The Gist

Everything in the U.S.—and maybe the West—is Broken. It's decayed. What once worked didn't; what never did fails to launch. Alana Newhouse, Editor-in-Chief of Tablet Magazine, who invented the term "Brokenism," is here to explain why it's an apt description, but also one that offers hope. A close observer and chronicler of Israeli society, we get into what Alana is reporting and feeling about the war there. Also, Kamal Harris struggles with answers. And different factions just can't abide living in a moment of U.S. unity behind Israel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dennis Vacco, former Attorney General of the state of New York, joins the show to discuss the state's prosecution of the former President. Plus, how the war in Israel differs from territorial disputes. And the finding out about fungibility of funds for Iran. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this Indigenous Peoples Day we examine Mike's past—and even further past—stances on the "discoverer" of "America," and if we should be playing "best-of" segments today or originals. Plus, an archival interview with Steve Inskeep about his book Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike's reaction to Saturday's attack against Israel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Kevin McCarthy ousted from his dream job, we decided to look back at one of the most influential Speakers to ever serve, Newt Gingrich. First we listen back to Mike’s interview with Steve Kornacki’s latest book, The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism. Then we check out Mike’s 2020 interview with Princeton History and Public Affairs Professor Julian Zelizer about his book Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party. Have a great holiday weekend, and just know that no matter how bad your weekend may seem, it was better than Kevin McCarthy’s. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former LA Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was essentially run out of baseball after an accusation of sexual assault was lodged against him. Bauer always maintained his innocence, and this week, with the settlement of a legal suit, he posted information on social media that, while incomplete, seems at least somewhat, if not wholly, exculpatory. Mike examines the media's paralysis in covering this matter and ideological media's willingness to lead the way. Plus, Yascha Mounk is out with a new book, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. It's an excellent intellectual and practical examination of what some call identity politics and what Mounk rebrands as "identity synthesis." The Washington Post says, "Mounk has told the story of the Great Awokening better than any other writer who has attempted to make sense of it." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: h

The 1978 movie Airplane! was a disruptive force in comedy filmmaking, redefining what (and who) was funny. We discuss what went into making the iconic film—from joke density to the line that Sigourney Weaver just wouldn’t say—with two of the films writer-directors, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker. They have authored a new book, Surely, You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! Plus, the Peace Corps is rejecting applicants for mental health issues. And a tragic death leads to more disinformation about public security from a public official. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sally Jenkins, sports columnist for the Washington Post, is out with The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work And Life. We can learn from Andy Reid about time management and Peyton Manning about purposefully opening his own feet up to attack. Plus, the Belarussian SOBR unit is drunk with power. And are the eight Republican defectors really "hard right?" Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded In a Divided America, NPR"s Steve Inskeep details how the 16th President used conversation, engagement, compromise, and tact to play the political hand he was dealt, without alienating factions, even those he could not abide. Plus, California has a trail-blazing senator whose a lot of things, just not a Californian. Also on the show, a great day for Matt Gaetz's ego is a less-good day for orderly government. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recently in The Atlantic, Jill Filipovic wrote an article titled "I Was Wrong About Trigger Warnings: Has the national obsession with trauma done real damage to teen girls?" We discuss the costs of referreing to the merely "annoying" as a "trauma," and how social justice movements have become therapy spaces. Plus, Donald Trump excoriates the very judge about to fine him. Also on the show, shutting down Matt Gaetz. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, an extra from our two-part interview with Heather Cox Richardson, which aired this past week. She read every copy of the New York Times from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century. Listen to find out why. Then, to keep the history theme alive, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview with the iconic Sarah Vowell of This American Life and The Incredibles fame. They discuss Lafayette’s contribution to the independence of the United States.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Max Kerman, lead singer of Arkells, talks about how to write songs in an age of law suits, and the often weird ways a song gets placed in films and commercials. Plus, Brooklyn Deluge! And the democracy-loving Dems would have done something about Diane Feinstein. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're joined again by Heather Cox Richardson to continue discussing her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Rutherford B. Hayes gets taken down a peg. Also on the show, the second Republican debate wasn't great. Plus, pods about getting frisky with a dolphin, and a nudist colony serving as a witness protection program. Interested in checking out Mike's live appearance on The Wrong Take with Lou Perez in Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday. Click here. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian and author Heather Cox Richardson is out with a new book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Richardson is hopeful, though a thorough reading of history does not invite a particularly blithe posture. Plus, Philadelphia is hit with a spate of looting and a surprising judicial ruling. And Vivek Ramaswamy has the clever comeback at the ready. Interested in checking out Mike's live appearance on The Wrong Take with Lou Perez in Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday. Click here. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks is a progressive who loathes the toxic left and points to corruption as the unifying explanation as to why there's so much wrong with our system. But don't worry, because Justice Is Coming: How Progressives Are Going to Take Over the Country and America Is Going to Love It ... well, that's the title of his new book, anyway. Plus, the U.S. recognizes a new nation that's also the nation of Niue. Also on the show, really hard-hitting follow ups to silly questions. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A young physicist working on high-temperature superconductivity follows her mentor to an island established as a haven for the "cancelled and deplorables" shunned elsewhere. "How I won a Nobel Prize” is the name of this novel perfectly calibrated to our times, Mike interviews author Julius Taranto. Plus, Senator Menendez won't resign, but doesn't offer an explanation about the unusually large number of gold bars found at his residence. And with President Biden close to, or trailing, Donald Trump in polls, Mike asks "What's most likely to change about those numbers?" Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with automotive labor unions preparing for a huge battle, we listen back to Mike’s 2016 interview with Steven Greenhouse, author of the 2008 book The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. Then we replay Wednesday’s Spiel, in which Mike accuses Hasan Minhaj of concocting fakes in the name of comedy. Also, the rest of the world accused him, too.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rory Stewart is back to discuss his new memoir How Not To Be A Politician and his podcast The Rest Is Politics. We discuss America's oversized role in shaping culture and politics beyond its borders. Plus, how the popularity of the UAW strike doesn't mean that much in terms of who will win the strike. And it's the rarest of moments, when an Antwentig comes on the 500th episode of Season 2 of The Gist. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rory Stewart is a former member of British Parliament, Harvard instructor, soldier, diplomat, cabinet minister, and traverser of Asia via foot. The co-host of The Rest Is Politics Podcast, we discuss his latest book How Not To Be A Politician. Plus, STOP REGULATING WOMENS BODIES, if by regulating you mean considering whether some lightly compensated past porn with her husband should factor into an election bid. Also, Trump met the Press, so what's the problem? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alicia Roth Weigel, author of the memoir Inverse Cowgirl, is back to discuss her row with conservative radio host Stephen Crowder, and why it's in the interest of activists to state that 2% of the population is intersex. Plus, Hasan Minhaj concocts fakes in the name of comedy. And Merritt Garland testifies before congress, and there's not much interest in his answers. To read Mike's Substack “The Broken Shokin theory”, click here. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices