The Gist

Brain imaging studies are often cited to prove a point about human behavior, but the claims surrounding them can be quite grand. Sadie Dingfelder is back to ask: Is that bullshit? Plus, Jimmy Carter—a kind, decent man but with a badly bungled presidency. And Gavin Newsom speaks out against snitching but in support of law enforcement. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Roy Wood Jr., host of CNN’s Have I Got News for You and former Daily Show correspondent, joins this episode of Funny You Should Mention. We delve into topics like a near-DUI incident in South Dakota, why the police should occasionally let a criminal go free, and the responsibility comedians have to challenge harmful political ideas—and the politicians who promote them. We also explore the surprising lessons humanity can learn from floating balls of ants and what it reveals when the premise of a joke is proven wrong. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Yard is a standup comic who has appeared on Inside Amy Schumer, Flatbush Misdemeanors, and was a contributor to The Nightly Show with Larry WiImore. He is both an ex-felon and a union leader at the Museum of Modern Art. In this conversation, we discuss Yard's jokes about his pro-prison stance, leaving the Virgin Islands for the worst neighborhood in Brooklyn, and his suspicions about candlelight vigils. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Django Gold is a stand-up comedian, a former writer for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and a veteran of The Onion. In his stand-up special "Bag of Tricks," he explores not being cool, show-off toilet seats, and the privilege of owning multiple pairs of scissors. His comedy has been described as "cynical and bizarre" but also "surprising, insightful and properly deranged." We discuss the right amount of weird to present to the audience without seeming too weird, and the evolution of the archetype of nerd to IT guy to incel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen back to an archival Gist segment from the past, then we replay something from the past week. But this weekend, we’re simply going to listen to Mike’s appearance on Ophira Eisenberg’s Parenting Is A Joke podcast. Happy holidays.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our third installment of Funny You Should Mention welcomes Sam Jay, former SNL writer, Tom Brady Roaster, host of HBO's Pause with Sam Jay, and stand-up comic behind such specials as Netflix's 3 In The Morning and HBO's Salute Me or Shoot Me. Sam and Mike talk cops, racism, white vs black people money management, and a joke she'll discuss but won't be telling again. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel Feinstein’s acting credits include HBO’s Crashing, Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, and Hulu’s Life & Beth. Her latest stand-up special, Big Guy, came out on Netflix earlier this year. Rachel comes from a family of intellectual giants, though doesn’t include herself in that category. In Mike’s conversation with her, however, she reveals her insightfulness, which is better suited for comedy than the classroom. Plus she channels her mother, husband, and a variety of Staten Island firefighters. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Funny You Should Mention Episode One: Nimesh Patel. Over his career Nimesh Patel has gone from a comedian who wants to make points and jokes to a purely joke-oriented comic. He’s somewhat of the prefect comedian to kick off this series which looks at comedy routines as if they were an argument or an Op-ed. Nimesh has actually written Op-Eds for the NY Times. We discuss being kicked off stage at Columbia University, eviscerating the healthcare system when over a dozen of your cousins are doctors, and more about Indian President Narendra Modi than most conversations with comics usually include. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a

Jim Rooney, son of the late Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney—who also served as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland during the Obama administration—has written a book about open doors and iron curtains: A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story, from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule. Plus, unions that didn’t endorse Democrats face backlash from Republicans. And we end with a Yeartwentig.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Biden has commuted the death sentences of 37 out of the 40 people on federal death row. Mike discusses the remaining three. We’re joined by stand-up comic Ophira Eisenberg, host of the Parenting Is a Joke podcast, to explore child-rearing and podcast-naming philosophies. Also, Bashar al-Assad’s seasonally relevant theme song, and how it has been appropriated by the Koreans.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen back to an archival Gist segment from the past, then we replay something from the past week. This weekend, we listen back to Mike’s recent interview with Brian Baumgartner (Kevin from NBC’s The Office) and Ben Silverman, who discuss their new book, The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin. Then, a special Christmas song.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jesse Eisenberg is the writer, director, and star of A Real Pain. We discuss his plays, where you can find early versions of the characters played by Kieran Culkin and Jesse himself, the dynamics of cousin relationships, and when crying can be useful for both the artist and the individual. Plus, another exciting edition of Palter Talk! Oh, and we might just have a government shutdown. Sorry.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk complicates government funding, Fani Willis is off the Georgia Trump prosecution, and Brian Reed returns to discuss whether “genocidal race war” was the best way to describe the false allegation that Springfield residents were “eating the dogs, eating the cats.”    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The creator of S-Town and The Trojan Horse Affair has a new show about journalism and truth called Question Everything. So, we do. Plus, polls show that young people are pro-assassination, which should make us question some of them. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are said to be a fed-up nation pushed to the brink, and the result is political violence … or maybe just hack comedy. Also, Nancy Rommelmann joins us to discuss her latest book, 40 Bucks and a Dream: Stories from Los Angeles. She shares insights from her extensive journalism career, including her experience interviewing infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy. And Trump’s presidential library gets a healthy donation. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drone sightings over New Jersey are driving everyone mad—except Bernie Sanders, who seems minimally concerned. Plus, we’re joined by Isaac Saul, CEO of Tangle. Isaac shares not just his insights on issues like inflation and immigration, but also his methodology for cutting through the noise to deliver the least ideologically captured explanations to his readers. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we revisit an archival segment from the past and pair it with a replay of something from the past week. This weekend, we revisit Mike’s 2018 interview with cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand, who challenges us to think of societies not along the traditional “liberal to conservative” spectrum but instead as ranging from “tight to loose.” It’s a theory she explores in her book Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World. From the past week, we replay Mike’s Tuesday Spiel about the acquittal of Daniel Penny.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show and options for bonus content.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mike’s Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Roy Wood Jr., host of CNN’s Have I Got News for You and former Daily Show correspondent, joins this episode of Funny You Should Mention. We delve into topics like a near-DUI incident in South Dakota, why the police should occasionally let a criminal go free, and the responsibility comedians have to challenge harmful political ideas—and the politicians who promote them. We also explore the surprising lessons humanity can learn from floating balls of ants and what it reveals when the premise of a joke is proven wrong.    SUBSCRIBE  We offer premium subscriptions, including an AD-FREE version of the show.    The Gist is produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara    Email us at [email protected]  Subscribe to The Gist’s YouTube Page  Follow Mikes Substack > Pesca Profundities  To advertise on the show, click here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acts of violence have promoted discussions of self-defense, corporate greed, national healthcare, homeless funding, and political will. The Gist rejects being thrust into that discussion at the point of a gun, but has some insights to offer to the current debate. Plus, the return of Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid to discuss Israel, Gaza, morality, and security. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shadi Hamid, Washington Post columnist and co-host of the Wisdom Of Crowds podcast, discusses Israel's regard for innocent lives and if the United States would conduct a war in the way the Israelis do. Plus, the island nation of Nauru gets paid off by the Australians not the play footsy with China. And the Syrian navy is sunk, their chemical weapons cache has been destroyed, and no, Israel is not waiting for a thank-you note. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices