The Gist

Today on The Gist, guest host Bryan Green introduces two conversations on lethal implements and nutritional science. First, Mike Pesca speaks with Rachel McCarthy James about her book Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder, tracing the axe's history from prehistoric tool and Shang Dynasty symbol of power to battlefield weapon and instrument of execution. Then, Maria Konnikova joins Mike to separate fact from fiction regarding dietary s...

Today on The Gist, guest host Bryan Green introduces Mike Pesca's two-part conversation with physician, epidemiologist, and former Detroit health director Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. In part one, El-Sayed discusses the collision between digital misinformation and biological virality, the systemic communication failures of the public health establishment, and how political polarization undermined basic scientific realities. In part two, the...

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam James Levin-Aredi introduces an installment of Funny You Should Mention featuring comedian and writer Django Gold. Mike Pesca sits down with Gold, a former writer for The Onion and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, to dissect the craft of stand-up and his comedy special Bag of Tricks. Gold breaks down his deliberate, deadpan stage persona, the comedic value of defying audience expectations, and...

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam Levin introduces two conversations exploring truth, perspective, and personal endurance. First, Mike Pesca speaks with KJ Steinberg, creator and showrunner of the Hulu limited series The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, to examine the ethics of dramatizing real-life tragedy, moving beyond tabloid caricatures, and the difficult process of reclaiming an identity after public defamation and wrongful imp...

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam James Levin introduces the first installment of Mike Pesca's two-part conversation with investigative reporter Ken Bensinger, co-host of The Michigan Plot. Bensinger breaks down the 2020 investigation into the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, detailing how an amateur militia group collided with an aggressive FBI undercover operation. Drawing on hundreds of hours of secret ...

Today on The Gist, guest host Rachel Win introduces the third installment of Funny You Should Mention which 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 b...

Today on The Gist, guest host Rachel Win introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey about her book The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future, exploring Altman's Silicon Valley rise, the tensions between AI safety and commercial speed, and his brief ouster from the company. The show wraps with a classic 2014 sit-down with the late Gilbert Gottfried, who talks old Holl...

Today on The Gist, guest host Rachel Win introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with veteran actor, writer, and director Jennifer Esposito about her debut feature film, Fresh Kills. Esposito breaks down her inspiration for the Staten Island drama, which re-examines the mob genre through the rarely explored perspectives of the wives and daughters caught inside patriarchal crime families. She also discusses mortgaging her home to finan...

Today on The Gist, guest host Jason Mojica marks the 25th anniversary of September 11th with former CIA counterterrorism official Philip Mudd, author of Black Site: The CIA in the Post-9/11 World. Mudd revisits the post-9/11 panic over a second wave of attacks, the overhaul of US intelligence, and the contentious debates surrounding enhanced interrogation techniques. The episode closes with Mike Pesca's archival reflection on milit...

Today on The Gist, guest host Jason Mojica introduces two conversations on personal resilience and healthy living. First, Mike Pesca talks with actress Gina Gershon about her memoir Alpha Pussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, exploring how she navigated toxicity in early Hollywood, developed an instinctual survival radar, and turned a botched roast performance into a breakout role on Curb Your Enthusiasm. T...

Today on The Gist, guest host Jason Mojica introduces a conversation between Mike Pesca and hip-hop pioneer Chuck D, co-founder of Public Enemy, about his book Interficial Arttelligence. Chuck D reflects on his lifelong passion for visual art, dating back to childhood comic books and drafting promotional flyers on Long Island, and details his rapid, memory-driven illustration style as a personal counterweight to digital perfection ...

Today on The Gist, guest host Charlie introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with comedian and writer Nimesh Patel, the first Indian American writer in Saturday Night Live history. Patel charts his transition from NYU finance major to stand-up comic, breaking down his shifting philosophy on joke construction, why he has moved away from didactic, argument-driven bits, and how he uses subtext and contrarian premises to catch audiences ...

Today on The Gist, guest host Charlie introduces two conversations centered on hostage recovery and wrongful detention abroad. First, Mike Pesca speaks with Diane Foley, founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, who reflects on her son's murder by ISIS in 2014, the institutional failures that left American families without diplomatic support, and the urgent need to overhaul outdated US hostage policies as state-sponsored wro...

Today on The Gist, guest host Charlie introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with comedian Vic Michaelis, host of Very Important People on Dropout TV. Michaelis discusses the show's chaotic premise, where comedians are transformed by high-end VFX makeup and prosthetics without knowing what they look like until a live mirror reveal, forcing them to build an improvised character from scratch. They also explore the evolution of improv f...

Today on The Gist, guest host Scott introduces a debate between Mike Pesca and Virginia Sole-Smith, author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. Sole-Smith argues that genetics largely dictate body size and that systemic weight stigma and diet culture cause far more damage than high body weight itself. Pesca pushes back, questioning whether downplaying obesity's strong correlations to chronic illnesses like diabetes an...

Today on The Gist, guest host Scott introduces a pair of interviews focused on the shifting identity of the Republican Party. First, Mike Pesca sits down with former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger to discuss his memoir Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country, exploring how his fundamentalist Christian upbringing shaped his aversion to political groupthink, his military service, and his decision to vote...

Today on The Gist, guest host Scott introduces a 2022 conversation between Mike Pesca and former US Senator Al Franken, who discusses his return to stand-up comedy and looks back at his tenure in the Senate. Franken examines how his background as a comedy writer and performer informed his sharp, forensic approach to committee hearings, including his memorable question during Jeff Sessions' confirmation that ultimately led to the At...

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam Levin introduces Mike Pesca's conversation with comedian and actor TJ Miller, who reflects on life, stand-up, and the traumatic brain injury that altered his cognitive wiring. Miller walks through his experience surviving a 2010 brain surgery to remove an arteriovenous malformation in his right frontal lobe, explaining how the resulting neurological shifts fuel his manic work ethic, remove natura...

Today on The Gist, guest host Adaam Levin introduces a conversation between Mike Pesca and Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union and author of When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class. Smalls looks back at his journey from an underground hip-hop artist and warehouse employee to the face of modern labor organizing, detailing the scrappy, grassroots tactics that powered ...