The Gist

Hillary Clinton was supposed to have the most sophisticated digital ground game ever, while all Trump had was a ramshackle data bunker in San Antonio. We all know how that turned out. Sasha Issenberg is a Bloomberg contributor and author of The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. He says there are many explanations for what happened, including the Clinton campaign’s inadvertent encouragement of Donald Trump voters in states like Florida.  In the Spiel, it’s a Lobstar week. Oh yes, it’s a Lobstar week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wait, can Donald Trump really give his entire family national security clearance? It’s complicated, says Fred Kaplan, the author of Slate’s War Stories column. Kaplan also discusses the reasons to be wary of putting your family members in the White House.  Also, David Bowie liked his art to be as haunting as his music—even if the effect, at first, was off-putting. The Gist’s art correspondent Mary Lane tells us what’s intriguing about Bowie’s private collection, which was broken up at auction this week.  In the Spiel, what is the “new message” Democrats need to send to voters?   Our 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. 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

Dan Abrams is the host of Live PD, a new A&E show that follows police officers, in real time, as they interact with people in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Abrams says the show is different from Cops—it captures all of the moments in a police officer’s watch, not just the most sensational. But it has also come under fire for questions about privacy and the complicated issues of embedding with a police force.  In the Spiel, we look at President Obama’s claim that the arc of history is progressive. Our Sponsors:   Basecamp,a cloud-based system with tools to help you get work done in a sane, organized way. Try it for free today at basecamp.com/gist. HSBC. In a fast-changing global economy, HSBC is connecting customers to opportunities the world over. To register for our next webinar, Forging Ahead: Global Trends for 2017 and Beyond, search online for “HSBC Webinar.” Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat says the culture has changed drastically in America over the past five years. Daily Show alumni have taken over late night, late night comedy has taken a strongly liberal tinge, and companies like Apple have taken a stand on issues like transgender bathroom bills. He thinks this cultural shift has helped alienate many of the people who supported Donald Trump. Douthat wrote about the liberal hegemony of pop culture in a September column, “Clinton’s Samantha Bee Problem.”In the Spiel, what resistance should look like in the face of President Trump.   Our sponsors:  Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing FREE when you go to Betterment.com/gist.  And LifeAfter. What happens to our digital lives when we’re gone? LifeAfter, a new series from GE Podcast Theater and Panoply, the creators of last year’s award-winning The Message, explores these very questions. Listen and download LifeAfter wherever you find your podcasts. Join Slat

Trigger warning: Scrutiny of safe spaces ahead. Jonathan Zimmerman discusses the political-correctness fever sweeping the nation’s elite college campuses. Zimmerman is the author of Campus Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know.  In the Spiel, blinded by a baccalaureate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did the polls lead us astray in this election, or did we simply fail to heed everything they were telling us? FiveThirtyEight senior political writer Harry Enten says the lesson of 2016 is familiar to any close observer of politics: “There are no permanent majorities.” Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, puts the 2016 election in historical context. Zelizer hosts the Politics & Polls podcast produced by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a rare Saturday Gist, as the show’s post-election interview blitz continues: New York Times columnist Gail Collins explains what we tend to forget about the way women vote, and NPR’s David Folkenflik ponders the media problems exposed by the presidential race and its surprise outcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, another double feature. Evan Osnos explains what Trump’s first term might look like, based on reporting he did before the election for the New Yorker. Reid Wilson, who covers down-ballot politics for the Hill, surveys the Republican gains in statehouses across the country.  For the Spiel, some introspection. And keep an eye on this feed for more interviews over the weekend.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist isn’t serving up a Spiel today—too many questions, too few answers. Instead, Mike puzzles through the day with a few friends of the show: Jacob Weisberg reacts to the chants of “not my president.” Weisberg is the chairman and editor-in-chief of The Slate Group and the host of Trumpcast. The New Yorker’s Adam Davidson expects a poorer country and world under President-elect Donald Trump. He outlines the range of possible economic changes. John Dickerson, moderator of Face the Nation on CBS, delves into the details of Hillary Clinton’s loss. Dickerson is also a political columnist for Slate and author of Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, things are getting dark, but at least the show isn’t going dark, which is more than we can say for our friends at the Radio Free GOP podcast. Host Mike Murphy, a longtime GOP strategist and Trump critic, says the show will go on hiatus in light of the election result. Plus, the New Yorker’s Adam Davidson explains the link between the presidential election and confusion in the financial markets. For the Spiel, a clarifying idea from Slate’s Election Night Watch Party featuring author and journalist Virginia Heffernan.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamelle Bouie has written about the deep, ugly divides in America that have surfaced during this presidential campaign. In the final hours of election day, Slate’s chief political correspondent approaches the idea of national unity after the most unruly campaign in modern history.  Bouie was recently named the breakout star of the 2016 campaign by the Poynter Institute for Journalism.   Our Sponsors:  Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, Exchanges at Goldman Sachs, available on iTunes. And InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. Take a multisensory journey into the InterContinental life and discover stories that will excite your curiosity by going to intercontinental.com/life. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast

Much of the 2016 presidential campaign media coverage has cast Trump fans not as bigoted, but “economically disaffected.” As Slate’s Michelle Goldberg reports, for many supporters, that’s far too charitable. Goldberg has been reporting on issues like sexual assault and feminism in the Republican Party throughout the campaign. She argues 2016 might turn many women off to the idea of running for president, even if the glass ceiling is broken.    In the Spiel, the final Trump Anxiety Hotline (we hope).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re like us, you’ve been checking the FiveThirtyEight election forecast like it’s a weather report before a hurricane. This week, Donald Trump’s chance of victory in the presidential race went from 15 percent to over 30 percent, causing much anxiety for Democrats. But how serious is the swing? Harry Enten is the senior political writer for FiveThirtyEight and a frequent Gist guest.   For the Spiel, why Hillary Clinton should own her terrible comic timing. 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. And 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 ch

We have (almost) survived a presidential campaign. Are we any smarter about taxes? On The Gist, Adam Davidson considers Donald Trump’s apparent tax practices and explains the biggest barrier to bipartisan compromise on tax policy. Davidson covers business and economics for the New Yorker.  For the Spiel, even Mike Pesca can’t sooth your nerves over volatile polling.  Today’s sponsors: Placemakers, a new Slate podcast made possible by JPMorgan Chase. This podcast tells the stories of neighborhoods, businesses, and nonprofits who are working together to move their communities forward. Download and subscribe to Placemakers wherever you get your podcasts. And InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. Take a multisensory journey into the InterContinental life, and discover stories that will excite your curiosity by going to intercontinental.com/life. 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 choi

On The Gist, a pair of political heavyweights.  Obama administration alumnus Tommy Vietor wonders how the interregnum following this election will be different for Hillary Clinton than it was for President Obama. Vietor co-hosts the Ringer podcast Keepin’ It 1600 with his former White House colleagues Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer. Plus, Steve Sebelius, columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, assesses the U.S. Senate race in Nevada, including the Republican candidate’s efforts to distance himself from Donald Trump without denouncing the nominee.  For the Spiel, how Clinton is using Miss Universe to bait Donald Trump all over again.  Today’s sponsors: Basecamp,a cloud-based system with tools to help you get work done in a sane, organized way. Try it for free today at basecamp.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

A look inside one of the closest congressional races this year, New York’s 19th. Former Gist guest and Bernie Sanders–favorite Zephyr Teachout takes on Republican state Assemblyman John Faso for an open seat. The race is one of the few that the Cook Political Report has labeled a toss-up, and it’s a microcosm for lots of American anxieties. Teachout opposes fracking and supports carbon pricing in a district that relies heavily on cars, while Faso is a Trump-ambivalent Republican who hasn’t even said who he’ll be voting for come Election Day. In The Spiel, the antics of James Comey, explained.  Our Sponsors: Harry’s. Get quality shaving products delivered right to your door. Sign up for a shave plan at Harrys.com and use promo code gist at checkout to claim your Free Trial Set and post-shave balm. And Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing FREE when you go to Betterment.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and mor

Eric Zorn from the Chicago Tribune joins Mike to discuss two contentious races happening in Illinois this year that could swing the balance of power in Congress. Incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk is trailing badly to his Democratic opponent, Tammy Duckworth. And in the 10th congressional district, Rep. Bob Dold is facing a tight battle against his predecessor, Brad Schneider. Both races showcase an increasingly rare breed in Congress: the moderate Republican. In The Spiel, what Halloween can tell us about partisan politics. 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

Today we’re reaching into The Gist’s vault to bring you two favorite segments from the past year. First, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper explains why he saw the movie Deep Throat with his mother and reflects on his state’s move to legalize marijuana. Hickenlooper’s book is called The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics. For the Spiel, why are we so scared when we hear talk of a rigged election?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are dating longer. We are dating differently. Is it making us happier? Mike’s not buying it. Former Gist producer Andrea Silenzi wades into an impromptu debate about dating today. Check out Andrea’s new show, Why Oh Why, a Panoply podcast about dating and relationships. Andy Miccolis created Why Oh Why’s theme music, included in today’s show. For the Spiel, Donald Trump’s surrogates.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does Trump so need women that he despises them? On The Gist, love and sex advice columnist Dan Savage considers Trump’s misogyny. Savage also clears the air about his withering criticism of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and gives third-party enthusiasts a reality check: “Elect some congressmen, elect a governor, and then we can talk about who you’re running for president.” Savage hosts the Savage Lovecast and writes for the Stranger.  In the Spiel, poor old Admiral Kuznetsov. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices