The Gist

Christopher Steele's infamous dossier set in motion massive investigations, furious push back, quite nearly an impeachment, and massive turmoil within the intelligence and media communities. In a full-show interview, at times contentious at other times revelatory, Christopher Steele explains his methods and defends his findings. His new book is Unredacted: Russia, Trump, and the Fight for Democrac...

Harry Teinowitz was a storied radio host on ESPN radio in Chicago, a comedian, an actor, and an alcoholic. He's now a playwright. His new play, Another Shot , which chronicles this journey stars Dan Butler, who played Bulldog Briscoe on Frazier for many years. Also, Kamala Harris is down to 39% in one betting market, so Mike bet on her. Plus, Donald Trump mentions a golfer's clubs, but not in the...

Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen back to an archival Gist segment from the past, then we replay something from the past week. This weekend, we listen back to an extended cut of Mike's 2023 interview with Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, who were then the recent authors of the new book Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity , and who won the 2024 N...

Rachel Feinstein's acting credits include HBO's Crashing, Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer, and Hulu's Life & Beth. Her latest stand-up special, Big Guy, came out on Netflix earlier this year. Rachel comes from a family of intellectual giants, though doesn't include herself in that category. In Mike's conversation with her, however, she reveals her insightfulness, which is better suited for com...

Quico Toro of Persuasion and the OnePercentBrighter.com Substack has been writing about global warming solutions, and analyzing the sorry state of climate journalism. Plus, Yahya Sinwar is dead, his plan having been proven ruinous. Also on the show, Kamala Harris went on Fox, and it was spirited, somewhat informative, and not nearly as clear as the Vice President would have us think. Produced by J...

The Election is less than 3 weeks away, and CNN's Harry Enten has the breakdown of the demographics, arguments, issues, and attitudes that are going to decide this tight, tight race. We also talk about hamsters. Plus, when journalism achieves the goals of art, but doesn't quite tell the accurate story. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the...

Brian Rosenwald, political and media historian at the University of Pennsylvania and possessor of Pennsylvania knowledge, talks all the key races in the Keystone State. Plus, Kamala Harris is playing tape of Trump at her rallies. Also on the show, Elon Musk's rocket launches have been thwarted by Musk-averse members of the California Coastal Commission and, to a lesser extent, the snowy plover. Pr...

We are off today due to the Holiday and wanted to give you an idea of what Pesca Plus members get to listen to. Today's interview was with Jake Tapper from Marth 15, 2024 talking about his new CNN Series United States Of Scandal . Use the link below to subscribe! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/T...

This weekend on Best Of The Gist, a couple segments from The Dispatch Podcast , on which Mike was a guest last week. Hosts Sarah Isgur and Jonah Goldberg talked with Mike about Israel's military exchanges with Iran, the legitimacy of "experts," and some movie reviews. Big thanks to everyone at The Dispatch. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on...

There was a time when "College President" was a cushy job, but that time is officially over. Now its a headache rapped in a time suck surrounded by a protest. Bill Funk, of Funk Associates, is a recruiter of college presidents, and he's here to acknowledge that, indeed, this is the most difficult period he's ever experienced for hiring college presidents. Plus, Trump speaks in Detroit, disparaging...

Zoning is really, really important, but it's also a tad dry. Well, not when they're putting up a four-storey building right next door, ruining your ability to record a podcast, but maybe I'm getting overly biographical. Sara Bronin, chair of the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and former Zoning and Planning Commissioner of the city of Hartford, Connecticut, is here to talk about her...

Arlie Russell Hochschild went to Kentucky to study the reasons residents give for supporting Donald Trump, even if so many of his policies seem to be against their interests. The resulting book, Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right describes Trump as the good bully in the eyes of his supporters. Plus, the state of Oklahoma is intent on putting Richard Glossip to death, despite stro...

On Tuesday, November 5th, as they start to tally the ballots and declare electoral votes, few states will be as scrutinized as the Silver State. We talk with veteran Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston of The Nevada Independent about his state's precarious position. Then we shift gears and discuss takeaways from the summer movie season with Sonny Bunch, Culture Editor at The Bulwark . Also on...

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City and a former cop, is in hot water. He's been charged with bribery and campaign finance offenses, his friend and Deputy Mayor Phil Banks resigned over the weekend, and the New York Times is out with some polling indicating that 69% of New Yorkers want Adams to go too. To discuss this mess, Harry Siegel of The City and the FAQ NYC podcast joins us. Also on the...

Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen back to an archival Gist segment from the past, then we replay something from the past week. This weekend, we listen back to Mike's 2016 interview with Chad Millman, author of The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice about the first major act of foreign terrorism on American soil. Then we replay Tuesday's show intro...

Funny You Should Mention Episode One: Nimesh Patel. Over his career Nimesh Patel has gone from a comedian who wants to make points and jokes to a purely joke-oriented comic. He's somewhat of the prefect comedian to kick off this series which looks at comedy routines as if they were an argument or an Op-ed. Nimesh has actually written Op-Eds for the NY Times. We discuss being kicked off stage at Co...

Amy Walter, Editor-in-Chief of The Cook Political Report , is here with the news that you knew but didn't know how very true it was—the Presidential race is very, very close. As in, a one percent Harris advantage in the swing states overall. Plus, Jack Smith re-writes his legal brief, making the case that Trump interfered in the 2020 election, but Trump claims the disclosure of said brief is inter...

The stakes for debates are pretty low when the Vice Presidency is the office in question, but J.D. Vance seems to have said better sounding words than Tim Walz, according to most reactions. Putting in a word for Walz—or at least a warning against Vance—is our guest Democratic strategist and analyst Jess McIntosh, who is here to assess the Vice Presidential debate. Plus, a dock strike could jeopard...

As Iran officially entered the war against Israel this morning, launching just short of 200 ballistic missiles at numerous Israeli targets, pundits continued to praise Israel's tactics but question its strategy. The thing is, the tactics ("kill enemy") and strategy ("win war") seem pretty aligned. Also on the show, Washington Post Opinion columnist Dana Milbank joins us to discuss his newest book,...

For years, the standard thinking was that the ongoing standoff between Israel and its enemies was "no win." Hamas was entrenched. Hezbollah was well-armed. But now, in the wake of a series of massively successful attacks that cut down Hezbollah leadership, and with Iran seeming to be disinclined to counterattack, that thinking is changing. We're joined by Steven Simon, a Clinton and Obama counter-...

Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen back to an archival Gist segment from the past, then we replay something from the past week. This weekend, we rewind to Mike's 2016 interview with Tim Harford, author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives . In it, he makes the case for routine-busting labor strikes, cluttered desks, and leaving your emails unsorted. He also explains why...

Wright Thompson's family farm in Mississippi is 23 miles from the site where fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was murdered in the summer of 1955. In his new book, The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi , Thompson details the length people will go to in order to obscure the truth. He joins us to discuss Emmett, the barn, and his home state. Also on the show, we appreciate you … you kn...

In the United States, as well as in many other English-speaking nations, "liberal" is a label with much political baggage. But "liberalism" is a much broader idea. It's the belief that living in a society that values civil liberties, democracy, free enterprise, and individual rights is the foundation of modern life, and Alexandre Lefebvre believes it's a good life. He's written about it in his new...

You know it's a kooky election when Omaha, Nebraska could swing the presidency to the Democrats and California is the path to control of the House of Representatives for the Republicans. Mike is joined by Steve Kornacki, NBC National Political Correspondent and host of The Revolution podcast, to talk about recent polling, mail-in voting, the coattails effect, and who the hell the "incumbent" is in...

In under-covered jungle news, monkeys are being eaten by apes, and this has been going on for a while. In human consumption news, the Senate attempts to browbeat the maker of Wegovy into a price drop. Plus, we're joined for the second half of our interview with Louise Story, co-author of Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap . Produced by Joel Patterson and Cor...