The Gist

Mike weighs in on the one and only debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In The Gist, Arun Venugopal looks at a place that could stand in for America as a whole during this election: Long Island, New York, home to high levels of taxation, opioid addiction, and support for Donald Trump. Venugopal walks us through some of the stories that help explain the psychology of this year's campaign. For the Spiel, Mike takes a look at the closest Senate races. Panoply survey We want you to tell us about the podcasts you enjoy and how often you listen to them. So we created a survey that takes just a couple of minutes to complete. If you fill it out, you'll help Panoply to make great podcasts about the things you love—and things you didn't even know you loved. To fill out the survey, just go to megaphone.fm/survey. Today's sponsors: Indochino, the company that's reinventing men's fashion. Go to Indochino.com to get any premium suit for just $389, plus free shipping, when you use promo code gist at checkout. Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st-century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. 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.

In The Gist, what can we really find out from the Donald Trump tax leak? As Philip Hackney argues, not a lot. Hackney is a professor of tax law at Louisiana State University and formerly worked as counsel at the Internal Revenue Service. He says that Trump's returns don't indicate any wrongdoing per se. But there's lots of ways he might have used the tax system to his advantage to save money. For the Spiel, even more on Trump, taxes, and hypocrisy. Panoply survey: We want you to tell us about the podcasts you enjoy and how often you listen to them. So we created a survey that takes just a couple of minutes to complete. If you fill it out, you'll help Panoply to make great podcasts about the things you love—and things you didn't even know you loved. To fill out the survey, just go to megaphone.fm/survey. Today's sponsors: Indochino, the company that's reinventing men's fashion. Go to Indochino.com to get any premium suit for just $389, plus free shipping, when you use promo code gist at checkout. Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st-century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. 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.

On The Gist, Simon Doonan ponders the rise and fall of pretentiousness in the past 20 years. Doonan writes for Slate and is creative ambassador for Barneys New York. For the Spiel, it's the 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.

Malcolm Gladwell's career has been all about ideas—but what he really specializes in is their packaging and delivery. On The Gist, Gladwell tells the story behind his earliest obsessions and explains what he's learned trafficking in unconventional theories. He is working on the second season of his hit Panoply podcast, Revisionist History. For the Spiel, a contrarian take on Donald Trump's comments about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. 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.

Storyteller Matthew Dicks has one rule for getting better at telling stories: At the end of every day, scribble down the moment that makes the most promising tale. Today on The Gist, we hear from a listener who followed that advice. For the Spiel, a bungled marriage proposal at the New York Yankees game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In The Gist, PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins surveys the presidential campaigns' get-out-the-vote efforts: "The first caveat is a lot of the rules don't apply to this campaign." In the Spiel, are presidential debates like the NFL Scouting Combine? They're not enough to show if a player will be good on the field, but they're enough to show a player has no business being there in the first place? 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.

Hillary shimmied, Donald interrupted and Lester Holt tried to keep it all together. The Gist team was at Hofstra University for the first presidential debate, and spoke to everyone from campaign managers to senators to a ribald former general. 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 Gist is awaiting the first presidential debate and preparing a rapid response for early Tuesday morning. In the meantime, we hear from Jeremy Epstein: Four years ago, he was a 20-year-old Hofstra University student facing uncertain job prospects. But after he asked Barack Obama and Mitt Romney about the economy during the first debate, he became briefly famous. He was even impersonated by Fred Armisen on Saturday Night Live. Now, Epstein walks us through what it's like to ask a question on the debate stage, and if he thinks Lester Holt should pull a Candy Crowley. 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 world is not flat, Google hasn't yet mapped everything, and there are yet places in the world that don't take your AmEx card. Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders is the immense catalog of the world's curiosities, from the rainbow river of South America to the medical device museum in Minnesota. On The Gist, editors Dylan Thuras and Ella Morton of Atlas Obscura explain their taxonomy of awe-inspiring sights. In the Spiel, the return of the Trump Anxiety Hotline. Today's sponsors: The Girl on the Train, in theaters Oct. 7. Upstanders, a new podcast from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Hear stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to create positive change in their communities. Listen and subscribe to Upstanders on iTunes starting Sept. 7. 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.

Do you have great aspirations of being the best president the United States has ever known? On The Gist, journalist Robert Strauss says you'd be better off trying to learn from the mistakes of America's duds. That's why Strauss wrote Worst. President. Ever. about James Buchanan, who has the distinct dishonor of setting the national stage for the Civil War. In the Spiel, Mike takes on the myth of the "perfect voter." 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.

For their second movie, Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller gave themselves a challenge: Make a period mockumentary about the faking of the moon landing, on a total shoestring budget. Johnson says the finished product, Operation Avalanche, wouldn't have been possible without the (unwitting) support of NASA, who let the filmmakers shoot inside the unaltered mission control from 1969. The film opens across North America this month. On the Spiel, Mike tries to get through to those millennials kicking the tires on Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. Today's sponsors: The Gist is brought to you by The Girl on the Train, in theaters October 7th. And by ABC's new series, Designated Survivor. Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Cabinet member who is thrust into the presidency after a devastating attack on the government. Designated Survivor premieres Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT on ABC. 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.

Maureen Dowd has covered every president since the early '90s. The second President Bush even gave her a nickname: "The Cobra." In her new book, Dowd examines what it takes to lead the country and what the press is missing about the current Republican nominee. On the Spiel, Mike laments a bygone age of TV advertising. Today's sponsors: The Gist is brought to you by Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing FREE when you go to Betterment.com/gist. And by ABC's new series Designated Survivor. Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Cabinet member who is thrust into the presidency after a devastating attack on the government. Designated Survivor premieres Wednesday, Sept. 21 on ABC. 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.

In 2012, Republicans won a solid majority in the House of Representatives, but only 48 percent of the vote. How did it happen? The Hill's national correspondent, Reid Wilson, talks about the unusual forces influencing down-ballot races this year. There's more money from outside forces, like the Koch brothers, but also hyperlocal issues that get lost in coverage of the presidential race. On the Spiel, Mike considers an appropriate response to the bombings in Manhattan and New Jersey. Today's sponsors: Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. ABC's new series Designated Survivor. Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Cabinet member who is thrust into the presidency after a devastating attack on the government. Designated Survivor premieres on ABC Wednesday, Sept. 21. 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.

The political upheaval of 1968 was ferocious, but the Billboard charts still reflected a calm, placid sensibility. Our guest Chris Molanphy looks at the year in radio hits, from Herb Alpert's debut as a singer to the novelty tracks competing for air time with the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel. Molanphy writes Slate's Why Is This Song No. 1? column. For the Spiel, a debate with Politico Magazine writer Bill Scher: Was Hillary Clinton taking a risk with her "deplorables" comment? 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, FiveThirtyEight senior political writer and analyst Harry Enten says an averaging of the polls still shows Hillary Clinton has a hefty lead over Donald Trump. Enten also explains the difference between election forecasting and weather forecasting. For the Spiel, seeing the world through Trump-shaded glasses. 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.

Does being left-handed make you a threat to civilized society? On The Gist, Maria Konnikova tells the story of the mustachioed Italian criminologist who gave southpaws a bad reputation. But what does handedness really tell us about the brain? Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. This week, Mike challenged his audience to find someone in the country who is torn between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Well, the search is over: We talk to a listener who likes 'em both. For the Spiel, does Donald Trump believe children are our future? 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.

Robby Mook has a tricky job. As Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, he has to find a way to pin down Donald Trump, whose gaffes are constantly overtaking each other. Mook talks to Mike Pesca about the challenge of crafting a single message to combat Trump and recent events on the campaign trail, including Hillary Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis. Plus, director Ryan Suffern on his recent ESPN documentary "What the Hell Happened to Jai Alai?" which looks at the swift rise and fall of the sport in America. How come jai alai was never seen as a competitor to football, hockey, and baseball? For the Spiel, going to school on college rankings. 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 Clinton Foundation is a superstar in the world of philanthropy—is it OK that it leverages power and celebrity to achieve its mission? On The Gist, two experts disagree. Kenneth Stern, former CEO of NPR, sheds no tears for the Clinton Foundation. He thinks vanity-giving helps inferior charities persist. Stern is the author of With Charity for All: Why Charities Are Failing and a Better Way to Give. His company has done work for the Clinton Foundation. Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, says the Clinton Foundation uses its political heft for good. She adds that the most ambitious charities in the U.S. were started by titans of industry seeking to improve their reputations. For the Spiel, a few choice words about Rudy Giuliani. 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.

Tony Kornheiser is joining the pod people. On The Gist, the man behind the Tony Kornheiser Show explains his dive into podcasting: "I watched newspapers die under me.... I began to get the sense that radio was going to die under me too. And so I jumped." Kornheiser also hosts ESPN's Pardon The Interruption alongside Michael Wilbon. For the Spiel, pencils down: It's time for the 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.

Drew Magary is down to hang. His past story assignments for GQ include a day with Duck Dynasty and a trip with the Kid Rock cruise. But Magary, author of the "Why Your Team Sucks" series­­ on Deadspin, is not one to equivocate. On The Gist, he shares his secret to immersive reporting and explains why he's OK with grown men who wear sports jerseys. His latest book is The Hike: A Novel. For the Spiel, Donald Trump's generalizing about generals. Today's sponsors: Blue Apron. Blue Apron's meal kits are delivered right to your door and make cooking at home easy. Get your first three meals free by going to BlueApron.com/gist. Indochino, creators of one-of-a-kind men's suits that are customized just for you. Get any premium suit for just $399—plus free shipping—by going to Indochino.com and using the promo code GIST at checkout. 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.

College campuses have become hostile territory for some comedians. A wrong-headed joke can provoke everything from walkouts to protests to death threats. But how should students push back against material they find offensive? Director Ted Balaker and comedian Karith Foster discuss their new film Can We Take a Joke? and the tricky line between free speech and needless offense. For the Spiel, Mike takes on the dueling accusations of pay-for-play. Rendering judgement on the optics of the appearance of the whiff of the feeling of potential impropriety. This Gist is supported by Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the twenty-first century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. And by Club W. Get top quality wine delivered right to your door. For 20 dollars off your first order, go to ClubW.com/gist. 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.

Kori Schake, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, blanches at the idea of a Donald Trump presidency. But she still has reservations about Hillary Clinton. On The Gist, Schake says Clinton's poor follow-through at the Department of State gives her something in common with the Bush administration. Schake is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and regular guest on Foreign Policy's The Editor's Roundtable podcast. She edited the recently published Warriors & Citizens: American Views of Our Military with Jim Mattis. For the Spiel, Mike examines the enduring appeal of unsophisticated '80s video games—even Mr. Do. 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 was the best of times, it was the worst of times: Our guest Chris Molanphy says 1991 was a tale of multiple cities, as radio stations began to tailor their playlists to narrower audiences. The result? Little crossover among the Billboard pop, rock, and rap songs charts, and a very eclectic Hot 100 chart. Molanphy writes Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?" column. For the Spiel, Mike cleans out the fridge before 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.

Most of us would be lost without GPS. So why do we think it's hilarious when people drive into the ocean or walk to the Arctic Circle because phone maps told them to? In Pinpoint, author Greg Milner looks at our uneasy relationship with the technology and the ways GPS has reorganized our culture and our brains. On The Spiel, Mike looks at Donald Trump's latest failed endeavor: public opinion polling. 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 Joshua Marston has done his share of shape-shifting. He's spent time as a teacher abroad. He's learned Albanian and made some stories for NPR. And he's directed critically acclaimed movies like Maria Full of Grace. His newest, Complete Unknown, stars Rachel Weisz as a serial imposter who gets stuck at a dinner party with someone from her past. On The Spiel, the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play mega-scoop that never was. 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.

Why so many music phenoms from Iceland? On The Gist, Kaleo frontman JJ Julius Son says he comes from a "fearless" people. About that: Kaleo recently recorded in a volcano. Their latest album is called A/B. Plus, Slate's very own Mallory Ortberg, writer of the Dear Prudence column, tells us how to be an entertaining advice-giver. Ortberg is the author of Texts From Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations With Your Favorite Literary Characters. In the Spiel, Russia's Paralympics propaganda. 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 made the movies of the 1980s so special, especially as compared to movies being made now? On The Gist, the Guardian's Hadley Freeman explains. She's the author of Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned From Eighties Movies (and Why We Don't Learn Them From Movies Anymore). For the Spiel, Mike revisits the items that have escaped his searching, skeptical gaze. 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 hosts of the podcast that has made the best use yet of the jazz drummer's brush technique: Politically Re-Active with W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu. The show picks up where the comedians left off when they stopped working in the same TV writers room. Bell hosts CNN's United Shades of America, and returning guest Kondabolu is on tour with a new comedy album, Mainstream American Comic. For the Spiel, grilling Jill Stein. 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.

Are the nation's most dangerous warheads secure if a rag-tag troika of peaceniks can break through the storage facility's back door? On The Gist, Washington Post reporterDan Zak considers the good and not-so-good arguments for nuclear weapons. His book is Almighty: Courage, Resistance, and Existential Peril in the Nuclear Age. For the Spiel, Jill Stein's unforgivable comments on debt forgiveness. 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, Megan Abbott discusses her latest book, You Will Know Me, a psychological thriller set in the high-pressure world of elite women's gymnastics. In the Spiel, a send-off for John McLaughlin. 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.

Things are bleak in Brazil. Prices are high, governments are broke, and gangs are tightening their control over the country's slums. But on The Gist, Slate contributing editor Franklin Foer has hope for a national renewal. The reason? A prominent federal judge is dead set on rooting out political corruption, though it may rival soccer as the national pastime. For the Spiel, hands across the ages. 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 Gist has been bedeviled by one question: Do the clothes really make the man? On today's show, regular guest Maria Konnikova joins us to investigate the link between clothing and performance. Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, Trump, truth, and fact-checking. 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 every great improv team there's an undertow of angst. Who will get snatched up by a TV show? Who will toil in relative obscurity? Who will quit after the big break doesn't come? On Ep. 560, comedian Mike Birbiglia and This American Life creator Ira Glass talk about their film Don't Think Twice, an ode to improvisational comedy and recalibrating what it means to be a success. Find it in a theater near you. For the Spiel, our 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, Republican "merchant of mud" Mike Murphy ponders Donald Trump's effect on down-ballot GOP candidates. Murphy is known for putting the "!" in "Jeb!" as an adviser to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign. His podcast is called Radio Free GOP. For the Spiel, Mike tries to get to the bottom of an Olympian canard about the happiness of bronze medalists. 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.

Are voters in 2016 better compared to an angry customer at a drive-thru window? Or are the two major parties on completely different planets, unable to agree on a shared reality? On The Gist, Slate columnist and Face the Nation moderator John Dickerson discusses elections past and present. He is the author of Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories From Presidential Campaign History. For the Spiel, when it comes to Donald Trump's Second Amendment comment, it's hard for the media to acknowledge what everyone knows they heard. 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 critic and longtime Republican consultant Stuart Stevens shares his bleak take on his party's chances at winning the White House anytime soon. Stevens was a top strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and is the author of The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear. The Spiel is taking a brief hiatus. 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 cares that Tim Kaine speaks Spanish? Nelson Flores says white liberals might be more excited about it than Latino voters are. Flores is an assistant professor in educational linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Plus, Foreign Policy's Michela Wrong describes some of the more curious memorials popping up in Rwanda. Wrong recently published her first novel, Borderlines. For the Spiel, why the news should be fair, but not balanced. 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, Brad Meltzer from Lost History explains why he thinks of himself as one part of a "literary peanut butter cup." Meltzer teamed up with Tod Goldberg to write The House of Secrets, a spy novel that imagines the final moments between Benedict Arnold and George Washington. For the Spiel, the kiddie press corps takes over. 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, Facebook has become one of the world's biggest disseminators of journalism, but it doesn't care about journalism. Is that a problem? Farhad Manjoo ticks off a few reasons to be wary. Manjoo writes the State of the Art technology column in the New York Times. His podcast is called the Jay & Farhad Show. For the Spiel, the RINOs among us. 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 you swear off summer cookouts? Our regular guest Maria Konnikova joins us for a round of "Is That Bulls---?" Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, the parade of worries ahead of the Olympic Games. 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, Jessi Klein explains her theory that women can be sorted into two categories: poodles and wolves. It's an idea she explores in her new book, You'll Grow Out of It. Klein is the head writer on the Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer. For the Spiel, Trump is giving voice to an element we've known about—but he's still losing. 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 bring you this never-before-aired interview with writer and human rights advocate Larry Siems, who edited the writings of Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Slahi for the 2015 book Guantánamo Diary. Slahi has been approved for release. For the Spiel, a quick game of "Have You Even Read the Constitution?" 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.

100 years ago, a man named Michael Kristoff strolled onto an island in the New York harbor armed with explosives cooked by German chemists. He was there to blow up a stockpile of munitions pledged to the Allied Powers. On The Gist, Chad Millman tells the story of the first major act of foreign terrorism on the United States. His 2006 book, The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice, has just been released in e-book form to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the attack. The regular Spiel will be back next week -- get your fix by checking out out the past two weeks of a.m. Spiels on the Republican and Democratic conventions. 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.

Hillary Clinton's remarks to the Democratic National Convention didn't match those of the exceptional orators who preceded her, but she'll have significant advantages in the presidential debates this fall. 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 confesses his nerdy fascinations to Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen, hosts of WBEZ's Nerdette podcast. Check back Friday for another a.m. Spiel, complete with a Quick and Dirty Dissection of the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention. 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 Quick & Dirty Dissection of Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention, where heavy hitters lined up to vaunt the nominee President Obama called "the woman in the arena." 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 realizes he's not the liberal he thought he was, and the film Tallulah shows you what a sympathetic child-snatcher looks like. The movie's writer and director, Sian Heder, (who also writes for Orange Is The New Black) and starring actress Tammy Blanchard stop by to discuss (fictional) women with abandonment issues. Check back for another a.m. Spiel offering a Quick and Dirty Dissection of Day 3 of the DNC. 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 Day 1, the speakers galvanized. On Day 2, they humanized. A Quick & Dirty Dissection on the latest from the Democratic National Convention. 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 Sandra Bland's mother be part of the DNC's Day 2 lineup? Then, former political advance man Josh King shows us how to spot the subtle stage-managing of the nominating conventions. His book is Off Script: An Advance Man's Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle, and Political Suicide. Check back for an a.m. Spiel Quick & Dirty Dissection of the DNC, Day 2. 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.