The Gist

Today on The Gist, guest host Jason Mojica introduces two conversations on personal resilience and healthy living. First, Mike Pesca talks with actress Gina Gershon about her memoir Alpha Pussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, exploring how she navigated toxicity in early Hollywood, developed an instinctual survival radar, and turned a botched roast performance into a breakout role on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then, oncologist and bioethicist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel discusses his book Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long, Healthy Life, pushing back against the exhausting demands of the wellness industry while advocating for pragmatic risk management, foundational daily habits, and enjoying simple pleasures in moderation.Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are.Produced by Corey WaraDo you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠th

Today on The Gist, guest host Jason Mojica introduces a conversation between Mike Pesca and hip-hop pioneer Chuck D, co-founder of Public Enemy, about his book Interficial Arttelligence. Chuck D reflects on his lifelong passion for visual art, dating back to childhood comic books and drafting promotional flyers on Long Island, and details his rapid, memory-driven illustration style as a personal counterweight to digital perfection and artificial intelligence. He also shares the origins of Public Enemy's striking imagery, including the Sports Illustrated stopwatches that inspired Flavor Flav's iconic neck clock, while discussing the modern digital landscape, the power of visual communication, and how he uses art to cut through the chatter of social media.Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are.Produced by Corey WaraVideo and Social Media by Geoff CraigDo you have questions or comments, o

Today on The Gist, guest host Charlie introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with comedian and writer Nimesh Patel, the first Indian American writer in Saturday Night Live history. Patel charts his transition from NYU finance major to stand-up comic, breaking down his shifting philosophy on joke construction, why he has moved away from didactic, argument-driven bits, and how he uses subtext and contrarian premises to catch audiences off guard. He also revisits his specials Thank You, China and Lucky Lefty, dissects the humor and frustrations of the American healthcare system, and reflects on the infamous 2018 Columbia University set where organizers cut his microphone midway through his performance.Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are.Produced by Corey WaraDo you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.comFor full Pesca content and updat

Today on The Gist, guest host Charlie introduces two conversations centered on hostage recovery and wrongful detention abroad. First, Mike Pesca speaks with Diane Foley, founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, who reflects on her son's murder by ISIS in 2014, the institutional failures that left American families without diplomatic support, and the urgent need to overhaul outdated US hostage policies as state-sponsored wrongful detentions rise. Then, Mike is joined by Princeton PhD researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov to discuss her harrowing ordeal surviving over 900 days of captivity and torture by the Iranian-backed militia Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq, detailing how she used fictitious confessions to protect innocent locals, the psychological endurance that kept her alive, and the diplomatic efforts that ultimately secured her freedom. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced

Today on The Gist, guest host Charlie introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with comedian Vic Michaelis, host of Very Important People on Dropout TV. Michaelis discusses the show's chaotic premise, where comedians are transformed by high-end VFX makeup and prosthetics without knowing what they look like until a live mirror reveal, forcing them to build an improvised character from scratch. They also explore the evolution of improv for online video formats, Michaelis's character arc as an ambitious yet deeply frustrated public access news anchor, and the comedic blend of East Coast punchlines and big Canadian character work. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at 

Today on The Gist, guest host Scott introduces a debate between Mike Pesca and Virginia Sole-Smith, author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. Sole-Smith argues that genetics largely dictate body size and that systemic weight stigma and diet culture cause far more damage than high body weight itself. Pesca pushes back, questioning whether downplaying obesity's strong correlations to chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease ignores serious public health risks, while Sole-Smith maintains that true healthcare must abandon the failed mandate of intentional weight loss. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTub

Today on The Gist, guest host Scott introduces a pair of interviews focused on the shifting identity of the Republican Party. First, Mike Pesca sits down with former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger to discuss his memoir Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country, exploring how his fundamentalist Christian upbringing shaped his aversion to political groupthink, his military service, and his decision to vote for impeachment and serve on the January 6th Select Committee. Then, Mike speaks with veteran Republican strategist Stuart Stevens about his satirical novel The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear, examining how the GOP abandoned its post-2012 demographic autopsy, embraced populist protectionism, and alienated key minority voting blocs. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or com

Today on The Gist, guest host Scott introduces a 2022 conversation between Mike Pesca and former US Senator Al Franken, who discusses his return to stand-up comedy and looks back at his tenure in the Senate. Franken examines how his background as a comedy writer and performer informed his sharp, forensic approach to committee hearings, including his memorable question during Jeff Sessions' confirmation that ultimately led to the Attorney General's recusal, and his viral exchange with Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos over growth versus proficiency. He and Mike also discuss the cynical comedic worldview of Lindsey Graham, the breakdown of cross-aisle Senate comity, and Franken's proposed reforms to fix the modern filibuster. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam Levin introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with comedian and actor TJ Miller, who reflects on life, stand-up, and the traumatic brain injury that altered his cognitive wiring. Miller walks through his experience surviving a 2010 brain surgery to remove an arteriovenous malformation in his right frontal lobe, explaining how the resulting neurological shifts fuel his manic work ethic, remove natural fatigue cues, and act as an improvisational cheat code on stage. Along the way, he and Mike riff on oddball city mottos, touring smaller American towns like Fort Wayne, navigating the realities of an invisible disability, and why embracing chaotic crowd work remains the ultimate test of a stand-up comedian. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam Levin introduces a conversation between Mike Pesca and Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union and author of When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class. Smalls looks back at his journey from an underground hip-hop artist and warehouse employee to the face of modern labor organizing, detailing the scrappy, grassroots tactics that powered the historic Staten Island union victory. He also tackles the inevitable controversies and internal fractures that followed, pushback over his national profile, and why authentic labor movements must keep working-class people at the helm rather than letting outside political factions call the shots. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam Levin introduces a classic spiel from the archives analyzing Vivek Ramaswamy's debate strategy and an interview with Andrew Yang on the differing party dynamics facing political outsiders. Then, Mike Pesca revisits his conversation with the late Bob Saget, who reflects on his decades in comedy, writing his first jokes in a law library, and releasing his stand-up special Zero to Sixty. Saget examines the stark contrast between his wholesome family television persona and his bawdy stand-up roots, navigating shifting cultural sensibilities, and why he always prioritized connection and catharsis with his audience over causing outrage. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content

Today on The Gist, guest host Bryan Green shares Mike Pesca's interview with writer and composer Andrew Fox, the creator behind the viral satirical musical Slam Frank. Fox breaks down the origins of his controversial parody (which imagines an Anne Frank musical staged through an absurdly over-the-top, intersectional lens) and examines how well-intentioned performative language in modern theater often slips into unintentional comedy. He and Mike discuss the boundaries of comedy, the stifling nature of institutional gatekeeping, and why contemporary art needs to start taking real risks again instead of chasing safe, predictable moral superiority. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check o

Today on The Gist, guest host Bryan Green shares an interview with Derrick Palmer, co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union and co-author of Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the 21st Century. Palmer reflects on his time working inside Amazon's JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island, the dangerous working conditions and lack of sick time during the pandemic, and how he and Chris Smalls built an independent, worker-led organizing effort that successfully unionized the facility. Finally, in the spiel, Mike Pesca dissects Hollywood's obsession with animated movies about anthropomorphic animals and pitches a hyper-specific, meta-cinematic alternative of his own. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pes

Today on The Gist, guest host Bryan Green shares a classic 2019 interview with comedian, writer, and host Larry Wilmore. Wilmore reflects on his podcast Black on the Air, the reality of the medium, and the freedom of moving beyond narrowly defined racial content. He and Mike Pesca discuss mentorship, the limits of "woke" cultural criticism, and why using comedy as a tool for political activism misunderstands the point of the craft. Finally, in the spiel, Mike examines why governments struggle to account for pleasure in cost-benefit analyses of vices, from alcohol during pregnancy to e-cigarettes as a form of harm reduction. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at http

Today on The Gist, guest host Vanessa Quirk steps in to share Mike Pesca's 2024 interview with Kelsey Snelling, creator of the investigative podcast Camp Shame. Snelling outlines the history of Camp Shane (one of America's longest running youth weight loss retreats) and details her own experiences as a counselor witnessing neglected facilities, untrained staff, and severe calorie restriction. The conversation turns contentious as Mike pushes back on the broader tenets of the fat acceptance movement, arguing that society can reject cruelty and fatphobia without dismissing the medical realities of severe obesity or the validity of weight loss goals. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check

Today on The Gist, guest host Vanessa Quirk steps in to share a previously unaired interview between Mike Pesca and Irish American comedian Des Bishop. Bishop traces his trajectory from a Queens childhood and teenage modeling gig to moving to Ireland at fourteen, getting sober at nineteen, and eventually rising to become one of Ireland's top touring comics. He and Mike discuss the differences between Irish storytelling comedy and the punchier American club scene, how social media algorithms now dictate stand-up, and why navigating generational shifts and Gen Z triggers requires bridging the gap rather than just starting a fight. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website a

Today on The Gist, guest host Vanessa Quirk steps in to share a classic 2022 interview with Nathan Allebach, the creative force behind Steak-umm's viral Twitter presence. Allebach breaks down the rise of brand personification, explaining how a forgotten frozen meat company's account transformed from a corporate afterthought into an online phenomenon known for engaging weird Twitter, unblocking trolls, and dispensing earnest advice on millennial angst. Finally, in the spiel, Mike Pesca shares a story of civic engagement from a New York City zoning meeting, illustrating how he attempted to ease neighborhood tension around the "City of Yes" housing initiative using the healing power of progressive rock. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@m

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam James Levin-Areddy introduces a requested classic from the archives: the final episode of Not Even Mad, before it came back. Journalists Lara Bazelon and David French join Mike Pesca to discuss the personal and professional costs of speaking out against one's own political side, standing up to ideological intimidation, and the creeping cynicism within modern journalism. Finally, Mike reflects on the cancellation of the show itself, explaining why true, friendly ideological disagreement across political divides has become nearly impossible to sustain in contemporary America. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepes

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam James Levin-Areddy steps in as host Mike Pesca remains away. Mike brings on CUNY philosophy professor Justin Garson to discuss his book, The Madness Pill, and the legacy of 20th-century neuroscientist Dr. Solomon Snyder. Garson details how early psychiatric experiments using LSD and amphetamines led to the discovery of the dopamine hypothesis, revolutionizing the treatment of schizophrenia. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mi

Today on The Gist, we revisit Mike Pesca’s classic crusade against the indisputable abomination of paper straws and the dubious logic surrounding alternative drinking apparatuses. Then, writer and psychologist Maria Konnikova joins Mike for a classic edition of "Is That Bullshit?" to dissect whether plant-based alternatives like Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meat are actually any healthier for you than real beef. Stop online threats before they become real-world attacks. Visit ironwall.com/GIST and request a free Risk Assessment to see exactly how exposed your executives are. Produced by Corey Wara Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠