The Gist

On The Gist, about those outlandish celebrity baby names. When the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision made unlimited campaign contributions legal, one state put up a fight. In Dark Money, documentary filmmaker Kim Reed and journalist John Adams exposed the influence of anonymous campaign contributions on Montana's state government even before the Supreme Court rubber-stamped the problem. In the Spiel, would the high road be so easy to take if Papa John's pizza were delicious? 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, Girl Scouts are earning cybersecurity merit badges. Sinclair Broadcast Group is trying to acquire Tribune Media so it can extend its television reach, but Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is throwing up roadblocks, which is odd because Sinclair is so pro-Trump. NPR's David Folkenflik joins us to explain exactly what's going on and why Pai is hindering the company he previously seemed to help. In the Spiel, Vladimir Putin's denials that he has Donald Trump in his pocket. 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 crocodile massacre in Indonesia that got no attention. Work-life balance gets a lot of lip service, but we rarely pull it off. Brigid Schulte, host of the Better Life Lab podcast, is looking for solutions in a world of late-night work emails, shaky job security, and Workaholics Anonymous meetings. Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America. In the Spiel, president Trump's mea culpa was delivered with all the skill of a fourth-grader. 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 press conference with Putin and the red herrings involved. Silicon Valley is steeped in self-made mythology, with stories about giants like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Marissa Mayer. But how did Silicon Valley really come into being? Adam Fisher, whose new book is Valley of Genius: The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley, joins us to discuss where it all started—and the valley's potential future. In the Spiel, how journalists should respond to criticisms of the media and how they should hold talk show guests accountable. 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 turns out your ethnicity is really easy to guess. AnneMarie Sgarlata got rid of her TV months ago, but she still heard about President Trump's pardon of Dwight and Steven Hammond this week—and she wasn't happy. Sgarlata was among the lawyers who originally prosecuted the Hammonds for burning federal land and putting the lives of firefighters, hunters, and a teenage boy at risk. In the Spiel, what America's political parties can learn from cereal brand mascots. 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 biases of Peter Strzok and the need to connect accusations with actual evidence. President Trump's first appointment to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, benefited from anonymous donations worth millions. To Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, this "dark money" has created a frightening loop: Deemed lawful by the Supreme Court in 2010, it gives special interests a lock not just on elected officials, but on the courts themselves. In the Spiel, Trump might not know the difference between Wisconsin and Minnesota. 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, "Brett" has got to be the lamest name among Supreme Court justices (or nominees). "If Jim Brown's the past, Michael Bennett's the future." So says sports writer Dave Zirin, who recently published both a biography of Brown and co-authored Bennett's memoir. Why the contrast between these two football players? Michael Bennett is a deliberate progressive, while Jim Brown's work to save young men from gang life is marred by a history of domestic abuse. Zirin's books are Jim Brown: Last Man Standing and Things That Make White People Uncomfortable. In the Spiel, Rep. Jim Jordan picked the wrong hill to die on. 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 isn't strategic or defiant, he's just rapacious. When discussing #MeToo, the focus is often on the power that men exerted when sexually harassing women, but are their sexual motivations getting left out of the conversation? Emily Yoffe wrote about this in her new piece "Understanding Harvey," for the Highline, and joins us to discuss. In the Spiel, Hollywood has taught us that cars explode, but in reality they hardly ever do. Shouldn't movies teach us more practical lessons about how to handle crises? 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, comparing Trump's antics to a reality show is no longer a scarlet letter. Yes, there are storytelling competitions, and Matthew Dicks wins a lot of them. His secret? Keep it visual, and forget about the tangents. Dicks' new book is Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling. In the Spiel, "people trapped in holes" is a tale as old as time. 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 shamelessness of the Wall Street Journal editorial board on Scott Pruitt leaving the Environmental Protection Agency. Advertisements are a pain, interrupting our television programs and distracting us while we play games on our phones. They're a necessity though, funding all the entertainment we consume. Ken Auletta joins us to discuss the current state of advertising and its uncertain, data-driven future. Auletta's new book is Frenemies: The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (and Everything Else). In the Spiel, can we please just have targeted ads already? 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, Scott Pruitt is out as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency because it turns out someone really can be too corrupt for Trump. Let us next turn to the Supreme Court—not in America, but Poland, where the rightwing government is forcing nearly 40 percent of judges into retirement. Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer says the country's latest swerve toward authoritarianism proves that democracy can erode just about anywhere. In the Spiel, Michael Moore claims to know where the Democratic Party has gone wrong and what it needs to do to change direction, but how reliable is he? 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, let's watch the latest viral video from the conservative right. A certain group of Sherlock fans were convinced that John Watson and Sherlock would fall in love. When they didn't, those fans turned on the showrunners. But what responsibility do creators have to their fans? Should they take suggestions? Slate TV critic Willa Paskin dove into the question—and the Sherlock fanbase—on the second episode of Decoder Ring. In the Spiel, the Supreme Court confirmation process is broken. 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, Mitch McConnell's values have changed—again! Lounging around in the heat of a sauna might feel nice, but is it good for you, too? Maria Konnikova has gone through the studies (most of them from Finland, where you can't throw a hot rock without hitting a sauna) and is here to boil them down for us. Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. In the Spiel, let's not get carried away. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got fewer votes than some school district board members. 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's demonization of journalists is awful, but it's not the first thing to blame for the Capital Gazette shooting. The Atlantic recently ran a lengthy article about kids who consider the process of gender transition. Many critics took issue with the author's approach, accusing him of bias and an obsession with trans children. But were his efforts really in bad faith? Alex Barasch wrote a response to the piece for Slate and joins us to add to the debate. In the Spiel, FBI agents Lisa Page and Peter Strzok were sloppy, but their take on Trump was right on the money. 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 return of In Search Of hosted by Zachary Quinto, which used to be hosted by Leonard Nimoy, made us notice all the times actors have filled the shoes of others through multiple different reboots. The FIFA World Cup is great, but only the ConIFA World Football Cup has competitors from Székely Land, Abkhazia, and the County of Nice. Slate's Josh Keating wrote the book on Invisible Countries, those tiny nation-states with little recognition but great stories to tell. In the Spiel, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Joe Crowley in the recent Democratic primary race for Congress. Many commentators have called her authentic, but does that word have any actual meaning? 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, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's primary victory was thanks to low voter turnout. She still deserves it! Lawfare's executive editor Susan Hennessey says Trump's SCOTUS-approved travel ban is more dangerous in how it changes norms than how it changes facts on the ground. Also: Reality Winner's guilty plea is a no-brainer. In the Spiel, Justice Kennedy's upcoming retirement is the perfect occasion to talk about … Justice Clarence Thomas. 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 a Trump tweet can teach us about wine. The latest school shootings have galvanized an already politically minded generation. Harvard's John Della Volpe studies the voting habits of millennials, and how they could swing election results in 2018 and beyond. In the Spiel, the Supreme Court's support for Trump's travel ban is what happens when our checks and balances fail. 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 is the Democratic National Committee being held responsible for Hollywood and the media? Calvin Buari dealt crack in the Bronx, but that doesn't make him a killer. Buari was convicted of a double murder in 1995 and started a campaign to prove his innocence from behind bars. A big part of that was making phone calls to journalist Steve Fishman, who turned his years of reporting into the binge-worthy Panoply podcast Empire on Blood, and joined us on the Gist. In the Spiel, Mike tackles the decline of civility, whether democrats should jeer at Trump's staff in public, or if we've just found a new stasis. 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, Rep. Jim Jordan's underwhelming attention to detail. Franchesca Ramsey burst onto the YouTube scene with her viral video, "Shit White Girls Say… to Black Girls." Ramsey's latest video project, MTV News' Decoded, is similar: fun, earnest, and educational. Ramsey's book is Well, That Escalated Quickly: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist. In the Spiel, about Melania's jacket. 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, those beacons of honesty—retiring Republican members of the Congress. Cremation has the carbon footprint of a 1,000-mile road trip, your average bee has nearly 1 million brain cells, and only 3 to 4 percent of gossip is actually "malicious." Those are all statistics relayed in Walt Hickey's Numlock News, the daily newsletter he started after four years at FiveThirtyEight. In the Spiel, graduation songs over the years. 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 President Trump made not breaking up families look like his idea. Why are the U.S.'s political parties weak? Is the "job guarantee" policy smart? Do voters perceive the economy accurately? Dan Pfeiffer has all the answers. He's a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama and part of the Pod Save America posse. Pfeiffer's new book is Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump. In the Spiel, the United States shouldn't be leaving the U.N. Human Rights Council. It should work to make it better. 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 inaugural edition of "whoah there, girl!" Political parties are like people: They grow and change, their values shift, and sometimes they become downright belligerent. Lilliana Mason says America's two political parties are in the middle of a shift, and it won't be over anytime soon: "What happened to conservative southern Democrats after the Civil Rights Act passed? They didn't like it. … It took an entire generation for conservative Southern Democrats to become Republicans." Mason is the author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity. In the Spiel, "angel moms" deserve sympathy, but they're being used. 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 we can't pronounce Peter Strzok's name right, how will we remember his newfound infamy? If you consider yourself progressive, chances are Trump's presidency feels like a nightmare. But Politico's Michael Grunwald returns to the Gist with the argument that Obama's legacy is mostly intact—at least on the domestic front. Grunwald's latest book is The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era. In the Spiel, lookism be damned, it's time to make fun of Stephen Miller. 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 he lies: a new theory. "I've hit rock bottom. I'm writing for a cartoon." Such were the thoughts of Mike Reiss when he joined the writers' room for The Simpsons in 1989. Thirty years later, he's worked on all but two seasons of the show, and says it's had one real impact: making television smarter and faster. Reiss' book, co-written with Mathew Klickstein, is Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies From a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons. In the Spiel, stop us if you've heard this one before: President Donald Trump creates a problem, sometimes makes the problem a little less bad, and then takes a load of credit. 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, McClatchy White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez explains the ramifications of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy to prosecute migrants who cross the border illegally. One early consequence: The U.S. government needs more places to detain children separated from their parents. In the Spiel, the nasty things celebrities say—and their supposedly enormous power to get people to vote stupidly. 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, some fun facts about U.S. Senate candidate Corey Stewart. In 2010, a certain Christopher Steele was hired to look into Russia's bid to host the World Cup in 2018. What he found ultimately led to a U.S. investigation into FIFA's thoroughgoing sleaziness. There are, around the world, multiple criminal probes around FIFA, and BuzzFeed's Ken Bensinger says "more shoes will fall." Bensinger is the author of Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World's Biggest Sports Scandal. In the Spiel, Macedonians, Greeks, and irredentism. 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 brief review of President Trump's roster of losers (and winners). Clint Watts is a man of many strengths. He's a former FBI agent and a cybersecurity expert. He can break down information warfare to bleary-eyed U.S. senators. He's been known to track al-Shabaab adherents on Twitter. Watts returns to The Gist to explain how the U.S. government underestimated Russia, and how he himself fell for fake news when trying to protect his daughter. Watts' new book is Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News. In the Spiel, the folly of Donald Trump's new friendship with Kim Jong-un. 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 the Trump-Kim summit goes as poorly as the president's business ventures, we're doomed. Maria Konnikova is here to smoke out false claims about cannabidiol, or the CBD oil extracted from cannabis. Can it help with insomnia, depression, and epilepsy? We find out in the latest round of "Is That Bulls—t?" Konnikova is a New Yorker contributor and author of The Confidence Game. In the Spiel, the White House's handling of the G-7 fallout was clueless, thin-skinned, and petty. In other words: peak Trumpism. 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 raised the bar on what's considered a gaffe, and EPA head Scott Pruitt is taking advantage of that. Very few comedians have never been to therapy. Jerry Seinfeld is one. Tom Papa is another. Papa tells us about cracking jokes at Minnesota Public Radio's Live From Here and his new book, Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas. In the Spiel, 'tis time for a Lobstar of the Antentwig (right after a response to some sexist tweets). 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, comparing Bill Clinton to basketball great Michael Jordan. Bikram Choudhury's status as a star yoga guru gave him license to be odd (spiritual but with a soft spot for luxury cars, and always wearing a Speedo). But there was more to it than quirkiness, as sexual assault allegations beginning in 2013 basically expelled Choudhury from the United States. ESPN's Julia Henderson practiced Bikram Yoga, before capturing the rise and fall of its founder in a five-part podcast: Bikram. In the Spiel, punning on some of the weirder names in the news these days. 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, IHOP is changing its name to IHOb. And Mike is here to make fun of that. James Clapper was a senior intelligence adviser for both Republican and Democratic administrations. He was also part of the team that informed President-elect Donald Trump of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Now, as a private citizen, Clapper says he believes Russia actually swung the vote. "That's why you write books," says Clapper. "Because you can express your opinions freely. And I did." His latest is Facts and Fears: Hard Truths From a Life in Intelligence. In the Spiel, our expectations of a first lady are sexist and constricting. Cut Melania Trump some slack for not fitting into them. 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, at this point, whatever the Trump administration doesn't say under oath is very possibly untrue. In 1963, Robert F. Kennedy met with black America's greatest artists and intellectuals to talk about race. "And they lit his ass up," according to our guest, making known just how much needed to be done to address racial inequality. Michael Eric Dyson wrote a book about the encounter and its relevance to race issues today. Dyson's book is What Truth Sounds Like. In the Spiel, Miss America is scrapping its swimsuit competition, instantly making the United States perfectly meritocratic. Wait, not really. 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, no matter how well the economy goes, pundits can always tell a scary story. What do we get wrong about Darwinism? Evolutionary ornithologist Richard O. Prum says the theory was distorted by Victorian prudes. He explains why a closer look at bird sex shows us what's really going on with adaptation and natural selection. Prum's book is The Evolution of Beauty. In the Spiel, yes, "unindictable" would mean the president could commit any crime he wants, even the colorful ones. But let's not get carried away. 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 appreciation of the man who invented Pong. Barbara Lipska's career as a neuroscientist did not prepare her to identify the dark effects of her own brain tumors diagnosed in 2015. There's studying a damaged brain, and then there's having one. Lipska is the author of The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery. In the Spiel, let's hear it for the ancillary news. 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, Samantha Bee said it first, so let us meditate on the C-word. In defense of Googling your own name: Kirsten Pflomm is a white woman from Connecticut who did an online search 15 years ago and discovered she was the descendant of Iceland's famous first black citizen, Hans Jonathan, who escaped slavery and became a war hero. In the Spiel, the Nobel Peace Prize? All President Trump wants are apologies and thank-you'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, have you heard the one about the journalist who faked his own death to dodge Russian assassins? It's boom times for female buddy comedies. Mike talks to director Alex Richanbach and screenwriter Lauryn Kahn about their new Netflix comedy, Ibiza. Who said men have to star in all the movies about hedonistic sprees? In the Spiel, does anyone believe we have a coherent trade policy right 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 Tuesday's Gist, Roseanne gets run out on a rail. Comedian Chris Gethard reflects on how things have changed for his madcap live show, starting from its days on a public access channel to its current home on TruTV. "It's more a TV show than it's ever been, the larger platforms that we get to," says Gethard. "But … it's me, it's really me and I'm letting my guard down." The season finale of The Chris Gethard Show airs Tuesday on TruTV. In the Spiel, the mysterious name of a famous Russian painting. 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, we here at Slate take GDPR compliance very seriously … just not in this monologue. Before SNL, David Wain says, the countercultural comedy torch belonged to National Lampoon. The laugh magazine was created by Harvard graduates and became a creative laboratory for movies like Animal House and Caddyshack. Chief among them was Doug Kenney, the subject of Netflix biopic A Futile and Stupid Gesture, which Wain directs. In the Spiel, the nostalgia we feel around meals and dishes is overrated. It's not about the food; it's about the feels. 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 Thursday's Gist, tips for avoiding fake news? Thanks but no thanks, Facebook. There's a new documentary out about the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, and it got us thinking about the flaws in the public's perception of that saga. Reporter Derek John explains how the dominant narrative of the case was warped by an amateur crime blogger and a protective football team, despite the efforts of local prosecutors. John and Anders Kelto reported the story for Gamebreaker[NP1], a podcast by Audible. In the Spiel, the NFL's fans are way more liberal than its team owners. So how's the kneeling ban supposed to restore its ratings dip? 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 NFL can't give a decent explanation for its kneeling ban. Philip Roth's novels about Jewish life earned him every accolade short of, famously, the Nobel Prize. Mark Oppenheimer, the host of the podcast on all things Jewish (Unorthodox), argues that Roth's "radical candor" was sharply original before becoming a model to imitate. In the Spiel, there are a lot of "peripheral rogues" in Trump's orbit (how about those "taxi king" headlines?), but their public reckonings don't necessarily spell trouble for the president himself. 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 today's Gist, whatever happens in the governor's primary in Georgia Tuesday night, it will be a big step forward for women named Stacey. Neuroscientist and education researcher Sara Brownell explains what she found studying how gender affects students' perceptions of their own intelligence. Brownell is an assistant professor at Arizona State University. In the Spiel, consider the "no shit" factor in Trumpian news cycles these days. 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, Hawaii's "laze" is some seriously bad branding. In the interview, our two-party system may seem inevitable, but political scientist Sam Rosenfeld digs into its engineered history, including the 1950 government report that pushed the country "Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System." Before then, what you thought about health care, guns, or abortion had little to do with where your vote went. Rosenfeld is the author of The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era. In the Spiel, the latest school shooter didn't raise any red flags or wield an AR-15. But gun control is still what we need. 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, our attempt to track the new scoops that affected the Mueller investigation. We're not playing "Is That Bulls--t" on the show today, but if we were, comedy writer Nell Scovell would probably say, "Yes." Yes, the dearth of women in late-night writers' rooms is bulls--t. Yes, men's explanations are bulls--t. And, yes, sometimes women themselves willingly succumb to the bulls--t because, as Scovell says, "Look, this s--t is deep." Her new book is Just the Funny Parts. In the Spiel, denigrating the top 80 books sold on Amazon. 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 today's Gist, the Alex, Inc. drinking game you can play with the whole family. Becky Hammon is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs and is a leading candidate to become the first female head coach in the NBA. Hammon got passed over this week by the Milwaukee Bucks, but Ringer staff writer Shea Serrano and New Yorker contributor Louisa Thomas talk about why Hammon is still expected to break the NBA's glass ceiling. In the Spiel, today's off-the-cuff remarks from the president. 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 today's Gist: laurel or yanny? We have questions about the protests in Israel. Daniel Shapiro is here to answer them. Shapiro was the U.S. ambassador to Israel for most of the Obama administration. He is now a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies. In the Spiel, an irksome aspect to the coverage of the deaths in Gaza. 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 today's Gist, we're tearing up the playbook. We're playing the first episode of our new limited-run podcast, Upon Further Review, based on the book of the same name. In this episode, Slow Burn host Leon Neyfakh imagines how American history might have been different if Richard Nixon had been any good at playing football. For more fascinating sports what ifs, subscribe to Upon Further Review 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 today's Gist, is Sen. John McCain really the greatest political leader of all time? Have you heard of face gyms? Beauty gurus are rushing to recommend exercises for the forehead, chin, and cheeks to look younger and healthier. Our expert bullshitologist Maria Konnikova is here to scrutinize the case for facial toning. Konnikova is a contributor to the New Yorker and the author of The Confidence Game. In the Spiel, Salena Zito's populist divining rod. 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 mainstream media is too buttoned-up when describing the Trump administration's shenanigans. There is no Russian Federation as we know it without Vladimir Putin. Former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul explains how parts of Russian society are eager for new leadership despite that. As for its relations with the U.S., McFaul sees continuity in how the Obama and Trump administrations (though perhaps not Trump himself) put pressure on Russia. McFaul's new book is From Cold War to Hot Peace. In the Spiel, email newsletters are where you'll find the best and worst headlines. Plus, it's time to award a Lobstar of the 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, torture is torture, and the news media should call it that. Tiger Woods dominated his sport like perhaps no other athlete. But that success came at a price. Woods' almost military upbringing as a golfing machine lead to a lack of interpersonal connections and, years later, numerous scandals in the public eye. Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian are out with the eponymous biography Tiger Woods, and talk about the golfer's struggles, successes, and chances at redemption. In the Spiel, more thoughts on the awful practice that is torture. 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 today's Gist, Michael Cohen has weaved a tangled web, but the mere fact that it's confusing doesn't mean we can assume he's a criminal. Tim Weiner wrote the definitive book on the CIA in 2008 with his Legacy of Ashes. Today, he helps decipher the Senate confirmation testimony of Gina Haspel, President Trump's pick to be the next CIA director. Why is the CIA rooting for Haspel? How did she dodge questions about the agency's torture program? Would the hearing have gone differently if Sen. John McCain had been present? In the Spiel, why Gina Haspel should not be confirmed. 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.