The Gist
Mike Pesca
The Gist with Mike Pesca. A daily evening show about news, culture, and whatever else you'll be discussing with friends and family tonight.
- 1 hour 2 minutesRoy Wood Jr.: "People Just Want to Feel Good."
In this special Christmas Day edition, Mike gives the gift of Roy Wood Jr., a comedian who embodies the "profundities in punchlines" ethos. Wood joins to discuss his CNN show Have I Got News for You, his upbringing as the son of a pioneering radio journalist, and the central thesis of his comedy: that in a fractured world, people prioritize dopamine over truth. They debate whether political comedy has devolved into mere applause lines, why comedians are the new op-ed writers, and the delicate art of crafting a joke about police reform that actually lands with everyone. Plus, Mike explains why you need a "Christmas Eve" song if you want your novelty hit to last.
Produced by Corey Wara
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25 December 2025, 11:00 pm - 58 minutes 21 secondsDjango Gold: The Comedian Who Wants to Dim Your Shine
In a special Christmas Eve edition, Mike brings you a "gift" from the comedy vault: an interview with the brilliantly off-kilter Django Gold. A veteran of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Onion, Gold discusses his YouTube special Bag of Tricks and his commitment to playing a paranoid, morose character on stage—a persona he claims is "closer to who I really am" than any bubbly crowd-pleaser. They dissect the mechanics of anti-humor, the joy of "uncomfortable staring," and why Gold believes the best comedy leaves the audience "a little dimly lit." Plus, Mike muses on the specific genius of "Christmas Eve" songs versus generic holiday tracks.
Produced by Corey Wara
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24 December 2025, 11:00 pm - 39 minutes 31 secondsThomas Chatterton Williams: Why the Summer of 2020 Wasn't Inevitable
Thomas Chatterton Williams joins to discuss his new book, The Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse. He argues that the racial reckoning of 2020 was not an inevitable tide of history but a perfect storm of pandemic isolation, polarizing politics, and institutional failure. TCW dissects how mainstream institutions—from the New York Times to the Philadelphia Inquirer—abandoned objectivity for "moral clarity," and how misinformation about cases like Jacob Blake fueled a cycle of violence in Kenosha. Mike and Thomas debate whether the Left's introspection is necessary to defeat the "worse" impulses of the MAGA Right, or if it just alienates the base.
Produced by Corey Wara
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23 December 2025, 11:00 pm - 36 minutes 32 secondsQuico Toro: "Charlatans Burrow Into Your Life and Don't Leave."
Quico Toro joins to discuss Charlatans: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Hucksters Bamboozle the Media, the Markets, and the Masses, distinguishing the "parasitic" nature of the charlatan from the hit-and-run tactics of the scammer. He traces the lineage of the grift from the official alchemists of 16th-century Venice to the upsell tactics of Trump University, arguing that loneliness and the internet have created a "target-rich environment" for swindlers. Then, a pivot to the environment: Mike and Quico debate whether the "green halo" around solar and wind constitutes its own form of elite misinformation, and why the villainization of nuclear energy—and the partisanship of climate policy—has stalled real progress.
Produced by Corey Wara
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22 December 2025, 11:00 pm - 35 minutes 2 secondsRob Reiner: "I Just Viewed My Child in Pain"
In light of the recent tragedy, Mike unlocks a 2016 interview with the late Rob Reiner. It is a conversation that now plays differently: Reiner discusses his film Being Charlie, which was written by his son Nick Reiner—the man now arrested in connection with his death. Mike reflects on the director's legacy, the eerie prescience of their discussion on addiction and family, and the President's disparagement of the deceased. Then, The Spiel turns to the Compact magazine essay by Jacob Savage on the "vanishing" white male in cultural industries. Mike parses the statistics—from Ivy League hiring to MacArthur Grants—to ask if the corrective pendulum has swung too far.
Produced by Corey Wara
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20 December 2025, 5:00 pm - 51 minutes 47 secondsJay Jurden: High Profundities Per Minute
Comedian Jay Jurden explains why nine years of theater training is his "superpower" on the stand-up stage—and why he treats every punchline like a line of dialogue rather than a personal diary entry. His new special, Yes Ma'am, argues that physical specificity (from "rolling a wheelchair into affordable housing" to Marjorie Taylor Greene's hooves) is what separates a 300-level performer from a novice looking at their shoes. Along the way: memories of growing up in Canton, Mississippi, where movie sets for A Time to Kill. Plus, the greatest college football analogy ever delivered by a gay comedian—a warning against "scrambling" for viral crowd work instead of sticking to the designed play.
Produced by Corey Wara
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19 December 2025, 11:10 pm - 41 minutes 30 secondsNicholas Wright: When Ancient Brains Meet Modern War
Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright explains why big powers "lose" wars they dominate on the kill ratio—and why counterinsurgencies (Vietnam, Afghanistan, maybe Iraq) reliably punish the side with less at stake. His new book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, argues that identity, surprise, and revenge are ancient brain features, while metacognition—the mind watching itself—can be the thin guardrail against strategic self-harm. Along the way: post-1945 German polling as a reminder that political "reconstruction" happens on a years-long timetable, not on an American attention span. Plus, a Trump "warrior dividend" of $1,776 per service member—tariffs funding patriotism, one numerology check at a time.
Produced by Corey Wara
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18 December 2025, 11:05 pm - 42 minutes 29 secondsJames Clyburn: "The World Would Much Rather See a Sermon Than Hear One."
Clyburn discusses The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation, explaining how Reconstruction-era Black lawmakers navigated power, compromise, and backlash—and why their choices still resonate. He reflects on faith as action, not rhetoric, and on history as a guide rather than a museum piece. Plus: Maryland lawmakers override Gov. Wes Moore's veto of a reparations study, and The Spiel turns to a new report on how white men have been squeezed out of cultural institutions—and what that shift means.
Produced by Corey Wara
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18 December 2025, 12:04 am - 41 minutes 26 secondsMikhail Zygar: From Glasnost Whiplash to Social-Media Smog
Russian journalist in exile Mikhail Zygar traces an information system so sealed even Gorbachev couldn't get the facts in The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory Over Totalitarianism. He draws a straight psychological line from late-Soviet overload to our current tech-firehose, arguing humans don't change much; institutions do (and the Soviet Union didn't have many worthy of the name). Plus: a quote-counting tour through Chris Whipple's Vanity Fair Susie Wiles interviews: "an alcoholic's personality," "conspiracy theorist," "ketamine user," "right-wing absolute zealot."
Produced by Corey Wara
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16 December 2025, 10:45 pm - 39 minutes 42 secondsChris Dalla Riva: "Billboard's become a Christmas chart."
Data journalist Chris Dalla Riva brings charts, facts, and plenty of fight to Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us About the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves, a tour through every Billboard Hot 100 #1 and the strange incentives that pick our "popular." They debate whether streaming makes the charts more accurate or just more boring—why Christmas songs now squat in the Top 10, why covers almost always slow songs down, and what the early "wilderness years" of the Hot 100 were missing. There's also a detour into the power of platform kings (hello, Sean Parker) and how a playlist can turn "Royals" into destiny. Plus: Trump's ghoulish Rob Reiner post, a reminder of Reiner's unreal directing run, and a weekend that managed to be both pointless and ugly.
Produced by Corey Wara
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15 December 2025, 11:12 pm - 40 minutes 22 secondsFinding the Next Terry Gross with Daniel Oppenheimer
In this special Saturday edition, Mike sits down with Daniel Oppenheimer of Eminent Americans to tackle a high-stakes question: Who is worthy of the Fresh Air throne? They dissect the craft of interviewing, critique the "unprepared celebrity" podcast trend, and evaluate potential successors ranging from Colin McEnroe to Jon Ronson.
Produced by Corey Wara
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13 December 2025, 5:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App