Peter Hegseth is Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense. It's an impossible job, one that he can't possibly fulfill, and maybe that's the point. Plus, Israelis in Amsterdam chased and beaten, but some in the press say they (more or less) deserved it. And we are joined once more by Ben Wittes of Lawfare to talk about Trump's possible prosecutions.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Ben Wittes, Editor-in-Chief of Lawfare, discusses what Trump can actually do and where the protections are for those he's threatened to criminally prosecute—Kamala is probably safe, but Jack Smith could be quite inconvenienced. Plus, Kristi Noem for DHS, and to California ballot counters: your torpor is not a virtue.

Also, today The Atlantic published Mike's piece about the "HR-ification" of the Democratic party.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Revelations from campaigns that could have been shared a while ago are being unearthed now. It turns out CNN knew Kamala Harris wasn't inspiring Pennsylvanians, but ... now they tell us! Plus, Seth Moulton gets pilloried for saying Dems need to talk about more issues openly. And Vic Michaelis of Very Important People stops by. VIP is an amazing show on Dropout TV, in which improvisers in heavy makeup discover they have been turned into werewolves or rocks, and then sit for an in-depth interview on the character they just learned they were.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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This weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen to part two of our interview with Washington Post investigative reporter Albert Samaha about his deep dive into the NIL economy. Then we rewind exactly eight years, to the morning America woke up to realize Donald Trump was President. 

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara 

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Donald Trump knows how to speak so he's heard. Democrats ... much less so. Plus, there are many legitimate recriminations for the Democrats to engage in, but "Elon Musk's money made things unfair" is not one of them. And we speak with Albert Samaha of the Washington Post about the hidden economy of college sports.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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The polls were really very accurate, despite what the Nate-haters say. Amy Walter, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report, explains why a clean sweep was not a surprise, assuming you understand concepts like margin of error and correlation. Plus, the offended Puerto-Rican vote failed to materialize, and unmarried women were overwhelmed by the voting preferences of their dads, boyfriends, and guys they went to high school with.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Donald Trump has won, his coalition is actually more diverse than any Republican since Nixon, and his share of the popular vote could be larger than any Republican since George H.W. Bush in 1988—it was certainly the largest in 20 years. Today, Mike has a critique of the media, hope for the republic, and a pair of interviews. First, he talks with not-Trump-nor-Harris voters Kemele Foster, of The 5th Column podcast, and Coleman Hughes, author of The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America, and we get to hear them react to Trump's victory in the moment. Then Peter Meijer, one of ten House Republicans to vote to impeach Donald Trump, says he stands by his vote, but understands Trump's success.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Nah, its the election. We advise against supposed bellwethers, and the scrutinization of early exit polls. Plus, the march of progress by so many statistical measures will happen and has happened, no matter who is President. In today's interview, we're joined by Damon Linker for a conversation replete with wisdom and insight regardless of who wins. And it's clear who has already won ... why, it's the North American Elk, who number over a million and have been successfully reintroduced after 19th century hunters depleted populations, as this plaintive flute solo conveys.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Kathy Boockvar, former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, fought back an orchestrated, well-funded, and dangerous scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election in her state. She shares her playbook for this go 'round. Plus, the last week of the election went quite poorly for Donald Trump. Why did he dress like a Garbage man? That said, he didn't say what they said he said about shooting Liz Cheney.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

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Each weekend on Best Of The Gist, we listen back to an archival Gist segment from the past, then we replay something from the past week. This weekend, though, we’re kicking it old school, with two segments from 2014. First up, Mike’s now-10-year-old interview with Casper Kelly creator of the epic and addictive Adult Swim video Too Many Cooks. Then, with endorsements in the air, we listen back to Mike’s conversation with Patrick LaForge from the New York Times, who tells us the origin story behind the expression “retweets don’t equal endorsements.” 

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara 

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Our third installment of Funny You Should Mention welcomes Sam Jay, former SNL writer, Tom Brady Roaster, host of HBO's Pause with Sam Jay, and stand-up comic behind such specials as Netflix's 3 In The Morning and HBO's Salute Me or Shoot Me. Sam and Mike talk cops, racism, white vs black people money management, and a joke she'll discuss but won't be telling again.

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