The Gist

David McCloskey on Why Real-World Spying is "Too Crazy for Fiction"


Listen Later

Today on The Gist, a look at Donald Trump's plan to cap credit card interest rates at 10%—a populist move that might actually rob the poor to pay for the rich man's travel perks. Then, former CIA analyst and The Rest Is Classified co-host David McCloskey discusses his new novel, The Persian. He explains how real-world Mossad operations inside Iran are so "insane" they don't even need to be exaggerated for fiction, from remote-controlled machine guns to the devastating pager attack that crippled Hezbollah's command and control. He also breaks down the "unlikely but plausible" tradecraft used in the Israel-Iran shadow war and why the U.S. organizational and legal structure wouldn't—or couldn't—pull off the same stunts.

Produced by Corey Wara

Coordinated by Lya Yanne

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]

For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/

For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/

For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/

Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist

To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The GistBy Peach Fish Productions

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

3,607 ratings


More shows like The Gist

View all
On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,248 Listeners

Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Political Gabfest

8,461 Listeners

Left, Right & Center by KCRW

Left, Right & Center

5,128 Listeners

Making Sense with Sam Harris by Sam Harris

Making Sense with Sam Harris

26,384 Listeners

The Reason Roundtable by The Reason Roundtable

The Reason Roundtable

1,515 Listeners

The Fifth Column by Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch

The Fifth Column

2,897 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,369 Listeners

Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

Stay Tuned with Preet

32,399 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

7,286 Listeners

Advisory Opinions by The Dispatch

Advisory Opinions

3,943 Listeners

Blocked and Reported by Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal

Blocked and Reported

3,832 Listeners

The Unspeakeasy With Meghan Daum by Meghan Daum

The Unspeakeasy With Meghan Daum

806 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,365 Listeners

Lexicon Valley by Lexicon Valley

Lexicon Valley

578 Listeners

Central Air by Josh Barro, Megan McArdle & Ben Dreyfuss

Central Air

458 Listeners