The Gist
For thirty minutes each day, Pesca challenges himself and his audience, in a responsibly provocative style, and gets beyond the rigidity and dogma. The Gist is surprising, reasonable, and willing to critique the left, the right, either party, or any idea.
1276
Let’s Rank the Presidents
What about Chester A. Arthur?
30 min
1277
Solving Urban Violence
There are practical solutions for urban gun violence. We need to implement them more.
28 min
1278
Groaning Through Dad Jokes
The corny and the crass, but in small doses.
30 min
1279
Who Is the Real Kim Jong-un?
To find out, the author of a new biography hunted down just about everyone who’s ever interacted with the guy.
31 min
1280
Pen, Sword, or Rock and Roll
A former Hungarian ambassador to the U.S. on how the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix did more to pierce the Iron Curtain than any politician.
32 min
1281
Data in the Dugout
How analytics are increasingly driving the ways baseball players are made.
29 min
1282
Economic Anxiety? Joy Disagrees.
MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid on how xenophobes were “the hungriest constituency” in 2016—and might not be in 2020.
35 min
1283
Erdogan Loses Istanbul. Now What?
“Whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey,” as the country’s own president put it. And his rivals have done just that.
28 min
1284
Trump’s Chaotic Approach to Iran
The president made awful foreign policy decisions for years, and one good one on Thursday. It may not be enough to spare us from war.
27 min
1285
The Science of Song
How Pandora’s music genome project was created.
26 min
1286
Taffy Brodesser-Akner Doesn’t Care What You’re ...
“Nothing that happens in the interview is real. That’s the thing that a profiler always has to keep in mind.”
27 min
1287
Love, Rules, and Animal Puns
The short story collection from the creator of Bojack Horseman is about love in all its messiness.
28 min
1288
Where Christianity Meets Big Oil
Natural resources are often thought of as blessings sent from above. In America, oil is no exception.
22 min
1289
Un-Biel-ievable
Jessica Biel’s take on vaccinations is foolish, dangerous, and best ignored by the news media.
25 min
1290
A Generalist and a Scholar
To succeed you need to diversify your knowledge base.
28 min
1291
Just Take My Money
Registration, convenience charge, pop-ups… buying a ticket online has come to feel like a trip to the DMV.
31 min
1292
The Politics of Pith
Should anyone really be concerned with shrinking soundbites?
23 min
1293
Warren’s Wealth Tax Isn’t Enough
The Democratic candidate has some noble ideas, but not even her big central proposal can fund them.
36 min
1294
Intellectual Agoraphobia
Liberal thought can’t be scared of challenging ideas.
29 min
1295
The Melodies of Evil
In the news, two cute jingles that belie their organizations’ shady business practices.
28 min
1296
What “Conservative” Means
George Will has led conservative thought for decades. In his latest book, he defines it.
31 min
1297
Saving Civilians, and the Mission
Minimizing “collateral damage” isn’t just morally laudable. It can help win wars.
24 min
1298
Out Like a Champ
Even in defeat, Jeopardy! king James Holzhauer managed to make a brilliant calculation.
28 min
1299
The Impeachment Tree of Possibilities
Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley thinks impeachment is a good idea. Slate’s Mike Pesca doesn’t.
28 min
1300
Enemies in Eurasia
America’s military edge on Russia and China—on the battlefield, in cyberspace, and in actual space—shouldn’t be taken for granted.
29 min