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.
1976
Jill Stein Pitches a Green Foreign Policy
The Green Party presidential candidate says de-escalating tensions with Russia should be our top priority. And neither major party candidate is up to the job.
30 min
1977
How Do You Prep to Debate a Dumpster Fire?
Jonathan Prince has prepared several Democratic candidates before major debates. Here’s his advice for Hillary Clinton.
26 min
1978
The Secret Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump
Ahead of the final debate, we check in with Jennifer Mercieca, an academic with the unenviable job of studying how Donald Trump uses language.
23 min
1979
Inside "Late Night" With Amber Ruffin
The sketch writers sit here, the monologue writers sit there, and someone is probably wearing a dinosaur costume.
26 min
1980
Why Don’t More Women Run for Congress?
Some people say there’s a bias against women running for political office. So gender and politics scholar Jennifer Lawless went looking for it.
27 min
1981
Your Food Will Be Ready When You Look Hungry En...
Dan Pashman from The Sporkful compares the long lines of a legendary pizza place in Brooklyn and an exalted sausage joint in Chicago. Does a long wait enhance a meal?
25 min
1982
Where Do Republicans Go From Here?
The National Review’s Reihan Salam looks at the conservative movement’s future after Donald Trump.
26 min
1983
Rapid Response: The Town Hall Debate
Pundits said this was Trump’s chance to “stop the bleeding.” Isn’t the campaign already dead and bloating?
8 min
1984
Rapid Response: Trump’s Comeuppance?
Television built him up, and television may well tear him down.
5 min
1985
Phoebe Robinson Will Teach You How to Bae
The comedian, podcaster, and author of You Can’t Touch My Hair on collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and Queens versus the Bronx.
26 min
1986
Fact-Checking Won’t Stop Trump
The Republican nominee is saying a falsehood every five minutes. Brendan Nyhan from Dartmouth College weighs in on the failure of fact-checking in the 2016 election.
27 min
1987
Why Do We Use BMI to Measure Health?
Body Mass Index is imperfect. Is there a better way? We asked Maria Konnikova.
18 min
1988
Rapid Response - The VP Debate
Talking about the Fracas in Farmville
8 min
1989
Investigating Long Island’s Not-Deplorables
In WNYC’s “United States of Anxiety” series, Arun Venugopal explores the real people supporting Trump in the New York suburbs.
29 min
1990
How Bad Is the Trump Tax Leak?
Tax expert Philip Hackney on Trump’s billion-dollar write-down.
19 min
1991
Who Called Off the Pretension Police?
Simon Doonan and Mike wonder if, in the last 20 years, we’ve seen a decline in the negativity around pretentiousness.
29 min
1992
The Rules According to Malcolm Gladwell
What was young Malcolm like? He obsessed over ad slogans. He collected car brochures. And he insisted on being every board game’s explainer in chief.
34 min
1993
A Budding Storyteller Turns In His “Homework fo...
Moth champion Matthew Dicks hears from a Gist listener who took his top storytelling tip to heart: Jot down one idea every day.
25 min
1994
Where’s the Beef in Trump’s Ground Game?
Donald Trump’s get-out-the-vote effort defies convention. Then again, so does the entire 2016 presidential campaign.
23 min
1995
Rapid Response: The First Presidential Debate
The “debate of the century” was a bizarre bit of political theatre. But it was also deeply predictable.
9 min
1996
This Debate Is Not the Super Bowl
The first presidential debate may be spectacular, but it lacks the final, unspinnable outcome of a sporting event.
13 min
1997
Is Your Favorite World Oddity Wondrous Enough f...
Atlas Obscura’s first printed book is your guide to Cincinnati’s lost subway, Sweden’s nose museum, and the salt-cured mummies of Iran.
28 min
1998
A How-Not-To Manual for Presidents
America’s 15th president was a committed waffler: James Buchanan refused to take a stance on the country’s wide-open question of slavery and helped usher in the Civil War.
27 min
1999
How Filmmakers Faked the Moon Landing Inside Re...
Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller tricked America’s space agency into helping them with the new conspiracy mockumentary, Operation Avalanche.
23 min
2000
Maureen Dowd Wants a Candidate Like H.W. Again
The New York Times columnist on her new book, The Year of Voting Dangerously, and what we’re missing about Donald Trump
27 min