The Gist

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.

Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention brought dissension, a speech for the ages, and one good zinger. 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 problem with corn dogs. Dan Pashman from the Sporkful podcast explains why Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump don't eat in public. In the Spiel, it's the return of the Trump Anxiety Hotline. And check back for an a.m. Spiel about the Democratic National Convention's first day. 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, comedian Hari Kondabolu says he doesn't mind updating his jokes to heed the sensitivities of his fans. His new stand-up comedy album is Mainstream American Comic. He hosts the Politically Re-Active podcast with comedian W. Kamau Bell. For your Spiel fix, check out the three a.m. Spiels on the Republican National Convention. More of that to come for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. 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.

Donald Trump's laundry-list speech on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention was full of falsehoods and gloom. Will it have any sway over voters who don't already support the official GOP presidential candidate? 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, regular guest Maria Konnikova returns to play "Is That Bulls--t?" The assertion: "Your dog is going crazy because he smells my dog on me." Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. Wherefore art the Spiel? Check back Friday morning for an a.m. Spiel on Day 4 of the Republican 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.

Day 3 of the Republican National Convention brought a Ted Cruz crescendo, a little Cruz-splaining. 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, crackers, rednecks, hillbillies—Nancy Isenberg explains the persistence of these terms and why they can't be called ethnic identities. Her book is called White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. Where's the Spiel? Check back Thursday morning for another a.m. Spiel on the Republican 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 special morning Spiel on Day 2 of the Republican 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, how not to blow your cover while laundering money for drug cartels. Robert Mazur was an undercover government agent who got an inside look at the Medellín Cartel. Bryan Cranston plays him in the film The Infiltrator, based on Mazur's book. For the Spiel, the disaster otherwise known as Day 1 of the Republican 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, actor and director Matt Ross (who plays Gavin in HBO's Silicon Valley) talks about parenting and a man's place in the world. Ross directed the film Captain Fantastic, a story about an extreme father who is compelled to bring his kids out of their cocoon-like home in the woods and into mainstream society. For the Spiel, what Ghostbusters can tell us about Hillary Clinton's electoral chances. 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, disco is out, MTV is in, and we're getting buns of steel with Olivia Newton-John. We harken back to the Billboard hits of 1981 with our regular guest Chris Molanphy. He writes Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?" column. For the Spiel, how does a Sharia test work? 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, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Deborah Birx describes the challenges in fighting the AIDS/HIV epidemic. She oversees the nation's plan for AIDS relief. For the Spiel, a brief meditation on renowned charmer Boris Johnson, now the United Kingdom's top diplomat. 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 take a closer look at Type A. Is it real? How is it measured? Can it get you out of a ticket for aggressive driving? We get answers from Maria Konnikova, writer for the New Yorker and author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, Rudy Giuliani's lies matter. 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 political ad men might have picked up from Caravaggio. Adam Levine, associate director of the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, explains the thinking behind the upcoming exhibition, "I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads." For the Spiel, screwing around with Zika funding. 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 it's better to crash our spacecrafts than to litter the solar system with our earthly microbes. Summer Ash explains everything you didn't know you wanted to know about the Juno space probe orbiting Jupiter. Ash is the Director of Outreach for Columbia University's Department of Astronomy. For the Spiel, discord will always be with 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, Slate correspondentJustin Peters on the life and death of free-culture crusader Aaron Swartz and the history of copyright in the United States. Peters wrote The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet. In the Spiel, reflecting on recent shootings of black men by police and of police by a black man. 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 case for the modern office as a subject of high literature. J. Bradford Hipps discusses finding more than mockery in the anonymous office park where he set his novel, The Adventurist. For the Spiel, an economical five minutes on the five hours the FBI director spent testifying at a congressional hearing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On The Gist, Devin Leonard returns with the last installment of our postcard series to discuss the evolving economics of the U.S. Postal Service. Leonard's book is Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service. Plus, Bruce Shapiro ponders the best way to cover mass shootings if the goal is to limit future massacres. Shapiro is executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia Journalism School. For the first-ever, midshow Spiel: Twinkies. For the traditional closing Spiel: dying in vain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On The Gist, are you really saving the planet with your recycling? New Yorker writer Maria Konnikova, takes on what may be our most controversial round of "Is That Bulls--t?" Konnikova is the author of The Confidence Game. On the Spiel, porn on the Juno spacecraft's hard drive. 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, Xavier Dphrepaulezz, aka the Fantastic Negrito, returns to reflect on his second career in music, Prince's influence, and the gentrification of America's greatest cities. His new album is The Last Days of Oakland. For the Spiel, it's time for another 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, Wyatt Cenac explains the thinking behind his comedy showcase series Night Train With Wyatt Cenac, premiering on NBC's comedy streaming service Seeso on Thursday. For the Spiel, Borisexit: the fanfare and drama of Boris Johnson's thanks-but-no-thanks speech. 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, senior political writer and analyst Harry Enten explains FiveThirtyEight's 2016 Election Forecast. For the Spiel, a forewarning about forearms: Are we ready for our Army men and women to roll up their sleeves? 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, author Sloane Crosley on writing characters who are smarter than you, literary witch hunts, and borrowing Spider-Man's ethos when writing. Her novel, The Clasp, is now out in paperback. For the Spiel, will we remember the Brexit as an argument against direct democracy? 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, Financial Times journalist Edward Luce returns to discuss the Brexit vote and its imminent consequences. Luce's latest book is Time to Start Thinking: America and the Spectre of Decline (though the American title is the more pointed Time to Start Thinking:America in the Age of Descent). For the Spiel, what's the value of a cri de coeur? 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.

Seems as good a day as any to talk about the British Invasion. On The Gist, we listen back to the Billboard hits of 1964, the beginning of Beatlemania in the states. Regular guest Chris Molanphy explains how other groups rode the Beatles' coattails to the top of the pop charts. Molanphy writes Slate's "Why Is This Song No. 1?" column. Plus, Chad Millman's big lesson after the betting markets got the Brexit vote wrong. Millman is the host of ESPN's Behind the Bets podcast. For the Spiel, we have just witnessed the triumph of gut over brains. 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, René Auberjonois shares his tips for defying typecasters and enjoying a varied acting career. He plays a minister in Blood Stripe, the psychological thriller about a female Marine adjusting to life after the military. In the Spiel, one unifying theory for all the day's 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.

Why don't we all have jetpacks? Who's the weirdest docent at your local natural history museum? On The Gist, comedian (and former airplane mechanic) Alonzo Bodden and science communicator Alie Ward explain. Their new show, How to Build … Everything, airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern on the Science Channel. For the Spiel, trying to summon up some concern for the Donald Trump of North Korea. 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.

Would Donald Trump by any other name be Boris Johnson? On The Gist, Financial Timescolumnist Ed Luce, author of Time to Start Thinking: America and the Spectre of Decline, traces the parallels between Brexit supporters and Trump fans. For the Spiel, how gun laws are like insulin. 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, teetering on the brink of a Brexit, a scrutiny of Team Leave's propaganda. And a futile attempt to find out if Big Freedia goes through with her wedding. The answer lies in Season 5 of her Fuse TV show, Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce. For the Spiel, editing the transcript of the Orlando shooter's 911 calls. 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, performer, musician, and comedian Dave Hill reflects on his contribution to the Donald Trump empire: ringtones. His new book is Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore. For the Spiel, all dogs go to heaven—copycats, however, take the "Stairway to Heaven." 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, Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins talks about being more than the guy from the band. His latest movie is The Last Heist. Jesse Armstrong explains satirical string-pulling in his book, Love, Sex, and Other Foreign Policy Goals. For the Spiel, lovers of quail, unite! 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, New Yorker writer Maria Konnikova takes a gimlet eye to explanations for sleepy eyes: Are owls and larks bulls--t? Konnikova is the author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, Donald Trump's sanest line is crazier than Mitt Romney's biggest gaffe. 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, impressionist John Di Domenico discusses embodying The Donald. Plus, another installment of our "postcard" series: Devin Leonard talks about the U.S. postal service and how early visionaries thought it might topple slavery. Leonard is the author of Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service. For the Spiel, have you noticed something different at Mets 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.