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.
2276
Abolitionist Heroes Lost to History
We discuss American abolitionism as an activist social movement with historian Manisha Sinha.
29 min
2277
Are The Winter Blues BS?
Climb under a therapy light and pop some vitamin D as Maria Konnikova renders her verdict on seasonal affective disorder.
23 min
2278
The Huge Lingering Why
San Bernardino investigators know the who, what, and where, but will the culprit’s iPhone tell us why?
22 min
2279
40 Years for Genocide
After hiding in plain sight for years, this Bosnian War criminal’s sentence has made him a symbol for anti-Serb conspiracy theories.
25 min
2280
The Height of Clinton-Era Pop Music
Remembering Billboard hits from 1999, when MTV’s Total Request Live was huge, and our biggest pop stars were teenagers.
24 min
2281
Crazy Funny with Sara Benincasa, Chris Gethard,...
It’s official. All comedians but Seinfeld are insane. (And maybe Seinfeld.)
18 min
2282
1,145 Police Killings
We have terrible statistics from the Justice Department about police killings in America, so a team of Guardian journalists started their own count.
23 min
2283
When Words Change World Events
Use your words, but don’t forget to use spellcheck, too.
22 min
2284
The Secret Genius of the T-Shirt Cannon
We tear apart and affirm some of the most notorious myths about the power of sports over our brains.
27 min
2285
A Triumph of Small Talk
Slate’s Ruth Graham demonstrates a crucial social lubricant while telling us about the weather.
22 min
2286
Are The Dangers of GMOs BS?
Maria Konnikova explains the real effects of genetically modified Frankenfood on humanity.
27 min
2287
All Things Horse Race
As the Super Tuesday 2 results roll in, here’s everything you ever wondered but were too afraid to ask Harry Enten from FiveThirtyEight.
26 min
2288
The Duke Lacrosse Case, 10 Years Later
The new ESPN documentary Fantastic Lies left out one of its interviewees, author William D. Cohan. We bring you our interview with him from 2014.
24 min
2289
The Year of Travolta
In 1978, even the Rolling Stones had a disco hit. We discuss the year the center of culture slipped away from the rockers.
28 min
2290
Ctrl-Alt-DESTROY
Slate’s Fred Kaplan joins us to share the secret history of U.S. cyberwarfare.
27 min
2291
The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
Our host once had a dream where Joe Biden told him to “go diagonal.” What could it mean?
19 min
2292
What Detroit Gave America
Author David Maraniss tells the story of the city that brought us cars, Motown, the labor movement, and the civil rights movement.
18 min
2293
Is Torture Ever Worthwhile?
On The Gist, can we use game theory to make the case for or against the use of torture during an investigation? We explore various models compiled in Does Torture Work? with our guest John Schiemann from Fairleigh Dickinson University. For the Spiel,...
30 min
2294
Adam Davidson Makes Negative Interest Rates Pos...
On The Gist, Adam Davidson explains the latest experimental development of a desperate economy—negative interest rates. Davidson is columnist for the New York Times Magazine and host of a new podcast with Adam McKay called Surprisingly...
23 min
2295
Would I Be Happier in an Arranged Marriage?
On The Gist, the story behind the so-called Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times.” Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker tells us about international efforts to find the recipe for a happy, lasting marriage. She’s...
27 min
2296
Trump’s Tiny Little Lead
On The Gist, Josh Putnam from Frontloading HQ explains what last night’s Super Tuesday results mean when you do the delegate math. He’s a lecturer at the University of Georgia, where he specializes in campaigns and elections. For the...
22 min
2297
This Podcast Is for Losers
On The Gist, do we have more to learn from losers than winners? Huffington Post senior politics editor Sam Stein joins us to share the stories behind his podcast Candidate Confessional. For the Spiel, Mike reveals his workout secrets.
Join Slate...
24 min
2298
Bernie Down the House
On The Gist, writer Matt Bruenig makes the case for electing Bernie Sanders and explains why the candidate’s top economic advisors say his policies could bring 5.3 percent gross national product growth. For the Spiel, a post-Oscars joke...
24 min
2299
Chappelle's Show Co-Creator Neal Brennan
On The Gist, we speak with the brilliant comic mind Neal Brennan about his new one-man comedy show 3 Mics. It’s showing at the Lynn Redgrave Theater in New York City through mid-March. For the Spiel, a crazy 24 hours in presidential politics....
28 min
2300
What’s Next for #OscarsSoWhite?
On The Gist, why the Oscars matter to the future of Hollywood. We discuss the ideas behind #OscarsSoWhite with Slate’s Aisha Harris and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans. Aisha recently wrote “Why Creed’s Best Picture Snub...
33 min