Not Even Mad

Not Even Mad

Approaching the news from distinctly different points on the political spectrum, host Mike Pesca, and panelists Liz Wolfe and Michael A. Cohen, attempt to change each other’s minds on the most important stories of the day. Often unsuccessfully. Between the non-stop election cycle and torrents of cancellations (real or imagined), there is a ton to argue about. But don’t worry. In the end, they’re NOT EVEN MAD.

Episodes

June 12, 2025 60 mins

Economist Allison Schraeger and Slow Boring’s Matt Yglesias join Mike to discuss the unrest in Los Angeles — and how to protest without giving Donald Trump a win. Then, the trio surveys the NYC mayoral mess — or, if not a mess, whatever government-run grocery stores are. Plus, the Big Beautiful Bill is only one of those things, and it’s the worse one. Goat Grinders: summer smells, promiscuous earbuds, and that final month of school...

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Eli Lake and Michael A. Cohen take stock of the Biden health debate—diagnosis, exaggeration, and whether it’s actually affected his presidency. Michael pushes back on what he calls the “decline industrial complex,” while Eli says its denial to think Biden was up to the job. Then they turn to Donald Trump’s proudly post-moral foreign policy, where human rights don’t even make the brochure and alliances are strictly optional. Realpol...

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May 8, 2025 53 mins

Austin Berg and Eric Zorn are Not Even Mad as we discuss mayoral overcrowding and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the supposed new MAGA slayer. Plus: a few thoughts on our new American spiritual leader—not the pope, but the Surgeon General. Produced by Corey Wara
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April 17, 2025 52 mins

Boston Globe columnist Carine Hajjar and The Commercial Break’s Bryan Green debate whether Joe Rogan’s platforming of antisemitic conspiracies signals a deeper rot—or just the cost of open conversation. Plus: should Harvard be defunded? And will Kilmar Abrego Garcia stay in a Salvadoran prison? In Goat Grinders, we take aim at student driver bumper stickers, White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood’s biting critique of SNL, and nothing left...

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April 3, 2025 54 mins

In this “Not Even Mad” episode, Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch and former Obama speech writer Sarada Peri dig into “massive cuts under DOGE, Cory Booker’s latest stemwinder, recent election results, and somehow, Chester A. Arthur crashes the party.


Produced by Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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Former Congressman (and current NYC Council candidate) Anthony Weiner and Reason Editor-at-Large Nick Gillespie square off over whether the national debt is an true crisis, if Chuck Schumer made the best of a bad hand, and whether government can—or should—ever shrink. Plus, in Goat Grinders, we take on Walter Cronkite’s legacy, the absurd NCAA tournament gripes, and the myth of “wanting it more.”


Produced by Corey Wara

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On this episode of Not Even Mad, Michael Cohen and Liz Wolfe dissect Trump’s State of the Union-ish spectacle, where he barely asked for forbearance on tariffs and delivered a slew of inaccuracies. We debate whether the Democrats’ paddle-waving protest theater was cringeworthy or just ineffective. Plus, in Goat Grinders, playground break-ins, Icelandair’s deplaning procedures, and the forced obligation of pretending to care about t...

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On Not Even Mad, Noam Dworman—owner of the Comedy Cellar and host of Live from the Table—and Dan Savage—of Savage Love and Savage Lovecast—join to debate the non-prosecution of NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and the potential for negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. Plus, we dive into "goat grinders" on Adrien Grenier, mirror pronouns, media credibility, and—somehow—dental dams. And because you’ve subscribed directly, enjoy a bonus seg...

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Katie Herzog, co-host of Blocked and Reported, and Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, discuss if Donald Trump's attempts to blame DEI for a tragic military plane crash and Elon Musk's unplugging of USAID will wind up hurting the Trumpian agenda. Also discussed, the Democrats’ disastrous brand - what can a party that once prided itself on broad appeal do to find favor with voters?


Expect spirited debate, sharp analysi...

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January 23, 2025 64 mins

Mike is joined by Michael A. Cohen of the Truth and Consequences Substack and MSNBC, along with Matt Welch, Editor-at-Large of Reason magazine, for another installment of Not Even Mad. The trio discusses Trump’s inauguration, executive actions, refugee policy, DEI, and the eventful first few days of his second term as POTUS.


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We reconstitute Not Even Mad with panelists Liz Wolfe (Reason and the Just Asking Questions podcast) and Michael A. Cohen (MSNBC columnist and author of the Truth and Consequences newsletter) to discuss and debate the pardon of Hunter Biden and all the many, many explanations for the Democrats poor showing on election day 2024. Plus, goats are grinded over Standard Time, "Increasingly," and Pamela Anderson with or without makeup.


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On the final episode of Not Even Mad (well, at least for now), hosts Mike Pesca, David French, and Lara Bazelon discuss the idea the show was founded on, and then Mike signs off.

Produced by Joel Patterson

Theme by Max Kerman

Content design by Big Yellow Taxi

Michelle Pesca is COO of Peach Fish Projects

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Jamie Kirchick, and Dan Savage discuss the January 6th committee's criminal referrals, two new studies that correlate Republican policies and politicians with higher mortality, and debate the case of Samuel Brinton the self-proclaimed first openly genderfluid federal government employee, who was arrested for stealing luggage from two different airports.

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EP 08 Senator Sinema’s Democratic Party Defection, Merchant of Death for Brittney Griner swap, and Twitter Moderation: Futility vs. UtilityToday on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Jamie Kirchick, and Sarada Peri discuss Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema's switch to Independent, the prisoner swap that gave Russia back a notorious arms dealer, and what new batches of "The Twitter Files" say about the impossibility of satisfactory conten...

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, David French, and Lara Bazelon discuss the speech and discrimination implications of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis; the not-terribly-difficult task of getting a seditious conspiracy conviction, and ask if Matt Taibbi could wring any more recriminations over coverage of Hunter Biden's Laptop.

Let us know what you think about the podcast, and tell us what topics you’d like to hear discussed: note...

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick discuss narratives around mass shootings, the likelihood of Joe Biden’s 2024 bid, and the man with a space telescope named after him goes to Cancel Court.

Let us know what you think about the podcast, and tell us what you'd like to hear Mike, Virginia, and Jamie debate: notevenmad@peachfishprojects.com.

Produced by Joel Patterson

Theme by Max Kerman

Con...

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick ponder the idea that woke Democrats may have enabled SBF’s fraud crypto exchange, analyze the decision to participate in Qatar’s World Cup, and then don the robes of the Cancel Court to debate the cancellation of former public health official Leana Wen for her Covid-19 stance.

Let us know what you think about the podcast, and tell us what you'd like to ...

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick discuss Donald Trump announcing his run for President again, whether the 2022 election results will be seen as a death knell to CRT and wokeness as an election issue, and the gender politics in this season of White Lotus.

Let us know what you think about the podcast, and tell us what you'd like to hear Mike, Virginia, and Jamie debate: notevenmad@peachf...

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick search for the lessons of Tuesday’s midterms and marvel at the poor performance of Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidates and what their showings say about his hold on the Republican Party. Then they put the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving before the Cancel Court.

Subscribe to Not Even Mad on Apple, or wherever you are listening to this.

You can read more ab...

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Today on Not Even Mad, hosts Mike Pesca, Virginia Heffernan, and Jamie Kirchick discuss Twitter’s future under the command of Elon Musk and the politics of crime statistics, then they issue a ruling on whether former New York Times Op-Ed page editor James Bennet was canceled or not.

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You can read more about the hosts on our website.

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