Mike revisits an old worry: Trump’s policies are built for payoffs far beyond his term—and that’s a problem for a man who won’t share credit. From tariffs to civil service purges, the risks linger. To set the stage, we go back to a 2018 interview with Miles Taylor, once “Anonymous,” whose warnings still resonate as he returns with his new book Blowback. Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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McKenzie Wilson of Blue Rose Research joins to dissect Democrats’ branding failures, from alienating language to ignoring cost-of-living pain. She explains why Gen Z may be drifting rightward, why “when we all vote we win” no longer holds, Plus: Trump’s doomed “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center, shut down not for human-rights abuses but for threatening orchids and panthers. And in the Spiel it's an antwentig covering Israel, conspiracy theories and "punching left". Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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New York Post columnist Rikki Schlott and Tangle founder Isaac Saul join Mike to discuss policing Washington, D.C.—who's in charge, who gets blamed, and why federal takeover is more problem multiplier than solution. Then: scalpel or a chainsaw on the syllabus for higher ed. Plus, using the concept of toxic empathy to explain both a recidivist subway-jacker and a diplomatic move toward Palestinian statehood. In Goat Grinders, air travel with babies, The Naked Gun while lying down, and airlines that lie—but only once you’re already trapped in seat 27B. Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Christopher Giancarlo—former CFTC chair and known as “CryptoDad”—joins to explain why the U.S. should build a crypto reserve, just like oil or gold. He recalls a White House summit that treated digital assets with the pomp of a state visit—and unveils a swashbuckling plan to revive the Constitution’s old letters of marque to hunt today’s digital pirates. Plus murder has almost doubled in D.C. since 2012  but officials and media insist the city is perfectly safe. Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Harry Siegel joins to break down the chaotic New York mayoral race, where Zohran Mamdani looks like the presumptive next mayor but hasn’t been fully tested. Siegel warns that old tweets, rent-stabilized housing, and city-run grocery promises could become liabilities once federal pressure mounts. Plus, Trump’s trade war bets on an eight-to-eleven-year payoff, a timeline that outlasts his legal term limit and raises questions about intent.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Today on The Gist, the Texas Democrats’ walk-out, a dramatic gesture that ultimately did little because they never had the leverage to win. From there he zooms out to Europe, where far-right parties are suddenly topping polls in France, the UK, and now Germany. Historian Katja Hoyer joins to explain what’s behind the AFD’s rise and why calling them “Nazis” isn’t scaring voters away the way it once did. In the spiel, Trump meets Putin in a summit that’s long on spectacle but pretty short on substance, which may be exactly how both of them like it. Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Today on The Gist we air two spiels from earlier in the week. One about the CDC shooting in Atlanta and then one about Matt Taibbi's murder stat takedown of D.C backfires. Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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In The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, Sophia Rosenfeld traces how choice evolved from secret ballots and dance cards to consumer overload and political battlegrounds. She also dissects ihow the pro-choice movement’s framing was both a strength and a vulnerability. Also, Trump’s murder-rate comparison between D.C., Bogotá, and Mexico City, and in the Spiel, the case against “turtling” in public life when threats arise over professors posting their syllabi.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Aziz Huq, author of The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies, explains how liability insurers shape policing in small towns, why “rights versus rights” conflicts—from same-sex marriage to police brutality—often hinge on public trust, and how Chicago’s low murder clearance rate reflects deep distrust of law enforcement. He analyzes the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling on homelessness, arguing that its “status versus conduct” distinction masks moral judgments about choice and responsibility. Plus, Trump’s Kennedy Center Honorees include KISS, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Michael Crawford, and Sylvester Stallone—prompting thoughts on merchandising, coffin diplomacy, and the Kiss Army.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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Aziz Huq, University of Chicago law professor and author of The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies, lays out how federal courts have gutted the mechanisms for enforcing constitutional rights—blocking individuals harmed by police while greenlighting speculative corporate attacks on regulation. Also, Donald Trump crowns himself de facto CEO of the U.S. chip industry and gatekeeper of U.S. Steel’s future. And Matt Taibbi’s “year-to-date” murder stat takedown of D.C. backfires once he actually checks the date.

Produced by Corey Wara

Production Coordinator Ashley Khan

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