The Gist

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, with the recent news of Annan Syed’s conviction fresh in the news yet again, we listen back to Mike’s 2015 interview the hosts of the podcast Undisclosed, Rabia Chaudry, Colin Miller, and Susan Simpson. Then we listen to the PescaPlus cut of Mike’s interview with Eric Zorn.  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  Subscribe to Mike’s Substack, Pesca Profundities  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump indictment is a lot to process, but let's try ... in the form of a proposed sitcom, The Prison President. Also, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not to be intimidated, nor are the NYPD going to be scared of Donald Jr.'s mob of mad Proud Boys. And Mike talks with Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, author of If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine. (Trump has a cameo in there, as well.) 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The subject of Season One of Serial, Adnan Syed is once more in a legal limbo, having had his vacated conviction overturned. However, the latest twist in the case resolves itself it is clear that Syed would never have even gotten a new hearing, were it not for the 2022 passage of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act. We speak to Maryland State Senator Chris West (Republican) about the law and how he had not even heard the name Adnan Syed before he sponsored it. Plus, rethinking the costs of hardening schools as targets. And, on MLB opening day, Mike explains why, even with tweaks, baseball will never be culturally dominant again. 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The mayoralty of Chicago will be decided next Tuesday, and its a close race between tough-on-crime Paul Vallas and current public schools union leader Brandon Johnson. Eric Zorn, longtime Chicago Tribune columnist, now editor of of the Picayune Sentinel, moderated one of the mayoral debates, and he joins us to assess the race. Plus, NCAA women's basketball ratings. And that's a Woolly Meatball! 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Todd Brewster, co-author of Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice, joins us to talk about a single image's power to galvanize society, and the history of who controls these images. Plus, Adnan Syed's once-vacated conviction has been reinstated. And widening the aperture on victims of police violence. 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Recall: Reframed examines the removal of California Judge Aaron Persky after his sentencing of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner. Director Rebecca Richman Cohen discusses the two sides of the progressive movement at odds with each other over this issue, including the difficulty of steering outrage into proper policy. Plus the U.S. Supreme Court debates fake dog poo. And, at the risk of contradicting Color Me Bad, "Uh, TikTok you do stop." For more information on The Recall: Reframed visit Engage | The Recall: Reframed (recallreframed.com) 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we listen back to Mike’s the April 17, 2015 Spiel satirizing the Vladamir Putin Call-In show. Then we listen to this past week’s Spiel on Michael Cohen.  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

Sam Sanders is the host of 2 podcasts (Into It, and Vibe Check) where he weighs in on politics and culture in a way he never could while on NPR. Mike and Sam discuss and debate wokeness, euphemism, the age of podcasts, and if Angela Basset having "Done the Thing" was really internet meltdown worthy. Plus, Canada increases in number and prestige. And a city killing meteor leads us to one-click cancellation contemplation. 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bradley Tusk worked for years in government, then he struck out on his own and made a lot of money through his firm Tusk Ventures helping companies like Uber and FanDuel navigate government regulation. On the Gist today, he explains how he leverages his expertise as a lobbyist and fixer to give school meals and anti-hunger advocates the kind of muscle they need. Plus, Janet Yellen moves markets by stating obvious truths. And Stanford grapples with the heckler's veto. This episode also features an extended interview AND an extended spiel for subscribers to PescaPlus. To become a subscriber: Subscribe.mikepesca.com 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

Mike interviews Neil Gross, a former cop turned Colby College Sociology professor and now author of Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied The Odds and Changed Cop Culture. We're also joined by Leon Nixon, who voiced the audiobook—a profession he took up after more than 20 years in law enforcement. Plus, a look at the loudest hush money in history. And how Michael Cohen is a colorful character, but he's a questionable character to put on the witness stand. 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

Following yesterday’s conversation with David Zweig about the known and unknown risks associated with how we dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic as a society, today Mike drills down on masks and vaccines with two public health communicators. First up, science writer Michael Schulson, author of the recent article “Do Masks Work? It’s A Question of Physics, Biology, and Behavior” in the digital magazine Undark, then Mike talks with epidemiologist and author of the Your Local Epidemiology Substack, Katelyn Jetelina. 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

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we limited contact with other people, we wore masks, and we closed public schools. These actions saved lives. Sort of, says David Zweig, a New York-based writer who became a voice of informed opposition to these sacrifices, stating that we may be saving some lives, but at what cost? His Substack is Silent Lunch. We broke our normal format this episode to give you a longer cut of Mike’s interview with Zweig, who has a book on our public health systems’ response to the pandemic coming out this summer called An Abundance Of Caution. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  To subscribe to an Ad-Free or Premium version of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mike's 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, with 2023 March Madness underway, we listen back to Mike’s 2022 critique of the instinctive, and backward, admonishment so many announcers issue as time is winding down, “You don’t need a 3!” Then we listen to this past week’s Spiel on whales.  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

We’re joined this episode by Ted Kaye for another installment of Vexillology Corner, wherein we discuss the big survey of city flags (check them out), the winners and losers, and the difference between a good and bad flag. Plus, attacking TikTok. And in the Antwentig, the Cochrane study questioning masks. 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

Former diplomat Ethan Chorin joins us to talk about his book Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink. Plus, San Francisco proposes reparations for black residents which has a price tag in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And the Congressional art of asking a questioning and doing everything you can to suppress an answer. 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

Matthew Desmond's story in the New York Times Magazine, "Why Poverty Persists in America" contradicts Mike's understanding, past coverage, and narrative of progress in America. But that doesn't make it wrong. Plus, Dr. Judith Herman discusses her new book Truth And Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice. 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

Reporter Ken Vogel was a lead reporter on the NYT series "A Risky Wager: How online sports betting took America by storm." He's here to discuss what some states got wrong, while others hit the jackpot on legalized sports wagering. Plus, the international criminal court is reportedly bringing war crimes charges against Russia for kidnapping Ukrainian children. And the ratings are up (Oscars) but also down (banks). 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

Whale Watch! Brendan Fraser's acceptance speech for his Best Actor Oscar in The Whale was larded with whale references, and today's Spiel is given over to examining Unusual Mortality Events among whales. Plus, an analysis of netting Mafia bosses ... and possibly Donald Trump. Elie Honig, CNN analyst and author of Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It, discusses prosecuting figures at the top of opaque organizations who know how to insulate themselves from culpability. 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, whales abound. We start by listening back to a Gist “Whale Watch” segment from February 24, 2016, then we revisit our most recent Monday Spiel, in which Mike talks high seas treaties.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin Goetz is the movie business' most influential market researcher. He joins us to discuss his new book Audience-Ology: How Moviegoers Shape The Films We Love. Plus, White Drivers are Polluting BIPOC air in LA. And The Whale vs. Cocaine Bear. 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