The Gist

Boston Globe columnist Carine Hajjar and The Commercial Break’s Bryan Green debate whether Joe Rogan’s platforming of antisemitic conspiracies signals a deeper rot—or just the cost of open conversation. Plus: should Harvard be defunded? And will Kilmar Abrego Garcia stay in a Salvadoran prison? In Goat Grinders, we take aim at student driver bumper stickers, White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood’s biting critique of SNL, and nothing left to stream. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In their new book chronicling the 2024 election, Fight, Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes document the disarray inside the Democratic camp during Biden’s final months and Kamala Harris’s precarious rise. Also some items from the debut of The Gist List: Cuomo’s one-handed housing expert explains the typos, and a modest proposal not to euthanizing monkeys. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can Trump run for a third term? Someone who has contemplated that is Bruce Peabody author of the law review titled The Twice and Future President Revisited: Of Three-Term Presidents and Constitutional End Runs who joins us to discuss. Plus, Mike questions the political upside of detaining an innocent man, especially when Trump’s allies haven’t mustered a coherent narrative to justify it. And in the Spiel: The SAVE Act is stirring fears that it could disenfranchise tens of millions of married women—but Mike breaks down why, while flawed, the bill is unlikely to actually change voting access. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump just walked back key tariffs on Chinese electronics — but his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, is still out on a full-throated pro-tariff tour, as if nothing happened. To make sense of Trump’s strategy (or improvisation), Mike turns to Yale Business School professor Barry Nalebuff, who finds the approach confusing because it doesn't align with what appear to be Trump’s actual goals. Meanwhile, in the Spiel, the British are squawking about a different kind of chicken — the chlorinated kind — with tabloids clucking and trade talks at risk of being deep-fried. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on The Gist. We go back to the The Colin McEnroe Show where Mike was on as a guest not talking about Tapirs. Then We end with Wednesdays Spiel on Trumps press conference about tariffs. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clay Risen, author of Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America, joins to discuss the era when suspicion was a political tool and civil liberties were sidelined. Today we have echoes—and outright repetitions—of McCarthyite tactics, from loyalty oaths to immigration crackdowns. Also- there may be three plastic spoons’ worth of microplastic in the average human brain—according to science, which Mike neither trusts nor understands, on account of his 0.5% spoon brain. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The bond market—stodgy, suit-clad, and deeply un-Instagrammable—has the economy feeling either “yippy” or “queasy,” Plus, Republicans are eager to wield the issue of trans athletes, especially when stocks are tumbling. And linguist John McWhorter returns to discuss the beauty of borrowed Yiddish verbs, the aesthetics of the letter X, and why “My wife, she…” is pure Rodney and pure syntax. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John McWhorter joins to discuss his new book Pronoun Trouble, which unpacks the politics and poetry of tiny words. Also, Trump touts his tariff triumph by jabbing Canada, walloping China, and baffling Wall Street into bullishness. He riffed on trade deficits, finger amputations, immigration, mental ward discharge, and compared economic instinct to Indy car strategy. Markets cheered, economists jeered, and Trump took a victory lap after hitting the wall. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner, joins to detail Ukrainian gas deals and what he calls the “Biden brand.” From paper mache with the Vice President to secretive dinners in Paris, he describes selling access, sidestepping scrutiny, and eventually being left holding the legal bag. Also, “10% for the big guy”? Archer says that wasn’t just a turn of phrase—it was the deal. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before diving into tariff turmoil and Senate map math, The Gist features the first part of an in-depth conversation with Devon Archer—former Hunter Biden business associate, House Oversight witness, and recipient of a Trump pardon. Archer discusses Burisma, the fallout with the Bidens, and how his legal saga became a political flashpoint. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two segments from Mikes appearances on Uncertain Things and Vanderpump Robs. Take a listen to Uncertain Things Take a listen to Vanderpump Robs Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Alex Edelman joins this episode of Funny You Should Mention. Alex’s hit one-man show Just For Us was a Broadway sensation and is now streaming on Max. In this conversation, we talk about the anatomy of a bad set, the five constituencies for a joke, and what it takes to turn a pile of bits into a fully realized piece of theater. Plus: how being “right” can be the biggest obstacle to being funny. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this “Not Even Mad” episode, Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch and former Obama speech writer Sarada Peri dig into “massive cuts under DOGE, Cory Booker’s latest stemwinder, recent election results, and somehow, Chester A. Arthur crashes the party. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harry Holzer—former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor—joins to discuss his concerns over Biden-era regulations alienating voters and thwarting progress. Plus, large protests in Zimbabwe pit Emmerson “The Crocodile” Mnangagwa against crowds urged on by Blessed “Bombshell” Geza. And Democrats embark on their “We Don’t Hate You” tour in an attempt to reconnect with alienated voters. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this, the eve of “Liberation Day,” as key House and judicial races loom, we're joined by David Pakman to discuss his new book, The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America. Pakman argues that conservative media and politicians have constructed a parallel reality that undermines Americans’ ability to think critically. But Pakman is also pressed on whether certain narratives on the left are similarly misleading, and if so, how much they contribute to the broader erosion of public trust. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A look at what makes some minds more prone to radical beliefs—and why, with Dr. Leor Zmigrod author of The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking, . Plus, close read of how Judge James Boasberg has become a punching bag for those claiming he coddles Venezuelan deportees while harshing on Jan 6 rioters. The actual court documents—and his sentencing decisions—suggest a far more evenhanded story. And applying the "Michael Clayton Doctrine" to Greenland. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on The Gist. We play Mikes appearance on The Mark Reardon Show and play an interview from 2022 with Rafael A. Mangual on Depolicing. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Turkish student at Tufts University was detained by ICE, but the only evidence presented so far is a co-signed campus op-ed critical of Israeli policy—raising serious concerns about the bounds of political expression and immigration enforcement. Also, an interview with former FBI Agent Scott Payne, author of Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis. Plus, Trump loves women, Ireland, Tesler, and Bobby Knight—maybe even all at once. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Payne is an undercover FBI agent who infiltrated America’s modern Nazis under the ominous alias Pale Horse. Plus, Trump’s back on the tariff train, this time hitting autos, but we dig into the unseen economic cost of shoehorning jobs into unproductive places. And part 4 of the discussion of a police shooting in the NYC subway becomes a case study in media malpractice, this time focusing on public radio. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Isenstadt, national political reporter for Politico and author of Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power discusses how Trump’s inner circle handles the boss. Plus, a House hearing with more culture war than clarity over the governance of NPR and PBS. Produced by Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Subscribe to The Gist Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g Subscribe to The Gist Instagram Page: GIST INSTAGRAM Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices