The Gist

Paul Butler examines how Axie Infinity, a "w3" online game sold as the future of work, is simply reinforcing drudgery. The game's makers say it's more than a game, it's a way to escape poverty. In reality, its part cynical hype and part pitiless grind. In the Spiel, Mike discusses how Jeff Zucker's resignation from CNN isn't a scandal of sex, it's a scandal of boundaries. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Part 2 of an interview with Professor Jonathan Gottschall who says Netflix is to narrative what the Golden Corral is to portion control. In the Spiel a listen to all 3 hours of Joe Rogan's most criticized interview, with insights on the Nuremberg Codes and the shocking accusation that Anthony Faucci conspired to quash evidence, which he definitely didn't do. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike talks to Professor Jonathan Gottschall, who speaks about the sheer tonnage of stories that we all absorb, and how this basic human function affects us like a drug. In the Spiel, Mike analyzes Boris Johnson's party proclivities, and addresses if defying Covid lockdowns is a tipple too far for the British public. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our debut Saturday Edition, we pull out a compelling segment you may have missed during the week. Produced by Joel Patterson Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Suzanne Nossel, author of Dare To Speak: Defending Free Speech For All , and President of PEN, on her organization's never-wavering, but not-always-easy, commitment to defend expression. In a conversation recorded almost a year ago, and aired here for the first time, Nossel discusses with Mike the current atmosphere around censoriousness and the conceptions of what free speech means, who it harms and how it should be managed.  Mike also talks about Kyle Rittenhouse's play to acquire the rifle that killed two people. Plus, in the Spiel, A Kyiv pet pee-ev. Produced by Joel Patterson Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neil Young wants Joe Rogan to either burn out or fade away over Covid mis-info. Mike spiels about Neil Young's Criticisms of Joe Rogan’s Covid pronouncements. And in the interview, the NYTimes Magazine’s Emily Bazelon talks about how the nationwide rise in murders will affect the agendas of progressive prosecutors. Produced by Joel Patterson Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the Gist, The former President of Estonia on Russia's aggression and German obstruction. And news that SCOTUS's Breyer will retire inspires a Spiel about domestic obstructionism. Produced by Joel Patterson Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dartmouth professor Brendan J. Nyhan looks at polls showing Americans endorse violence and says those findings are off. But there’s still a lot to worry about. And in the Spiel, a troubling but little-remarked-upon argument made in the Derek Chauvin defense resurfaces in the Federal trial of former Minneapolis Police Officers. Podcast production by Joel Patterson Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, America may be poised for revolution. Or not. We're certainly obsessed with talking about it. In the interview, Mike speaks with Stephen Marche, author of The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future. Marche sets the chances of a civil war at 67%. Mike challenges him by asking why this moment is so different from dozens of inflection points since the actual Civil War. In the Spiel, a commitment to keeping the Gist a place free of catastrophizing, while not minimizing the number of very real problems we face. Podcast production by Joel Patterson Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist Returns on Monday, January 24 for Season 2. Today, Mike recounts the guiding principles of Season 1 ( i.e. the first 1400 episodes), and delivers a promise of rigor and independence for Season 2.  To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, #TedFled. In the Interview, his new documentary has been called “jaw-dropping,” “incendiary,” “riveting,” and “engrossing.” Sam Pollard’s new film MLK/FBI is about the bureau’s surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The film delves into new and declassified documents as well as restored footage to reveal the government’s long past of targeting Black activists. Pollard tells Mike, “I was just trying to tell a good story. About two men on the same trajectory one with a goal to take his people to the Promised Land, and the other one with a goal to stop that man from doing that.” Sam Pollard is an award winning director, editor and producer. He was nominated for an Oscar for his 1997 documentary 4 Little Girls, and has won two Emmys for his documentary editing. In the Spiel, we’re worried about the cows in Texas. Hat tip, Moo Muffs! Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds.

On the Gist, we rush to Limbaugh’s judgment. In the Interview, political and media historian, Brian Rosenwald, joins Mike to talk about Rush Limbaugh’s rise to popularity in conservative media, his power as a voice and entertainer in talk radio, the influence he had on the Republican party, and who is primed to carry his torch over the AM dial or in podcasting. As a national broadcaster, Limbaugh developed a political perspective over his career that to the left perpetuated harmful ideas, and to the right, uplifted and championed their values. Limbaugh was awarded the presidential medal of freedom February 4, 2020, and died February 17, 2021 of complications from lung cancer at 70 years old. Rosenwald is editor of Washington Post’s Made By History blog, scholar in residence at the Partnership for Effective Public Administration and Leadership Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States. And we give

On the Gist, Southern cold snap! In the Interview, Sonari Glinton is back! Which means we’re talking cars. Glinton and Pesca discuss GM's recent proclamation to go electric by 2025. Glinton says that it's not that car makers aren't making profits off of going electric, it's that General Motors' commitment is a sign that the state of things are grave. He projects that automotive companies will be entering into partnerships in an effort to solve environmental problems, and that the new Biden administration in conjunction with the depart of transportation will lead efforts to push the U.S. out of the recession. Glinton is a well-known host in the public radio and podcast realm, and is a former NPR business reporter covering the auto industry and economics. In the spiel, trying to predict the history books.  Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc

On the Gist, Mike lives for the arguments Trump’s lawyers are making because, well, they’re really bad. In the Interview, “She loves America. For her, she was there showing support for the American political process.” SUNY Geneseo political science professor and author Karleen West talks to Mike about her mother’s participation in the January 6th insurrection. West has spent years studying insurrections in Latin America, but on January 6th, her personal and professional collided. Mike and West talk about how West’s mother is a strong woman, but doesn’t consider herself a feminist, the radicalization of her mother, and how her mother is still proud of her...despite not really knowing what her career is.  In the spiel, assailing democrats, and two words: Swiss cheese. Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, exploring the complexities of the personal stakes of the Senators in the Trump Impeachment trial. In the Interview, it’s the second half of our conversation with Jonah Blank, an anthropologist, writer, author, and former policy director for South and Southeast Asia on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Blank joins Mike to talk about the Myanmar coup, the default of cheering on populism, conflicts and communal violence, and the threat to democracy. Blank is author of Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God, and Mullahs on the Mainframe, and currently based in Singapore. He’ll be back on the show next week. In the spiel, picking apart Lindsey Graham.   Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, the prosecution in Trump’s Impeachment is firing on all cylinders. In the Interview, we take a look inside the FBI’s fight against white supremacy and domestic terrorism. Frank Figliuzzi is a 25-year veteran of the FBI. He joins Mike to talk about why the country needs a domestic terrorism law, the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, and how the FBI is battling the threat from within the United States. Figliuzzi is the author of The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Ethics. In the spiel, like Gaston and the guys who went after Frankenstein’s monster before him, no matter what his defense says, Trump did incite an angry, pole-bearing mob. Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, the Belknap case is clear precedent. In the Interview, it’s round two of vaccine talk. Mike and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former Detroit health director and epidemiologist, talk about equity and the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. They also discuss why we shouldn’t heroicize the pharmaceutical industry, using the issue of the sixth dose as a compelling example. El-Sayed’s new book Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide is out now. He’s also the host of America Dissected from Crooked Media, among many other projects. In the spiel, Trump’s defense tested a few losing arguments. Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, ads for “The Big Game” are given the Pesca treatment.  In the Interview, it’s vaccine talk. Mike sits down remotely with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former Detroit health director and epidemiologist about the COVID-19 vaccine. They talk about how social media has spread both information and misinformation, how the response to the coronavirus is eerily similar to climate change, and how Canadians have managed to get things right. Plus, when politics and health collide: El-Sayed’s new book Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide is out now. He’s also the host of America Dissected from Crooked Media, among many other projects.   In the spiel, George Shultz’ legacy as a public servant.  Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, cost of living and minimum wage around the U.S. In the Interview, journalist David Gilbert from Vice News joins Mike to talk about QAnon, the cult of disinformation, it's propulsion into 2021, and how people from all walks of life are susceptible to believing. Plus, Gilbert translates Marjorie Taylor Greene's floor speech, and explains why it wasn't a disavowing of Q or the conspiracy theories she still believes in.  In the spiel, it’s the first lobstar of the antentwig of 2021! Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, stripping Majorie Taylor Greene of her committee membership, but Republicans still want to keep her around. In the Interview, it’s coup talk. It’s part one of an interview with Jonah Blank, an anthropologist, writer, author, and former policy director for South and Southeast Asia on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Blank joins Mike to talk about the Myanmar coup, the default of cheering on populism, conflicts and communal violence, and the threat to democracy. Blank is author of Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God, and Mullahs on the Mainframe, and currently based in Singapore. He’ll be back on the show next week. In the spiel, Representatives Nancy Mace and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are fighting. Email us at [email protected] Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices