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.
1801
Ban the AR-15
It's a no-brainer: Taking the mass killer's weapon of choice off store shelves would save lives.
26 min
1802
Which Side Are You On?
What the Quinn Norton fracas and the latest Twix bar marketing campaign have in common.
28 min
1803
Runaway Military Spending
Are we hiking the defense budget mostly out of habit?
22 min
1804
Spoon-Fed by the Feds
The White House's fiscal 2019 budget would cut food stamp funding, and tell its recipients what to eat.
23 min
1805
Don’t Call It a White House Shake-Up
This is the Trump administration at rest. Chaos is its equilibrium.
24 min
1806
Dumb About Deficits
Adam Davidson tries to heal our debt of understanding.
25 min
1807
Is the Iran Deal a Dud?
Slate's Joshua Keating says our focus on Iran kept us from putting out fires across the Middle East.
23 min
1808
The Longest War Is Lost
Steve Coll paints a bleak picture of America’s military involvement in Afghanistan. Pakistan has a lot to do with it.
26 min
1809
America Adrift
Ian Bremmer says the “America First” doctrine could work, if it were implemented like a long-term strategy—but that’s not happening.
28 min
1810
Phil Rosenthal Eats the World
The TV writer's food obsession started with chopped-up garlic.
28 min
1811
Philly vs. Boston
Both cities have a reputation for being obnoxious. But which is worse?
28 min
1812
LBJ, Reconsidered
Without Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, there would be little welfare state for the GOP to undercut in the first place.
24 min
1813
We Still Have No U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
The Trump White House nixed a well-qualified candidate who discouraged a preventive military strike against North Korea.
30 min
1814
When All the Jobs Are Gone
Author Amy Goldstein went to Janesville, Wisconsin, to see how people coped when their local economy vanished. In short: It’s really hard.
27 min
1815
The Scholarly Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The NBA great sees #BlackLivesMatter as a continuation of the civil rights era that shaped his youth.
25 min
1816
Good Night, Portlandia
Carrie Brownstein's series mocks the region she's from just gently enough.
31 min
1817
He Got Trump’s Taxes
Reporter David Cay Johnston gave the public the first look at Donald Trump’s taxes. He thinks Robert Mueller will show us more.
28 min
1818
Odds, Ends, and Senators
A mathematical computation about the midterms that's, in the words of our expert, "sort of hideously irrelevant."
31 min
1819
MSG Is A-OK
Dan Pashman hosts a food podcast—and dinner parties. In both capacities, he’s big on monosodium glutamate.
30 min
1820
The Dems Have a Bad Hand
Conservative Democratic voters are to blame for Chuck Schumer's move on DACA.
25 min
1821
One Year Down
The hosts of Slate’s Trumpcast dish on the Mueller investigation and Trump’s first year in office.
31 min
1822
Busted: A Gist Productions Parody
Relive the “fake news” media’s greatest mistreatment of the guy who’s just trying to “Make America Great Again.”
27 min
1823
Wait and CR
The continuing resolution is the worst thing in politics.
26 min
1824
Nukes and Crannies
President Trump likes to bluster. But when will North Korea see that as more than talk, and react accordingly?
30 min
1825
Teenage Brains Are Just Different
We’re still learning about how the mind of an adolescent is only half-baked.
22 min