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.
1876
Fellas We Frolicked With
These two women hate how we talk about sex.
24 min
1877
Jacob Weisberg on the Steele Dossier
The oppo research that brought us the “pee tape” was sleazy, but don’t equate it with collusion with a hostile power.
23 min
1878
Jeff Bezos Isn’t King
Why the head of Amazon isn’t No. 1 among the world’s CEOs.
26 min
1879
A Show for Mere Mortals
What if you got to read your own obituary? That’s kind of what Audible’s Mortal City is going for.
30 min
1880
Marc Maron and Brendan McDonald
How bad does a beef have to be for a comedian to refuse to go on WTF With Marc Maron?
32 min
1881
Flags Tell Fibs
Why flags make good symbols but bad historical records.
27 min
1882
Falling for the Gambler’s Fallacy
How long-term probability misleads our short-term observations.
24 min
1883
The Stupid Genius of Dexter Guff
Because the thought-leader/life-hacker/productivity-optimizer trope was ripe for parody.
31 min
1884
Sarah Kliff on the Big Questions
Is Obamacare bending the cost curve? Would its demise cause more people to die? Sarah Kliff from Vox weighs in.
32 min
1885
Why Now With the Weinstein Stories?
Harvey Weinstein’s serial sexual harassment was Hollywood’s worst-kept secret. What allowed two news giants to put it in print within days of one another?
29 min
1886
The Shia LaBeouf of Islam
Aymann Ismail’s video series takes a look at what it’s like being Muslim in America.
28 min
1887
Oklahoma Is Not OK
Low tax rates, failing public services, and a governor who thinks prayer will fix the budget deficit. Why can’t Oklahoma get it together?
24 min
1888
Made-Up Cabaret
Actor Jason Kravits sings from a lesser-known American songbook—the one he creates, on the spot.
24 min
1889
Masha Gessen, Putin Whisperer
The U.S. has liberalized over time. Why hasn’t Russia?
28 min
1890
Facebook’s Data Monopoly
How big tech killed innovation and acquired too much information on us.
24 min
1891
You Poor Seoul
A retired military man explains why any show of force against North Korea will hurt our allies in the south.
25 min
1892
The Presidency is Impossible
How the world changed the presidency and doomed the office to failure.
23 min
1893
The Rage Was Already There
Author Masha Gessen on what we get wrong when we try to explain the psychology of mass shooters.
27 min
1894
Kurt Andersen’s History of American Wackadoodles
Have we always been this disconnected from reality? Very possibly, yes.
33 min
1895
Recentering American Politics
Can the left and right ever agree?
26 min
1896
It’s Time to Rethink Puerto Rico
Being a territory helped Puerto Rico. Just not enough.
23 min
1897
Mark Lilla’s Advice for Liberals
The author of one of the most polarizing columns of the past year thinks you may have misunderstood his argument.
28 min
1898
David Litt is D.C. Funny
A former Obama speechwriter on why a president needs to get the joke.
27 min
1899
2007 Defined the Next Decade In Pop
In 2007, hip-hop and R&B dominated the charts, but digital sales are what mattered.
25 min
1900
Dylan Moran Will Say It to Your Face
If you’ve gone through the trouble to craft a perfect joke about American girth, why dial it back for an American audience?
26 min