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.
1926
About the Google Memo
Even if Google was right to fire James Damore, why does it insist that employees can still expect freedom of expression at work?
32 min
1927
Muhammad Ali’s Biggest Fight
How the greatest knocked out the U.S. Justice Department.
25 min
1928
Somewheres vs. Anywheres
British journalist David Goodhart says there are two kinds of people.
26 min
1929
The Social Experiment on TV
Confidence rules, meek people lose.
27 min
1930
Maria Bamford Wants to See Emotion
A stand-up comic graciously shares her show notes for sports program producers.
31 min
1931
The Scaramucci Tapes
Zoe Chace, producer for This American Life, digs up the audio from her 2016 interview with the former White House communications director. His past suggests he’ll bounce right back.
27 min
1932
A Video Game Thoreau Might Play
In Walden, a game, players can pick berries, walk in the woods, or spend the rest of their virtual lives in jail for tax evasion.
26 min
1933
No Hard Feelings
Scientist Lisa Feldman Barrett says the results are in: Your feelings are a construct.
32 min
1934
How to Beat a Casino
In the new ESPN podcast documentary A Queen of Sorts, the story of a woman who turned the tables on casinos around the world.
29 min
1935
Alan Alda Seeks Clarity
In his new book, the MASH star shares his hope for better communication between scientists and us regular folks
26 min
1936
They Called Him Son of Sam
A Smithsonian Channel documentary revisits the media hysteria surrounding the 1970s serial killer known as the Son of Sam.
26 min
1937
How Democrats Condescend to the White Working C...
Joan C. Williams says a third of the country is feeling talked down to. Here’s how to stop it.
32 min
1938
Why Did Trump and Putin Meet in Secret?
Ian Bremmer broke the story of the second Trump-Putin meeting. But are we blowing it out of proportion?
27 min
1939
A Kid in the Hall Tells All
Kevin McDonald on the special alchemy that made Kids in the Hall a truly groundbreaking comedy troupe.
24 min
1940
Al Gore, Ever Hopeful
The former vice president returns with a sequel to his climate change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
31 min
1941
Unearthing a Cult Classic
Comedy writer Mike Sacks on the 40th anniversary of the Dixie-fried action caper "Stinker Lets Loose."
26 min
1942
The Garbage Art of Handwriting Analysis
The Gist’s resident guff detector Maria Konnikova returns to look at the (appropriately) lost art of graphology.
27 min
1943
Tyler Cowen Fears for Our Future
An economist’s diagnosis of our societal torpor.
27 min
1944
Dan Pashman on the Psychology of Taste
This is your brain on food.
23 min
1945
Haunted By “A Ghost Story”
How a classic Halloween costume inspired one of the most profound films of the year.
22 min
1946
At Sea With James Stavridis
The retired admiral answers all of our questions about ISIS, H.R. McMaster, and life on a submarine.
25 min
1947
Look at All the Struggling Democracies
Financial Times columnist Edward Luce introduces us to a new word: oikophobia, fear of fellow countrymen.
26 min
1948
Ben Wittes on the Latest News Bomb
How bad are Don Jr.’s emails?
25 min
1949
Twitter Should Drop Trump Already
Political scientist Seth Masket argues the harassment, the trolling, and the misinformation need to stop now
21 min
1950
In Defense of Ombudsmen
Daniel Okrent, the first public editor for the New York Times, sticks up for the journalists everyone loves to hate.
21 min