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.
2226
Padding Your Résumé for President
What part of a governor’s economic impact scales at a national level? On The Gist, Ben Casselman from FiveThirtyEight offers a new criterion from his article, “How To Evaluate The Economic Records of Governors Who Want to Be...
24 min
2227
They Finally Won
On The Gist, learn why WNYC’s Ilya Marritz decided to profile the Columbia University Lions for a new show called The Season. Plus, we’ll hear from the team’s co-captain and star running back Cameron Molina about how a new coach is...
25 min
2228
Giving the Freedom Caucus Its Due
Are conservatives making a horrible mistake … in branding? On The Gist, Slate’s Reihan Salam shares his ideas for how the Republican Party could change the conversation to better match its supporters’ priorities. For the...
29 min
2229
1971: When the ’70s Started Sounding Like the ’70s
On The Gist, we travel back to the year Mike Pesca and music writer Chris Molanphy were born. Learn why the Billboard Hits from 1971 stand the test of time, winter, spring, summer, or fall. Chris writes Slate’s Why Is That Song No. 1...
25 min
2230
Munitions and Menstruation
Immediately upon learning that there’s such a thing as a menstrual cup, Mike Pesca had to ask Slate’s L.V. Anderson to explain. Learn why the DivaCup and Keeper Cup are growing in popularity, and why a new Kickstarter campaign for the...
29 min
2231
The Clinton Cadence
On The Gist, did you see the post-debate footage where Bernie Sanders threw his body in front of a surging horde of reporters and saved NBC’s Andrea Mitchell from being flattened, if not scooped? This and other favorite moments from last...
27 min
2232
All the President’s Body Men
On The Gist, we bring you a Pesca-moderated panel recorded live from Politicon in Los Angeles. Panelists include actor Tony Hale, who plays a body man on TV, and Reggie Love, a real-life body man for six years. We’ll learn what goes into their...
37 min
2233
Our First Latino Poet Laureate
On The Gist, some truths and lies about the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, we’re honored to welcome the United State’s new national Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera. As a bilingual, first-generation immigrant, Herrera explains...
23 min
2234
The Gist Live: Craig Finn from the Hold Steady
On The Gist, the last of three episodes recorded at our live show in Brooklyn, New York. From the stage of the Bell House, Mike asks Craig Finn from the Hold Steady about a literary device his songs share with the Bible, Milton, and...
28 min
2235
The Gist Live: Making Interest Rates Interesting
On The Gist, the second of three episodes recorded at our live show in Brooklyn, New York. From the stage of the Bell House, Harry Enten from FiveThirtyEight uses his poling expertise to explain Trump’s real chances at the presidency. Then, Adam...
33 min
2236
The Gist Live: Samantha Bee
On The Gist, the first of three episodes recorded at our live show in Brooklyn, New York. From the stage of the Bell House, Mike Pesca accepts an award from Slate’s Julia Turner and a drink from bartender Chris Wertz, author of Brooklyn...
36 min
2237
O Say Can You Shut The Hell Up
On The Gist, Mike explains why a Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich won’t be bringing him back to Starbucks for a while. Then Alex Marshall responds to The Gist calling him “Sir Twiddle Twaddle” in a previous episode and...
35 min
2238
Campus Assault Surveys Say Too Little
If women going to a certain foreign country had a 30 percent chance of sexual assault, would we send our daughters there? How is college any different? On The Gist, Slate’s Emily Yoffe explains why the grim portrait painted by the new...
20 min
2239
Field of Screens
On The Gist, Mike reviews how Lena Dunham and Hillary Clinton conspired to make him look at something he can never un-see. Then, Mike O'Malley joins us to discuss the new season of Survivor’s Remorse on Starz. For the Spiel, the most viewed...
23 min
2240
Cred And Ginger
On The Gist, Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker shares what’s she’s learned from research into ginger’s super food status. For the Spiel, hear a performance from last night’s live Gist from Moth champ and professional...
26 min
2241
Pencil Shavings for Mr. Pesca
On The Gist, a shaved-down tale from an elder Pesca. Mike and The Gist staff are busy preparing for our first live show, so on Tuesday we present a favorite from the Pesca family dinner table. Joe Pesca tells it best. We’ll be back on Wednesday...
6 min
2242
Everybody Loves Eating
On The Gist, TV writer Phil Rosenthal explains how he came to host his own PBS show about food and travel. His new show, I’ll Have What Phil’s Having, premieres Monday on PBS. For the Spiel, Mike poops on the pope’s media coverage....
27 min
2243
Alison Brie Sex Scene Therapy
On The Gist, remembering Phil Patton. Then, writer and filmmaker Leslye Headland explains how she brought lessons from theater and heartbreak into the making of the indie comedy Sleeping With Other People. For the Spiel, highlights from the Values...
27 min
2244
Are There Any Real Catholics in Congress?
On The Gist, we take the vitals on the current state of health care in America. The number of uninsured has dropped dramatically, but are the struggling state exchanges and co-ops a cause for concern? Phil Galewitz from Kaiser Health News joins us for...
25 min
2245
Excluding Black Jurors
On The Gist, how filmmaker Jennifer Nelson helped bring the birthday song back into the public domain. Plus, we welcome back Dax-Devlon Ross to discuss his research into black juror exclusion, one of the facets of the upcoming Supreme Court case...
33 min
2246
It’s a Copper Sock Miracle
On The Gist, Emily Bazelon from the New York Times Magazine joins us to answer one question, one question only. This is it: “If Congress defunds Planned Parenthood, is it possible that, even though no government funding funds abortions, they...
27 min
2247
Graduate, Work, Marry, Procreate
How essential is marriage for aspiring middle-class families? On The Gist, economist and Brookings fellow Isabel Sawhill explains her often-cited “success sequence” and declining marriage rates in the developed world. She’s the...
26 min
2248
That Groovy Summer of Love
On The Gist, our regular guest Chris Molanphy returns to explore the "psychedelic-lite" and "semi-baroque" Billboard chart hits from 1967. He’ll explain how the music industry took a druggy cultural movement like the "summer of love" and...
25 min
2249
Is Anger Curable?
On The Gist, Mike’s personal highlight reel from Wednesday night’s CNN GOP debates. Then, how does the medical community distinguish anger issues from psychopath issues or substance abuse issues? Maria Konnikova of the New...
21 min
2250
The Canadian Accent Is Changing, Eh?
On The Gist, what’s all this a’boot the shifting Canadian accent? We speak with sociolinguist Paul De Decker. Plus, Douglas Birch from the Center for Public Integrity explains why South Africa still has highly enriched uranium. For the...
28 min