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Mike joins Yascha Mounk's Good Fight Club to debate the mid-midterm results: Democrats' surprisingly strong showings in Virginia and New Jersey, Zoran Mamdani's charisma-vs-governance problem in New York, and whether moderates like Abigail Spanberger can still carry a national coalition. Also: the Seattle mayoral race tightens, and the "Dems in disarray" narrative hits a wall. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Dusty Slay drops by with "Wet Heat" fresh on Netflix to talk Opelika lore (a.k.a. Snopalika), becoming parade Grand Marshal, and how a onetime pesticide salesman turned country-music linguist builds jokes from tiny word quirks. We get into his love of language (Carlin vibes), song-lyric autopsies ("It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Brooks & Dunn's "Hard Workin' Man"), the origin of "We're having a good time," Comedy Cellar war stories, Opry nights, accent drift, trailer-park childhood, and why he's plotting an ASMR sleep-comedy album. Also: milk, hand-washing, and the eternal mystery of gas stations named "Kum & Go." Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
EVEN MORE about this episode!What if the secret to healing epilepsy—and so much more—was hidden in the food we eat and the energy we hold? In this transformative episode, Julie connects with Heddle from Australia, whose journey to heal her husband's epilepsy leads to a powerful exploration of spiritual guidance, visualization, and the ketogenic connection to wellness. Through raising the vibrational field, Julie uncovers how diet, mindset, and intuition can align to support deep physical and emotional healing.From messages of hope to practical health insights, this episode bridges the spiritual and the scientific. Lindsay from Florida reaches out to connect with a loved one in spirit, while MJ from Brooklyn seeks help for her mother's digestive health. Julie offers intuitive scans and grounded guidance—like the benefits of brain octane oil—illustrating how tuning into divine wisdom can help address everyday concerns with clarity and grace.Our conversation expands into the realms of love, loss, and the enduring bonds we share with animals and one another. From Annette's reassurance about her beloved missing cat, Tiggy, to a listener's courageous fight against GIST cancer, Julie reveals how spirit guidance and energy healing offer light through even the darkest times. Join us for an episode that blends science, spirit, and soul—inviting you to rediscover your own power to heal and create miracles through connection, intention, and faith.Episode Chapters:(0:00:01) - Healing and Insights With Julie Ryan(0:13:45) - Messages From Beyond and Health Concerns(0:19:57) - Dating and Relationship Advice Insights(0:23:49) - Pet Communication and Spirituality(0:28:52) - Healing and Guidance for Cancer Patient(0:43:43) - Healing and Health Insights for Pain(0:54:28) - Healing Advice for Various Health Issues➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Español YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Português YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Deutsch YouTube➡️Subscribe to Ask Julie Ryan Français YouTube✏️Ask Julie a Question!
We test whether a hair in your hummus is truly hazardous, compare bacterial counts on hair shafts vs. feathers, and trace America's hairnet obsession back to Edward Bernays' spin. We play: Is That BS? Hair/Feather Edition. Also: Seattle mayoral race updates, and in the Spiel: the Philadelphia Art Museum's chunky griffin rebrand, the PHAM backlash, and why the director got bounced. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
In this conversation, Sam Kahn, Mike Pesca, Christine Rosen, and Yascha Mounk discuss what the election results mean for the direction of the Democrats, what the Heritage Foundation scandal shows about anti-Semitism on the right, and Dick Cheney's mixed legacy. Sam Kahn is associate editor at Persuasion and writes the Substack Castalia. Mike is the host of The Gist, the longest-running daily news and analysis podcast in existence. Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She is also a monthly columnist for Commentary magazine, one of the cohosts of The Commentary Magazine Daily Podcast, a fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, and senior editor at The New Atlantis. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When Tuesday's election results came in, Newsweek invited Josh to assess the victory of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. In today's episode, he explains why he called it a terrible, dangerous turn in U.S. politics. Big media like The New York Times celebrated the news, of course. Josh explains that the Times had an “Oops, I Did it Again” moment when a high-ranking journalist let the mask drop -- and then tried to put it back on. Then, a guest joins Josh to explore a bigger question: How did we get here? Why does the media warn about anti-democratic movements on the right while running cover for those on the left? Fellow NPR alum Mike Pesca, host of the podcast The Gist, helps explain how news agencies lost their way. He also discusses his firing from a national news agency. Josh explains why Mike's experience is a window into anti-journalistic thinking in newsrooms.
Woodard maps America's clashing "nations," from American Nations to Nations Apart, arguing that our deepest divides are regional and newly combustible. He makes the case that post–Cold War policy, social media, and a fraying social contract turned long-standing cultural seams into political fracture zones. We press whether his framework explains why now more than past crises. Plus: a quick read of the 11/5 results — Democratic gains in New Jersey and Virginia, Maine's voter-ID rejection, a Georgia PSC flip, and late counts in Minneapolis and Seattle. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
The veteran media strategist reflects on Chuck Schumer's once-golden Sunday pressers and how his "price-of-milk politics" model needs updating for 2025. He discusses New York Democrats' strategic silence in the Mamdani race, Hillary Clinton's 2000 outreach to Hasidic women, and why he can praise Trump's Middle East diplomacy without voting for him. Plus, an inquiry into which seven wars Trump claims to have ended, including the murky Kosovo-Serbia "peace," and the legacy of Dick Cheney, measured against the one war he chose to start. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Former Terp James Gist joins Fear the Podcast for a recap of Maryland's season opening 83-61 win over Coppin State. They discuss the positive takeaways, standout performers, and where there's still some room for improvement. Pharrel Payne (21 points, 6 rebounds) and Darius Adams (16 points) led the way for the Terps tonight. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hiltzik, founder of Hiltzik Strategies, explains how his background in law, politics, and media shaped his methodical, fact-based approach to strategic communications. He describes the importance of understanding audiences and using social and digital tools with "precision," rather than relying on broad or emotional appeals. Drawing on experiences from campaigns for Schumer, Spitzer, and Clinton, he reflects on how retail politics and attention to detail still matter in the age of algorithms. Also: a look at SNL's mayoral-debate sketch, the blurred impressions of Cuomo, and the D.C. trial of Sean C. Dunn—charged with "assault with a deadly weapon." Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Mike joins Nancy Rommelmann and Sarah Hepola for a rowdy, caffeine-fueled dive into the NBA betting scandal—where marked decks, mobsters, and million-dollar contracts collide. They unpack how legalized sports gambling reopened old mafia doors, what drives athletes to risk it all, and why men chase competition even from the couch. Also: Karine Jean-Pierre's disastrous book tour, testosterone talk, Louis C.K.'s "program," and the curious economics of peeing at stadiums. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Episode: 2025.11.36The Living Full Out show with Nancy Solari encourages you to take hold of challenges and transform them into opportunities. Maybe you avoid obstacles. Perhaps you need motivation to conquer tough situations. Join Nancy as she discusses taking charge.Our first listener Bob wrote in asking for advice having recently lost his spouse. Losing anyone is tough, but a lifetime partner can be the hardest of them all. Bob seeks answers on how to cope with such a hardship. Tune in to hear as Nancy discusses how to heal this pain. Our second listener Sally wrote in questioning what to do regarding an unbearable work situation. There's untrue gossip going around that is negatively affecting her life. Sally has been breaking out, unable to sleep, and more. Tune in to hear as Nancy discusses what to do to defeat this obstacle. Our inspirational guest Shariann Tom is a five-time cancer survivor. The struggle of being hit by this challenge so many times was undoubtedly difficult. From intense treatment to feeling isolated, she endured. Tune in to hear how Shariann was able to take power and transform her life to be successful and support others.Perhaps you want to prevail over a struggle. Try to lean on a support system that aligns with the challenge you are facing. When you harness adversity, you can feel free and powerful. Then, you'll be living full out. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/living-full-out-show--1474350/support.
Iowa's rivers run brown, its cancer rates climb, and its politics tilt redder. Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Art Cullen joins to discuss his new book Dear Marty: We Crapped in Our Nest — Notes from the Edge of the World, Iowa, which serves as both lament and call to arms for a farm state choking on its own abundance. Cullen traces how corn and hogs became economic lifelines and environmental nooses, and explains why Democrats keep losing ground by talking culture instead of livelihood. Plus: the American Dialect Society's newly crowned Word of the Year, "6–7," and how linguistic weirdness keeps getting more political. The Spiel: Seattle's mayoral race, where Bruce Harrell's incumbency fatigue meets Katie Wilson's thrift-store populism and the post-Trump urge to loathe whoever's in charge. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Journalist Beth Macy, author of Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, returns to her Ohio roots to chart what's been lost in the hollowing-out of middle America. Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America follows Macy's hometown of Urbana through addiction, poverty, and political drift, and her effort to reconnect with a onetime boyfriend turned conspiracy devotee. She also tells the story of Silas, a trans drum major fighting impossible odds in a collapsing public school system. Plus: New Jersey's governor's race, Mikie Sherrill vs. Jack Ciattarelli, where the air war is fought over college cheating scandals, helicopter piloting, and saying "um" too many times in one answer. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Former Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre joins to promote her memoir Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House Outside the Party Lines—and faces pointed questions about contradictions between her praise for Biden, her criticism of Democrats, and her claim of newfound political independence. Asked what makes her truly "independent," she pivots to abstractions about democracy and compassion, refusing to name concrete policy differences or lessons from 2024. Plus: scarcity and abundance—how prosperity breeds complacency, and why measles could again become endemic in America while poorer nations still fight to get vaccines at all. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comMike Pesca, host of the longtime daily news podcast “The Gist,” joins Nancy and Sarah to talk about sports betting scandal that threatens to destroy an entire industry. Marked cards, special contact lenses, the mafia: This is deep Scorsese territory. Sarah is so checked out on sports she didn't know Pete Rose was dead, but she has questions about how betting went from taboo to industry goldmine. Pesca is Smoke's resident “voice of men,” whether he likes it or not, so we also talk about his take on the Great Feminization (last week's pod controversy) and women taking testoserone to boost their sex drive.Don't miss the backstage drama on Pesca's podcast interview with former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. He's done thousands of celebrity interviews, and only spiked a few. This was one of them.Also discussed:* A burning UTI of a question!* Over-under and point spread, discussed* Eight Men Out, a good movie* When the mafia ruled porn …* Three cheers for the red, white and corrupt* Theo Von, Louis CK, Chris Rock, greatest sex addicts anonymous group ever?* Longing for a “she-pee” that plays “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor* Norm MacDonald, poster child for gambling addiction* But what is addiction?* Mike suggests Karine Jean-Pierre should have called her book Incoherent* Sarah's parents were Cuomo-sexuals* Nancy tries to explain “boofing”* A tone-deaf article about harm reduction* Women, sex drive, and Nancy's testosterone levels * Andrew Cuomo: “I'm not perverted. I'm Italian.”* “Get me off the Lady Testosterone ride!”* Ozempic kills the urge to gamble* Pesca's wife has complaints* Sarah's Ethnic Stereotypes Corner! Plus, Sarah reconsiders One Battle After Another, Nancy's erotic gym-class epiphany, Mike explains how to read marked cards, and much more!REMINDER: First Sunday this Sunday! Come one, come all, link sent out day-out. 8pm ET/5pm PT.Nancy's birthday is October 30, and a girl likes presents. You know what to do …
Steve Hayes and Damon Linker debate whether Trump's demolition of the White House East Wing is another norm-busting outrage or just a gaudy renovation. They argue over visuals versus substance in anti-Trump outrage, Trump's manipulation of public opinion, and whether Congress's abdication of power is the true engine of American authoritarian drift. Then: could "Trump 2028" be both a joke and a trial balloon? And in Goat Grinders: the "harm-reduction community," the literal misuse of a certain word, and liberal tolerance of urban squalor. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Michelle Eisen, barista-turned-organizer from Buffalo's first unionized Starbucks, breaks down how Workers United grew from one store to hundreds—and why the real fight now is over pay, scheduling, and the right to keep your piercings. She pushes back on what she calls "the most aggressive union-busting in modern labor history." Plus, examples of great journalism from The Daily on the Hole in The White House and The Atlantic on The Death Train. Also: a Spiel on tariffs, psyops, and Meet the Press mind games. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Two conversations with documentarian Jeremy Workman: first on The World Before Your Feet (a quest to walk every NYC block), then on Secret Mall Apartment (artists who built a hidden flat inside Providence Place Mall). Curiosity, urban change, and the quiet stunts that reveal a city. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Kentucky-raised, New York-forged, and newly “A Jewish Star,” Ariel Elias breaks down how outsider status becomes comic superpower. We talk growing up Jewish in the Bluegrass, explaining Kentucky to New Yorkers, the “Earl” name bit, airline misery (farewell, Southwest), and writing cleaner for synagogue gigs without losing edge. She unpacks her viral beer-can moment and how it led to Kimmel, why “hack” is about angle not topic, the art of the long-simmer callback, and learning to say no (and yes) at the right times. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Historian and grandson of third secretary-general of the United Nations U Thant, Thant Myint-U, discusses Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World—how the UN once brokered real ceasefires (Cuban Missile Crisis, India-Pakistan 1965), why its stature faded, what decolonization changed, and Myanmar's present. A reminder that boring, grown-up diplomacy can beat laser eyes every time. Plus: the case against franchise-ified superhero "universes." Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Carnegie Endowment's Alicia Wanless argues that disinformation isn't new—it's just our latest pollutant. In The Information Animal, she maps centuries of “information ecosystems,” from King Charles I's pamphlet floods to the social-media deluge, and shows why attempts to “detoxify” them often fail. We trace the analogies between DDT and digital outrage, ask whether suppression ever works, and weigh how democracies can regulate without strangling truth. Also: China's dirty edge in the rare-earths race. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Frontline's Michael Kirk discusses The Rise of RFK Jr., charting Kennedy's path from sex and drug addiction to what Kirk calls "an addiction to validation." He describes a man driven by grievance, and details how the alliance between Kennedy and Trump built the so-called "MAHA movement," and why it may collapse under its own contradictions. Plus: a breakdown of how Supreme Court shifts and redistricting could strip representation from Black voters in states like North Carolina and Louisiana. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Michael Townsend and director Jeremy Workman tell the wild true story of an eight-artist collective that built a hidden home inside Providence Place Mall—part prank, part art project, and a pointed reply to gentrification. They revisit grainy 2003–07 footage, a tape-art 9/11 memorial, and the logistics (and ethics) of living behind a cinderblock wall in America's retail cathedral. Plus: a look at Christine Lagarde's plan to collateralize frozen Russian assets for a Ukraine loan—and why that's diplomacy by euphemism. Also: "No Kings" rallies, protest as pressure valve, and the politics of bounce houses versus Red Scare rhetoric. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Mike revisits his 2019 conversation with Senator Chris Murphy on the AUMF — the two-decade-old law still used to justify U.S. military strikes from Yemen to the Caribbean. Plus, a new strike on a Venezuelan vessel raises questions about presidential authority and transparency. We trace how “temporary” wartime powers became permanent policy, and what it would take for Congress to reclaim its constitutional role. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Lisa Graves joins to discuss Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights—from court "capture" networks to why she sees the recent immunity ruling and emergency-docket moves as system-tilting, not umpiring. She and our host spar over what counts as a "constitutional crisis," contrasting TRO reversals and precedent-scrapping with the break-glass scenario of outright defiance. Also: the Young Republicans' Hitler-meme leak and J.D. Vance's defenses...in song! Plus: New York's mayoral debate—Zohran Mamdani vs. Andrew Cuomo, on prostitution, Jews, and parades. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Hamas hostages, Trump and autocracy, and the strangely quiet shutdown — we tackle all three. Why Trump's blunt style played in the Middle East, whether “competitive authoritarianism” really fits his second-term instincts and enablers, and who's taking the fall for Obamacare-premium brinkmanship. Plus: goat-grinders (pointless rebrands at Max and Apple TV, Crowder's vest-and-glass cosplay, and the humbling age math of Roy Orbison, the Skipper, and the Golden Girls). Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Mahler walks us through The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City, 1986–1990—how a late-'80s crucible of crime, crack, and tabloids minted characters like Spike Lee ("the coolest guy in America"), Al Sharpton, Donald Trump, Ed Koch, and Rudy Giuliani. We revisit Howard Beach, Yusuf Hawkins, Do the Right Thing, and the media ecosystem that turned norm-breaking into power, alongside the policy tradeoffs (SROs, development, homelessness) that still echo today. It's a brisk tour of the years when New York became the prototype for how America lives now. Plus: how to read diplomatic reporting—and why Hamas yielded when its only real leverage was other people's bodies. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Doctorow lays out his "enshittification" playbook—how tech platforms lure users, trap businesses, then extract value from both—tying it to interoperability, right-to-repair, and DMCA lock-ins, with Facebook as Exhibit A. He explains why incremental state laws can break Big Tech's coalitions better than sweeping federal reforms. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro warns, "If the gringos threaten, we work harder; if they attack, we respond," after Trump-ordered strikes sink another Caribbean vessel, this time with proof the public can't see. Also: the Spiel contends that hostages were freed not by moral suasion but by sustained force—and that human-rights maximalism, however sincere, often misunderstands how wars actually end. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Mike previews the new Supreme Court term: Colorado's conversion-therapy ban, transgender athlete cases out of Idaho and West Virginia, a Louisiana Voting Rights Act fight, and a Rastafarian grooming claim, then dials in the panic meter on the “shadow docket”: what it is, why Trump's emergency-order wins look so lopsided, and where concern beats catastrophizing. From the vault, law professor Stephen Vladeck explains how the Court's stealth rulings amass power, and why explanations matter. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Season 3 of Funny You Should Mention begins with the “Filth Queen” herself Steph Tolev to explore why gross can be smart, how crowd work goes viral, Bill Burr's boost to her career, and the Canadian comedy grind. Big laughs, sharp ideas, adult themes. We also get into slapstick dummies, family lore, and why Boston brings the best chaos. Come for the filthy stories, stay for the surprisingly thoughtful theories on why certain jokes land, and what that says about us. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Today on the Gist, a tough conversation with Plestia Alaqad about what she saw in Gaza and how she frames it for a global audience. They dig into sympathy versus credence, terminology like IDF versus IOF, the Al-Ahli Hospital claim, and whether journalism requires shared vocabulary. Plus, a spiel on U Thant, transliteration, and the “clean” versus “stable” wings of politics. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Today on The Gist. Jake Tapper breaks down the first U.S. criminal trial of a foreign combatant: why prosecutors chose court over Gitmo, and the painstaking sleuthing that turned a shaky confession into a conviction. We talk DOJ institutional memory, the politics orbiting the Comey case, and why trials rather than commissions lock terrorists away. Plus, James Comey's indictment and the strange team behind it. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
The former CDC director lays out his “See, Believe, Create” playbook from The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives—Including Your Own. He separates settled facts (hypertension control, PM2.5, tobacco) from guesswork, owns early COVID failures, and argues vaccine mandates and long school closures were mismatched to risk. Practical levers follow, rebuild primary care, mind your potassium-to-sodium ratio, and scale what actually works. Also: a withering look at Pam Bondi's Judiciary Committee testimony on the still-sealed Trump–Epstein files and that Qatar jet ethics tangle. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Steven Pinker joins to discuss his new book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life, exploring how shared awareness coordinates everything from markets to manners. He traces spirals of silence, costly signals, and why a single public moment can flip private hunches into history. Also: the sentencing in the intended assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh — what the court record shows about Nicholas (Sophie) Roske's change of mind, and why eight years can be both just and long. And in the Spiel: the Supreme Court's new term, and an un-panicked look at Trump's shadow-docket “wins,” what the justices actually stayed, and why. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Diane Foley, founder of the Foley Foundation and mother of slain journalist James Foley, joins Mike to discuss America's fragmented hostage-recovery system, wrongful detentions, and why the U.S. response lags far behind countries like Israel. In the Spiel, Mike looks at the 20-point Gaza plan, Israeli hostages, and the very different ways nations value their own citizens. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
South Asia expert Jonah Blank explains how a Gen-Z–driven uprising—fueled by social media, flaunted elite wealth, and ubiquitous VPNs—toppled Nepal's government. He sketches a country where remittances power daily life, institutions lack public trust, and political parties play musical chairs. Also: Trump fires another U.S. attorney and pressures Microsoft to oust a former DOJ official. And in the Spiel: Hamas's willingness to release hostages, and how Israel's democratic self-image shapes the next move. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Free speech under heat: the ACLU's Ben Wizner and the Manhattan Institute's Ilya Shapiro square off (and sometimes align) on the “ethos” of the First Amendment—from the Ball State firing over Charlie Kirk comments to cancel culture, government jawboning, and campus heckler's vetoes. We dig into the Supreme Court's shadow docket and unitary-executive fights, birthright citizenship, visas vs speech rights, and why institutions keep ducking protests. Plus: goat-grinders (the NBA's three-point bloat, Lyme disease, and one painfully predictable sitcom). Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Yaakov Katz co-author with Amir Bohbot, of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, traces the failures that led to October 7 and how Israel's security establishment misread Hamas's strength and intent. He explains how world opinion, hostage leverage, and casualty ratios constrain Israel differently in Gaza than against Hezbollah, and how Netanyahu's post-ceasefire decisions prolonged the war. Katz argues Israel allowed hardliners to define the mission and assesses the current 20 point plan. Plus: the shutdown as a real-world experiment in Trump's expanded executive power. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
We talk with KJ Steinberg, showrunner of Hulu's The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, about concentrating on Knox's perspective while still showing how others perceived her, and the legal tightropes that shaped the series. She details the refracted structure (episodes from the prosecutor's to the co-defendant's POVs) and why the story follows Knox through re-entry. As she puts it, “the echoes of trauma are loud and long.” Also: Israel's hostage ethos, why twenty remaining names can command a nation's focus, contrasted with how Americans register their own wrongfully detained citizens. Plus: SecDef Pete Hegseth's “Semper Shorntis” beard decree. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Knox recounts confronting prosecutor Giuliano Mignini and explores how certainty, incentive structures, and “alternate realities” turned her story into a sprawling international conspiracy. She parses the feedback loop between media and Italian justice, and why today's true-crime-savvy public might have questioned the case sooner. Also: the 21 point Gaza peace plan that hasn't been faxed to Hamas, and a Spiel on why the Comey indictment reads as impermissible lawfare, not a good-faith prosecution. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Listen to the full debate on Open to Debate's podcast channel or watch it on YouTube: https://bit.ly/MikePesca Men are falling behind in our society, and some point to traditional ideas of masculinity as the cause. What does it mean to “be a man” today, and how do labels like toxic masculinity impact that question? For some men, masculinity is a continually evolving identity that goes beyond narrow definitions placed upon it. For others, it's a rigid set of expectations that results in emotional isolation and other negative outcomes. Now we debate: Is Masculinity A Prison? Arguing Yes: Lux Alptraum, Writer, Journalist, and Sex Educator Arguing No: Mike Pesca, Host of "The Gist" Podcast Nayeema Raza, Journalist and Host of "Smart Girl Dumb Questions," is the guest moderator. Produced by Open to Debate, a podcast series that brings together influential thinkers to debate today's most pressing topics, using facts, reason, and civility. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
We talk with North Carolina State political scientist Andrew J. Taylor about his new book, A Tolerance for Inequality: American Public Opinion and Economic Policy, probing why voters often prefer public goods and tax cuts over classic redistribution—and how policy frequently tracks aggregate opinion more than pundits admit. Taylor also explores why blue-collar districts don't reliably elect blue-collar representatives and what that says about representation. Plus: the Spiel on the James Comey indictment—why prosecutors previously declined the case, how the McCabe leak finding undercuts the charge, and why this looks like executive retribution rather than justice. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Yale Law's Justin Driver argues that SFFA v. Harvard/UNC broke with precedent and embraced a faux “colorblindness,” spotlighting the Court's creative reading of Grutter's 2028 “sunset.” He lays out the early fallout—sharp drops in Black enrollment at elite schools, Asian American gains, and the perverse incentive for applicants to “essay their trauma.” We debate mismatch theory, legacy and athletics preferences, and how universities can lawfully pursue diversity without outright defiance. Also: Argentina's bailout, the Tylenol culture war, and new federal threats to district DEI funding. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Laura Spinney joins to discuss her new book Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global, tracing the unlikely rise of Indo-European and why most of the world now speaks it. Also, a look at the Dallas ICE field office shooting in the broader context of political violence and how we categorize it. And in the Spiel: Jimmy Kimmel's comeback monologue, Donald Trump's cancellation calculations, and Sarah McLachlan's rhymes—or lack thereof. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
President Trump mangles acetaminophen and issues a sweeping “don't take Tylenol” decree. Are some people truly more attractive to mosquitoes than others? Sadie Dingfelder joins to walk through decades of mosquito studies, from Gambian huts filled with human volunteers to modern lab assays with paraffin membranes, and explains why carbon dioxide, sweat, and even bananas can make one person a mosquito buffet while another goes unbitten. She answers the question “Is It Bullshit?” Also: a spiel on Tom Homan, a $50,000 bribe, and a bright yellow Cava bag that says as much about government indifference as it does about corruption. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
The writer-composer behind the viral Slam Frank (an Anne Frank musical staged as if by the most social-justice-forward regional theater) explains why he pushes rules to their reductio ad absurdum and why “art should lift up the people who are beneath me.” Fox walks through a contentious table read, a Change.org backlash, and the joy/rage of crafting Hamilton-esque bangers like “The Day My Daddy Puts Us Into Hiding.” He argues the show's point is to expose how prescribed language and forced diversity can dehumanize artists and audiences alike. Also: a Gist etymology on “jawboning,” from Samson's weapon to Galbraith's 1960s coinage and today's First Amendment fights. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
It's the Saturday show. One from the week, one from the vault. First, a look at JD Vance on the mic with Charlie Kirk and the culture wars of today. Then, we rewind a decade to my interview with Brian Burrow, author of Days of Rage, on the radical underground and the turbulence of the 1970s. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Dartmouth's Brendan Nyhan explains why headline-grabbing polls inflate support for "partisan violence" and how careful survey design finds under 10% backing for felony-level force, far less than in many democracies. He traces how elite cues shape perceived threats and warns against pretextual crackdowns. Also: a look at Jimmy Kimmel's removal and a wave of misreads of motives that were actually incidental to the Trump administration's crackdown on those it defines as the left. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack
Michael A. Cohen and Jamie Kirchick discuss the Charlie Kirk assassination and the immediate retreat to priors — who's weaponizing grief, what counts as incitement, and whether “fascistic” vs. “authoritarian” language clarifies or inflames. Plus, the TikTok law end-run and why process crimes don't move voters the way visible force does. In Goat Grinders: antisemitic conspiracies about Kirk's murder; presidential pressure to prosecute Letitia James; and one deeply baffling Visa/Christian McCaffrey toaster ad that raises more questions than it protects appliances. Produced by Corey Wara Production Coordinator Ashley Khan Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow The Gist List at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack