The Gist

Slip another gamma-ray-emitting capsule on the barbie, as we travel to the Australian Outback to locate a pulsing radioactive fleck of metal. Plus, Michael Imperioli remembers his time with his Sopranos co-star, James Gandolfini. And we mark the day objectivity died. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor Michael Imperioli talks about his novel The Perfume Burned His Eyes, and his roles on the Sopranos and White Lotus. Plus, what should have been a huge trial of a terrorism suspect went largely unnoticed, despite a high death toll. And Laverne And Shirley, and Nostalgia … and quality. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Oppenheimer, host of the podcast Gatecrashers about the hidden history of the relationship between Jews and the Ivy League, argues that anti-Semitic impulses basically created the Ivy league, branding them as the citadels of elitism and exclusivity that they are today. Plus, arguing for police reform and against nihilism, what are the chances for reform in the wake of the beating death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we’ve got some bonus material from Mike’s interview with Slate film critic Dana Stevens about the 2023 Oscar nominees, which were announced this past Tuesday. Then we’re replaying the Thursday Spiel about the resignation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern … a Spiel Mike is rethinking. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A woman talking to a man about Women Talking is one way to describe Mike’s conversation with Slate film critic Dana Stevens about the best films and the best reasons to care about the Oscars. Plus, Turkey Western Blocs Sweden and Finland. And it’s an Antwentig! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data scientist Ravi Iyer was a Facebook executive who tried to reform the company from within. Now, as Managing Director of the Psychology of Technology Institute at the University of Southern California’s Neely Center, he has some ideas for a better internet … but a more robust regime of content moderation is not one of them. Plus, Oreo Oreos. And Mike wonders if the celebration of the motives behind Jacinda Ardern’s resignation is misplaced. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston has analyzed Donald Trumps tax returns from 2015 to 2020 for his new book The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family. Johnston says Trump has broken easy-to-prosecute laws. Plus, the tanks are on the move! And a pollster-on-pollster spat that Nate Silver’s model estimated has a 26% chance of cruelty. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labor organizer Saket Soni led a wild seat-of-his-pants effort to rescue and get justice for 500 Indian laborers who were essentially kidnapped to work in Texas and Mississippi. The author of The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America, joins us. Plus, the Supreme Court’s under-impressive self investigation. And a second elderly Asian man commits mass murder in California. The Political Scene | The New Yorker: The Essential Workers of the Climate Crisis on Apple Podcasts Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The factions that led to the near strangling of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership in the crib were noxious, but not pointless or unprecedented. Ruth Bloch Rubin, University of Chicago professor and author of Building The Bloc: Intraparty Organization In The U.S. Congress, takes a historic view and explains why the Never-Kevins act like they do. Plus, the Monterey Park shooter’s identity. And where there’s a there there’s a there there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we are replaying Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about the death of Keenan Anderson while in the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department on January 3, 2023. Then we dig into the Gist archives and listen back to Mike’s 2015 Spiel about the classified-documents scandal of the pre-Trump era. Yes, there was a pre-Trump era. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The release of Brittney Griner prompted recriminations and debate—some legitimate, some cruel. Diane Foley the Founder and President of the James Foley Legacy Foundation discusses hard policy choices and the often insensitive treatment that families of captives often endure. Plus, the trend of high-profile unionization successes belies the overall trend. And we play “Who Said It: Christian Kirk or Charlie Kirk?” A game of oddness and dubious relevance. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike speaks with Philip Bump, author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America. Plus, Alec Baldwin faces manslaughter charges, which surprised him. And why everything’s shaping up to be a showdown. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Vincent, author of Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants is back for more. Give that guy a barleycorn, he takes a rood! Also, an analysis of the death, in LAPD custody, of Keenan Anderson. Plus, the latest revelations about George (?) Santos (??) … or whoever that guy in Congress is who performed drag in Brazil before ripping off a dying dog. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist presents a literary appraisal of romance novelist Susan Meachen, whose greatest achievement in life wasn’t even the successful leaving of it. Plus, we speak with James Vincent about his new book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants. Also the Biden administration sifts through airplane toilets—a useful public health initiative. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we take a look at the job of Speaker of the House. On Monday, Mike opened the show, after being on vacay for a couple weeks, talking about Kevin McCarthy’s elegant, seamless rise to the speakership, so we’re listening to that first. Then we’re digging back into The Gist archives to listen to Mike’s 2015 interview with author Harlow Giles Unger who tells us about the great compromiser of America’s formative years, former Speaker of the House Henry Clay. A contrast in courage, if you will. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Holy Spider, a film short-listed for an Oscar, is a drama based on the true story of a serial killer who operated in Iran between 2000 and 2001. The movie was made by director Ali Abbasi, who had to leave Iran to get the film made, and it stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who had to flee Iran after being subject to prosecution and lashing. Plus, an amazing health breakthrough that translates to millions of lives saved. Let’s pay at least as much attention to that as document storage or even cool yurts. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The President also commits acts of carelessness, if not obstruction, when it comes to classified material. Plus, what considerations may be occurring to George Santos, other than, “I hope they don’t find out I didn’t write ’The Macarena.’” And we’re joined by Nicholas Dawidoff, author of The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Fox News Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt was fired by his network for being accurate in the days following the 2020 election. He talks with Mike about that time as well as the Dominion Voting Systems $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox, and about his book Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back. Plus, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky drops in at the Golden Globes, to barely a notice, and the Republicans stripped the IRS of funding, except they didn’t, because it was all a stunt. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor at NewsNation, a former Fox news analyst and host, and the author of Broken News: Why The Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back. He joins us to talk about his time at Fox, and how the “fair and balanced” slogan they tote is less benign that it seems. Also on the show, an exploration of the new House rules produced during the Kevin McCarthy vote-wrangling last week. And a very transmissible Omicron variant is among us. It’s dangerous and, most importantly, it has a scary name “The Kraken.” Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As deluded protesters in Brasilia ransack government offices, the U.S. can take great pride in it’s inspirational status. Also, though House Republicans are a defiant lot, a debt ceiling showdown could play out differently than the Speaker vote did. Plus, Eric Newcomer, host of the Dead Cat podcast, talks tech, the coverage of crypto, and the future of Substack vs traditional media. Oh yeah, and Mike’s back. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices