The Gist

On the Gist, daytime and nighttime America. In the interview, the Atlantic's David Frum joins Mike to talk about his Trumpocracy follow-up, Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy . Frum explains that Trump is a victim of distraction as much as he is a practitioner, that the consequences of COVID-19 will be one of the deciding factors of the election in November, and that the GOP will eventual...

On the Gist, guns and violence. In the interview, Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are here to discuss their new podcast This Day in Esoteric Political History . Mike talks to them about Hands Across America, the Johnstown flood, and the meaning of esoteric. In the spiel, what is reasonable, and do we need to hear from Trump? Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and M...

On the Gist, Joe Biden's statement gets a B minus. In the interview, we've got the second half of Mike's conversation with Dave Eggers. They discuss Eggers' experience writing The Parade and The Captain and the Glory , his last two books, at the same time, the film Idiocracy , and the NRA. In the spiel, the mayor of Minneapolis on brick and mortar symbolism and Donald Trump makes things worse. Ema...

On the Gist, assholes. In the interview, Mike talks with author Dave Eggers about his book, The Parade . He and Mike discuss pavement, the writing process, and the terseness of Bruce Springsteen. In the spiel, the death of George Floyd and the Minneapolis protest. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-...

On the Gist, wheeling and dealing with Hong Kong. In the interview, Mike talks to Dr. Leana Wen about the measures States are taking to reopen safely or remain closed. Wen is an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and previously served as Baltimore's Health Commissioner. In the spiel, postal headaches an...

On the Gist, Trump won't back down from accusing Joe Scarborough of murder. In the interview, Mike talks to a water expert about how to manage a pandemic if too many people cannot wash their hands. Mary Grant, Director of Public Water for All , and a policy analyst on U.S. water utility privatization details which states have placed moratoriums on utility shutoffs, and which cities are setting exa...

On the Gist, Tara Reade. In the interview, Mike talks with author and journalist Michael Lewis about his foray into podcasting with AGAINST THE RULES, his series with Pushkin Industries. The focus of the recently launched season two is coaching, not just in sports. They look at coaches who help with finances, college admissions, and even coaches for executives. Michael explores how a good coach ca...

On the Gist, if you look at the stats, the U.S. is doing the worst. In the interview, part two of Mike's interview with Dr. Paul Offit, who as an infectious disease expert, and pediatrician, made some false predictions about the pandemic at first. He and Mike also discuss his new book , Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far . In the spiel, arguments are easier to read. Email us at thegist@sl...

On the Gist, judging a judge. In the interview, Dr. Paul Offit is here. In the first part of his two-part interview, he and Mike discuss his new book, Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far . They talk about why we should be skeptical of things like vitamin D and testosterone, and how we might not need to take painkillers for a fever. Tomorrow he and Mike will get into the Covid-19 crisis. In...

On the Gist, Trump's cabinet meeting is not unlike a hot tub time machine. In the interview, Maria Konnikova is back for another round of "Is That Bullshit?" This time she and Mike discuss UV light, inside and outside the body. Maria is a New York Times bestseller and the author of The Biggest Bluff , a journey to learning and winning at poker. In the spiel, morbidly presidentially orbit. Email us...

On the Gist, a Karl Rove drive-by. In the interview, Dan Heath is here to talk about his new book Upstream: How to Solve Problems Before They Happen . He and Mike discuss the idea of upstreaming, looking behind problems to find alternative solutions, and how we need to recalibrate so successfully predicting and preventing disaster becomes the goal. In the spiel, In the spiel, framings and shadings...

On the Gist, Tara Reade again. In the interview, journalist Molly Ball is here to discuss Pelosi , her new biography of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She and Mike talk about Pelosi's past, how she wields her power, and why she's so smart when it comes to making a deal. In the spiel, lobstar of the antantwig. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kel...

On the Gist, bail out the pigs. In the interview, Mike discusses how the novel coronavirus has exposed some weaknesses in the global supply chain. Joel Schulman of Ecomax Wholesale Lighting in D.C., breaks down how demand for PPE has changed his relationships with factories in China, and why his company has decided to pivot to masks for the time being. In the spiel, death rates of people of color...

On the Gist, where to wear face masks. In the interview, comedian Myq Kaplan is the cerebral type, who instead of doing stand-up is now performing what he calls, "stand-down." Mike talks with him about his philosophy on how be funny, and his likeness to Marc Maron during quarantine times. In the spiel, Jared Kushner is on the fence about the election moving forward on November 3rd. Email us at the...

On the Gist, lengthening your femur. In the interview, Azi Paybarah, writer of the New York Today column for the New York Times, speaks with Mike about New York State and City leadership, Mayor Bill de Blasio's progressive missteps, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's taking control of the messaging. In the spiel, Fauci's warning as he goes before the Senate. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production b...

On the Gist, Trump tells a reporter to call China. In the interview, The Atlantic's Olga Khazan is here to talk about her new book, Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World . She and Mike talk about the ways weirdness has changed in America, and what's good about being the oddball. In the spiel, Trump wants to distract the public from testing capacities. Email us at thegist@slate....

In the Gist, Steve Mnuchin wasn't mad at Axl Rose. In the interview, Mike calls up Robert Smith, host of NPR's Planet Money , to talk about the influx of coronavirus podcasts. There are a lot in production right now. Mike and Robert discuss some of the best (and worst) covering the pandemic. In the spiel, the subtext of what Kayleigh McEnany says speaks loudly. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcas...

On the Gist, Tara Reade and Megyn Kelly on Instagram. In the second half of our interview with Dr. Nina Fefferman from the University of Tennessee, she and Mike discuss the types of analysis used in predictive modeling, why it's an essential part of the crisis response, and what the future holds as the models continue to change. In the spiel, Sweden's loose measures yielded grim results, and that...

On the Gist, the new White House Press Secretary reiterates that the media sometimes gets it wrong. In the first half of this two-part interview, Mike talks with Dr. Nina Fefferman from the University of Tennessee Knoxville about predictive modeling and the Covid-19 crisis . Today, they focus on the difficulty of making projections when the government is actively disregarding expert guidance, and...

In the Gist, the Texas Governor admits what everyone knows to be true. In the interview, Mike talks with Tomas Pueyo about his now famous Medium piece in which he coins the Hammer and The Dance theory: a choreographed end to quarantine. In the spiel, Tara Reade and belief. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate Plus members get bonus segment...

In the Gist, we get no further with Biden. In the interview, Mike discusses moral judgments and how they relate to both domestic and foreign policy with none other than Joseph Nye, one of the most influential political scientists of our time, and one who co-founded the theory of neoliberalism. Nye's book, Do Moral's Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump is the topic of their conv...

In the Gist, Georgia is opening back up. In the interview, Mike talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author Jon Meacham about his new podcast with Cadence13 - Hope, Through History – a documentary series on confronting and triumphing over crises in America. In the spiel, the end of irony? Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelle...

Slate is dark, and its staff are taking a much needed and deserved breath. And with that, Team Gist has gone dark for a day, too, so we bring you two old interviews from the fall of 2014. First, an interview with biologist and mathematical modeler Nina Fefferman, who at the time this was recorded was based at Rutgers University and working on predicting the spread of Ebola. Now she's at the Univer...

On the Gist, grades at New York City schools. In the interview, Nate Duncan and Ben Taylor of the Covid Daily News podcast talk to Mike about how two basketball analysts started covering the latest developments in this crisis, and the parallels to be drawn between basketball and Covid-19 data. Nate Duncan is the host of the Dunc'd On Basketball NBA podcast , and Ben Taylor is the host of Thinking...

On the Gist, consolidation. In the interview, Mike talks with Matthew Dickinson , author and professor of political science at Middlebury College, about the 1976 Gerald Ford controversy regarding the threat of a global pandemic with swine flu, as well as Richard Neustadt and Harvey Fineberg's examination of the political failures around an approaching pandemic that never actually materialized. In...