# The Gist

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593.md
RSS feed: https://feeds.simplecast.com/PVS_9LQC
Official site: http://www.mikepesca.com
Author: Peach Fish Productions
Episodes: 3062

## Resource

For thirty minutes each day, Pesca challenges himself and his audience, in a responsibly provocative style, and gets beyond the rigidity and dogma. The Gist is surprising, reasonable, and willing to critique the left, the right, either party, or any idea.

## Machine-readable

JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-gist-466593
Markdown: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593.md

## Episodes
- [Steven Johnson: "We Have Three Levels of Probability. It's Gonna Happen, It's Not Gonna Happen, and Maybe"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/steven-johnson-we-have-three-levels-of-probability-it-s-gonna-happen-it-s-not-gonna-happen-and-maybe) — 2026-07-13T22:00:00+00:00
- [Funny You Should Mention: Jeff Arcuri](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/funny-you-should-mention-jeff-arcuri) — 2026-07-10T22:00:00+00:00
- [Pesca La Vista](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/pesca-la-vista) — 2026-07-09T22:23:27+00:00
- [David Wain & Ken Marino: "We're Always Modulating The Madcap"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/david-wain-ken-marino-we-re-always-modulating-the-madcap) — 2026-07-08T22:19:18+00:00
- [Batya Ungar-Sargon: "Anti-Zionism Now Is A Central Plank Of Leftist Politics"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/batya-ungar-sargon-anti-zionism-now-is-a-central-plank-of-leftist-politics) — 2026-07-07T22:24:13+00:00
- [Ray Madoff: "The Tax System No Longer Taxes Investments And Inheritances"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ray-madoff-the-tax-system-no-longer-taxes-investments-and-inheritances) — 2026-07-06T22:30:14+00:00
- [Chris Cillizza: "Most Of Those People Don't Pay"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/chris-cillizza-most-of-those-people-don-t-pay) — 2026-07-04T16:00:00+00:00
- [Not Even Mad: Elizabeth Bruening & Ben Kawaller](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/not-even-mad-elizabeth-bruening-ben-kawaller) — 2026-07-02T22:26:10+00:00
- [Isaac Butler: "Part Of Living In A Society Means Giving Over A Certain Amount Of Agency"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/isaac-butler-part-of-living-in-a-society-means-giving-over-a-certain-amount-of-agency) — 2026-07-02T01:48:44+00:00
- [Eric Lichtblau: "Hate Speech Leads Directly To Hate Crimes"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/eric-lichtblau-hate-speech-leads-directly-to-hate-crimes) — 2026-07-01T01:40:13+00:00
- [Ben Fountain: "We're Real Good At The Blur"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ben-fountain-we-re-real-good-at-the-blur) — 2026-06-30T18:20:57+00:00
- [Ro Khanna & Mike Pesca: The Middle](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ro-khanna-mike-pesca-the-middle) — 2026-06-27T16:00:00+00:00
- [Funny You Should Mention: Graham Kay](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/funny-you-should-mention-graham-kay) — 2026-06-26T22:11:03+00:00
- [Anna Varfolomeeva: "Eighty Percent Of Russian Troops Are Getting Wiped Out Before They Reach The Front Line"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/anna-varfolomeeva-eighty-percent-of-russian-troops-are-getting-wiped-out-before-they-reach-the-front-line) — 2026-06-25T22:27:25+00:00
- [Ben Rhodes: "The Thing They Do As The Next Step Is The Most Consequential Part Of The Deal"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ben-rhodes-the-thing-they-do-as-the-next-step-is-the-most-consequential-part-of-the-deal) — 2026-06-24T22:45:23+00:00
- [Ben Rhodes: "If We Had To Pay With All This Blood, It Was Worth It"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ben-rhodes-if-we-had-to-pay-with-all-this-blood-it-was-worth-it) — 2026-06-23T22:23:14+00:00
- [Michael A. Cohen: "There Is an Inherent Bias Toward Exaggerating the Benefits of Using Military Force"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/michael-a-cohen-there-is-an-inherent-bias-toward-exaggerating-the-benefits-of-using-military-force) — 2026-06-22T22:17:25+00:00
- [Michael Schur: "The Afterlife Score Is Mathematical and Omniscient, But It Might Be Wrong"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/michael-schur-the-afterlife-score-is-mathematical-and-omniscient-but-it-might-be-wrong) — 2026-06-20T16:00:00+00:00
- [Not Even Mad: Anthony Weiner & Matt Welch](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/not-even-mad-anthony-weiner-matt-welch) — 2026-06-18T22:16:35+00:00
- [Sadie Dingfelder: "You Cannot Be Burned by Wind Alone"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/sadie-dingfelder-you-cannot-be-burned-by-wind-alone) — 2026-06-17T22:03:23+00:00
- [Michael Schur: "It Is Funny to Watch Fans Turn Themselves Inside Out to Try to Hold on to Something That No Longer Exists"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/michael-schur-it-is-funny-to-watch-fans-turn-themselves-inside-out-to-try-to-hold-on-to-something-that-no-longer-exists) — 2026-06-16T22:10:40+00:00
- [Joe Posnanski: "Life Is Lonely, and Sports Provides a Community"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/joe-posnanski-life-is-lonely-and-sports-provides-a-community) — 2026-06-15T22:26:17+00:00
- [Chris Cillizza: "Most of the People I Know in Media Can Barely Pay Their Bills"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/chris-cillizza-most-of-the-people-i-know-in-media-can-barely-pay-their-bills) — 2026-06-13T16:00:00+00:00
- [Gary Slutkin: "Violence Meets Every Scientific Definition of a Contagious Disease"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/gary-slutkin-violence-meets-every-scientific-definition-of-a-contagious-disease) — 2026-06-12T22:02:08+00:00
- [Not Even Mad: Bradley Tusk & Charles Fain Lehman](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/not-even-mad-bradley-tusk-charles-fain-lehman) — 2026-06-11T22:18:29+00:00
- [Sadie Dingfelder: "Raccoons Have Never Been a Rabies Vector in America"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/sadie-dingfelder-raccoons-have-never-been-a-rabies-vector-in-america) — 2026-06-10T22:14:54+00:00
- [Benoit Denizet-Lewis: The Case Against “I’ve Changed”](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/benoit-denizet-lewis-the-case-against-i-ve-changed) — 2026-06-08T21:57:09+00:00
- [Tom Steyer’s Very Expensive Optimism](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/tom-steyer-s-very-expensive-optimism) — 2026-06-06T16:00:00+00:00
- [Christian Miller: Why We Say We Love Honesty, Then Reward Liars](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/christian-miller-why-we-say-we-love-honesty-then-reward-liars) — 2026-06-05T22:05:10+00:00
- [Claude Steele Has a Better Way to Talk About Race](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/claude-steele-has-a-better-way-to-talk-about-race) — 2026-06-04T22:04:23+00:00
- [Ian Coss: How One Man Controlled A Quarter Of New England’s Groundfish](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ian-coss-how-one-man-controlled-a-quarter-of-new-england-s-groundfish) — 2026-06-03T22:00:00+00:00
- [Simone Stolzoff: We’re Getting Worse At Not Knowing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/simone-stolzoff-we-re-getting-worse-at-not-knowing) — 2026-06-02T22:00:00+00:00
- [Aaron Tang: "Re-instill This Idea That We Can Sit Around and Talk to Each Other"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/aaron-tang-re-instill-this-idea-that-we-can-sit-around-and-talk-to-each-other) — 2026-06-01T22:33:36+00:00
- [Mike Pesca on The Reason Roundtable](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/mike-pesca-on-the-reason-roundtable) — 2026-05-30T16:00:00+00:00
- [Janet McNamara: Smart People Think I'm Smart, Stupid People Think I'm Dumb](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/janet-mcnamara-smart-people-think-i-m-smart-stupid-people-think-i-m-dumb) — 2026-05-29T22:25:40+00:00
- [Astead Herndon: Polling Has Blind Spots That Regular People Explaining the "Why" Can Fill](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/astead-herndon-polling-has-blind-spots-that-regular-people-explaining-the-why-can-fill) — 2026-05-28T22:16:16+00:00
- [Holly Buck: A Pause on New Data Centers Isn't Really Going to Slow the Progress of AI](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/holly-buck-a-pause-on-new-data-centers-isn-t-really-going-to-slow-the-progress-of-ai) — 2026-05-27T22:19:57+00:00
- [Beyond the Politics of Contempt](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/beyond-the-politics-of-contempt) — 2026-05-26T22:41:56+00:00
- [David Oppenheimer: "The LSAT Is a Wonderful Predictive Tool for Determining An Applicant's Family Wealth"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/david-oppenheimer-the-lsat-is-a-wonderful-predictive-tool-for-determining-an-applicant-s-family-wealth) — 2026-05-23T16:00:00+00:00
- [Alvin Roth: "A Repugnant Transaction Is a Morally Contested Transaction"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/alvin-roth-a-repugnant-transaction-is-a-morally-contested-transaction) — 2026-05-22T22:15:11+00:00
- [Not Even Mad: Isaac Saul & Jamie Kirchick](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/not-even-mad-isaac-saul-jamie-kirchick) — 2026-05-21T22:27:42+00:00
- [David Oppenheimer: "Diversity Is Not About Being Comfortable"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/david-oppenheimer-diversity-is-not-about-being-comfortable) — 2026-05-20T22:39:04+00:00
- [J Schuberth: "I'd Settle for Number Two"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/j-schuberth-i-d-settle-for-number-two) — 2026-05-19T22:16:07+00:00
- [David Sussillo: "I Had to Be Like a God"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/david-sussillo-i-had-to-be-like-a-god) — 2026-05-18T22:30:13+00:00
- [Mike Pesca on Fake the Nation](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/mike-pesca-on-fake-the-nation) — 2026-05-16T16:00:00+00:00
- [Matt Sterling: Finding the Strength to Survive](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/matt-sterling-finding-the-strength-to-survive) — 2026-05-15T22:19:09+00:00
- [Franklin Foer: Did the Press Miss Biden's Decline?](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/franklin-foer-did-the-press-miss-biden-s-decline) — 2026-05-14T22:10:03+00:00
- [Franklin Foer: Chronicling The Purged](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/franklin-foer-chronicling-the-purged) — 2026-05-13T22:24:50+00:00
- [David Epstein: Thinking Inside the Box](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/david-epstein-thinking-inside-the-box) — 2026-05-12T22:07:44+00:00
- [Kevin Williamson: The Psychotic State of Texas Politics](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/kevin-williamson-the-psychotic-state-of-texas-politics) — 2026-05-11T22:34:00+00:00
- [Finding Political Kryptonite with Paula Poundstone](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/finding-political-kryptonite-with-paula-poundstone) — 2026-05-09T16:00:00+00:00
- [Benjamin Saltzman: The Art of Turning Away](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/benjamin-saltzman-the-art-of-turning-away) — 2026-05-08T23:06:37+00:00
- [Not Even Mad: Russ Muirhead & Ben Dreyfuss](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/not-even-mad-russ-muirhead-ben-dreyfuss) — 2026-05-07T22:22:06+00:00
- [Jonathan Vigliotti: The Olympic Rush to Rebuild LA](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/jonathan-vigliotti-the-olympic-rush-to-rebuild-la) — 2026-05-06T22:07:42+00:00
- [Joseph Moore: Negotiating With Drug Dealers for Real Estate Success](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/joseph-moore-negotiating-with-drug-dealers-for-real-estate-success) — 2026-05-05T22:38:30+00:00
- [Joseph Moore: The Despair Industrial Complex](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/joseph-moore-the-despair-industrial-complex) — 2026-05-04T23:07:29+00:00
- [Ethan Strauss: Great Writers, Bad Thinkers, and the Death of the Sports Gamer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ethan-strauss-great-writers-bad-thinkers-and-the-death-of-the-sports-gamer) — 2026-05-02T16:00:00+00:00
- [Liz Hoffman: Why We Are So Pessimistic About a Resilient Economy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/liz-hoffman-why-we-are-so-pessimistic-about-a-resilient-economy) — 2026-05-01T22:54:07+00:00
- [Liz Hoffman: Will AI Trigger a Jobless Food Fight?](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/liz-hoffman-will-ai-trigger-a-jobless-food-fight) — 2026-04-30T22:41:52+00:00
- [Suzy Hansen: How The Syrian War Radicalized Erdoğan](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/suzy-hansen-how-the-syrian-war-radicalized-erdo-an) — 2026-04-29T22:20:42+00:00
- [Ted Dintersmith: The Life-Changing Math Schools Ignore](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/ted-dintersmith-the-life-changing-math-schools-ignore) — 2026-04-28T22:39:37+00:00
- [Richard Lapper: Why Lula Didn't Become a Chavista](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/richard-lapper-why-lula-didn-t-become-a-chavista) — 2026-04-27T22:24:56+00:00
- [Mike Pesca Might Be Wrong & The Art of Korean Rock Throwing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/mike-pesca-might-be-wrong-the-art-of-korean-rock-throwing) — 2026-04-25T16:00:00+00:00
- [Maya Kornberg on How Congress Got Stuck](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/maya-kornberg-on-how-congress-got-stuck) — 2026-04-24T22:33:23+00:00
- [Not Even Mad: Sarada Peri & Sarah Isgur](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/not-even-mad-sarada-peri-sarah-isgur) — 2026-04-23T22:13:36+00:00
- [Jennifer Shahade on the Grandmaster of Intermezzos: Donald Trump](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/jennifer-shahade-on-the-grandmaster-of-intermezzos-donald-trump) — 2026-04-22T22:05:52+00:00
- [Jonathan Cheng on the Realities of Uncovering North Korea](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/jonathan-cheng-on-the-realities-of-uncovering-north-korea) — 2026-04-21T22:25:13+00:00
- [Jonathan Cheng on When Pyongyang Was the Jerusalem of the East](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/jonathan-cheng-on-when-pyongyang-was-the-jerusalem-of-the-east) — 2026-04-20T23:00:35+00:00
- [The Middle - Making the case for Voting by Phone](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/the-middle-making-the-case-for-voting-by-phone) — 2026-04-18T15:00:00+00:00
- [Chuck Todd: Why Politicians Are "The Weirdos"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/chuck-todd-why-politicians-are-the-weirdos) — 2026-04-17T22:14:29+00:00
- [Sarah Isgur: Why Forum Shopping is a Bigger Threat Than the Ethics Crisis](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/sarah-isgur-why-forum-shopping-is-a-bigger-threat-than-the-ethics-crisis) — 2026-04-16T22:21:17+00:00
- [Sarah Isgur: "Stop Blaming the Court and Start Blaming Congress"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/sarah-isgur-stop-blaming-the-court-and-start-blaming-congress) — 2026-04-15T22:16:25+00:00
- [Jacob Mchangama On The "Four Hateful Men" Who Saved Free Speech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/jacob-mchangama-on-the-four-hateful-men-who-saved-free-speech) — 2026-04-14T22:44:11+00:00
- [Jacob Mchangama On "Elite Panic"](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-gist-466593/jacob-mchangama-on-elite-panic) — 2026-04-13T22:55:33+00:00

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