Today on The Gist, its Funny You Should Mention with comedian Janet McNamara discusses her YouTube special Not Smart Enough, opening up about her viral 2010 American Idol audition, navigating corporate accounting with dyslexia and ADD via advanced Excel automation, and her multiple clinical evaluations for autism. Also, a breakdown of why modern office social niceties fail neurodivergent workers, exploring the evolutionary shift from paper ledger bookkeeping to computerized workflows, and why the imminent rise of automation makes creative stand-up comedy a safer career harbor than corporate finance.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, an evaluation of America's legacy on its 250th anniversary, arguing that grading the nation on a global curve historical context yields a much higher mark than a C+. Then, America Actually host Astead Herndon discusses his new Vox podcast, explaining how focus groups illuminate structural nuances that traditional polls miss and analyzing the Democratic Party's ongoing post-election wilderness strategy. Finally, a look at the political pitfalls of the progressive policy agenda, exploring why leadership's persistent framing of corporate villainy often masks a deeper, self-imposed supply-side crisis in housing and energy infrastructure.

See the full America Actually series on Vox's YouTube channel

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, examining how localized rescue stories capture public attention while mass crises are ignored. Then, University of Buffalo associate professor Holly Buck discusses her Jacobin essay, outlining why the AI data center moratorium proposed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would hike compute prices for ordinary researchers, offshore environmental damage to weaker grids, and align progressives with anti-renewable coalitions. Finally, a commentary on a former DHS Secretary's remark about America losing the "power of its example," breaking down the history of political chiasmus and why the actual power of U.S. military and technological capacity has historically mattered more than moral reputation abroad.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, the race to stop a catastrophic chemical explosion next to Disneyland that forced 50,000 Southern California residents to evacuate. Then, Beth Malow and Doug Teschner discuss their book, Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times, sharing strategies from their work with Braver Angels to foster local, cross-partisan dialogue. Finally, the limits of one-on-one interventions in a polarized mass-media landscape, highlighting why the path out of systemic political contempt relies on free and fair elections rather than curated elite civility.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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This Saturday edition features an unaired segment from the interview with UC Berkeley law professor David Oppenheimer regarding standardized testing in higher education. The discussion centers on a debate over the statistical legitimacy of the LSAT and bar exam passage rates. The episode rounds out with a takedown of anyone claiming New York commuters pronounce the LIRR as the lure.

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, the upcoming Enhanced Games are analyzed not as an ethical crisis, but as a weak, corporate-sponsored satire of athletic boundaries. Then, Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth joins the show to discuss his book Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work. He maps out the baseline difference between evolutionary disgust and social repugnance, diving into historic natural experiments, including Rhode Island’s accidental legalization of indoor prostitution and the downstream legalities of international surrogacy, to reveal the real-world trade-offs of market bans. Finally, in the spiel, the latest legislative chaos out of Washington is unpacked, showing how the constant breaking of institutional norms has simply become par for the course.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today is Not Even Mad. Tangle founder Isaac Saul and journalist Jamie Kirchick discuss the creation of the Department of Justice's $1.776 billion anti-weaponization settlement fund, the legislative fallout from the Trump primary revenge tour, and the unpredictable new swing votes in the Senate. Finally, they honor the trailblazing legacy and posthumous warnings of the late Barney Frank before sharing their personal weekly grievances on everything from shrieking toddlers to Gen Z's lack of eye contact.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, the profound failure of empathy within our immigration bureaucracy is put under the microscope following the tragic freezing death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind Rohingya refugee abandoned in a Buffalo parking lot by Border Patrol. Then, UC Berkeley law professor David Oppenheimer joins the show to discuss his book, The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea. He traces the intellectual history of multiculturalism back to 1810 Prussia, arguing that a clash of perspectives is essential for institutional excellence, leading into a spirited debate over the replication crisis in social science and the institutional flaws of the modern DEI apparatus.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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Today on The Gist, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defends a massive compensation fund for Donald Trump alongside a highly convenient IRS waiver. Then, J Schuberth joins the show to discuss her write-in campaign for Oregon governor as a six-foot-tall pencil. She breaks down why the state ranks dead last in fourth-grade literacy, the political pushback against the science of reading, and why adult comfort should not override student outcomes. Finally, in the spiel, a fierce defense of the only correct way to pronounce the LIRR and a thorough takedown of anyone who dares to call it the lurr.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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

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Today on The Gist, the media coverage surrounding Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, California who recently pled guilty to acting as a Chinese government agent, is put under the microscope. Then, computational neuroscientist David Sussillo discusses his memoir, Emergence: A Memoir of Boyhood, Computation, and the Mysteries of Mind. He recounts his unlikely trajectory from a neglected childhood in an Albuquerque group home to the bleeding edge of AI at Meta and Stanford, breaking down how he used his intelligence as a psychological shield and why his harrowing experiences leave him optimistic about the future of technology.

Produced by Corey Wara

Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig

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