The Gist

Louise Story is here to discuss her new book, Fifteen Cents On The Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap . Plus Israel and Hezbollah fighting intensifies and Donald Trump gets us to ask ourselves "What if MLK were a swole bro?" 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...

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we bring you a recent episode of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie , on which Mike Pesca was the guest. It's an hour of Nick and Mike talking quite a bit about how NPR lost its way. 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 Pe...

It wasn't only North Carolina Senate candidate Mark Robinson's political ambitions that were naked, it was his forum for web posting—the Nude Africa website, where he declared himself a "Black Nazi," and where he detailed his particular taste in pornogrpahy. Plus, RFK Jr. takes a lover, and it seems she's a member of the 4th Estate. Plus, we're joined by writer, director, and actress Jennifer Espo...

Today a wide-ranging interview with Maryland Governor Wes Moore. We talk about the bipartisan blame for America's housing policy, why Baltimore's murder rate is drastically declining, and his studied assessment of international terrorism. Plus, Mike's fruitless foray into correcting an inaccurate tweet about pet eating. Also, we just posted a video version of Mike's interview with Bradley Tusk fro...

We do everything on the phone, so why not vote? It's much more secure than you think, says Bradley Tusk, author of Vote With Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting Is Our Final Shot At Saving Democracy . Plus, one of America's two great newspapers tracks down a lost cat that could swing the election, or could have if she were not "lost" but "lunch." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at the...

We're joined once more by sitting federal judge Frederic Block to discuss his thought process in sentencing and forgiving. His new book is A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It . Plus, Biden strategically drags his feet on the acquisition of U.S. Steel. And Hezbollah's pagers go off in a big way. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To adve...

The Emmy's are a tradition wherein excellence in television is honored by a long display of inartful television. Plus, Elon Musk is carelessly worsening the atmosphere around the second assassination attempt against Donald Trump. And we're joined by Judge Frederic Block of the Eastern District of New York, who has sentenced scores of defendants to long prison terms, but now the law is providing hi...

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the permission of the fine folks at the Savage Lovecast , we will listen to Mike being interviewed by Dan Savage of the trés popular Savage Lovecast, for his series "Sex & Politics." They discuss the debate and the election, and Mike gives sex advice. So, there's that. Big thanks: Nancy Hartunian, Dan Savage, and the crew Produced by Joel Patterson and...

The UK's Keir Starmer and President Joe Biden are apparently arming the Ukrainians in a way that Vladimir Putin does not approve of. Plus, veteran political journalist Joe Klein , of the Sanity Clause Substack, joins to discuss the debate, the election, and what the Democrats are finally doing right. Also, in the plastic straw wars ... it's the last straw! https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/GIST P...

As the technical research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory, Renée DiResta studied disinformation and alerted social media companies to violations of their own rules. This opened her up to charges that she was engaging in censorship. Out with a new book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality , DiResta discusses those accusations and the difference between disinformation, d...

Donald Trump clashes with Kamala Harris in their only scheduled presidential debate. Among the important issues debated: abortion, inflation, and immigrants eating pets. Reasonable people can differ on two of those three issues. Mike is joined by Steve Hayes, editor of The Dispatch to discuss. They disagree on abortion policy, though not on Trump's arguments explaining and advancing his policy. Th...

A close read of media choices and voter preferences explains the refrain we've been hearing—shock that the race is so close. Plus, San Fransisco has come up a lot in the presidential race, because Kamala Harris is from there, you may have heard. We're joined by The New York Times San Fransisco Bureau Chief, Heather Knight to talk about her home city and how it's changed since earning a reputation...

Former Barack Obama speechwriter, Terry Szuplat discusses Kamala Harris' challenges, Barak Obama's techniques, and he is forced to pay a compliment to the rhetorical style of Donald Trump. Szuplat is the author of Say It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience . Plus, should Elon Musk be arrested? (No.) Should the media tell you the presidential election is close? (They should...

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with Presidential candidate Kamala Harris officially reversing her support of a plastic straw ban, a topic stuck in Mike's craw for years, we replay his 2019 Spiel on the topic. Then we revisit Thursday's Spiel about Tim Pool, fool. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.co...

Covid-19 is still around, but it's far less deadly. And, yet ... still deadly. Katelyn Jetelina, author of the Your Local Epidemiologist Substack, is here to talk about lessons learned, how vigilant we should all be, and if she ever wears a mask anymore. Plus, Hunter Biden pleads to felony tax evasion charges, debate anticipation has put every thing else in suspended animation, and we take listene...

Israel's critics describe it as a colonizer, settler colonizers, in fact. We examine the rational and irrational reasoning behind this as we talk with Adam Kirsch author of On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice . Plus, Tim Pool, amplified by Vladamir Putin and goofball election prognosticator Allan Lichtman, is at it again, with assistance from the entire media. Produced by Joel...

Unlike anogenital distance researchers on NPR, at the DNC, Kamala Harris accepted her party's nomination with polished, practiced style. Also on the show, author Adam Kirsch joins us to discuss his new book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice . Plus, a peace deal not taken. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, vi...

The greening of energy is fueled not just by air and wind but many minerals that need extraction. Standing in the way: regulations, a flower, and the Apache. Reuters energy reporter, Ernest Scheyder joins us to discuss his book The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives . Plus, a West Indian Day parade experienced deadly violence, as has often been the case ... still,...

We are out of the office for the holiday, but we wanted to give you the chance to listen to an interview that Pesca Plus members got to hear. Back on 4/20/23 Mike talked to Valerie Fridland about her book "Well, like, dude". Enjoy the longer version of the interview and you can subscribe to ad free or Pesca plus with the link below. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mik...

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, while at the DNC a couple weeks back, Mike got to sit down with Friend Of The Gist Jonah Goldberg for a wide-ranging political conversation that became an episode of Jonah's podcast, The Remnant . Today, we bring you that interview. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.co...

A new faux-documentary posits a terrifying potential scenario: it's January 6, 2025, and the US government has to confront rogue members of the US military attempting a coup. War Game 's stars include veterans of five Presidential administrations who participate in an unscripted exercise to quash the insurrection. We're joined by Director Jesse Moss, and one the film's stars, Peter Strzok, the for...

Jamil Zaki is a Stanford researcher and the author of the new book, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness . He brings us a rare positive view of how our society has evolved, what it's evolved into, and he explains the flawed idea of "homo economicus." What does that mean? Listen. Also on the show, hawk tuah . Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepes...

In 2020, as the pandemic raged, Andrew Chow found the Clubhouse app, and on it, he marveled at the volume of chatter about cryptocurrencies. He dove into that (mostly male) world of speculative bubbles, NFTs, grandiose ideas, and then watched it all crash and burn. Andrew joins us to discuss his new book, Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire . Also on the sh...

Today on the show, we are talking about comedic writing with Simon Rich. He has, after all, written for Saturday Night Live , The Simpsons , and The New Yorker , so he knows a bit about trying to be funny on the page. And he's out with a new book, Glory Days: Stories , in which he makes light of entering middle age. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To adv...

Today on show, a two-part conversation with Evan Ratliff, cofounder of The Atavist Magazine and now host of the Shell Game podcast about how he created an AI version of his voice, hooked it up to a chatbot, and allowed it to speak on his behalf to friends, family, and even telemarketers. Well, especially telemarketers. Also on the show, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined forces with Donald Trump, though...