The Gist

On the Gist, the award Trump deserves. In the interview, Slate's Henry Grabar is here to discuss Covid-19 and spending time outdoors. He and Mike talk about contact tracing, normalizing mask culture, and why we should all be going back outside . In the spiel, advertisers soothe in these uncertain times. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Slate...

On the Gist, sarcasm. In the interview, Mike talks with celebrity chef, restaurateur, and political activist Tom Colicchio about founding the Independent Restaurant Coalition , and how they are fighting to save local restaurants and small businesses affected by COVID-19 in reaction to the government's assistance program. In the spiel, fleeing to the country house. Email us at thegist@slate.com Pod...

On the Gist, a virtual, but actual NFL draft. In the interview, Mike talks with Josh Dean, the executive director of Human. NYC, a homeless advocacy group, about their Covid-19 campaign #HomelessCantStayHome , and the solutions officials aren't taking to move the most vulnerable off the street, out of shelters, and into vacant hotel rooms during this unprecedented time. In the spiel, infections at...

On the Gist, we're not all in the same boat. In the second part of Mike's interview with Dr. J. Alex Navarro, the co-editor-in-chief of The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919 : A Digital Encyclopedia , they discuss politicians who, at the time, refused to comply to closure orders, and how Woodrow Wilson's response was somewhat removed. In the spiel, the mayor of Las Vegas and concerning idea...

On the Gist, Trump's always politicizing at pressers. In the first half of a 2-part interview, Mike talks with Dr. J. Alex Navarro, the co-editor-in-chief of The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919 : A Digital Encyclopedia . Navarro explains how citizens responses 100 years ago weren't that different from now; there was extreme compliance and tension on the ground. Yes, there were anti-masker...

On the Gist, Trump doesn't understand sizes of countries. In the interview, economist Joseph Stiglitz is here to talk about the economic impact of the coming recession. He and Mike discuss ways the government could distribute support funds better, how long it might take us to recover from such high unemployment, and what history tells us about potential growth post-recession. Stiglitz's latest boo...

On the Gist, swimming pool fatalities. In the interview, Mikes talks with Michigan State University President, Dr Samuel Stanley, Jr about the actions he took in response to COVID-19 not just as the head of a Big 10 school, but also as a leading infectious diseases expert. Stanley discusses shifting faculty and students to remote learning in short order, housing those that must remain on campus re...

On the Gist, Trump's most recent briefing. In the interview, journalist Adam Cohen is here to discuss his new book Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America . He and Mike talk about the ways the court has changed, Nixon and the poor, and how corporations factor into it all. In the spiel, coronavirus parody songs. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and a...

On the Gist, Trump's most recent briefing. In the interview, John Burn-Murdoch of the Financial Times is here to discuss data visualization and the COVID-19 outbreak. He and Mike talk about the useful ways to analyze data, why countries are often too large to be helpful samples, and what the data says about the future. In the spiel, South Dakota's Gov. Noem failure to prevent an outbreak at a pork...

On the Gist, Bernie endorsing Biden. In the interview, Dr. Miranda Yaver, a political scientist at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, joins Mike to discuss the political consequences of the coronavirus. Dr. Yaver explains how protecting public health is integral to democracy. She also weighs speculation on how the Supreme Court will rule on abortion. In the spiel, slogans aren't helpful. Sla...

On the Gist, the coronavirus task force. In the interview, it's the second part of Mike's conversation with Craig Rothfeld of Inside Outside Ltd. , a prison consulting firm which helps clients navigate the brutal reality of life behind bars. Craig goes into detail about why he sought advice from multiple rabbis and female family members before engaging with his most famous client - Harvey Weinstei...

On the Gist, antibody tests. In the interview, it turns out Mike grew up with Harvey Weinstein's prison consultant, Craig Rothfeld. In this episode they discuss how Craig ended up in prison, his experiences there, and why he became a prison consultant afterward. Our next episode will focus on his experience working with Harvey Weinstein. In the spiel, finding comfort in the facts we know about cor...

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, hydroxychloroquine isn't like snake oil. In the interview, Mike talks with Slate's National Correspondent, Will Saletan about what Donald Trump needs to win in the upcoming elections. Saletan's humble prediction in the time of Covid-19 is th...

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, oversight is a funny word. In the interview, Mike talks with journalist and creator of the Killing Eve novellas, Luke Jennings about adapting his British cat-and-mouse thriller series Killing Eve for television. They discuss the character's...

On the Gist, Trump is a terrible communicator. In the interview, journalist Clarence Page is here to talk with Mike about the 2020 election and the Black vote. They discuss how political commentary has changed over the years, why generations of Black voters are connecting differently with Biden and Bernie, and how to bridge that divide. In the spiel, the virus doesn't care but America still does....

On the Gist, Peter Navarro and partisan chemical compounds. In the interview, Mike talks with Charlotte Alter. national correspondent at Time covering the 2020 elections, about her new book, The Ones We've Been Waiting For: How A Generation of Leaders Will Transform America . They discuss her deeply reported analysis of the 2016 elections, the youth vote, and why political experiences when young h...

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, Trump and Pence can't be honest with the public. In the interview, Miami Mayor Frances Suarez has fully recovered after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, and now is donating his plasma for use in an experimental treatment. He talks wi...

On the Gist, nobody does it better. In the interview, Mike talks with Katherine Stewart about her new book, The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism . They discuss how the political ideology from the right wing cloaks itself in religious rhetoric, who in the Trump cabinet is part of movement, and how it inhibits the administration's response to the coronavirus cris...

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, Florida's finally doing the right thing. In the interview, Jamil Zaki is here to talk with Mike about kindness during the COVID-19 crisis. He and Mike discuss studies on reactions to crises, how this time will bring us together, and what we...

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, let the experts speak. In the interview, Mike speaks with three self-identified extroverts about what it's like to live in isolation. Amanda Mull of the Atlantic, author Stephen Witt, and host of the Unorthodox podcast Mark Oppenheimer, join...

On the Gist, Trump steering away from the rocks for once. In the interview, Mike talks with John Dickerson of CBS News about what it takes to be a good American leader. They discuss how Trump's personal habits have led him to be unprepared for the coronavirus crisis, why Americans are addicted to the presidency, and what might happen to the concept of American leadership if he gets a second term i...

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, Dr. Mark Siegel is at it again on Fox. In the interview, Mike speaks with the Globe and Mail's health reporter André Picard about the Canadian response to COVID-19. They discuss the ways it differs from the US response, how their government...

On the Gist, Trump knows Tom Brady. In the interview, Mike talks with Kate Greene, crew writer and second-in-command of the first HI-SEAS simulated mission to Mars. They discuss Greene's experience during her four months living in the dome, how micro-stimuli can be overcome, and why astronauts love Tabasco hot sauce. Her essay collection, Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars , will be published by St....

Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. On the Gist, we've been mean to the elderly. In the interview, Ian Bremmer, political analyst and president of the Eurasia Group, is here to talk with Mike about how to assess the risk of the coronavirus pandemic. They discuss the ways countries with dif...

On the Gist, how to stay out of the ICU. In the interview, Mike talks with Andy Slavitt, former head of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act for the Obama Administration, about why the US was less prepared for a pandemic like COVID-19. They discussed why high un-insured rates, high co-pay costs, and low medical capacity make the country as a whole more vulnerable. In the spiel, foolish...