Journalist Matt Katz's father was barely in his life, and when he was, it was fairly unpleasant for Matt. Then a genetics test tore up Matt's script. That deadbeat dad might have been a deadbeat, but he didn't seem to actually be his dad. Who was? His nine-part podcast Inconceivable Truth details the journey to find out. Also, the cold, hard facts about Cold Lava. Plus, the Obi Wan argument on college campuses and in Gaza.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Economist Allison Schrager, Bloomberg columnist and author of An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk, makes the case for working well into your 70s. And even if you think the case is "poor," that's exactly what you'll be if you opt out of the workforce at 62. Plus, a French gangster known as La Mouche, or "The Fly," shoots his way to freedom as the French fret about the Olympics.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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A cicada invasion dawns, and edible bugs are all the, if not rage, then opportunity for a quirk filled cooking segment. Plus, protesters at Harvard negotiate their way out of trouble, whereas their Princeton counterparts are redefining hunger, or at least "hunger strike". And we are joined by Wall Street Journal columnist and India expert Sadanand Dhume to discuss Narendra Modi and the world's most sprawling election.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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A glimpse into the Trump Trial, where a sleepy former President is somehow more compelling than hush money, off-the-book payments, and getting stiffed on your bonus. Plus, life expectancy by race complicates the narrative of "white supremacy." And we're joined by Sarah McCammon, National Political Correspondent at NPR and author of The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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In this installment of Best Of The Gist, Mike’s December 5, 2023 interview with author, journalist, and former director of the International Crisis Group’s Arab-Israeli Project, Nathan Thrall. Nathan won the Pulitzer Prize this past week for his most recent book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy. 

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara 

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Andy Mills and Matthew Boll are out with a new podcast Reflector. Now available. Episode 1 concerns Naltrexone, a drug that actually works to stop alcohol cravings, and yet 12-Step programs are much more popular, despite being much less effective. We are joined by Andy to also talk about media capture and the great podcast fake enthusiasm epidemic.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Steve Fishman is the host and executive producer of The Burden, a podcast which focuses on the string of iffy convictions attained thanks to the police work of a high-flying Brooklyn cop in the 1990s. Plus, balloon releases and issues of cultural insensitivity. And of all of Donald Trump's positions over the years, "missionary" might be the least objectionable.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Cindy McCain says there's a "full-blown famine" going on in Gaza. The agency she heads at the UN does not agree. Plus, a House of Representatives hearing into NPR bias was skipped by NPR's CEO and not even covered on CPSPAN, but it did feature a House Republican saying he likes his NPR station, a House Democrat saying maybe NPR really should consider the allegations of bias. And we're joined once more to talk Paul Manafort and other fans of sumptuous fabrics with Brody Mullins, author of The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government.

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Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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The Wolves Of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government is a new book detailing how the influence business took root and metastasized in federal politics. Co-author and Wall Street Journal Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Brody Mullins discusses. Plus, President Biden decries anti-semitism as he stands by Israel as it begins the Rafah phase of the war. And we hear from Nibbles, an overlooked participant in the Kristi Noem quadruped killing spree.

https://surfshark.deals/GIST

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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The New York Times Executive Editor proclaims the paper to not be in the business of defeating Trump. Howls of outrage ensue. Plus, Donald Trump seems fine with fines. And in a talk with Danielle Clode, author of Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future, we rehabilitate the reputation of the supposedly dim, diseased antipodal cuties.

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Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Infrequently, we offer listeners a taste of something we think you may like that isn’t from our kitchen, to torture the metaphor. Such is the case today. You may think you know Malcolm Gladwell. He is, after all, the New York Times bestselling author of Outliers, The Tipping Point, Blink, and other books. He’s also the host of the podcast Revisionist History, and it’s true that his work is heralded and his opinion asked by many folks on a wide array of issues.

But what makes Gladwell so different that he has become one of the most successful journalists of our day? In this episode of the acclaimed podcast No Small Endeavor, Malcolm tells his own story, from receiving endorsement from his mother to cut class, to attending a Mennonite barn-raising with his mathematician father, to spending three days a week in Freudian therapy as a young adult. 

And if you enjoy what you hear, listen to more episodes of No Small Endeavor here.

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