The Gist

Moises Naim on The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics The former Venezuelan trade minister who lived through Chavez wrecking his country has worked out something like the Autocratic Genome Project. What's alarming is that these clever thugs are learning from each other. Plus, the second guilty verdict for Ahmaud Arbery's killers and do sanctions ever really work? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This weekend, we're revisiting Mike's recent Spiel about the similarities between the protest tactics of BLM and Canadian truckers. And then we're going way back to the first few months of the Gist (June 2014, to be exact-ish), to a laundromat in order to talk about what we now see as the nascent gig economy. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A spate of elections in Georgia are fascinating and important for the rest of us. Mike talks with Bill Nigut, host of Political Rewind on Georgia Public Broadcasting, about this year's field of candidates, which includes the University of Georgia's all-time greatest running back. Plus, a light sentence for a Minnesota Police Officer who shot and killed a motorist when she had meant to use her taser. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

China has twisted Hollywood to suit its demands for years, and now things may be bottoming out. Erich Schwartzel, author of Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy joins Mike to discuss how China uses access to its market to bend movie makers to their will. And in the Spiel, are we treating the tactics of Canadian truckers differently from similar tactics of BLM protesters because we disapprove of the truckers' cause? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

San Francisco has recalled three school board members, as voters found no comfort in their efforts to rename, re-paint, and rid schools of merit-based admissions…instead of just opening them. Plus, it's Vexillology Corner with Ted Kaye, and an eye-opening nugget of Disney Princess trivia. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike talks with Evan Hughes, author of Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup, about his coverage of an out-of-control drug maker that destroyed lives and paid a price for doing so. Also, a judge, and later a jury, decide that it will take more than inaccurately linking Sarah Palin to murder to prove a defamation case. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If we pay Donald Trump less heed, will it diminish his words and deeds? Mike talks with David French from The Dispatch about how—and how much—to think about the Donald. Plus, using focus groups to help make mask-mandate decisions, and why Larry David is actually quite the embracer of innovations despite his Superbowl commercial. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We listen back to our 2019 interview with author Xiao Mina on the role of social media memes in social movements. And Mike Spiels about Mikaela Shiffrin's surprising early loss in the Olympics this past week. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consequence-free interviewing initiatives have not inspired more than a pair of NFL teams to currently employ a Black head coach. Law professor and Former Green Bay Packer executive, Andrew Brandt on what tools the NFL has to increase the number of black head coaches. Plus, it's an Antwentig, which means Lobstars are in the offing.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nelson Wiseman of the University of Toronto says the truckers clogging up the Capital are out of step with the values of Canada, a country with greater social cohesion than the United States. In the Spiel, Trump's toilet-based filing system.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dina Temple-Raston of the new Click Here podcast uses narrative skills to take the threat of cybercrime from the obscure to the palpable. She tells the story of how a ransomware attack in Texas portends a future of cybercriminality that should have us all worried. And, speaking of cybercrime (plus hip-hop crime), Razzlekhan is alleged to have stolen billions in bitcoin and rapped about it. Badly. In the Spiel, Mikaela Shiffrin skis out, and NBC critics freak out. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lindsey Graham is a cynic, Joe Manchin can still be reached on filibuster reform, Michael Bennett…that one still hurts. In the second part of his interview, Senator Al Franken discusses the failings of Betsy DeVos and explains his former colleagues' motivations. Plus, a Spiel about Best Picture Nominee "Don't Look Up" — a warning for everyone already heading the warning. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Part 1 of a two-part interview, Al Franken, now a working standup comedian, analyzes politics and what made him such an effective questioner during Senate hearings. And Mike spiels about a visit from a boring German, and why Mike Pence's rebuke cannot be considered brave. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's Best Of The Gist episode, Mike Spiels about 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 thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A project to retell the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon from a trans character's perspective almost tore Raja Feather Kelly's dance company apart. The Feat3r Collective is ambitious, daring, and, for his recent project Wednesday, embattled. Ultimately, art persevered. Plus, Olympic Parade of Nations oddities, and New York State gerrymanders to the Dems advantage. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeff Maurer is a 5-time Emmy Award-winning writer for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which he says never strayed from the POVs you'd expect, during the six years he wrote for the show. Jeff's proud of the show, but he also realized that there was little opportunity to tackle topics that weren't firmly in the liberal/progressive consensus. So he left. In the Spiel, Mike assesses critics of The New York Times' David Leonhardt. He's cautiously offering a glimpse at a post-Covid conviction, they're accusing him of crimes against humanity. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 thegist@mikepesca.com 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 thegist@mikepesca.com 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 thegist@mikepesca.com 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 thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices