The Gist

The pundit, in this case, being The Gist host Mike Pesca. In the Antwentig, an examination of the assumptions and inputs that convinced many (including Mike Pesca) that the Republicans would do better than they did. Plus, Joel Stein, host of Story Of The Week podcast is here to spread mirth, merriment, and, most importantly, knowledge about the Story of the Week. Produced by Joel Patterson and Cor...

As we just wait … wait … wait for the results in states like Arizona, Nevada, and California, Mike takes us through the recent news about a Russian troll who admitted to meddling in the election. Bottom line: He's trolling. Plus, we're joined once more by Amanda Ripley, author of High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped And How We Get Out, to talk about what to do with prominent predictions of civil war....

Californians won't be gambling on sports, Oregon legislators won't be fleeing session, and Mehmet Oz won't be moving to Pennsylvania. A thorough election recap on the show today. Also, Amanda Ripley, author of High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped And How We Get Out, which looks at warring parties and the psychology that perpetuates the conflict. Plus, Democrats exceed expectations but probably wont h...

Democracy is on the ballot, croquet's a game played with a mallet, an onion is a grown-up shallot. Also the return of Robb Willer, Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University. He conducted a mega-study of ways to strengthen Americans' attitudes toward Democracy, which you may have heard is on the ballot. It shall not whither … or shall it? Produced by Joel Patterson a...

Robb Willer, director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University, is here to discuss his "Strengthening Democracy" mega-study, which looks at effective ways to reduce anti-democratic attitudes and partisan animosity. Plus, the red-wave doubters—the most straight forward theory of political success. That's the theory: whoever's the most straight forward has the most political...

We begin this installment of Best Of The Gist with the latest episode of our new podcast Not Even Mad , in which hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick discuss the politics of parsing crime statistics. Then we listen back to Mike's June 11, 2020 interview with John Pfaff, professor of law and criminology at Fordham University and author of Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incar...

Rick Sanchez, news veteran and host of the eponymous Rick Sanchez Podcast , says that the Latino vote confounds not just Democrats but a media who have no idea about how to analyze or conceptualize it, such as it is. Plus, when good economic news and bad economic news both make us feel bad something is weird. And Tom Barrack is NOT a foreign agent. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email u...

Mike is joined by Billy Corben, director of the new Hulu documentary God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty. It's about Jerry Fallwell Jr., his wife, a young employee of Miami Beach's Fontainebleau Hotel, and, of course, Donald Trump. Tom Arnold shows up, too. Plus, the ballot is democracy and democracy is the ballot. And in the Spiel, living in the era of high voter turnout isn't...

Robert Draper, author of WEAPONS OF MASS DELUSION: When The Republican Party Lost Its Mind, discusses the nastiness within and without the current mold of MAGA Republicans. Plus, questioning the implications of Paul Pelosi's attacker being a nudist activist. And, with so much election nonsense here and abroad, one positive development that's truly momentous. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wa...

Kari Lake, Blake Master, and Mark Finchem, three election-denying Trump acolytes, are all leading or closely trailing in statewide races in Arizona. Local Journalist Mark Brodie of KJZZ is here to assess the contests and update us on the camo-wearing, gun-toting vigilantes who are monitoring drop boxes. Plus, Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, and Waukesha vehicular murderer Darrell Brooks would all rather...

AJ Jacobs spent a month living with muskets, tricorn hats, and an understanding of America at the time of the founding. He joins Mike to discuss his Guardian piece " Party like it's 1789! My weird, enlightening month living strictly by the US Constitution ." Also, thoughts of the South Korea trampling and a society's obligations. Plus, how many candidates deny the election, how many of them will w...

Here's a preview of a new podcast, The Last Resort. What if California seceded from the United States? If it did, what would happen? Would it usher in a new era of peace and prosperity? Or plunge the US into a new civil war? This is The Last Resort, a new documentary podcast following the rise, fall, and rebirth of CAL EXIT: the campaign for Californian Independence. It's a story about a dream for...

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike's October 17, 2019 interview with former Secretary of Defense in the Obama White House, Ashton Carter. He died this week at 68 years old. Then we replay Mike's Tuesday Spiel about Kanye West's most recent public disaster and its root causes. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on th...

With Elon Musk's official acquisition of Twitter, we examine what his incentives are and what voices to pay attention to for guidance on what concerns are legitimate and which are incentivized toward catastrophization. Plus, actors Billy Gardell (Bob Hearts Abishola, Mike and Molly), Herizen Guardiola (The Get Down), and Show Runner Ben Rock are here to talk about their new series Catchers. And th...

Jason DeParle of The New York Times documents how childhood poverty has fallen dramatically over the past three decades. It's a triumph few recognize. Also, John Fetterman's debate performance was surprising and, potentially, very costly. Who bears responsibility for the shock of it all? Plus, a cute little piece of malware named Raccooninfostealer. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email...

The Gist presents the new weekly political debate show, Not Even Mad. Consider it a joyous disagreement, as we take #DelightinDiscord. We give you the inaugural episode of this new podcast, as a sample, but to hear Mike talk with Jamie Kirchick and Virginia Heffernan each week, you'll have to subscribe to Not Even Mad on Apple , or wherever you are listening to this. In Episode #1 of Not Even Mad...

In his latest book, released in this past summer, The Price of Principle: Why Integrity Is Worth the Consequences , lawyer and legal scholar Alan Dershowitz laid out his reasoning for aiding the legal defense of Donald Trump. Dershowitz tells The Gist that he was defending the U.S. Constitution, not Trump, and that, despite the consequences, he would do it again. Also, the Latino vote is no monoli...

On Wednesday, October 26th, we will be launching a new podcast called Not Even Mad, featuring Gist host Mike Pesca (heard of him?), Wired contributor and self-proclaimed liberal Virginia Heffernan , and author of the bestselling Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, Jamie Kirchick , who holds many conservative positions on the issues. So, as a preview of the new podcast, we've invited...

Here's a preview of a new podcast, Story of the Week. Each week, journalist Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Sometimes the story will be the one everyone is talking about, like the New Yorker article on smoking hallucinogenic toads. Other times we'll find a story you might...

To celebrate the announcement of the upcoming launch of Peach Fish's newest podcast, Not Even Mad , in this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike's January 18, 2017 interview with Heather Hendershot. Heather watched nearly 1,500 episodes of William F. Buckley's pioneering TV show Firing Line , and though she still doesn't agree with Buckley, she admires how he created a place for...

The Economist 's Sue-Lin Wong, host of the new podcast The Prince , discusses the most powerful person in the world, Xi Jinping. As China's 20th Communist Party Congress convenes, Xi has positioned himself to rule China for another five years, and maybe the rest of his life. But so little is known about him … until now. Plus, witness the drones filling the skies of Ukraine—Ghost Phoenixes, Switchb...

Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister of the UK, and all of England breathes a collective "How did that just bloody happen?" Plus, we'll check in with David Priess, former CIA intelligence briefer and current Publisher of Lawfare about the work of the January 6th Committee. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisec...

We're joined by Bill Nigut the host of Georgia Public Broadcasting's Political Rewind to analyze the state's pivotal and contentious Governor and Senate Races. Plus, the Durham investigation strikes out, or, in the eyes of Deep State Excavators…strikes gold! Plus, a pricey San Fransisco Toilet. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, vi...

Last night's Ohio Senate debate featured JD Vance denying his assessment of Alex Jones as credible and an interesting thinker. Vance is still up big, and he'll probably win. Also, a Floridan voter is handcuffed so Ron DeSantis can make a point. He's also up big. Probably will win. Plus, Richard Reeves returns to discuss his book, Of Boys And Men, and the challenge of proposing solutions when doing...

Boys and men are failing by so many measures says Richard Reeves in his new book Of Boys And Men: Why The Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, And What To Do About It. Plus, Liz Truss is the least popular UK Prime Minister since they've been asking how popular the prime minister is. And whether you fly, ride, or scoot, getting there is considerably less than half the fun. Produced by Joel Pa...