics, from loyalty oaths to immigration crackdowns. Also- there may be three plastic spoons' worth of microplastic in the average human brain—acco...

The bond market—stodgy, suit-clad, and deeply un-Instagrammable—has the economy feeling either "yippy" or "queasy," Plus, Republicans are eager to wield the issue of trans athletes, especially when stocks are tumbling. And linguist John McWhorter returns to discuss the beauty of borrowed Yiddish verbs, the aesthetics of the letter X, and why "My wife, she…" is pure Rodney and pure syntax. Produced...

John McWhorter joins to discuss his new book Pronoun Trouble, which unpacks the politics and poetry of tiny words. Also, Trump touts his tariff triumph by jabbing Canada, walloping China, and baffling Wall Street into bullishness. He riffed on trade deficits, finger amputations, immigration, mental ward discharge, and compared economic instinct to Indy car strategy. Markets cheered, economists jee...

Devon Archer, Hunter Biden's former business partner, joins to detail Ukrainian gas deals and what he calls the "Biden brand." From paper mache with the Vice President to secretive dinners in Paris, he describes selling access, sidestepping scrutiny, and eventually being left holding the legal bag. Also, "10% for the big guy"? Archer says that wasn't just a turn of phrase—it was the deal. Produced...

Before diving into tariff turmoil and Senate map math, The Gist features the first part of an in-depth conversation with Devon Archer—former Hunter Biden business associate, House Oversight witness, and recipient of a Trump pardon. Archer discusses Burisma, the fallout with the Bidens, and how his legal saga became a political flashpoint. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To...

Two segments from Mikes appearances on Uncertain Things and Vanderpump Robs. Take a listen to Uncertain Things Take a listen to Vanderpump Robs Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: h...

Comedian Alex Edelman joins this episode of Funny You Should Mention . Alex's hit one-man show Just For Us was a Broadway sensation and is now streaming on Max. In this conversation, we talk about the anatomy of a bad set, the five constituencies for a joke, and what it takes to turn a pile of bits into a fully realized piece of theater. Plus: how being "right" can be the biggest obstacle to being...

In this "Not Even Mad" episode, Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch and former Obama speech writer Sarada Peri dig into "massive cuts under DOGE, Cory Booker's latest stemwinder, recent election results, and somehow, Chester A. Arthur crashes the party. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com...

Harry Holzer—former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor—joins to discuss his concerns over Biden-era regulations alienating voters and thwarting progress. Plus, large protests in Zimbabwe pit Emmerson "The Crocodile" Mnangagwa against crowds urged on by Blessed "Bombshell" Geza. And Democrats embark on their "We Don't Hate You" tour in an attempt to reconnect with alienated voters. Pro...

On this, the eve of "Liberation Day," as key House and judicial races loom, we're joined by David Pakman to discuss his new book, The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America . Pakman argues that conservative media and politicians have constructed a parallel reality that undermines Americans' ability to think critically. But Pakman is also pressed on whether certain narr...

A look at what makes some minds more prone to radical beliefs—and why, with Dr. Leor Zmigrod author of The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking , . Plus, close read of how Judge James Boasberg has become a punching bag for those claiming he coddles Venezuelan deportees while harshing on Jan 6 rioters. The actual court documents—and his sentencing decisions—suggest a far more...

Today on The Gist. We play Mikes appearance on The Mark Reardon Show and play an interview from 2022 with Rafael A. Mangual on Depolicing. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https:...

A Turkish student at Tufts University was detained by ICE, but the only evidence presented so far is a co-signed campus op-ed critical of Israeli policy—raising serious concerns about the bounds of political expression and immigration enforcement. Also, an interview with former FBI Agent Scott Payne, author of Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis . Plus, Trump lov...

Scott Payne is an undercover FBI agent who infiltrated America's modern Nazis under the ominous alias Pale Horse. Plus, Trump's back on the tariff train, this time hitting autos, but we dig into the unseen economic cost of shoehorning jobs into unproductive places. And part 4 of the discussion of a police shooting in the NYC subway becomes a case study in media malpractice, this time focusing on p...

Alex Isenstadt, national political reporter for Politico and author of Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power discusses how Trump's inner circle handles the boss. Plus, a House hearing with more culture war than clarity over the governance of NPR and PBS. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https:...

Chris Gethard reflects on how the comedy world has changed and what happened when Shane Gillis publicly took a shot at him—and then privately took it back. Also, the genetic info you gave to 23andMe might soon be available in a bankruptcy fire sale near you. And in the Spiel, a Signal chat goes sideways when Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg is accidentally added to a highly sensitive thread about...

Chris Gethard stops by to talk comedy, ethics, and how audience taste moves like an algorithm with a grudge. Meanwhile, the JFK files are finally released, and it turns out the real mystery was in Finland all along. Also, the government's got a chainsaw, and it's not just for photo ops: cuts are coming to everything from colorectal cancer screening to the office that won the Cold War-winning offic...

This week we discussed high school musicians losing their opportunity to perform with the US Marine Band. And we revisit Mike's 2022 commentary on NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas, newly relevant as the Trump administration moves to defund University of Pennsylvania grants. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://ad...

On today's Gist , former Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto joins to discuss his new stand-up special Messing With People and how he pulls off pranks that leave folks smiling, not steaming. Then, Mike breaks down why Disney's Snow White remake may mark the end of an era where ideology outweighed audience. And in the Spiel, the U.S. retreats from Ukraine—not just militarily, but morally—while the co...

Former Congressman (and current NYC Council candidate) Anthony Weiner and Reason Editor-at-Large Nick Gillespie square off over whether the national debt is an true crisis, if Chuck Schumer made the best of a bad hand, and whether government can—or should—ever shrink. Plus, in Goat Grinders , we take on Walter Cronkite's legacy, the absurd NCAA tournament gripes, and the myth of "wanting it more."...