The Gist

Other than political brinksmanship, the fraying of societal norms, an ocean of bad information, and nearly unchecked gun ownership, how have we arrived at this moment in which people think the way to settle an election is with an assault rifle? Mike is in Miluakee for the RNC, and he will explain. Also, we are joined by Abby Kiesa, Deputy Director at Tufts University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), to talk about why young people vote—or, more likely, don't vote—and why it's so hard to study. Plus, the upending of the 2024 election. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we dedicate our weekend Best Of show to an interview Mike did on Yascha Mounk's podcast, The Good Fight. Mike is the guest in this wide-ranging conversation about media and society, and Yascha's voice is very calming. Enjoy. Thanks to Yascha, Brendan, and Jack at The Good Fight for letting us use their episode. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite and investigative reporter Nate Halverson join Mike to talk about their film about the international militias and governments waging a war for water, The Grab. Plus, Biden passes his presser, judging on the curve of his capabilities. Also, when Broadway brilliance becomes basic. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the United States, we're told that democracy is "on the ballot." But how do the very people making those claims enjoin the battle to save it? In France, they pulled back from a far right victory. We're joined by Yascha Mounk, the Editor in Chief of Persuasion, a Johns Hopkins Professor, and author of, The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A New York Times front page investigation tallies up all the bird nests (nine total) and other flora, fauna, and civil war battlefields "discommoded" by launches of SpaceX rockets. We contemplate the price of progress vs. the piping plover. Plus, getting French elections shamelessly wrong, and a three-way 1950's Meet The Press-style conversion between Mike, journalist Eric Zorn of The Picayune Sentinel, and Tom Chittum, Senior Vice President of ShotSpotter, the audio detection technology that's been criticized for not providing police accurate enough information. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sadie Dingfelder (or at least someone of her general shape wearing the same outfit) is back to talk more about her research and her new book, Do I Know You?: A Faceblind Reporter's Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination. Plus, the Alec Baldwin trial begins, and how the extremist MAGA Republican nominee for Governor in North Carolina didn't say the things he's alleged to have said. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The faceblind but otherwise incredibly observant Sadie Dingfelder drops by to discuss her new book, Do I Know You?: A Faceblind Reporter's Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination. Plus, Joe Biden does well in interviews which seek to assure the Australian nuclear submarine enthusiast community. He also takes credit for some things he previously distanced himself from, and voters will have to decide if the content or the delivery of his arguments matter most. Also, the deal between Skydance and Paramount is a "national amusement" all its own. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, a couple interviews from the vault in honor of Independence Day. First up, historian Gordon S. Wood explains why the friendship between founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams should give us hope. Then Mike talks about founding fathers' thighs with Alexis Coe, author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Americans talk a big game about the U.S. Constitution and its role in guiding the nation for nearly 250 years, but few try to live strictly by the words of said document. AJ Jacobs is one of them. For a year, this patriot upheld the high values, carried a musket in public, and struggled against the oppression of Revolutionary era socks, and he is out with the book, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning. Plus, Mike officially disses the Articles of Confederation. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Phil Elwood was a marketer and strategist who helped the governments of Libya, Qatar, Nigeria, and not quite but almost Syria make their cases on the world stage. He was also involved in the Mueller probe, and had a toe touch with Cambridge Analytica. In other words, he's a fascinating, conflicted, but mostly contrite figure, and author of All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians. Plus, the overstuffed South African cabinet, and a pundit who loved Joe Biden's chances until she didn't. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Donald Trump lies a lot, and his acolytes construct permission structures to excuse those lies. On the other hand, Joe Biden put forward a cringe-worthy performance, and his VP engaged in some BET Awards cringiness of her own. Voters are more likely to punish cringe. Plus, Phil Elwood put together PR and public policy campaigns for dictators and rogue states. It paid ok, but also, it almost destroyed him, as he chronicles in his new book, All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SCOTUS gives immunity to Presidents for official acts, and leaves it to lower courts to define (and maybe get overruled on) what constitutes "official acts." Plus, Sarah Isgur, of ABC and The Dispatch, is here again to break down a slew of other Supreme Court cases. Plus, a compendium of some of the most prominent voices arguing that concerns about Joe Biden's age were just Republican talking points, media both-sides-ism, the new Hillary emails, or something other than legitimate ... we're calling it, "How Did We Get Here?" Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, the remainder of Mike's interview with Ben Smith and Nayeema Rasa, co-hosts of the new Semafor podcast Mixed Signals. Topics touched upon include (but are not limited to) naming a podcast, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the future of media. To hear part one of this interview, listen to our show from Wednesday, June 26, 2026. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jospeh Robinette Biden did not cover himself in glory in last night's debate. As Democrats discuss changing horses midstream, The Gist analyses what went wrong besides the obvious mental discombobulations. Our guest is Sarah Isgur, ABC legal expert, Senior Editor at The Dispatch, and veteran campaign adviser including to Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Mitt Romney. Plus, we trace the circle of blame for Biden's potentially disastrous performance. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With big sporting, cultural, and political events occurring all at once, Mike offers a contemplation of the nature and purpose of speculation about things that are definitely going to happen one way or the other. Plus, Thomas Kail and Lior Ashkenazi are director and actor in the Hulu series We Were The Lucky Ones, the telling of a true story about a family's nearly impossible survival during the Holocaust. We discuss how this film lands differently after October 7th, the benefits and drawbacks of an all-Jewish cast, and how Israelis and Americans react differently toward movie Nazis. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza, co-hosts of the Semaphor podcast Mixed Signals, discuss the turmoil at the Washington Post. Plus Jamal Bowman's Israel pronouncements were an important part, but hardly the only factor, in his political demise. And NGOs and the media should be scrupulously accurate about the deprivation and hunger in Gaza. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Hixenbaugh is a Senior Investigative Reporter for NBC News and the co-creator of Southlake, a podcast that won a Peabody for spotlighting the tensions in an affluent Dallas suburb where factions battled for control of the school board in a campaign that mirrored what was happening on a national stage. He's now out with a book, They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New Warfor America's Classrooms. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Investor and climate activist Tom Steyer discusses his new book Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We'll Win the Climate War and why running for president is an excellent megaphone. Plus, John Fetterman isn't so much trolling the Democratic party as just being his unvarnished hoodie-wearing self. And Joe Biden can't be that much like Abraham Lincoln even if he wanted to be, but the upcoming debate is a situation where he really shouldn't want to be. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike and his first-born son Milo appeared on the Smoke Em If You Got Em podcast this past week. The two Pescas discussed toxic masculinity with the show's hosts Nancy Rommelmann and Sarah Hepola, and they graciously allowed us to play the interview in its near entirety on this weekend's Best Of show. Enjoy. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Surgeon General proposes warning labels for social media; we ask, "Do warning labels even do anything?" Plus, Dispatch Editor-in-Chief Jonah Goldberg talks about the decimation of political parties, the decency to lie about your principles, the slogan "Democracy is on the Ballot", and great TV theme song bass lines. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Glenn McDonald is a streaming music pioneer who worked for years for Spotify. He's out with a new book, You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favorite Song: How Streaming Changes Music. Also, DeSantis and Disney get un-Frozen. Plus, assessing a challenge to New York Congressman Jamal Bowman on an issue other than Israel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the show today, with Juneteenth coming up tomorrow, we take a look at some dubious holidays in a couple southern states. And in our full show interview this week, Mike talks with John Ganz, author of When The Clock Broke about those crazy 1990s and the birth of modern conservatism. A note to listeners: no-show tomorrow in honor of the holiday. Will be back live on Thursday. Have a great day off. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Peter McIndoe is the founder of the Birds Aren't Real movement-slash-conspiracy theory. He is also the author of the book, Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in U.S. History. Peter doesn't believe any of that, by the way, but has good insights on the type of people who do. Plus, Biden will probably win the debate. And how public access to subway brakes, the inability to license a pot store, and a 30-year-old San Fransisco "shanty town" clearance offer lessons in can-do (and can't-do) governance. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, a recent and a slightly less recent segment about the Supreme Court and their ethics … or lack thereof. From this past week, Mrs. Alito spits fire, and … uh … spit. And from April 2023, Clarence Thomas and his … uh … benefactor. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Yusuf Dahl is founder of the Real Estate Lab in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Lafayette College. He was also sentenced to ten years for dealing drugs at the age of eighteen. To this day, he can still be legally discriminated against in the housing market, which he recently discovered when attempting to rent a home. We speak about his fight to overturn this measure. Plus, 25 years ago the Santana song "Smooth" went to #1. Would you believe It was the last Billboard #1 single to feature a guitar solo? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The war in Gaza is a type of siege warfare, which is a topic that's been extensively studied by Amos C. Fox. Fox is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who hosts the Revolution in Military Affairs podcast as well as the War On The Rocks podcast. Plus, even the slight discrepancy in numbers in Elon Musk's pay package is so enormous as to confound and dazzle. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dallas sports talk hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp left their station and started a podcast, The Dumb Zone, and, in doing so, they became something of a test case (or maybe "poster guys") for the new Federal Trade Commission rule banning noncompete clauses. The fight for sports talk freedom and Luca Donic discussions ensue. Plus, Joey Chestnut shut up and shut out of Nathan's. And what New York's last minute fold on congestion pricing says about toughness. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A political operative secretly recorded conversations with Justice Samuel Alito, wherein he said nothing much different than he's said before ... or that any reasonable person would say. His wife seems angry, though. Plus, Eric Weiner chats about his latest book, this one about Ben Franklin, Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life. And also on the show, will voters pick the father of the felon or the felon, and can they possibly understand the difference? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We looked at the title of Lawrence Wood's new book, Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, and we decided the subtitle was not to be taken literally. Mr. Wood hereby submits to further caption contest questioning. Plus, Doug Burgam on the VP short list (and the bank statement long list). And the rescue of four Israeli hostages sets off recrimination over the cost in enemy and civilian lives. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, in honor of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion this past week, we rewind nearly10 years back to August 2014 and Mike's interview with Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil. We also listen back to Mike's Wednesday Spiel about the true meaning of … "intifada." Did you think we were going to say, "Christmas"? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Check out Hunter Design Studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ted Kaye, Secretary of the North American Vexillogical Association is back to talk flags, sedition, Sam Alito, and reclamation. Plus, the war in Sudan is, by some measures, the worst in the world. And Mike either suggests a proper epitaph for American society or offers some fun ways to spice up the dreary old summer time guacamole recipe. The answer is lime juice, people! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We discuss with Michael A Cohen his story in The Atlantic "The Rape Denialists: Why has it proved so hard for so many on the left to acknowledge what happened on October 7?" Plus, the conviction of Baltimore Democratic politician and prosecutor rebuts a central premise of the claims of lawfare against Donald Trump. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

NPR issues a balanced, even-handed yet wholly misleading report on what chants of "intifada" really mean. Plus, Bree Davies and Paul Karoli are the cohosts and chroniclers of the title character of the new podcast, Lauren Boebert Can't Lose. And when it comes to both fire safety and Joe Biden's dynamism ... CLOSE THE DOOR! Check out Hunter Design Studio. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte shot a trapped wolf, then he pressured state workers to blame his wolf-loathing pal. But that's not even the weird part. Plus, Harvard becomes the second prominent Massachusetts school to eliminate DEI statements as a requirement for hiring, Tyler Austin Harper is back to discuss these statements and more. And colleges love to brag about their past activism, even if the cause that brought the protesters to the quad was a hoax. Check out Hunter Design Studio. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tyler Austin Harper is a Bard professor and Atlantic feature writer, and he drops by to discuss the themes and implications of his recent story, "America's Colleges Are Reaping What They Sowed." Plus, A Jew and an Italian walk into a G20 summit. And in the Spiel, we analyze that time Trump got literally crucified, though not "literally" or "crucified." Check out HunterDesign Studio. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike's June 2016 Spiel about … yes … quail. We also listen back to Wednesday's panda spiel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The trial of Donald Trump was not rigged. That is a piece of disinformation. But those who believe it was might not think it was literally rigged, they might just have the sense that Trump is unfairly victimized in general, and the accusation of rigging more or less fits into the claim of "rigged." It's called a "symbolic belief," and, New Yorker writer and anthropologist, Manvir Singh says that's different from a factual belief. In the Spiel, I talk about all the misinformation flooding into my consciousness, which doesn't originate in Russia or from Trump's statements on Truth Social, but sews doubt just the same. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And in other news, Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money case. Plus, yes, North Korea has in fact been hitting their southern rivals with doody dirigibles, turd zeppelins, poop balloons. Plus, Abigail Shrier joins us to talk about her latest book Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up, which takes on the challenge of the mental health crisis amongst American youth. Shrier does not exactly hand out participation trophies for how we've all handled it. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Justice Samuel Alito is an icon of conservative jurisprudence, a shaper of American laws, and a really challenging neighbor. Mike takes those cues and creates some improvisational theater. Then we pick up where we left off yesterday with Washington Post columnist and novelist David Ignatius. With his help, we're going to drill down on what exactly is going on in Gaza. And also on the show, China will be returning the Pandas we returned to them. We FedEx'd them ... will China DHL them back? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David Ignatius, WaPo columnist and the author of Phantom Orbit: A Thriller discusses his reportorial tactics, and how he blends fact and fiction in writing his latest thrillers about weapons in space. Plus, there were 350,000 polio cases in 1988. Guess how many there were last year. So many pundits are saying that the Trump verdict will be what they've been predicting all along. The role of "priors" in on-air legal analysis. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Memorial Day we share an interview with Mike who was recently a guest on Jeff Maurer's Podcast "I Might Be Wrong". Promo Link for 30 Days Free Link to Jeffs Substack Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we travel back to January 2019 to remember the clash between the rowdy teens of Covington Catholic and the stoic drumming of Native American activist Nathan Phillips. We also travel to this past Tuesday to reminisce about the days of peak shrimp. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

NPR was not particularly receptive to the critiques put forth by former Senior Editor Uri Berliner. In a full-show interview on today's show, Berliner makes the case that NPR has become too ideologically rigid, and he spells out some solutions, which do not include government defunding. Plus, when peanut butter cups purport to be specific shapes, but just look like undifferentiated blobs, how many millions is the damage worth? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Justice Samuel Alito has been found to have flown another flag favored by some of the January 6th insurrections. Maybe it's time for a preeminent and powerful jurist to do more than channel Borat in saying, "My Wiiiiife." And we're joined by former NPR and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson to diagnose the critiques of public radio. Johnson is a veteran of (and a huge believer in) NPR, and he rebuts most of the criticism put forth by tomorrow's guest, Uri Berliner. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nellie Bowles, reporter and head of strategy for the Free Press is out with book titled Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History. The New York Times, where Bowles worked for five years titled its review, "Skewering Leftist Excess With Mockery and Sneers" … as if that were an ignoble thing. On The Gist, Nellie layers the nuance and self-reflection on top of the mockery that she, quite honestly, is very good at. Plus, a Palestinian State is recognized by the 4th, 17th, and 19th largest countries in Europe; dramatic predictions ensue. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Red Lobster, trapped in its own promotion, unable to claw back profits, has jumbo problems over endless shrimp. Plus, Trump speaks about FDR to the NRA, and possibly endorses blatant constitutional violations ... but maybe not? And we're joined by UCLA professor and MacArthur Genius grant recipient Jason De Leon to discuss his book, Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Supreme Court spouse (hereafter "Mrs. Alito") hangs a flag upside down. Accusation of traitorousness ensure. Plus, a unionization vote fails in Alabama, or did it really just pre-succeed? And hundreds of years ago we didn't have GPS, Hinge, Tiles, trackers, or asprin, but we did have magic, as practiced by Cunning Folk. We're joined by Tabitha Stanmore the author of Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike's recent appearance on the House Of Strauss podcast, in which he and Host Ethan Strauss discuss Harrison Butker's recent commencement address, which would have gone over without a hitch in 1894, but alas, it was delivered in 2024. Harrison is the placekicker of the Kansas City Chiefs, and his remarks drew fire from just about everywhere. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mary Jo Pitzl covers politics for the Arizona Republic, meaning she's steeped in where the state stands on abortion law. Plus, Harrison Butker's spiritual advisor has some odd thoughts on the digestive systems of all working women. Also, a food fight turned sh*t show in the House Oversight Committee. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Journalist Matt Katz's father was barely in his life, and when he was, it was fairly unpleasant for Matt. Then a genetics test tore up Matt's script. That deadbeat dad might have been a deadbeat, but he didn't seem to actually be his dad. Who was? His nine-part podcast Inconceivable Truth details the journey to find out. Also, the cold, hard facts about Cold Lava. Plus, the Obi Wan argument on college campuses and in Gaza. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.