The Gist

Coleman Hughes, author of The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America stops by to add a diversity of thought in his inclusion on DEI week. Plus, our country seems intent on getting nothing done in years divisible by 2. And following up on the question of Kristen Welker's insistence on follow-up questions. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All week, we'll be taking a deep dive into DEI—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—which has come under attack from conservatives. A great defense would be to point to the many demonstrable successes of DEI, but that's not always easy, because many of the highest profile expressions of DEI haven't yielded quantifiable successes. To kickoff DEI Week, we're joined today by Northwestern School of Education's Ahmmad Brown, a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) scholar. This is the first part in our week-long series discussing DEI in a way that expresses doubts, allows for eye-opening revelations, and relies on inquiry. Also, as a bit of an appetizer, we poke gentle fun at "Woke Kindergarten," which is a real thing. "Real" being defined as, the curriculum costs schools that choose to participate $250,000. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepes

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s 2019 interview with Anthony Ray Hinton, who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of two teenagers in Alabama in 1985. After 30 years on death row, Hinton’s conviction was overturned, and he was released. He’s since become an advocate for those facing the death penalty and the abolishment of it in the United States. Hinton’s book is titled, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. Then we hear Mike’s Wednesday Spiel about Kenneth Eugene Smith’s recent execution by nitrogen hypoxia. Observers were disturbed by the process of Smith's final five minutes on Earth, but officials of the state of Alabama where only disturbed by others’ disturbed-ness.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profunditie

Political experts and podcast partners in the Night Owls Podcast, Joe Klein and John Ellis analyze the political pitfalls of Democrats in the next election and contrast those with the co-situational dangers of Trump. Plus, smushy-faced dogs and the dire lack of cow-part funding. Finally, Mike criticizes a New Yorker magazine story about Oregon overdoses that defied credulity. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luppe Luppen is a lawyer who is also the Twitter pugilist @nycsouthpaw. He is now the co-author of a new book, The Truce: Progressives, Centrists, and the future of the Democratic Party. Plus, a beheading with talking points from Tucker. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On January 25th, Kenneth Eugene Smith was the first American executed by nitrogen hypoxia. Observers were disturbed by the process of Smith's final five minutes on Earth, but officials of the state of Alabama where only disturbed by others disturbed-ness. Also on the show, Joshua Green discusses his new book, The Rebels: Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Struggle For A New American Politics. And, when the status quo is objected to, it doesn't mean the change is agreeable. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Hobson has been hosting The Middle, a call-in public radio program. That sounds scintillating enough, but it gets even spicier when you learn that the show is dedicated to non-extremism. As much as this reasonable-seeming description might evoke thoughts of high-minded even-handedness, in practice it's actually quite exciting and exceedingly rare. Plus, the newest members of The Squad squander the brand name, while every Republican on the House Homeland Security committee claims that Alejandro Mayorkis has committed the High Crimes and Misdemeanors worthy of impeachment. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're joined by the show runner of the Peacock series Dr. Death, Ashley Michel Hoban, to discuss why we are drawn to doctors who first do some harm. Lots of it in fact.  Plus, Nikki Haley just has no idea about any details of Donald Trump's Trials. And the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is making progress, yet it feels like ghoulish wound-opening. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the spring of 2017, a police corruption scandal rocked the city of Baltimore. And at the heart of it was an elite undercover unit called the Gun Trace Task Force. American Scandal is a podcast from Wondery that takes you deep into the most infamous scandals in American history, from presidential lies to environmental disasters and corporate fraud. Their new season looks at a Baltimore police unit that was supposed to reduce violence in the community. But they operated with little oversight, and instead became a breeding ground for rogue cops who were abusing their power. This is just a preview of American Scandal. You can listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at Wondery.fm/AS_TheGist. LINKS: Wondery.fm/AS_TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, upon hearing the news that researchers had discovered four previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins with the help of satellite imagery, we give to you Mike’s 2017 interview with penguin researcher Michelle LeRue. Then we replay Mike’s January 24, 2024 Spiel about The Los Angeles Times, which isn’t his favorite news source.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The International Court of Justice rules on the plausibility of Israel committing genocide, one particularly incendiary Israeli official tweets "Hague Schmague." Taylor Swift pics are everywhere, as is always true, but these were invented by a perverted computer. And we're joined once more by Professor Brian Klaas, who takes down certainty and his own field of political science in his new book, Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brian Klaas, political scientist and author of Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, talks about flawed thinking and the flaws of social science. Plus, a bird of prey on your wedding day. And the LA Times misinformation "expert" who got it horribly wrong. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Alberta of The Atlantic is author of the new book The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, and he also wrote the definitive Nikki Haley profile. He says Haley really, really doesn't like Trump, and maybe now we'll get a chance to hear the depths of her dissatisfaction. Plus, the U.S. makes a foray into an Angola railway. And if the LA Times were a person you met at a party, would you walk away? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York Times columnist, Dispatch legal expert, and podcaster David French joins us to discuss timelines for the various Trump legal cases, and David's belief that the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified him justly. "That's what judges do," French says. Plus, does Joe Biden's support of Israel hurt him as much as standard analysis would have us all believe? And an unasked-for foray into the lopsided results of New England community college women's basketball. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Horrible puns aside, New Hampshire marks the last chance for one of Donald Trump's challengers to actually make a stand. Guests Matt Robison and Paul Hodes of the Beyond Politics podcast think it really could happen. Mike is more suspicious of that claim than Ron DeSantis is of the World Wide Woke Agenda. Over the weekend, the Florida Governor dropped out of the race, and Mike ranks the most common explanations from charmlessness to excess Disney obsession. Plus, newly engaged Senator Tim Scott makes a few factually unchecked claims on CNN, but that's okay because feelings. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, protests of the video game Hogwarts Legacy dealt a blow to the financial empire of J.K. Rowlings’ in 2023 … Oh wait, actually, Hogwarts Legacy was the highest grossing game of last year. Nevermind. We listen back to Mike’s February 2023 Spiel about the protests. Then we listen to our recent Spiel about Spirit Airlines failure to merge with JetBlue.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our brave and heroic Congress has done the incredible ... again ... passing legislation to temporarily keep the government running until February. Great, um, job. In the interview, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale's school of management joins us to explain why Putin in hurting economically and why reporters don't get the story. Also on the show, Pakistan and Iran have nice things to say to each other despite those missiles. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First, we consider the case of the dream boat Yemeni who is a hijacker of real boats, dubbed "Tim-Houthi Chalamet" by adoring online fans. And then, it's a full show talking with Bessel van der Kolk author of The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, and co-author of a piece in Foreign Affairs, "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Psychology of Trauma: How Insights From Therapeutic Practice Can Help Build Peace." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Georgia DA Fani Willis wades into allegations that she hired her romantic partner to prosecute Trump. She does so from the pulpit of a storied church, yielding more "amens" than answers. Plus, the government preserves Spirit Airlines as the perhaps beloved, certainly belittled Dollar Store of the skies.  And we're joined once more by Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project to talk unions, income inequality, and if a toned-down Twitter avatar might make his brand of socialist seem cuddlier. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Center discusses the gap between economic impression and reality. Vivek Ramaswamy ends his cosplay as a Trump cover band. And the explanation that some on the right are giving for that hole in the Alaska Airlines door. You can't spell idiotic explanation without "DEI." Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | MikePesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices