The Gist

Brandt Tobler has had a crazy life. His stand-up comedy is the sum of his stories as a small-town wayward kid busting out of Wyoming. He was the don of a criminal syndicate he called the "mallfia," he ran the Las Vegas strip placing bets for gambling titans, and he plotted to kill his estranged father. He's also kind of a sweetheart. Tobler's book is Free Roll. In the Spiel, how cynicism breeds fake news. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Google's reputation for openness took a tumble when its CEO fired James Damore, the author of a memo questioning the company's efforts to achieve gender parity. Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Institute, blames the internet. She says easy access to data is allowing us to make dumb arguments. In the Spiel, Mike has more thoughts on the Google memo. Guess what? He dislikes 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.

Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, but he didn't spend his entire life in the ring. During the Vietnam War, he spent his time trying to avoid the draft as a conscientious objector. Journalist Leigh Montville says the struggle changed Ali's life—and the country. Montville's new book is Sting Like a Bee. In the Spiel, a closer look at the CV of the most important soil-health civil servant in the 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.

Over the last few years, the meaningful fault line between political camps has separated people rooted to certain places and people rooted to certain ideas. David Goodhart says the anywheres have become too dominant, and the somewhere have rightly felt excluded. How can we bridge the divide? Goodhart's book is The Road to Somewhere. In the Spiel, speak loudly domestically and you might hurt your credibility. Speak loudly internationally and you might end civilization. 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.

Be bold, but not arrogant. Apologize when wrong, but don't accept blame. Stay calm in a crisis. These are some of the lessons Mike Richards has learned hosting GSN's Divided, the social experiment masquerading as a game show. In the Spiel, why the Dow is for fuddy-duddies. 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.

Maria Bamford has been making top comedian lists for years, but she knows her stand-up isn't for everyone: "I can bomb any moment of the week, any day." On The Gist, she rebuts Mike's assertion that comics are more likely to struggle with depression. Bamford also explains why she wishes ESPN's postgame analysis were swapped out for televised confessional booths for the athletes. Her new Netflix show is Lady Dynamite. In the Spiel, Mike reads some of the mail responding to his takedown of the term white privilege and names another Lobstar. 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.

It's a special combo Gist, with an interview and Spiel rolled into one segment: Zoe Chace, producer for This American Life, digs up some old audio from one of her conversations with Anthony Scaramucci. The tape is from 2016, when the Mooch was pondering whether to support Donald Trump's presidential campaign. What Scaramucci said back then may indicate what he'll do next. 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.

What would you expect from a video game inspired by Henry David Thoreau's sojourn in the woods? In Walden, a game, players can contemplate the forest, go boating with Ralph Waldo Emerson, and practice civil disobedience. The game was developed by the Game Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California. Lab Director Tracy Fullerton explains why she thinks Thoreau might have liked the game. In the Spiel, our faith in the military might not be blind, but it is blinkered. 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.

Psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett is the grand inquisitor of human emotions. Her book, How Emotions Are Made, inspired a big chunk of the latest season of NPR's Invisibilia. Barrett says scientific research shows that emotions are highly variable and utter creations of our minds. Some of her resulting conclusions may surprise you. In the Spiel, Mike goes there: white privilege and rape culture. 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 years ago, an unassuming young woman named Kelly Sun teamed up with Phil Ivey, the world's most famous poker player. Using some questionable strategies, the two managed to win millions of dollars from casinos across the world. Now the casinos are saying what they did is cheating, and they're trying to get their money back in court. Reporter Rose Eveleth tells Sun and Ivey's story in a new audio documentary, A Queen of Sorts, part of the ESPN podcast series 30 for 30. In the Spiel, yeah, no, #NoConfederate. 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.

Alan Alda's new book is called If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? The title comes from his own bad experiences talking to doctors and other science professionals, including one that screwed up his smile for years. "We need to get people talking like people…it's all about empathy," says the actor, who also founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. In The Spiel, why we should actually care about the bizarre Scaramucci–New Yorker interview. 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.

Tom Jennings dug through hours of archival media footage to tell the story of Son of Sam, the serial killer who terrorized New York City in 1976 and 1977. The resulting documentary is part of the Smithsonian Channel's Lost Tapes series. The Lost Tapes: Son of Sam airs Sunday on the Smithsonian Channel. Also, a breakdown of the Boy Scouts' apology for Donald Trump's jamboree speech. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

According to Joan C. Williams, about a third of the country feels talked down to. These are the white working class folks, the people who went for Trump, the people who feel that terms like disruption just mean more hassle and pain. "We can't expect people to have elite values if we don't give them elite lives," says Williams. She's the author of the book White Working Class. For the Spiel, why does everyone sound like Goodfellas while doing an Anthony Scaramucci impression? 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.

After the G-20 Summit, Ian Bremmer broke the news to Americans about Trump's secret second meeting with Vladimir Putin. He says he did it because so many American allies were commenting on the rendezvous in private. "The people in the room, they found it disconcerting that the person Trump was more comfortable with is their adversary," says Bremmer. He joins us to discuss Russia, Rex Tillerson's future in the White House, and the decline of American power. Bremmer is an author and risk analyst at the Eurasia Group. For the Spiel, did you know the Washington Post is owned by Amazon? Trump really wants you to know that. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

When Kevin McDonald moved to New York, his sketch troupe, Kids in the Hall, had a deal with Lorne Michaels to make a new comedy show. But these were during some lean years for Michaels. "We were in a closet," says McDonald, "and he was being audited, so it was us and a bunch of auditors. Once in a while, if we said something really funny, we could hear the auditors giggling on the other side of the room." While Kids in the Hall was never as famous as Saturday Night Live, the show became legendary for a discerning subset of comedy fans. "It's like unsweetened lemonade—only 20 percent of people like us, but those who do really love us." McDonald is now hosting a podcast with live shows across the U.S. For the Spiel, a not so surreal end for Salvador Dalí's remains. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

If things had gone well, America would still be in the Paris Agreement on climate change, green energy would be spreading across the country and Al Gore wouldn't have needed to make a sequel to An Inconvenient Truth. But it didn't work out that way. With his new movie hitting theaters next week, Gore remains hopeful during these depressing times. "If somebody told me five years ago, marriage equality would be the law in all 50 states, I would have asked what they were smoking," says the former vice president. "But it did happen, because it became a choice between right and wrong. That's where the climate movement is now." For the Spiel, why persuading doubters is so hard when it comes to climate change science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Sacks is not just a comedian; he's also a comedy historian. This summer, he's unearthed a rare artifact, the cult classic, Dixie-fried action movie Stinker Lets Loose. "Some famous people have cited this movie as a big influence on them," says Sacks, citing Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. "You can hear it in some of his lyrics, for sure." A 40th-anniversary novelization of Stinker is available now, with an intro by Sacks. For the Spiel, why does Donald Trump keep saying stupid things to the New York Times, a newspaper he purports to hate? 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.

Maria Konnikova returns to look at a tool prosecutors have used for decades: handwriting analysis, or graphology. Older versions of the practice have used handwriting to predict everything from a person's mental state to their capacity for murder. "People have been convicted based on it," says Konnikova. "We're not talking about phrenology. Graphology is still something that exists in the United States. There are societies of graphologists." Konnikova is the author of The Confidence Game and host of the Panoply podcast The Grift. For the Spiel, Trump's voting commission may be hobbled, but it can still do some real harm. 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.

Economist Tyler Cowen is disdainful of social media, heartened by recent immigrants, and wary of pot. He thinks that, in our collective desire for comfort, we are postponing big and necessary changes that will sow instability in the years ahead. "Right now Americans are failing to regenerate sources of future progress," Cowen writes, "and thus they are borrowing against the future rather than paying their bills." Cowen's latest book is The Complacent Class. In the Spiel, are things going any better abroad? 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.

Our friend Dan Pashman from the Sporkful podcast returns to explain the new field of study known as gastrophysics and why our brains have a big influence over how we taste food. For example, research shows we like the taste of food served with heavy cutlery and ice cream presented with brighter colors. "It could be something evolutionary," says Pashman. "With brighter colors, ice cream tastes sweeter." Check out Pashman's interview with gastrophysicist Charles Spence. For the Spiel: Ann Coulter versus Delta, Day 3. 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.

Director David Lowery has made one of the most remarkable films of 2017 so far, and he's built it around a ridiculous image: a white sheet with two eye-holes cut out. So what makes "A Ghost Story" feel so epic? And what's with that 10-minute pie scene? Spoilers abound. For the Spiel: so, who was in the room with Don Jr. and the Russians? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Retired Admiral James Stavridis wants to remind us: Despite headlines about the rise of ISIS, there are bigger existential threats to America. "Terrorism is not apocalyptic, it's a tool," says Stavridis. He warns that conflicts with Russia and China are much more worrisome and likely to include a maritime component. "Again and again when there's a crisis, the first question from the president is, where are the [aircraft] carriers? They are flexible and they can strike." His new book is Sea Power. In the Spiel, making a supergroup of the musicians in Trump's White House. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

It's not that things are so terribly bad right now, it's that circumstances have failed to keep up with expectations. So says Edward Luce, chief U.S. columnist for the Financial Times, whose new book surveys the ensuing crisis of confidence in liberal democracies. Luce's book is The Retreat of Western Liberalism. In the Spiel, Bridgegate winds down. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes on the latest #ENSH (errant national security horses---) and the brewing scandal surrounding Donald Trump Jr.'s emails. In the Spiel, we're going back to the event that set all this in motion: the Miss Universe pageant of 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The jobs report has been good, the U.S. isn't in a shooting war, and the economy is booming. So why is Trump still in the high 30s in terms of popularity? Political scientist Seth Masket says it's because of Trump's abrasive presence on Twitter. Masket recently made the case for why it's in everyone's best interest for the president and the social media giant to part ways in the Pacific Standard. In the Spiel, Kellyanne Conway, the gift that keeps on giving. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Daniel Okrent did not have a lot of fun as the first public editor for the New York Times. "I was like internal affairs in a police department," said Okrent. "Nobody liked to see me coming." That said, Okrent defends the role ombudsmen play at news organizations, and he thinks the Times messed up earlier this year when it axed the public editor position. In the Spiel, there was no Labrador at the Trump-Putin meeting, so … good sign? 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.

Conservative Philip Klein doesn't think the presence of moderate senators means we'll get better health care policy. "Centrists always get credit and adoration by many elements of the media for talking to the other side and not being ideologically rigid," he says. "But I think that's another way of saying they can be bought off easily." Klein writes about health policy for the Washington Examiner. Also, the failing New York Times op-ed. 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.

Gov. Chris Christie's time in the national spotlight has been full of bloopers. But no goof appears as consequential as his call to cancel the ARC project, halting construction of an additional train tunnel between New Jersey and New York City. WNYC's Matt Katz explains why Christie killed ARC. In the Spiel, Chris Christie and the fat-man theory of optics. 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.

Eddie Izzard once thought about playing piano for a living. He's done one professional show. It was in front of tens of thousands of people. That's because fans will watch the comedian do pretty much anything, from running marathons, to telling jokes in German. His new book is Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens. Also, we celebrate an unheralded date in history: July 3rd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

NPR's Hanna Rosin and Alix Spiegel explain what they learned about feelings from their third season of Invisibilia. Society has come around to the idea that emotions are a force to be reckoned with – is that a good thing? In the Spiel, it's time to name another Lobstar. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Crime writer Don Winslow says writing a novel about cops and cartels involves some pretty serious research. "In researching these books," says Winslow, "I meet people. I've been to the funerals, talked to the cops. I've made the sympathy calls!" His newest book, about the NYPD, is The Force. In the Spiel, Trump's worst tweet yet! Oh boy. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Reporter Marc Fisher explains why he called out a classic game of D.C. deceit in the pages of the Washington Post. And Michelle LaRue, the official Gist penguin expert, returns to explain some news about those troublesome birds. In the Spiel, how would a normal president handle our world affairs? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Anne Helen Petersen returns to discuss her new posting—as the Western correspondent for BuzzFeed. Petersen will be reporting on U.S. political culture from her new home, Missoula, Montana. "There's a reason every newspaper used to have bureaus in every part of the country," says Petersen, who recently covered the recent razor-thin House race in which notorious Republican Greg Gianforte came out on top. On the Spiel, when everything becomes a calamity, nothing is a calamity. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Anne Helen Petersen has made a career on the rigorous, deep, academic study of celebrity culture. In her new book Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, Petersen explores the rise of norm-breaking women such as Lena Dunham and Serena Williams and what their ascendency can tell us about the political moment we're living in. Petersen's day job is senior culture writer at BuzzFeed. Also, the Supreme Court makes a surprise ruling, and the Congressional Budget Office makes an unsurprising report. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Author Jeremy McCarter (co-writer of Hamilton: The Revolution with Lin-Manuel Miranda) has written a new book tracing five American radicals from the 1910s and '20s. "I had thought this was going to be a book about a chapter of progress in history we could learn from," says McCarter. "But 1917 is a lot closer to what I thought I would see in my lifetime." Young Radicals is available now. In the Spiel, a lot of people really, really did not like Otto Warmbier. 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.

Scaachi Koul, a writer for BuzzFeed, talks about growing up as a brown girl in Canada's "Cowtown," and how she set off a tweetstorm by soliciting job applications from writers who are "not white and not male." Koul's book of essays is One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter. In the Spiel, legislative and executive reaction to the healthcare bill. 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.

There are two Wallace Shawns. There's the character actor, known for playing eccentrics in The Princess Bride and The Good Wife and voicing cartoon dinosaurs. ("I don't get cast as a lot of real people," he notes.) Then there's the acclaimed playwright, thinker, and ardent leftist. Shawn is out with a new collection of political musings, Night Thoughts, which address everything from inequality to the changing climate. In the Spiel, Travis Kalanick, don't let the cab door hit you on the way out. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Tom Shapiro is back to explain the thinking behind the title of his book, Toxic Inequality. What's so toxic about it? Shapiro is a professor at Brandeis University, where he directs the Institute on Assets and Social Policy. In the Spiel: Based on the information available, what can we conclude about the media coverage of terrorism? Mike talks to Erin Miller, who oversees the Global Terrorism Database. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. has a racial wealth gap problem. By one estimate, at current levels of wealth growth it would take 228 years for the average black family to catch up with levels of wealth among white families. Thomas Shapiro explains some of the surprising reasons parity remains so elusive in his book, Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future. In the Spiel, there's a reason why the wise people over at Lawfare say this administration is malevolence tempered by incompetence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The new movie Okja has pretty much everything. Car chases. Giant mutant pigs. A dystopian future. Jake Gyllenhaal with an outlandish moustache. A subtle social message. Tilda Swinton pretending to be Tony Blair. The movie is written by Korean director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) and returning guest Jon Ronson. Ronson takes us into the craft of writing the year's wildest movie. In the Spiel, why congressional comity is 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.

A big problem with political arguments, says Robb Willer, is that everyone sees himself or herself as the hero in a zombie movie. "American liberals see themselves as Brad Pitt warding off a zombie horde," says Willer. "But the problem is conservatives see themselves the same way," and no one is able to make arguments that appeal to the other side. Willer teaches sociology at Stanford and writes about the delicate art of political persuasion for places such as the New York Times. In the Spiel, please Mr. President, don't throw the special prosecutor into the briar patch. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Bill Schutt says no one from his childhood is surprised to find out he's been studying cannibalism—after all, he was into vampire bats as a kid. For his new book, he's investigated the (natural) history of people eating one another and why it's only been taboo in some countries, like China, for a short time. In the Spiel, how we talk about domestic terrorism. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

You're awkward, but maybe not in the way you think. Psychologist Ty Tashiro explains the hallmarks of social awkwardness, why we're sensitive to it, and why it's not such a bad thing. Tashiro is the author of Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome. In the Spiel, more on Donald Trump's 'dear leader' cabinet meeting. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Bassem Youssef hasn't cut open a chest in six years. And he doesn't miss it. "Being into medicine for 19 years, it's a character builder," says the Egyptian comedian, who says his old job prepped him well for his new one. Youssef went from being a surgeon in Cairo to the Jon Stewart of Egypt, a satirist with 40 million views a week. Youssef's brief reign as the king of Egyptian comedy is the focus of a new documentary, Tickling Giants, which is now out on VOD. On the Spiel, Trump has finally accomplished something unthinkable as president. He's got people talking about Shakespeare in the Park. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus. 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.

Last August, Larry Wilmore's talk show was canceled. The Nightly Show focused on issues like equality, activism, and how racism subtly wormed its way into American life. In hindsight, it feels ahead of its time. Wilmore is out with a new podcast, Black on the Air. In the Spiel: Sometimes democracy sucks. 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.

Wednesday on The Gist, John Pfaff refuted the conventional wisdom about mass incarceration. Thursday, Pfaff explains some of the obstacles to reform. Pfaff's book is Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform. In the Spiel, a loyally honest review of James Comey's testimony. 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.

John Pfaff is on a mission to topple the well-worn myths of the U.S. prison population boom. He says the data tells us to focus on the district attorneys, not the Department of Justice. Pfaff teaches at Fordham University School of Law and is the author of Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform. This is Part I of our interview with Pfaff -- listen tomorrow for Part II. In the Spiel, how are YOU celebrating Infrastructure Week? 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.

There's almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, soy milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, and milk made from anything that grows, pretty much. But is any of it actually milk? And is it actually healthier than dairy? Our debunker-in-chief, Maria Konnikova, investigates the lofty claims of nondairy milks. Konnikova is a contributor to the New Yorker, and the author of The Confidence Game. Her new podcast is called the Grift. In today's Spiel, the White House's long con on infrastructure. 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.

People tell Google things they wouldn't say to anyone else. That's the big insight that motivated the research of Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. His book, Everybody Lies, is about the stories and secrets he uncovered by digging into internet search data. In the Spiel, the best jokes that Mike made on vacation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2008, Al Franken was elected to the United States Senate. Since then, he's become a well-respected member of the upper chamber. But he hasn't lost his keen eye for satire. After the Supreme Court's decision on same-sex marriage, "I wanted to release a thing saying, 'Mr. Franken is very happy, but he thinks Justice Scalia's dissent was very gay,' " he tells guest host Zoe Chace. "My team told me I couldn't do that." Franken is the author of a new book, Al Franken: Giant of the Senate. Today's Spiel, an ode to the underappreciated, soon-to-be-extinct White House press briefing. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus. 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.