The Gist

On The Gist, costs and benefits in the government. In the interview, Matthew Heineman is here to discuss his new film A Private War. Though usually a documentary filmmaker, this time around he tried his hand at a feature. Focused on the life of journalist Marie Colvin, it's surprising how many documentary techniques Heineman employed when making the film, which uniquely fits the story being told. A Private War will be available on Feb. 5. In the Spiel, the rhyming Kellyanne Conway. This episode is brought to you by Capterra. Try it today, for free, at Capterra.com/GIST. 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 days are getting longer, the brand names shorter. In the interview, millennial whisperer (or, you know, just plain millennial) Anne Helen Petersen recently diagnosed "the burnout generation" in a viral feature for BuzzFeed. Student debt, the 2008 financial crisis, relatively low levels of family wealth—all have contributed to their dire straits. But could their biggest burden be a mental one? In the Spiel, President Trump's unsurprisingly empty Oval Office address. This episode is brought to you by Doctors Without Borders. Donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org. 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, do presidential addresses change anything? In the interview, NPR's David Folkenflik joins us to talk about Donald Trump's Oval Office address. Should the networks give airtime to someone so averse to facts, even if he is the president? Is there any precedent for this? And what repercussions for lying will Trump face, if any? In the Spiel, 5G networks. This episode is brought to you by Slack, the collaboration hub for work. Learn more at Slack.com. 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, news networks should do us a favor and not air Trump's prime-time speech on Tuesday night. In the interview, Greg Sargent is an indispensable voice for anyone looking to grasp the inner workings of American democracy. In his new book, he argues that compromise is possible even on issues as stark as voter suppression (the implementers are all Republican on this one, folks). Sargent's book is An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics. In the Spiel, likability in 2020? It's overrated. 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, works produced 75 years ago are now entering the public domain. And some are what 2019 would call "problematic." David Bowie once sang that we can all be heroes … but villainy is where it's really at. In the Ringer podcast Villains, host Shea Serrano and his guests analyze film's best baddies to figure out their true motives and chances at redemption. What makes The Silence of the Lambs'Hannibal Lecter the most memorable villain of all? How justified is Amy Dunne in Gone Girl? And are there any villains they won't even touch? In the Spiel, Rep. Rashida Tlaib used a bad word. But boy, it's also such a great word. This episode is brought to you by Slack, the collaboration hub for work. Learn more at Slack.com. 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, what do Kim Jong-un's letters and Shaquille O'Neal sneakers have in common? In the interview, you've likely heard of microplastics, but are they something to worry about? Maria Konnikova is here with answers in another round of "Is That Bullshit?". Konnikova is the author of The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time. In the Spiel, and in New York City, even shutting down a subway train comes with delays. 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 government shutdown continues. In the interview, impeachment proceedings have never removed a president from office (in Bill Clinton's case, they even offered a bump in approval ratings). So is it really the best route for those who see nothing but rot in Trump's presidency? Lawfare Institute COO David Priess surveys the options in his latest book, How to Get Rid of a President: History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives. In the Spiel, Louis C.K. and punching down. This episode is brought to you by Doctors Without Borders. Donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org. 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, Mike Pesca is leaving Facebook, mostly. In the interview, Andy Serkis is here to discuss his newest movie, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, along with the film's star Rohan Chand. They talk about the magic of working in motion capture, how it really isn't all that different from other types of acting, and what it was like jumping on Christian Bale's back. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is available on Netflix. In the Spiel, finding the appropriate punishments for things like drones at the airport. 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 do daily news podcasts think they can take off for the holidays? In the interview, journalist Priska Neely has been writing about the rates of black infant mortality and why they're so much higher than American infant mortality rates overall. She joins us today to discuss the possible reasons, including community support systems, health care–related problems, and how racism factors into it all. In the Spiel, Donald Trump visits Iraq and says a lot. This episode is brought to you by the following advertisers: SimpliSafe, protect your home today with twenty-four seven monitoring for just fifteen dollars a month, visit simplisafe.com/gist. 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, Donald Trump is to "wall" as zombies are to "braaaains." In his Broadway show (The New One) Mike Birbiglia tells you why procreation is a terrible idea, before waxing lyrical on the joys of raising a daughter—it's complicated; he's complicated. On The Gist, he spares a thought for how to tip at an Olive Garden, the future of email leaks, and Fox News' underwhelming Christmas tree. In the Spiel, abandoning arguments of good (or bad) faith. 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, Amazon or marijuana? In the interview, Andrew Yang has declared his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election, and his platform is universal basic income. But how does that work? Is there room for that and other progressive platforms like free college tuition or universal health care? Yang's new book is The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future. In the Spiel, thought experiments and the extinction of the human race. 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 government shutdown and Santa. In the interview, Adam Conover joins us to discuss the latest season of Adam Ruins Everything, how they ruin things like guns and mattresses, the mistakes they've made along the way, and if there are any topics they aren't allowed to cover. Adam Ruins Everything airs on Tuesday nights on truTV. In the Spiel, Alice Walker, the New York Times, and narratives. 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 Mick Mulvaney's trash talk didn't cost him a job under Trump. In the interview, is the alt-right waning? An expert on the movement, George Hawley, says that de-platforming worked to counter hateful figures like Milo Yiannopoulos and Alex Jones and that the news media may have overestimated their cunning—throwing memes at the wall until some of them stick—to begin with. Hawley is a professor of politics at the University of Alabama and the author of The Alt-Right: What Everyone Needs to Know. In the Spiel, some Pesca family lore on befriending Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon. 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, maybe Rudy Giuliani isn't deteriorating. Rather, his job now (defending Trump's shenanigans) is tougher than any he's had. Maria Konnikova is back to call bullshit on astrology. She walks us through its origins in ancient Chaldea, its popularity among history's scientists and philosophers, and the present day—where real experiments have been run. Is there any truth to it? And what about just enjoying the fun of it all? In the Spiel, goodbye Ryan Zinke. We knew ye well enough. 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 demise of the Weekly Standard. Then, going with your gut isn't always best (despite what President Donald Trump may tell you). Writer Steven Johnson says making better decisions can be as simple as considering multiple options instead of focusing on the "should I" or "shouldn't I." He's also got anecdotes about Darwin's marital deliberations, machine learning, and the call to storm the fortress in which Osama Bin Laden ("probably," Americans figured) was ensconced. Johnson is the author of Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most. In the Spiel, pronouncing people's names correctly. 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, Jeff Bezos is one rich man. That doesn't make him (and Amazon) bad for New York City. In the interview, First Man is as much about Neil Armstrong the man as it is about Neil Armstrong the astronaut. Instead of depicting him planting a U.S. flag on the moon, screenwriter Josh Singer had him pay tribute to his deceased daughter. That ruffled some feathers, and Singer tells us why he stands by it. 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, President Trump interrupted Nancy Pelosi because he interrupts everyone. In the interview, the deputy executive director of U.N. Women, Åsa Regnér, knows how to bring more women into politics. Countries like Bolivia, Rwanda, and those in Scandinavia have achieved more equal representation. So how useful are quotas? Does religion play a role? How can gender parity be seen not just as a rights issue but something smarter for policymaking, the economy, and the health of the country? In the Spiel, putting a dollar value on the election fraud in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. 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 tough to find a host for the Oscars. In the interview, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame can quickly become incestuous, since past winners get to vote on future inductees. But this year's 15 nominees break the mold of guitar-slinging dudes with long hair. Sure, Def Leppard is in the running, but so are LL Cool J, Janet Jackson, and Kraftwerk. Music critic Chris Molanphy himself has a vote, and tells us what his ballot looks like. Molanphy is the host of the Slate podcast Hit Parade and writes Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?" column. In the Spiel, Andrew Sullivan's new religions. 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 bottomless Pinocchio. Americans are filled with anxiety in the pursuit of happiness, and social media isn't making it any better. But how do we even define happy, and will changing our online habits actually change anything? Author Ruth Whippman, who wrote about the phenomenon in the recent New York Times piece, "Everything Is for Sale Now. Even Us.," joins us to discuss. In the Spiel, the Brexit vote. 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 GOP isn't overtly racist. But it once was. In the interview, Liz Holtzman was the youngest woman to be elected to the House of Representatives, and she did it in 1973. She also served as a member of the House Judiciary Committee as they held impeachment hearings for Richard Nixon. In her new book, The Case For Impeaching Trump, she explains what exactly is required to impeach a president and why Trump's actions might have already justified those proceedings. In the Spiel, it's time to award the last Lobstar of 2018. 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, is Sherrod Brown annoying? In the interview, Matt Green is on a yearslong mission to walk all the streets of New York City—and Jeremy Workman filmed him doing many of them for a documentary, The World Before Your Feet. Alongside Workman and executive producer Jesse Eisenberg, Green talks about Staten Island's ordinary charm, the odd street-naming conventions of Queens, and how a life of perpetual walking makes dating pretty hard. In the Spiel, PETA. 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, stop wishing Jews happy holidays if Hanukkah has already passed. How do you explain wit? James Geary attempted to answer that question with his new book, Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It, but quickly found that the only way to write about comedy is to write comedy. He joins us to discuss the difficulties of examining this subject, the various types of wit, and why Buster Keaton is a master of the form. In the Spiel, eulogies are the best part of any funeral, particularly a president's. 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 "tariff man" sing-along! Then, Maria Konnikova is back for another round of "Is That Bullshit?" She and Mike discuss the cigar-shaped space object (known as 'Oumuamua) picked up by astronomers last year. Was it an alien vehicle, or just another flying rock? In the Spiel, Mike proudly backs the Slate stance: George H.W. Bush's service dog probably wasn't mourning him. 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, in doing less than his son did in the Middle East, George H.W. Bush did better. In the interview, Wild Wild Country was one of the year's most riveting documentaries. But one of its sources, journalist Les Zaitz, argues that it pulls punches on the cult that overtook a small town in Oregon, committed the biggest bioterror attack in American history, and had designs to assassinate its critics. In the Spiel, taking stock of George H.W. Bush's legacy. 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 people be let go for one bad idea? 30 for 30 has been a hugely successful documentary series in both video and audio form for ESPN. Jody Avirgan sits at its podcast helm with a new season covering stories like Jose Canseco's steroid use, the 2003 World Series of Poker, and Japanese baseball player Hideo Nomo trying to join the Major League. He also hosts FiveThirtyEight's political podcast, offering fresh and smart insight wherever he can. Avirgan joins us today to talk the difference of the audio documentary medium, how soon after events documentaries can be made, and what stories they almost told this season. In the Spiel, the very legal and very cool Donald 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, cows are beef, even if they've reached internet fame. In the interview, Steven Caple Jr. watched everything from Jean-Claude Van Damme movies to street-fight videos before directing Creed II, the latest film in the Rocky franchise. He joins The Gist to talk about how to shoot a fight scene, his favorite Rocky villains, and Michael B. Jordan's rising star. In the Spiel, Michael Cohen squeals, and we all learn once again that President Trump does not, sadly, tell it like it is. 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 Nancy Pelosi nonstory (spoiler alert: she's going to win the speakership) is distracting us from the Trump administration's latest misdeeds. In the interview, Kim Brooks received 100 hours of community service in 2011 for leaving her son alone in a car during a quick errand. Then she connected with other parents who'd been policed by their community in harmful ways. Do Americans worry so much about the safety of children that they're blind to common sense? Brooks explores this, and the dangers of involving the police too quickly, in her new book, Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear. In the Spiel, no, the missionary to North Sentinel Island did not deserve to die, and it's appalling to suggest he did. 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, Cindy Hyde-Smith is on the MAGA wagon. In the interview, the U.S. has long been the global leader in military spending. But is that enough to guarantee victory in a war against Russia, China, or both? Aaron Mehta covers the Pentagon for Defense News and has written about a bipartisan commission's new report on America's readiness for big conflicts. In the Spiel, terrible arguments obscuring bad ideas. 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, Danielle Pletka's thoughts on climate change and Saudi Arabia. In the interview, the Republican Party's voter suppression isn't the result of philosophy or values—it just helps them win. In making the fight over voting rights public, Democrats have two advantages: It's obviously the right thing to do, and it would help them compete up and down the ballot. Our guest Dave Weigel writes The Trailer, a newsletter on electoral politics for the Washington Post. In the Spiel, the crisis of credible conservative commentators. 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 state of the runoff Senate election down in Mississippi. Fat shaming is inexcusable. But so is denying some of the health problems that come with being obese. Maria Konnikova gives us a pre-Thanksgiving report on the latest science and reminds us that obesity in the U.S. is driven by social "superforces" more than by personal choices. Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. In the Spiel, yes, it's absolutely OK to laugh (or shake one's head in disbelief) at President Trump's buffoonery. 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 historian at the White House Correspondents' Dinner? Why not? When a young Peter Sagal was labeled "not great at sports," it didn't sit well with him. But if that drove him to running in the first place, he now has plenty of reasons to keep up the pace—not the least of which is that it's a good thing to think, talk, and write about. Sagal is the host of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and the author of The Incomplete Book of Running. 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, violent, vicious, and terrible. These are a few of Trump's favorite words. In the interview: Verne Lundquist announced sports games for decades. But in retirement, he has more time for classical music than whatever game is on TV. "I'm not a passionate sports fan," he says. "I've got X number of years to live in this life—let's experience as much of it as we can." Lundquist is the author of Play by Play: Calling the Wildest Games in Sports—From SEC Football to College Basketball, the Masters, and More. In the Spiel, there are four kinds of presidents. Trump's the worst kind. 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, President Donald Trump has finally made a nomination for ambassador to South Africa. And it is a terrible one. It's hard to make comedy when your story, like Ben Stiller's latest direction, is based on a state inspector general's report. Escape at Dannemora is drama through and through, based on the prison break of two men, aided by a female employee (and lover), from New York's Clinton Correctional Facility. Stiller talks filming bad sex, turning villains into heroes, and what makes Patricia Arquette a great actress. Escape at Dannemora premieres Sunday on Showtime. In the Spiel, get this: a podcast where the interviews never get past "hello!" and "can you hear me all right?" 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, Nancy Pelosi and new House leadership. Then, the self-help organization known as NXIVM had thousands of paying customers, but only some were involved in the cultish operations that, once exposed, brought it crashing down. In Uncover: Escaping NXIVM, host Josh Bloch follows one of the company's unknowing recruiters, who disavowed the group and became central to the ongoing FBI charges against its founder, Keith Raniere. We also hear from Susan Dones, another former member of NXIVM. In the Spiel, Brexit is back. 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 running in 2020? Should we even speculate yet? Time for another segment of Mike debates Slate. Staff writer Henry Grabar is here to discuss Amazon's choice of New York City, why people seem to keep misunderstanding what subsidies are, and how the benefits of Amazon moving to Long Island City outweigh the costs to the city. In the Spiel, Jim Acosta's White House press credentials and asking multipart questions at press conferences. 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 will everyone stop walking and chewing gum at the same time? In the interview, it may have been a political stunt ahead of the midterms, but president Trump's deployment of U.S. service members to the border continues. What are they even up to? Veteran and writer Jack Murphy fills in the details, including how the mission is being received in the military community at large. Murphy is the editor in chief of NEWSREP. In the Spiel, Amazon's news and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 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, what kind of sped-up sports replays is Kellyanne Conway watching? The simplicity of basketball is also its genius, allowing players to exercise skill, heart, genius and passion in endlessly creative ways. Dan Klores embraces just that in his ESPN documentary Basketball: A Love Story and talks about specific players, the NBA's leaders, and why short players deserve more credit. In the Spiel, the DCCC may smack of establishment power, but it was damn effective at flipping House seats for Democrats. 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, by any previous standard, we'd be saying that President Donald Trump lost the midterms, plain and simple. In the interview, Tuesday's midterms saw red states get redder and blue ones bluer. If results like those keep repeating themselves, Slate panelists—Dahlia Lithwick, Jamelle Bouie, and Jim Newell, hosted live in New York by Mike Pesca—say America could soon feel like two distinct legal worlds. In the Spiel, Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was a tight end at the University of Iowa! And uh, that tells us nothing about his character. 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' big win. Bradley Tusk has been in the background everywhere. His hand guided the rise of big political and tech brands, from advising Rod Blagojevich not to extort Rahm Emanuel to facilitating Uber's explosive growth. He joins us to discuss his political savvy saving campaigns and startups and why he's so passionate about voting with your smartphone. Tusk's new book is The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups From Death by Politics. In the Spiel, misunderstanding democracy and trying to correct someone else's tweet. 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, was last night a wave or not? If congresswoman Jackie Speier still kept a gratitude journal ("I don't have time to do it!"), it would include an entry about the Democratic Party reclaiming the House in Tuesday's midterms. Instead she's out with a new memoir—Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back—and brings details on how her party's majority will put the squeeze on President Donald Trump. In the Spiel, Donald Trump's latest press conference. 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 gets to vote? Mimi Sheraton, the first female food critic at the New York Times, has had a prolific career sharing her opinion on everything like ladyfinger sellers, hope chests and china patterns, and why we're all eating kale wrong. She joins us today to talk her career as a food critic, why smelt isn't a crowd pleaser, and the importance of eating as a family. She's a delight on the Ask Mimi episodes of the Sporkful, and her most recent book is 1,000 Food to Eat Before You Die. In the Spiel, voting mistakes. 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, live, from Slate, it's a post-apocalyptic skit that just might come to pass if you don't vote on Tuesday. In the interview, for decades, there was no need to hope for (or fear) a blue wave; until 1994, the Democratic Party enjoyed a 40-year monopoly on the House of Representatives. Then came Newt Gingrich, who engineered the Republican sweep of the lower chamber, and who looms large in our guest Steve Kornacki's latest book, The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism. In the Spiel, more about (what else) the midterms. Also: Go vote. 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 Republican tax bill and insurance premiums. In the interview: a third-century monk, Paul Revere's horse, and Death himself … all are characters in humorist Simon Rich's latest book, Hits and Misses: Stories—and none are in on the joke. "I always related to the characters like Homer Simpson that knew less than they should," Rich says. "As a child those are the ones that I found more sympathetic and more rootable." In the Spiel, the unemployment numbers, and the lies we've told ourselves about the economy. 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, Pew's analysis of European opinion surveys is out. Let's look at Greece! In the interview, the American electorate has come to sort itself not just on political issues, but by worldview. Life is either a gauntlet of hazards (say Republicans) or an array of sights to see (as the Dems think). In their latest book, Prius or Pickup?, political scientists Marc Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler warn that these philosophical differences are sharper than what separated the voting blocs of previous generations. In the Spiel, Trump is out with a racist political ad, surprising precisely no one. 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's xenophobic campaign, with a Spooktacular twist! In the interview, hate is hard to measure, but the Southern Poverty Law Center paints a picture of growing prejudice in America. Heidi Beirich and the organization's Intelligence Project go beyond FBI and Department of Justice statistics to include press reports and even tips from the public. In the Spiel, swing, baby, swing (we're talking about congressional districts). 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, Mike's bottom five causes. In the interview, we rewind to the story of the mail bomber, which was quickly eclipsed by a massacre in Pittsburgh and one loud president. Steve Johnson, who directs Cranfield University's Forensic Explosive and Explosion Investigation program in the U.K., provides details about Cesar Sayoc's homemade devices. In the Spiel, Trump's desire to end birthright citizenship. 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, surprise surprise, right-wing commentators aren't apologizing for getting the mail bomber story totally wrong. In the interview, brands don't make it big by mistake. Behind the success of Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte and Jell-O are stories worth hearing. Dan Bobkoff's podcast for Business Insider, Household Name, explores the odd origins of TGI Fridays, the reason there's a Mattress Firm on every corner, and how a Donald Trump ad may have saved Pizza Hut (it's all about the stuffed crust). In the Spiel, the Pittsburgh shooter was fueled by hate. But just as importantly, he was armed with an AR-15. It's time to ban it. 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 man in the van is a sad man indeed. Harry Enten is a senior writer and analyst for CNN Politics and steeped in the polling data for the election. Will Beto O'Rourke beat Ted Cruz? Is the blue wave cresting early? And why do Democrats care about Hamilton? Enten joins us to discuss, and his more detailed forecast can be found online here. In the Spiel, time for another antentwig. 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, Georgia's exact match law is an extra hurdle for those with hyphenated last names, which, let us speculate, may be more common among black Americans. In the interview, CNBC contributor Ron Insana on Dow drops, market swings, and the uncertain rise of the job-stealing robots. In the Spiel, Megyn Kelly's reportedly been fired for her latest faux pas. What did NBC expect when they hired her? 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, Megyn Kelly's take on blackface was obviously wrong … and wrong for NBC's messaging. Sleep isn't for the weak; it's for those who want their brains flushed of misfolded proteins and fatigue-inducing adenosine. If that sounds like mumbo-jumbo, Maria Konnikova is here to explain it all and answer one question: Is the prescription for precisely eight hours of sleep bullshit? In the Spiel, President Trump riles up his base in all kinds of ways, but we can't honestly blame the recent spate of mail bombs on him and him alone. 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.