The Gist

On The Gist, the varying sizes of Trump and Greenland. In the interview, journalist Steve Rushin is here to talk with Mike about his new memoir Nights at White Castle. They discuss the amorphous nature of nostalgia, why children should go on boring vacations, and the podcast Ball & Chain that he hosts with his wife, basketball great Rebecca Lobo. In the Spiel, Sha Na Na. Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Slate's Jordan Weissmann tells guest host Sean McElwee which presidential candidates' signature ideas are hot (and which are not). In the interview, the Green New Deal isn't just a set of climate policies—it's a chance to break with the uneven benefits afforded by the original New Deal and other progressive policies. Julian Brave NoiseCat (McElwee's colleague at Data for Progress) and activist Adrien Salazar (of the think tank Demos) are in the studio to share their expertise on the stimulus package. In the Spiel, McElwee digs into polling results from his own Data for Progress. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, getting a bit willy-nilly with "white supremacy." In the interview, John Hickenlooper may be mulling a pivot from presidential to Senate candidate, but he was at the Iowa State Fair to weigh in on issues that affect the entire country—and to strike a moderate tone. In last year's midterms, he says, "the successful Democrat did not embrace the Green New Deal and did not embrace 'Medicare for All.' That's what we're going to need to do to beat Donald Trump." In the Spiel, there is no greater joy than knowing which kids' shows—from our own generation or not—are crap. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Biden's gaffes. In the interview, Maria Konnikova, author of The Confidence Game, is back for another round of Is That Bullshit? This time she and Mike talk all about attention spans. There always seem to be claims that attention spans are shrinking, but is that true? Should we be worried that we feel distracted more and more or just take a deep breath and embrace it? In the Spiel, the Ebola cure. Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, the opinions of the people at the Iowa State Fair. In the interview, Jay Inslee was among the 21 Democratic presidential candidates to converge on the Iowa State Fair this past weekend. Washington's governor grabbed a seat with Mike to talk about applying his state's environmental victories to the federal level, taxing Amazon, and getting rid of the gridlocking filibuster. In the Spiel, The Gist went to the Iowa State Fair and got answers from Democratic presidential candidates about filibuster reform. Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, the real consequences of immigration laws. In the interview, Charles Duhigg is who you get when you combine an investigative reporter with an agony aunt. In his new Slate podcast (How To!), he teases out advice on everyday problems, from how to tell a good joke to how to rob a bank (alright, the problems aren't that common). You can subscribe to How To! on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the Spiel, Trump, children, and shootings. Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Montana has gone a little berserk. In the interview, Joshua Cohen is here to discuss his new book Attention: Dispatches From the Land of Distraction, and the many discursions he and Mike go on thanks to it. Like the depth of Bernie's political policies, Trump's time in Atlantic City, and why the circus is so important to the history of American culture. In the Spiel, Trump's distraction tactics. Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Dayton and El Paso deserve better than the presence of Donald Trump. In the interview, FiveThirtyEight elections analyst Geoffrey Skelley talks through what Democrats need to do to turn out voters in 2020. Should they focus on the "Obama coalition" that elected him twice? Or is it smarter to turn toward Obama voters that then voted for Trump in 2016? Why not both? In the Spiel, anyone telling you the decade-long Assault Weapons Ban was ineffective is talking nonsense. Want to see a special episode of The Gist live in New York? Get your tickets here! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, if you want gun control, you clearly have to just vote Democrat. In the interview, the tit-for-tat trade war with China is unceasing. Slate's Jordan Weissmann tells Mike about the latest developments in the fight between presidents Trump and Xi Jinping, whether or not China is really manipulating its currency, and the potential paths ahead. In the Spiel, Americans are getting angry over all the wrong things. It's infuriating! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, this weekend's mass shooters had different motives. It won't do to draw lessons from just one of them. In the interview, Amherst College professor Austin Sarat wants to enlist gun owners themselves in the fight for firearm regulation. "48 percent of gun owners favor a ban on assault weapons," he says, citing the Pew Research Center. The problem is convincing them that gun control advocates aren't pushing for full-on confiscation. Sarat is the co-editor of The Lives of Guns. In the Spiel, the one clear factor in America's growing mass shooting problem? Rifles. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, a theory as to why we still hear dusty old terms like "happy warrior"—at least during election season. In the interview, Slate writer Christina Cauterucci, who recently wrote about Al Franken, criticizes a recent New Yorker story on the ousted senator. She and Mike break down what they think its author Jane Mayer got wrong and right, the facts of the reporting, and why we shouldn't think of the #MeToo movement as one with winners and losers. In the Spiel, John Ratcliffe is thankfully out of consideration for the job of Director of National Intelligence. But it's a shame that he's still acceptable as a congressman. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, the Democrats making Republican soundbites. In the interview, Fantastic Negrito walked a long and winding road to blues stardom. His first album (under his legal name, Xavier) was a bust—"everyone hated it"—and saw him dropped from his label. He'd also gotten into a serious car accident and sold off his instruments before returning to music. That's when the Grammys started rolling in—he's won two in the last three years, for best contemporary blues album. His latest record is Please Don't Be Dead. In the Spiel, Joe Biden at the debate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Jeffrey Epstein's ideas. In the interview, when Chuck Klosterman writes non-fiction, he worries about missing some grand historical context in a way that would ruin his work. With fiction, that anxiety goes out the window— if someone reads one of his short stories and thinks something "completely unrelated to what I thought, it's still okay." Klosterman digs into that, the advantages of an education outside the ivory tower, and what the Beatles really did for rock music. His new book of short stories is Raised in Captivity: Fictional Nonfiction. In the Spiel, the first night of the CNN debates and Marianne Williamson. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, billionaire Tom Steyer didn't qualify for this round of Democratic debates, but he's bought a lot of CNN ad space to make up for it. In the interview, political consultants David Axelrod and Mike Murphy have spent years advising politicians on the best ways to run campaigns—Axelrod with Barack Obama and Murphy with candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney. Now they've come together on a new podcast, Hacks on Tap, to talk through how the political machine actually runs, the Democratic debates, and what Trump's prospects look like in 2020. In the Spiel, among the septuagenarian presidential candidates, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are the only ones with all their marbles. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Trump and racism. In the interview, Politico's Tim Alberta has been covering the Republican Party since 2009, back when it was "totally rudderless and beaten into the ground." Ten years later, and though in control of the White House, the GOP isn't in much better shape. Alberta's new book is American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. In the Spiel, impeachment. 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 few months ago, Dan Taberski joined us to talk about latest season of his Headlong podcast, Running From Cops, focused on reality television shows about police. One series in particular, Live PD, was billed as a documentary but seemed to fall into the same bad practices as other reality programming. Taberski tried to interview the Dan Abrams, the show's host, and was never able to get him on mic. Lucky for us, in 2016 Mike interviewed Abrams for The Gist when Live PD was first airing. So we're airing a few clips of Mike's conversation with Taberski, the Running From Cops segment about Live PD, and Mike's 2016 interview with Abrams. Enjoy the cop-a-thon. 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 Gist, Robert Mueller was a bit of a broken record in his congressional testimony. In the interview, David Wolman once happened upon a small Hawaiian museum dedicated to a small crew of cowboys in the state—and that was the first he heard of them. He teamed up with Julian Smith to dig into the fascinating history of these cowpokes and how they dazzled the world at the 1908 World Rodeo Championships. Their new book is Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West. In the Spiel, we've perhaps seen the last of Robert Mueller's public statements. And the impeachment needle hasn't moved one bit. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, the governor of Puerto Rico will not seek reelection. In the interview, Chris Herren's NBA career ended largely because of drug abuse that started in his teens. Now he speaks to thousands of students about making better choices—not by using the fear tactics often deployed in American schools, but by examining the emotions tied to substance use. Herren's presentations are the subject of a new ESPN documentary, The First Day. In the Spiel, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 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 Gist, Robert Mueller's congressional testimony isn't likely to increase the pressure on president Trump. In the interview, losing weight is hard, but keeping it off is even harder. What can successful dieters do to maintain their goals, and are reality TV shows like The Biggest Loser painting a rosy picture? Gist regular Maria Konnikova dug into the science, and brings answers on the latest segment of Is That Bullshit? Konnikova is the author of The Confidence Game. In the Spiel, former Sen. Al Franken was hard done by. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, why the moon landing's 50th anniversary isn't getting all that much attention. In the interview, success stories are great, but what about those business ventures that end in spectacular failure? Those tales are often better. Lauren Ober hosts the Spectacular Failures podcast, where beer makers, hotel chains, and (in an upcoming episode) Trump's casinos meet their end. In the Spiel, it's an Antentwig, where Mike responds to feedback from listeners. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Ivanka Trump is every bit the monster her father is. In the interview, Senator Michael Bennet is here to talk about his campaign for president and his new book The Land of Flickering Lights: Restoring America in an Age of Broken Politics. He and Mike discuss Bennet's family plan, the importance of the filibuster, and why centrism needs to work on its branding. In the Spiel, there is no Spiel! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. 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 Gist, Chance the snapper. In the interview, former EPA head Gina McCarthy expected the Trump administration's backwardness on climate change—but not on no-brainers like limits on power plant mercury emissions and auto industry regulation, both of which were being complied with. "They're just obsessed with undoing everything Obama did. You can tell this with Trump. He's still somehow campaigning against Obama." McCarthy was the EPA's administrator from 2013 to 2017, and now teaches at the Harvard School of Public Health. In the Spiel, which mythical being is Trump most like? 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 Gist, it's a good day for those who love quarterly fundraising numbers among Democratic presidential candidates! In the interview, we're used to the Nate Silver approach to election forecasting, using constantly changing polling data to predict the likelihood of this or that result. But Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy, has a better way. Her new model, based on negative partisanship and demographics, is more static, and proved spot-on in 2018. So what does it have to say for 2020? In the Spiel, a theory on what's really keeping Kellyanne and George Conway together. 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 Gist, Elizabeth Warren and ICE. In the interview, Jason Zinoman, who writes about the New York Times, thinks the late-night shows need to return to the playful cruelty they once had. He and Mike talk about the current state of things, David Letterman's reign, and why even Letterman seems to have lost his teeth on his new show. In the Spiel, Trump and tweets about the Congress squad. 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 Gist, they. In the interview, Emily Bazelon writes for the New York Times magazine, co-hosts Slate's Political Gabfest, and she's out with the new book Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration, and its companion podcast. She's here to talk with Mike about her new projects, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Jeffrey Epstein and New York City gun laws. In the Spiel, Acosta quits. 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 Gist, the metal straw incident. In the interview, Vince Houghton is a historian and the curator of the International Spy Museum and he's here to talk about his new book Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board. Why did we want to drop goat poop on Germans? Can a cat be trained for espionage? In the Spiel, the citizenship question. 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 Gist, the Trump cabinet and violence against women. In the interview, Will Wilkinson from the Niskanen Center is here to talk with Mike about his new paper The Density Divide about the surprising way urbanization affected the rise of populism. In the Spiel, the good and bad about the pay parity argument in soccer. 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 Gist, jail time for absurd reasons. In the interview, journalist Jack Fairweather is out with a new book about the untold story of Witold Pilecki, a Polish resistance fighter who chose to get sent to Auschwitz so he could report back on atrocities happening there during World War II. Fairweather's book is The Volunteer: One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz. In the Spiel, why Ross Perot was so important to shaping American politics. 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 Gist, did Joe Biden's apology work? In the interview, Anthony Ray Hinton was wrongfully convicted for the murder of two teenagers in Alabama in 1985. After 30 years on death row his conviction was overturned and he was released. He's since become an advocate for those facing the death penalty and the abolishment of it in the United States, and he's here to talk with Mike about his experience in prison and life afterward. Hinton's new book is The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. In the Spiel, farewell to Eric Swalwell. 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 Gist, should we rethink the structure of a week? In the interview, founding CEO of C-SPAN Brian Lamb and Co-CEO Susan Swain are here to discuss their new book The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America's Best—and Worst—Chief Executives. They discuss with Mike the creation of the book, visiting presidential burial places, and some Mike's favorite things about C-SPAN. In the Spiel, the passion of Mike Francesa. 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 Gist, the Hong Kong protesters and Chinese conspiracies. In the interview, Harvard research fellow Thomas Abt is here to discuss his new book Bleeding Out: The Devestating Consequences of Urban Gun Violence—and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets. He talks with Mike about the ways we misunderstand urban gun violence and what concrete steps communities can talk to solve it. In the Spiel, Tucker Carlson and Trump. 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 Gist, the South Bend shooting and Pete Buttigieg. In the interview, Jason Zinoman recently wrote about dad jokes for the New York Times so he's here to talk with Mike about his grand theories, why we love to hate dad jokes, and if they really are as low-brow as people consider them to be. In the Spiel, the choice the Democrats face. 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 Gist, Joe Biden had no good answers at Thursday's Democratic debate. In the interview, the Washington Post's Anna Fifield is out with a new book on Kim Jong-un. She interviewed as many people who have had even a fleeting interaction with the man as possible, in an effort to get the clearest picture yet of what the head of the Kim dynasty is really like. Fifield's book is The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un. In the Spiel, Kamala Harris has charisma, but is she a flip-flopper too? 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 Gist, an absurd criminal charge in Alabama. In the interview, the Iron Curtain couldn't block radio waves, or, in the '50s and '60s, a new form of music called rock and roll. András Simonyi, a former Hungarian ambassador to the United States, was electrified by Elvis and the Beatles, and says that "without rock and roll, I don't think the Soviet Union would have broken up." Simonyi is the author of Rocking Toward a Free World: When the Stratocaster Beat the Kalashnikov. In the Spiel, pat them on the back all you want, not every debating Democrat can be a winner. 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 Gist, the first Democratic primary debate is about to start. In the interview, Ben Lindbergh is a staff writer at the Ringer, host of the Effectively Wild podcast, and author of the new book The MVP Machine: How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players. He's here to talk America's favorite pastime, what baseball is like in a post-Moneyball era, and if data is making the game less interesting to watch. In the Spiel, George Will weighs in on the state of baseball. 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 Gist, Trump and Pence talking nonsense. In the interview, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, especially when it comes to elections. MSNBC's Joy-Ann Reid figures that "the hungriest constituency" often gets its way at the ballot box. Black voters sent Barack Obama to the White House; xenophobes got their guy in Donald Trump; and in 2020, the group that swings the vote could very well be the women who regret their inaction in 2016—especially if Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren gets the nomination. Reid is the host of AM Joy and the author of The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story. In the Spiel, the messiness of leadership. 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 Gist, Kamala Harris still has a lot to answer for. In the interview, media outlets used to employ ombudsmen—public editors who addressed readers' concerns and weighed in on a newspaper's reporting. Those roles have disappeared over the years but the Columbia Journalism Review wants to change that. Kyle Pope, the magazine's editor, recently announced the hiring of four journalists to publicly engage with the work of the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, and CNN. In the Spiel, voters in Istanbul have just rebuked Turkish president Recep Erdogan. 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 Gist, how much sanity does it cost to change a lightbulb? In the interview, babies don't come with instructional manuals, but the publishing industry is more than ready to bombard new parents with the latest, always evolving wisdom on how to raise a human right. But Emily Oster's new book is a rare scientific look at child-rearing, grounded in her expertise as a rational economist and her experience as an anxious mother. Oster is the author of Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool. In the Spiel, president Trump's directionless foreign policy is on full display against Iran. 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 Gist, are children growing horns? In the interview, how does Pandora know what music I want to hear? That's all thanks to the work of Nolan Gasser, musicologist and the architect of Pandora's Music Genome Project. He's here to talk the origins of the project, the classification of music species, and why Sarah McLachlan fans might be in for a surprise. Gasser's new book is Why You Like It: The Science & Culture of Musical Taste. In the Spiel, the most ambitious climate deal the world has ever seen. 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 Gist, presidential candidates say the darndest things. In the interview, the best profile writer of our day doesn't focus much on what her subjects are wearing—so we'll only quickly mention that in the studio with The Gist, Taffy Brodesser-Akner was wearing a fetching leopard-print jumpsuit ("I'm dressed up for a party tonight"). Brodesser-Akner discusses her experience profiling the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and other untouchable celebrities, and how that work is felt in her debut novel, Fleishman Is in Trouble. In the Spiel, the reparations hearing. 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 Gist, when science proves George Carlin right. In the interview, Raphael Bob-Waksberg is the creator of Bojack Horseman, but his so-earnest-it-hurts talent also extends to print. His new collection of short stories is Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory, and he's here to talk with Mike about love, George Saunders, and why everybody is so down on puns. In the Spiel, the Patrick Shanahan debacle exposes a White House in shambles. 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 Gist, Trump knows how to produce himself. In the interview, America's discovery of oil fields has long been entwined with godly significance—whether these were exploited by oil barons like the Rockefellers or the smaller producers (or "wildcatters") they contended with. University of Notre Dame historian Darren Dochuk explores the intersection of oil and religion in America in his new book, Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America. In the Spiel, Iran and attacks on oil tankers. 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 Gist, Canada declares war on the plastic straw. In the interview, Emmy Blotnick has written for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and served as head writer on The President Show. But she also does stand-up, including in her new album Party Nights, where she gets into her love of pop music and why she joined a social networking site… for tea-drinkers. Blotnick's album is streaming now—and her next show is at The Bell House in Brooklyn on July 6. In the Spiel, there's no good reason for the news media to cover Jessica Biel's anti-vaxxer stance. 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 Gist, who doesn't get to be at the debates? In the interview, David Epstein's new book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World is all about how having a wide base of knowledge is so much better than narrowing your focus. He's here to talk Roger Federer versus Tiger Woods, how fiction helped him retool his book, and what Malcolm Gladwell got wrong. In the Spiel, this is stupid. 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 Gist, curse the gauntlet that is buying an event ticket online. In the interview, John Urschel played as an offensive lineman in the NFL all while pursuing the PhD that would support an accomplished career as a mathematician. The values he practiced in each field are the same, he says, but there the similarities between pigskin and math end. Alongside sportswriter Louisa Thomas—the two are married—Urschel is the author of Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football. In the Spiel, "lock him up" (and you know who "him" is) isn't a great call either. 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 Gist, Joe Biden curing cancer. In the interview, senior writer at the National Review Michael Brendan Dougherty is here to discuss his new book My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son's Search For Home. He and Mike talk about Dougherty's journey into his father's history, how the immigrant experience shaped his mother, and the ways Ireland has influenced his politics. In the Spiel, political pithiness. 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 Gist, Democrats bob and weave around the question of abortion. In the interview, victims of crimes are often sidelined in the judicial process—the perpetrator is punished, but his or her target isn't given the opportunity to set up the kind of face-to-face meeting that might help them heal. Restorative justice seeks to change that, and Lara Bazelon is out with a book on how it applies to those who have been exonerated after wrongful convictions. Bazelon is an associate professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, and the author of Rectify: The Power of Restorative Justice After Wrongful Conviction. In the Spiel, even with every benefit of the doubt, Elizabeth Warren's policy ideas just aren't fundable. 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 Gist, who's on the right side of less auto pollution? In the interview, Adam Gopnik is here to discuss his new book, A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism, inspired by a conversation with his daughter. Who gets to make arguments? What about identity politics? And why should the rhinoceros should be the symbol of liberalism? In the Spiel, what are your go-to references? 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 Gist, Joe Biden's careful moderation leads him astray on abortion rights. In the interview, Slate's Dahlia Lithwick is back to talk all about the Supreme Court. How the recent abortion laws passed in the South impact the continued dismantling of Roe v Wade? And why aren't the Democrats more animated by the outrageous things happening to our courts? Dahlia is the host of Slate's Amicus podcast. In the Spiel, where there's a jingle, there's a questionable set of business practices… 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 Gist, holding Scott Peterson accountable after the Parkland shooting. In the interview, George Will has led conservative thought for decades, in over a dozen books and a Washington Post column he's penned since 1974. In his latest work, The Conservative Sensibility, he seeks to define just what "conservative" means. While Mike had him on The Gist, he got Will's opinion on the lost dignity of the GOP, Elizabeth Warren's policy proposals ("I think she has a firm grip on half a point"), and the fact that no Democratic candidate is all that close to true socialism. In the Spiel, Biden and Warren's new environmental plans. 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.