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.
1301
The Legacy of Ross Perot
He’s more than the caricature we all remember.
33 min
1302
Life After Death Row
How do you come back from sitting on death row for 30 years because of a wrongful conviction?
30 min
1303
Let’s Rank the Presidents
What about Chester A. Arthur?
30 min
1304
Solving Urban Violence
There are practical solutions for urban gun violence. We need to implement them more.
28 min
1305
Groaning Through Dad Jokes
The corny and the crass, but in small doses.
30 min
1306
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
1307
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
1308
Data in the Dugout
How analytics are increasingly driving the ways baseball players are made.
29 min
1309
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
1310
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
1311
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
1312
The Science of Song
How Pandora’s music genome project was created.
26 min
1313
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
1314
Love, Rules, and Animal Puns
The short story collection from the creator of Bojack Horseman is about love in all its messiness.
28 min
1315
Where Christianity Meets Big Oil
Natural resources are often thought of as blessings sent from above. In America, oil is no exception.
22 min
1316
Un-Biel-ievable
Jessica Biel’s take on vaccinations is foolish, dangerous, and best ignored by the news media.
25 min
1317
A Generalist and a Scholar
To succeed you need to diversify your knowledge base.
28 min
1318
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
1319
The Politics of Pith
Should anyone really be concerned with shrinking soundbites?
23 min
1320
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
1321
Intellectual Agoraphobia
Liberal thought can’t be scared of challenging ideas.
29 min
1322
The Melodies of Evil
In the news, two cute jingles that belie their organizations’ shady business practices.
28 min
1323
What “Conservative” Means
George Will has led conservative thought for decades. In his latest book, he defines it.
31 min
1324
Saving Civilians, and the Mission
Minimizing “collateral damage” isn’t just morally laudable. It can help win wars.
24 min
1325
Out Like a Champ
Even in defeat, Jeopardy! king James Holzhauer managed to make a brilliant calculation.
28 min