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.
1601
After Family Separations, a Settlement
25 min
1602
Billionaires Don’t Know Best
Generous philanthropists may mean well, but they often hijack efforts that should be more democratic.
30 min
1603
DeRay Mckesson Makes the Case for Hope
But it means making systemic changes to policing in America.
32 min
1604
Stylometry for Dummies
What prose analysis can (and can’t) tell us about that infamous New York Times op-ed.
27 min
1605
If You Want Power, Sell It
Author Yuval Harari worries that liberalism offers no compelling vision of the future.
27 min
1606
The DoD Payroll Just Got Smaller
The Pentagon’s third-in-command is reportedly losing his job. It was basically an undoable one.
24 min
1607
Hedging Your Bets With Lake Success
Gary Shteyngart’s new novel is all about hedge funds and traveling across America by bus.
24 min
1608
Farming for Red Herring
South Africa’s “white genocide” isn’t happening. One of the myth’s catalysts—farmland redistribution—might not either.
21 min
1609
Bright Gays, Big City
Finding the refreshingly queer perspective in Strangers.
25 min
1610
The OG GOP
Trump’s disdain for democracy may be unprecedented in a U.S. president, but the Republican Party’s tricks have 19th-century roots.
25 min
1611
Fake News Is Nothing New
It may feel like disinformation is at an all-time high, but hoaxes, lies, and yellow journalism are age-old.
21 min
1612
Gerrymandering and You
County-cutting has given us only one clear winner so far, and it’s not the Democratic Party (or the country).
24 min
1613
#AbolishICE … and Then What?
Journalist Sean McElwee wants the agency — and the criminalization it exists to punish — to disappear completely.
24 min
1614
Crazy Rich Asians Is Important
Crazy Rich Asians Isn’t for White People. That’s Thrilling.
18 min
1615
Sweep the Left
The guys behind Chapo Trap House say Trump’s undoer won’t be Robert Mueller, but whichever 2020 candidate can inspire (and expand) the left.
22 min
1616
Don’t Touch The “I” Word
Mueller’s investigation is closing in on Trump. But talk of impeachment would drive Republicans to the voting booths in November.
23 min
1617
Trolls and Trump's Lies
How one Canadian journalist spends his days fact-checking Donald Trump.
19 min
1618
What Happened to “America’s Mayor”?
With every outlandish TV appearance, Rudy Giuliani loses more of the status he earned after 9/11.
30 min
1619
Listening to Inanimate Objects
Podcaster Ian Chillag explores the secret lives of everyday objects we never think much about.
31 min
1620
Goodbye to the Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin’s talents went well beyond her golden voice.
27 min
1621
The Heart of Reality Television
It isn’t all competition and cat fights. Born This Way follows the lives of a few charming individuals with Down syndrome.
22 min
1622
Democracy Needs a Reboot
Jason Kander is a rising star in the Democratic Party, and he wants to take it back to square one (in a good way).
27 min
1623
Trump’s Pyrite Touch
A GOP Never-Trumper on how the president gets nothing right.
24 min
1624
Gist Presents: Slow Burn
46 min
1625
Venturing Into Obscurity
The Venture Bros. is the best kind of show that doesn’t care about alienating viewers.
23 min