The Gist

On The Gist, Bernie is in. Are billionaires out? In the interview, president Trump may be the chief saber-rattler when it comes to China, but acting tough against the world's second biggest economy is a bipartisan pastime. With challenges like global warming and nuclear armament on the line, Kaiser Kuo says, the U.S. might do better with cooperation instead of rivalry. Kuo is a co-founder of the Sinica podcast and the editor-at-large of SupChina. In the Spiel, algorithms aren't just for Facebook—they're also used in criminal justice. Here's why they shouldn't be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, racy names for missiles. In the interview, Chris Molanphy is here to talk about the Billboard hits of 1979, disco's last hurrah, and how the year prepares for the coming wave of pop. Molanphy is the host of Hit Parade and writes the column Why Is This Song No. 1?  In the Spiel, Amazon leaving New York City is a big loss but people don't seem to realize it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, sometimes Howard Stern can be helpful. In the interview, stand-up comedian and podcaster Matt Braunger is here to discuss his new special Finally Live in Portland, his podcast Advice From a Dipshit, and whether or not he would eat racist fudge.  In the Spiel, the human tragedy of losing animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Democratic leaders should slow down the next time a Virginia-sized fiasco comes along. In the interview, podcasters can storm off a set too—even if it's their own. Words Matter host Adam Levine pressed his colleague Steve Schmidt on details about his advising gig for 2020 hopeful Howard Schultz. And it wasn't just because that posed a possible conflict of interest for the political podcast; Levine says his regular listeners wanted answers on the guy who, in their eyes, could get enough votes to cause another Trump victory.  In the Spiel, and in El Paso on Monday: presidential logorrhea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, if president Trump wanted to denounce bullying, he could have done better than inviting a boy named Trump (no relation) to the State of the Union address. In 2001, Congress gave president Bush a nearly blank check for command of an American military bent on punishing the terrorist groups directly (and not so directly) responsible for 9/11. The Authorization for Use of Military Force still benefits U.S. presidents, and few in Congress today seek to curb it. Our guest, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, is among them. In the Spiel, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in for 2020, and reports of her being too tough a boss should be taken in stride. This episode is brought to you by Simplisafe. Start protecting your home today at simplisafe.com/gist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, wise words from the mouth of Jeff Bezos… by way of Amazon's Alexa. In the interview, green energy may be clean, but that doesn't mean its infrastructure is any less garish. Energy reporter Amy Harder reminds us that one of the lesser-discussed obstacles to a Green New Deal is good old-fashioned nimbyism: "A lot of people don't like power lines being constructed right in their backyards." Harder covers energy for Axios, and writes its Harder Line column.  In the Spiel, it may feel right to ask that we believe women making accusations of sexual assault. But a better corrective would be simply to not discredit them out of hand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, don't lick people you work with. In the interview, reading a whole book is great, but sometimes all you need is the introduction. Author Elisa Gabbert thinks so, and joins us to talk about intros and other "front matter"; a novel that unfolds over the course of an escalator ride; and how sitcoms have thrown our beauty barometers out of whack. Gabbert is the author of The Word Pretty.  In the Spiel, the Green New Deal needs more scrutiny before it moves forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, who oh who will govern the state of Virginia? In the interview, when Roger McNamee jumped in as an early investor in Facebook, he might not have figured he'd end up testifying about the company in front of Congress. McNamee charts Facebook's worrying evolution in his new book: Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe. In the Spiel, the State of the Union address is like baseball's All-Star Game. Flashy, but without consequence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Gov. Andrew Cuomo still doesn't understand puns. In the interview, Lauren Greenfield has been documenting the wealthy for the past 25 years and has finally turned that into her new film Generation Wealth, an exploration of the rise of wealth culture and the implications it has on those immersed in it. Can money really make you happy? Is there any way for the rest of us to ascend to wealthy status? Would we even want to? Generation Wealth is currently available on Amazon.   In the Spiel, who are the guests at the State of the Union? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, parsing president Trump's one-on-one press interviews may be a fool's errand, but at least it's a fun one. In the interview, the Washington Post's Greg Miller has reported from the murkiest depths of the Trump swamp. He's on The Gist to talk about Russia's connections to the Trump campaign, the challenges of covering a hostile White House, and what he suspects Putin really has on Trump. Miller is the author of The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy. In the Spiel, Virginia governor Ralph Northam has to go, but we should still question the warp-speed guillotine that is the internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, throwback to Mike Pesca's unnecessarily censored yearbook quote. In the interview, Seth Crossno, also known by his online persona William Needham Finley IV, thought it would be fun to go to the Fyre Festival with his buddies. And while the festival might have been a mess, being a part of two competing documentaries about the experience and winning a lawsuit about it was quite the trip. Crossno is here to discuss what it was like, and why he doesn't understand how people found Fyre Festival scammer Billy McFarland so charming.  In the Spiel, who can advertise during the Super Bowl.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, get off of your phone and out of my way when it's snowing.  In the interview, there's no one right way to raise a child, but a few hacks sure help. Podcaster, author, and mother Hillary Frank gives you permission to do what it takes to make your kid's childhood easier on you, including turning tasks into games and telling white lies (call pork "chicken" if that's all they'll eat). Hillary Frank is the creator of The Longest Shortest Time and the author of Weird Parenting Wins.  In the Spiel, centrism sucks.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, this one is brought to you by the letter T. In the interview, does using a stool really help your stool? Can the Squatty Potty offer any actual health benefits or is that smooth dookie all in your mind? Maybe the contraption's popular just because it rhymes… Anyway, Maria Konnikova is here to judge, appropriately, whether that is bullshit. In the Spiel, Medicare is only a minefield if Democrats make it one. This episode is brought to you by Capterra. Try it today, for free, at Capterra.com/GIST. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, "the big game" is a dumb way to refer to the Super Bowl. If you were to pick a moment in U.S. history that put it on the path to polarization, you could do worse than Watergate. What followed were the blue and red bubbles staked out by CNN in the '80s, Fox News in the '90s, and social media in the 2000s. Princeton professors Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer lived through that history, created a course on it, and cover it in their new book,Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974. In the Spiel, Chris Christie's new book. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Get started today at ziprecruiter.com/Gist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Nancy Pelosi is a skilled politician, sure… but she's scoring her wins against an incompetent one in president Trump. In the interview, we obsess about the lives of stars, but what about their not-so-famous siblings? Comedy Central's The Other Two focuses on the brother and sister of a pre-teen who rocketed to pop stardom. Drew Tarver plays one of those siblings, and discusses what it's like living in the shadow of a more famous family member (not just in this role, but in real life). The Other Two airs on Thursdays on Comedy Central. In the Spiel, on the eccentricities of Roger Stone and Randy Credico. This episode is brought to you by Slack, the collaboration hub for work. Learn more at Slack.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, pairing 2020 candidates with this or that Oscar-nominated film. In the interview, don't take a shot every time Donna Brazile calls herself one of the Democratic Party's "original gangsters." But it's true: she's been at the heart of its workings for decades. In 2020, she plans on keeping out of the Democratic primaries, all while keeping up with the many rule changes they've adopted since 2016. Brazile is the co-author of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics. In the Spiel, an analysis of Trump's shutdown backdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Necco Wafers are out this Valentine's Day, but don't shed a tear. In the interview, some movies live for the twist. Steven Knight's latest film, Serenity, is ostensibly about a sea captain's Melvillian obsessions. Knight joins us to talk about how Matthew McConaughey gets it right, Saint Lucia, and writing screenplays in a detached state of mind ("It's almost like accessing whatever the hell it is that creates dreams").  In the Spiel, journalists are losing their jobs. And there's some BS out there about why that is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, you can't give Ann Coulter a win.  Rick Pitino is a former American basketball coach who experienced a number of scandals in the past few years, leading him to leave America for the Greek Basket League. But how did a renowned basketball coach find himself coaching in Greece? Journalist Michael Sokolove is here with the story. Sokolove's new book is The Last Temptation of Rick Pitino: A Story of Corruption, Scandal, and the Big Business of College Basketball.  In the Spiel, dismissing Kamala Harris. This episode is brought to you by Slack, the collaboration hub for work. Learn more at Slack.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, Joni Ernst's divorce filing. When Jessica Hopper started out writing about music, trolls and affronted fans didn't tweet at you; they wrote you a letter. The world's move to digital has changed that, and helped bring about the #MeToo movement (notice the hashtag?). But despite R. Kelly's fall, Hopper says the rest of the music industry may prove resistant to change. Hopper is the author of a new memoir, Night Moves.  In the Spiel, the Covington Catholic teens aren't the disease, they're a symptom.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, BuzzFeed's new report on Trump.  Earlier this week Rep. Steve King was denounced by much of his party because of remarks he gave to the New York Times about white supremacy. He may have misspoken or chosen to change his wording if given the chance, but according to the Storm Lake Times' Art Cullen, who has been covering King for years in Iowa and recently wrote about King in the Guardian, that's just not his style. But his straight talk won't work in Iowa if it's riddled with dishonesty. Art Cullen is here to discuss. In the Spiel, feeding the anger machine. This episode is brought to you by Doctors Without Borders. Donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices