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116 episodes with thegist
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Austin Berg (Chicago Policy Center) and Andrew Egger (The Bulwark) join Mike to dissect Trump's marathon State of the Union: was it a missed opportunity to reach the median voter, or a "clip farming" masterclass? They also unpack the awkwardly timed Supreme Court tariff ruling that derailed his economic pitch, and the high-stakes standoff between the Pentagon and AI giant Anthropic over autonomous weapons. Finally, Goat Grinders tackles the agony of vinyl record tariffs, the performative scourge of handheld lavalier mics, and how Twitter ruins the Winter Olympics. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Today on The Gist, President Trump's marathon two-hour State of the Union address with a quick quiz: Can you spot the actual presidential claim among the fakes? Then, C. Thi Nguyen joins the show to unpack the powerful psychology behind our convictions. They discuss why our limiting beliefs are exactly like our own faces (we can't see them without a mirror), how chronic neuroplastic pain can be cured by simply teaching your brain you're safe, and why the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger every single year. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
DEI is facing unprecedented legal and cultural pushback. Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow, founders of NYU Law's Meltzer Center, argue it's time for a strategic shift: swap the 'E' in DEI for Equality. They join Mike to discuss their new book, How Equality Wins, explaining why mandatory diversity statements often lead to "preference falsification," the importance of supporting dissent, and why the movement must expand its tent to include the working class by simply going "where the pain is." Plus, we're awaiting Chief Justice's Facial expressions during the State of the Union. And in the spiel, why your daily anxiety has become the ultimate consumer product. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow of NYU Law discuss their book How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America and argue that the path forward for DEI is a shift from "lifting" to "leveling." The conversation presses whether this is a genuine doctrinal shift or simply a strategic recalibration in a post-affirmative-action era. Plus, IEEPA ! MOHELA ! and in the Spiel, a Court once declared illegitimate strikes down Trump's tariff emergency, and its most distraught critics have a chance to recalibrate or double down on the illegitimacy argument. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
On today's Saturday show, we are bringing you Mike's recent guest appearance on Ethan Strauss's podcast, House of Strauss. Mike and Ethan discuss the peculiar, glowing media coverage of Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who won gold for China. Why did she receive almost zero criticism from mainstream U.S. outlets despite accepting millions from an oppressive regime? Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
NOTUS political reporter Alex Roarty joins Mike to survey the 2026 midterm landscape. They discuss the evolving definition of a "quality candidate" for Democrats, breaking down the generational and ideological clashes in the Maine and Texas Senate primaries, plus the MAGA-fueled challenge to Kentucky's Thomas Massie. Plus, the attention economy isn't just a currency; it's the new gatekeeper. Plus: the Heritage foundation hires a new fellow who's a real jack of all trades. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Mike tracks the interstate absurdities created by the EPA's repeal of emissions standards. Buy a car in Iowa, and by the time you hit Illinois, you're dodging an environmental, legal, and ideological patchwork quilt. Then, it's the grand opening of a brand new Cultural/ Podcast institution! Author and critic Kat Rosenfield joins Mike to cut the ribbon on the "Museum of Bad Ideas." Today's inaugural exhibit: Harvard University's proposal to introduce the "A+" grade. With 60% of Harvard students already getting A's, is the solution really to just add an 11 to the grading dial? Mike and Kat break down the customer-service model of higher education, the loss of youth resilience, and why the Ivy League's meritocracy is starting to look a lot like Spinal Tap's volume knob. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Trump sought $163 billion in cuts, including slashing the EPA by 54 percent, HUD by 44 percent, and the CDC by 41 percent, but even his most loyal House allies let the effort stall under the cover of the budget process. A separate bipartisan attempt to shore up Obamacare subsidies for 24 million Americans also fizzled, with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick warning that letting them lapse would be bad policy and worse politics. The throughline is inertia: Congress will not enact maximalist right-wing cuts, but it will not pass incremental fixes either. Plus, a handoff to the debut of How To!: "How to Be a DJ, Not a Playlist," featuring the DJ with hooks for hands, Tom Nash, on craft, resilience, and commanding a room. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Charles Duhigg joins to explain his MADD versus D.A.R.E. taxonomy, why organizing beats mobilizing, and how MAGA built a durable local infrastructure while Democrats piled on litmus tests and national protests. Plus, a Spiel on Eileen Gu as China's psyops on skis, and how to murder a dissident, how to eulogize a politician, and how to learn about Mike's latest podcast venture, How To! Mikes Free Press Piece Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
On this Saturday edition of The Gist, we present "One From The Future." Mike joins Ruy Teixeira on the Liberal Patriot podcast to discuss a brewing theory regarding the mechanics of political change. They debate the utility of the "Scalpel" (technocratic, targeted cuts) versus the "Chainsaw" (the Elon Musk/DOGE approach of massive disruption). Plus, a look at why Democrats are better at mobilizing than organizing, the trap of "The Omnicause," and the re-branding of objectivity in modern journalism. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Today on The Gist, Mike breaks down Judge Richard Leon's ruling that Pete Hegseth's attempt to strip Senator Mark Kelly of his rank was absolute "horse feathers." Then, Ben Terris of New York Magazine joins to discuss his feature on the health of the President in 2026. They discuss the "talking points" held by Walter Reed doctors, the vanity behind the hand bruises, and the difficulty of assessing Trump's mental acuity when his inner circle has committed to the bit. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Joe Nocera of The Free Press and Jonah Goldberg of The Dispatch parse the Epstein files fallout on both sides of the Atlantic, from Keir Starmer's London personnel shakeup to America's seemingly bottomless tolerance for shamelessness. Then they pivot to Mark Leibovich's Atlantic provocation, "The Democrats Aren't Built for This," with Nocera arguing the party's job is simple, win elections, and Goldberg blaming weak parties and primary incentives that elevate activist frippery over median-voter politics. The back half turns into a partial necropsy of The Washington Post, with "Wordle" as an explanation to why the Times scaled and the Post stalled. Plus, Goat Grinders: AI narrated pro-Trump government ads, mandatory adoration in TV recaps, and the great tennis ball fuzz conspiracy. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Sadie Dingfelder returns to rule on compostable dog poop bags and recycled toilet paper in a no-holds-barred round of "Is That Bulls**t?" No, it's dog sh*t. Yes, we know. In the Spiel, Pam Bondi's bruising House Judiciary testimony, in which she spars with Jamie Raskin over the Epstein files and treats oversight like open-mic night. Plus, the Trump Justice Department keeps striking out before grand juries, so expect a crime spree undertaken by newly emboldened ham sandwiches. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Political theorist Yascha Mounk returns to assess whether the United States is sliding toward autocracy or demonstrating institutional resilience under pressure. He argues that while the Trump administration's actions have been more extreme than expected, courts, elections, and a decentralized system have so far acted as real constraints rather than hollow rituals, a case he first laid out in The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It. Mounk also warns against exaggeration that fuels anticipatory obedience, even as he concedes the next three years remain an open test of democratic durability. Plus, Britain's Epstein reckoning, where Keir Starmer loses top aides over ties to Jeffrey Epstein, while close associations in Epstein's own country (the USA) don't matter. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Middle East analyst Aaron Magid joins the show to discuss King Abdullah II and the argument at the heart of his book The Most American King. Magid explains how his political instincts track American priorities more closely than those of many regional leaders. Also, a look at a muddled argument from Rep. Tony Gonzalez about ICE masks, and a WEAVE SPIEL that runs from Lindsey Vonn's helicopter ride to Truth Social conspiracies, Bad Bunny math, and habit of outsourcing criticism to a handful of angry internet posts. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Mike is joined by Chris Cillizza to break down Donald Trump's rambling proposal to nationalize elections, debating whether it's a master plan or just the former president "saying s**t." They discuss why the scheme is constitutionally impossible but politically potent, how the "counter-mobilization" of voters might backfire on the GOP, and dissect the brutal layoffs at the Washington Post—questioning if Jeff Bezos is a villain or just a billionaire tired of losing $100 million a year. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Comedian Geoffrey Asmus explains how Catholic school, priests chasing laughs, and a Randy Moss analogy shaped his sense of what technically counts as a joke. We talk about layered comedy that lets different audiences hear different things and how losing fans can be a sign the bit is working. Plus: Lutherans, LinkedIn shame, Wikipedia ambition, country capitals, and why spacing is the real superpower. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Jonathan Cohen, author of Losing Big: America's Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling, makes the case that the only credible reform agenda is friction, slowing bets, delaying deposits, and cutting off the design features that turn even Czech table tennis into a high stakes trap. Also on the show, Conor Patrick Heffernan traces how ideas of strength evolved, from Charles Atlas chests to bodybuilding's takeover of Hollywood, and why the human body mostly just responds to resistance, not trends. Plus a lament for the Washington Post's decline, how the Times out-competed it by poaching talent, and the brutal economics of serious nonfiction journalism in 2026. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Today on the Gist, contextualizing Donald Trump's "wrong and crazy" proposal to nationalize elections, arguing that while the rhetoric is alarming, the Constitution makes it impossible to execute. Then Conor Heffernan, author of When Fitness Went Global, joins the show to discuss the history of "physical culture," explaining why he lifts heavy stones in graveyards and how the first fitness influencer, Eugen Sandow, shifted the world from functional strength to pure aesthetics—while selling a few bogus dumbbells along the way. And in the Spiel, Mike analyzes the recent FBI raid in Georgia, arguing that Trump's attempt to weaponize the DOJ to prove a stolen election will likely backfire by highlighting his biggest political liability. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
The Spiel looks at the latest Epstein document dump and why each release manages to embarrass powerful people while resolving almost nothing. With millions of files still unreleased, disclosure itself becomes a spectacle that displaces accountability. Then, David Greene joins to talk about an act that may be either civic heroism or mild insanity: helping turn Lancaster's 230-year-old newspaper into a nonprofit newsroom built for a digital future. Plus, the arrest of Jill Biden's former husband and a mini history lesson on the semi-legendary the Delaware bar he once owned. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
David Greene joins us to talk about his new podcast, David Greene Is Obsessed, where opera singers map public restrooms, pizza-tour guys chase the perfect slice, and even David Arquette turns Bozo the Clown into an intellectual-property saga. We get into why an obsession can unlock a different kind of interview, plus Greene's own confessions, from the Hay-Adams bathroom workaround to sports fandom. Plus: the Mississippi miracle, and what China's van-based math prodigies say about how serious nations approach the future. And in the Spiel, life expectancy hits 79 in 2024, why that stat misleads even when it's true, and why good news gets swamped by the bad stuff. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Today on the Saturday show, Mike shares a conversation he had with Charlie Sykes, former host of The Bulwark and current host of the new podcast To the Contrary. They discuss how ordinary citizens with cell phones in Minneapolis became Donald Trump's kryptonite, exposing the chaos of his immigration enforcement strategy and forcing a rare retreat from the administration. Charlie and Mike break down why the "chaos as a ladder" theory backfired, why ICE's brutality is finally breaking through to the "normies," and whether Republicans in Congress will ever rediscover their spines and reclaim their Article I powers. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Paul D. Miller joins the show to argue that international law is a set of norms, not a moral court. A former CIA analyst and Army intelligence officer now at Georgetown, Miller explains why post-conflict reconciliation only works when locals accept it, why Israel faces a unique double standard, and how democracies navigate war without becoming what they're accused of being. We discuss Rwanda, denazification, Kosovo, Gaza, civilian casualty ratios, and why just war theory still matters after the shooting stops. Plus, the arrest of Don Lemon—why it's less a First Amendment crisis than another example of selective punishment, pretextual enforcement, and politics disguised as law. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Mike contemplates the hierarchy of American attention, contrasting the 50 million eyes on the AFC Championship game with the obscurity of the men leading the "Metro Surge" in Minnesota. Then, Ruy Teixeira (The Liberal Patriot) and Jesse Adams (The Ivy Exile) join for Not Even Mad. The panel debates whether the chaos in Minnesota is a strategic "theater" of enforcement or a policy failure that's alienating the very public that requested it. They also dissect Trump's Davos "Greenland" rhetoric—is it a serious expansionist play for America's 250th anniversary, or just a loud way to bully NATO into paying up? Plus, a blizzard of "Goat Grinders" covering the Dodgers' billions, the "black Jewish" reboot of Blue Bloods, and the pharmaceutical ads keeping broadcast TV alive. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
ICE's aggressive actions in Minnesota were meant to project force and restore order, but instead produced chaos, public distrust, and a political backlash. The administration's theory was that confrontation would favor enforcement, making protesters look extreme and Democrats indulgent, yet shootings, muddled explanations, and obvious narrative gaps flipped that contrast. plus Thomas Goetz joins the show to talk about Drug Story, his podcast that tells American history one medication at a time, from Lipitor to Ozempic. We look at disease awareness ads, the profit motive behind them, and the case that pharma marketing has occasionally succeeded where public health messaging has fallen short. In the Spiel, I count how many mouse clicks and file openings it now takes just to approximate what used to be straightforward acts of cognition. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Thomas Goetz joins the show to discuss his new podcast Drug Story, starting with the chain from FDR's death to cholesterol science, statins, and the cold math behind drug effectiveness. The conversation moves through Lipitor and EpiPens to show how evolving medical knowledge, good intentions, and pharmaceutical incentives can quietly reshape public health at massive scale. Plus, Trump is perhaps rethinking his Minnesota deployments, as the fire trucks exit. In the spiel a look at why the word "pretext" keeps surfacing in descriptions of Trump administration ICE actions, especially in Minnesota. What the term actually means, why it is often misapplied, and what its ubiquity reveals about how this administration justifies force before retreating. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams joins to talk about his new book Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation. He walks through the courtroom oddities, like a "ballistics demonstration" staged with Guardian Angels as stand-ins, and explains why there was always a legally defensible path to either convicting or acquitting Goetz. The conversation places New York itself as another character in the story of safety and perception, showing how fear influenced juror belief. Plus the idea of moral injury and how official narratives around the recent Minneapolis ICE shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti reflect ethical damage being felt in real bodies and in public outrage. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
First, Mike argues that Stephen Miller's promise of "federal immunity" to ICE agents is just as reckless as Donald Trump telling Iranian protesters the U.S. is "locked and loaded"—two instances of leaders writing checks their followers' safety can't cash. Then, from the vault (2022): Michelle Tafoya explains why she traded Monday Night Football for political podcasting. She discusses her "conservative libertarian" worldview, admits she might lack the "stomach" for a Senate run, and recounts the "hideous" experience of being "ambushed" on the Dan Le Batard show. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Today on The Gist, Mike explains why he won't be watching Netflix's Skyscraper Live, arguing that Alex Honnold's latest stunt is an "attractive nuisance" that plays on our darkest voyeuristic instincts rather than the Olympic ideal. Then, New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel joins the show to discuss his book Devil's Advocates. He breaks down the "sh*tbag business" of foreign lobbying, covering Paul Manafort's pioneering work with dictators, Rudy Giuliani's "security consulting" hustle, and the very real legal exposure facing Hunter Biden. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Critic and essayist Jason Guriel joins to talk about Fan Mail and how cultural criticism curdled once gatekeepers vanished and celebration replaced judgment. He makes the case that abundance without curation doesn't democratize culture so much as drown it, leaving readers unsure what's worth their time—or why craft should matter at all. Plus, an analysis of Jack Smith's combative testimony before Congress and how "perjury traps" function when politics, not truth, is the goal. Also, dueling descriptions of Donald Trump at Davos—Pericles to admirers, shambolic horror show to skeptics—and what the split says about our fractured attention economy. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Chuck Klosterman returns with his one-word book, Football, using the Raiders' brand mystique—and the Pac-12 reduced to two lonely teams—as proof that the sport's identity outlives its on-field logic. He argues the short-term cash grab (conference realignment, NIL, gambling) is eroding the traditions that made college football feel timeless, even while the Saturdays are still great. Along the way: concussions as a rehearsal for America's broader "we can change it" institutional cycle, body cams as the reform that boomeranged, and the bleakly funny idea that our real hobby is forensic videography. Plus, a Davos "weave" tour where Trump sells "Green New Scam" riffs to bewildered Swiss elites, then Todd Blanche signals DOJ won't even bother with the usual investigative fig leaf after the Minnesota ICE killing. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Author Chuck Klosterman joins the show to discuss his new book, Football, and how football's strange mechanics, from hidden labor to stop-start pacing,and its resistance to casual play, have helped turn it into the last true monoculture. He also makes the case that future critics will misread football as decadence, missing what it actually revealed about the era that embraced it. Also, the double pardon of the same woman convicted twice for fraud, including a scheme selling counterfeit 5-Hour Energy drinks. Plus a Spiel on how Donald Trump and Stephen Miller make reckless promises of protection that can get supporters hurt or killed. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Mike joins Jeremy Hobson on The Follow Up to discuss the "awful but lawful" nuances of the Minneapolis ICE shooting, the potential blowback of the Trump administration branding it a "riot," and why threats against Iran often ignore dangerous second-order effects. Plus, a Spiel from the week analyzing the flood of anonymous quotes in Dexter Filkins' New Yorker profile of Marco Rubio, and why unnamed sources might reveal more about the reader's bias than the subject's character. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Comedian Liza Treyger explains why she prefers the 1:30 a.m. Comedy Cellar crowd—the drunk, the horny, the post-Broadway undead—and why bombing early is harder than thriving late. Her Netflix special Night Owl doubles as a thesis on power, hypocrisy, and why men who "hate Taylor Swift" seem uniquely unable to stop talking about her. Treyger argues that worst moments often are the résumé, that comedy works better when it sounds unwritten, and that moral panic is usually just bad joke construction in disguise. Plus: owls, tattoos, true crime, and just a little but about Luigi. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Charles Duhigg returns to explain why great talkers are usually great listeners, and how "looping for understanding" can lower the temperature in almost any disagreement. Plus, a Spiel about going on the record about going off-the-record and we play everybody's favorite Game "Who is Donald Trump Threatening Here" Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Today on The Gist, a look at Donald Trump's plan to cap credit card interest rates at 10%—a populist move that might actually rob the poor to pay for the rich man's travel perks. Then, former CIA analyst and The Rest Is Classified co-host David McCloskey discusses his new novel, The Persian. He explains how real-world Mossad operations inside Iran are so "insane" they don't even need to be exaggerated for fiction, from remote-controlled machine guns to the devastating pager attack that crippled Hezbollah's command and control. He also breaks down the "unlikely but plausible" tradecraft used in the Israel-Iran shadow war and why the U.S. organizational and legal structure wouldn't—or couldn't—pull off the same stunts. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Reese Gorman of Notus (and the On Notus podcast) explains the outlet's "teaching hospital" model for young journalists—and reports that Republicans are privately furious about being cut out of Venezuela, tariffs, and appropriations, even as almost none of them do anything to reclaim Congress's prerogatives beyond symbolic discharge petitions. Then, Dexter Filkins' new profile is our guide to Marco Rubio's ideological malleability as career strategy: swallow the zig, repeat the zag. Plus, why the left's most radical policy ideas can spread under the cover of benevolent framing and definitional ambiguity—and why that's a branding and governing problem for Democrats even if the far right remains more dangerous overall. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Former FBI agent Séamus McElearney, author of Flipping Capo: How the FBI Dismantled the Real Sopranos, walks through the case that shattered the DeCavalcante crime family. He explains the mob's quiet tax on regular people via unions—no-show jobs, pension skims, and an asbestos local run by guys who couldn't pass the test (so they had someone take it for them). He also gets into the overlap with The Sopranos and contrasts real life with the one premise he says flatly wouldn't happen: a boss talking mob business to a shrink. Plus, the Renee Good shooting and the way "objectively reasonable" ends up riding on an officer's story; and in the Spiel, Iran's protests and "semi-official" media; and how the fake Fed investigation is Trump's own attempt at an autocrat-like crackdown. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Mike breaks down the U.S. abduction of Nicolas Maduro, arguing that Donald Trump's penchant for exaggeration shouldn't blind us to actual strategic successes. He digs into why media "truth-tracking" often fails to account for real-world military outcomes, using the Fordow strikes and the defeat of ISIS as proof that a leader's bad narration doesn't always mean a failed mission. Plus... A vault interview with Oxford's Ben Ansell on "FADFO"—the phenomenon of "fucking around and not finding out"—and how modern guardrails allow political radicals to escape the consequences of the chaos they create. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
The physician and health-policy veteran lays out six "simple" rules for a long, healthy life, arguing that most wellness advice fails by demanding perfection—and that moderation, sociability, and routines matter more than optimization. He gets data-nerdy on risk (Everest versus skydiving), alcohol as social lubricant, and why "good" ice cream can fit into a sane diet. Plus, a look at the Trump administration's politically self-sabotaging response to the Minneapolis ICE shooting—and a detour through the seized "ghost fleet" tanker Marinera (formerly Bella 1), the kind of ship that survives by constantly changing its identity. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Michael A. Cohen, author of the Truth and Consequences newsletter, and Charles Fain Lehman, Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, debate the capture of Nicolas Maduro and whether Marco Rubio is positioning himself as the "Governor General of Latin America." The panel analyzes Tim Walz's exit from the Minnesota governor's race amid a $9 billion pandemic fraud scandal and the controversial appointment of Cea Weaver to New York's housing office. Plus,the debunking of the "Heritage American" myth that only 37–39% of the population meets the pre-1860 ancestry criteria, the New York Times' creative statistics on 8.5 MPH bus speeds, and Larry David's strict January 7th statute of limitations on wishing anyone a "Happy New Year." Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
The thriller-machine (and civics savant) returns to talk The Viper, the latest Zig-and-Nola mystery, and why he'll write 350 pages before he bothers naming the thing. Plus, a harrowing Minneapolis video after an ICE agent shoots into a slowly moving SUV—and the yawning gap between what the footage seems to show and DHS talk of "rioters" and a "weaponized" vehicle. Also: the debut of what may become a recurring segment—Let's Parse What Tony Dokoupil Said—from a 17-second January 6th mention to a Marco Rubio kicker that might have been a "meh" joke or might have been the death knell of democracy, depending on your source. Produced by Corey Wara Coordinated by Lya Yanne Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Andy Mills, creator of The Last Invention podcast, explores I.J. Good's 1965 concept of an "intelligence explosion"—and explains why "AGI" is a deceptively harmless term for a world-changing event. The central problem? Modern AI acts like a black box, often producing results that shock even its designers with no clear explanation of how they got there. Plus: A rebuttal to "spheres of influence" thinking, and why carving up the world is a bad strategy. Produced by Corey Wara | Coordinated by Lya Yanne | Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
Venezuelan expert Quico Toro explains why the removal of Nicolás Maduro feels historic—and yet leaves Venezuela largely unchanged, with the regime's machinery fully intact. Toro warns that Washington's belief in Rodríguez as a workable "moderate" badly misreads her ideological lineage and incentives. Plus: a spiel on Trump's lies and bombast—why presidential exaggeration is a poor proxy for judging whether high-risk foreign operations actually succeed. And the thickness of Venezuelan oil, Trump blood, and maybe Trump himself. Produced by Corey Wara | Coordinated by Lya Yanne | Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ad-sales@libsyn.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist
In this special Christmas Day edition, Mike gives the gift of Roy Wood Jr., a comedian who embodies the "profundities in punchlines" ethos. Wood joins to discuss his CNN show Have I Got News for You, his upbringing as the son of a pioneering radio journalist, and the central thesis of his comedy: that in a fractured world, people prioritize dopamine over truth. They debate whether political comedy has devolved into mere applause lines, why comedians are the new op-ed writers, and the delicate art of crafting a joke about police reform that actually lands with everyone. Plus, Mike explains why you need a "Christmas Eve" song if you want your novelty hit to last. 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 a special Christmas Eve edition, Mike brings you a "gift" from the comedy vault: an interview with the brilliantly off-kilter Django Gold. A veteran of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Onion, Gold discusses his YouTube special Bag of Tricks and his commitment to playing a paranoid, morose character on stage—a persona he claims is "closer to who I really am" than any bubbly crowd-pleaser. They dissect the mechanics of anti-humor, the joy of "uncomfortable staring," and why Gold believes the best comedy leaves the audience "a little dimly lit." Plus, Mike muses on the specific genius of "Christmas Eve" songs versus generic holiday tracks. 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
Quico Toro joins to discuss Charlatans: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Hucksters Bamboozle the Media, the Markets, and the Masses, distinguishing the "parasitic" nature of the charlatan from the hit-and-run tactics of the scammer. He traces the lineage of the grift from the official alchemists of 16th-century Venice to the upsell tactics of Trump University, arguing that loneliness and the internet have created a "target-rich environment" for swindlers. Then, a pivot to the environment: Mike and Quico debate whether the "green halo" around solar and wind constitutes its own form of elite misinformation, and why the villainization of nuclear energy—and the partisanship of climate policy—has stalled real progress. 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
Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright explains why big powers "lose" wars they dominate on the kill ratio—and why counterinsurgencies (Vietnam, Afghanistan, maybe Iraq) reliably punish the side with less at stake. His new book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, argues that identity, surprise, and revenge are ancient brain features, while metacognition—the mind watching itself—can be the thin guardrail against strategic self-harm. Along the way: post-1945 German polling as a reminder that political "reconstruction" happens on a years-long timetable, not on an American attention span. Plus, a Trump "warrior dividend" of $1,776 per service member—tariffs funding patriotism, one numerology check at a time. 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 special Saturday edition, Mike sits down with Daniel Oppenheimer of Eminent Americans to tackle a high-stakes question: Who is worthy of the Fresh Air throne? They dissect the craft of interviewing, critique the "unprepared celebrity" podcast trend, and evaluate potential successors ranging from Colin McEnroe to Jon Ronson. 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
Mohanad Elshieky joins Funny You Should Mention with stories that make Benghazi feel less like a political Rorschach test and more like the small town where he learned comedy by roasting his siblings and dodging unlicensed militias. He walks us through the dictatorship-era silence around politics, the sudden rise of ISIS-adjacent checkpoints, and the knife-wielding "helper" who hijacked his car only to request a future hangout. We also dig into the Greyhound incident that vaulted him into national headlines, why clapter makes his skin crawl, and how Portland's well-meaning curiosity can feel like its own border crossing. 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
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