Ralph Nader’s second work of fiction, Animal Envy, imagines a world where animals can talk to people and start demanding rights. Nader says the fable is meant to prompt deeper thinking about our relationship with nature. “We need to talk about what-if, because if we don’t, we can’t kick in our idealism and imagine real possibilities,” says the 82-year-old author and advocate. Nader also weighs in with his thoughts on the Trump presidency, and how to win a political argument. In the Spiel, Donald Trump’s rockin’ New Year’s Eve.   Sponsors:  Stamps.com. Buy and print official U.S. postage right from your desk. Go to Stamps.com and use promo code gist for a 4-week trial plus a $110 bonus offer – including postage and a digital scale. And Blue Apron. Blue Apron’s meal kits are delivered right to your door, and make cooking at home easy. Get your first THREE meals FREE by going to BlueApron.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bob Boilen, creator and host of NPR’s All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts, built his book around something he learned in his nearly 30 years of covering music: Artists are tired of talking about their own work, but ask them about what inspires them, and they’ll light up. Boilen’s book of interviews is the epically titled Your Song Changed My Life: From Jimmy Page to St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson to Hozier, Thirty-Five Beloved Artists on Their Journey and the Music That Inspired It. For the Spiel, a defense of 2016.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When comedian Laurie Kilmartin found out her father had advanced lung cancer, she processed it the best way she could: by tweeting jokes about her father’s decline. The real-time mourning gave rise to Kilmartin’s stand-up special, “45 Jokes About My Dead Dad,” available on Seeso. Kilmartin is a writer for Conan on TBS and author of Sh*tty Mom: The Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us.  In the Spiel, noting the death of Debbie Reynolds and the prospects of a two-state solution.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Russian ambassador to Turkey was killed in front of cameras by an assassin, Alexandra Zapruder had one thought: “There’s another Zapruder film.” Her new book, Twenty-Six Seconds, looks at how her grandfather’s film of the John F. Kennedy assassination changed media and American life, and how her family dealt with the grave responsibility of being part of American history.  In the Spiel, there’s a war on Mike’s birthday.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Movies are out, TV is in, and radio theater is on the rise. Playwright Mac Rogers explains the challenges of creating theater of the mind. Rogers is the writer behind hit podcast dramas LifeAfter and The Message.  For the Spiel, The 12 Days of Trumpmas, revisited.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Gist, Chris Molanphy takes us back to 1976, the year we learned the true meaning of “booty” and the inherent value of shake-shake-shaking it. Molanphy writes the “Why Is This Song No. 1?” column for Slate.  For the Spiel, are Christmas songs good or just familiar? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor Bill Camp specializes in subtlety—whether as an earnest Puritan pastor in the 2016 Broadway revival of The Crucible or a veteran homicide detective in HBO’s The Night Of. On The Gist, Camp talks about preparing for roles, getting hot after age 50, and how he might fit into a Sex and the City reunion. Camp is narrating the documentary TV series EPIX Presents Road To the NHL Outdoor Classics, which follows the Detroit Red Wings, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the St. Louis Blues. The entire series is available on NHL.com, EPIX.com, Sling TV, and the teams’ websites. For the Spiel, let’s check the calendar.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have blue-collar workers fallen for a Republican bait-and-switch? On The Gist, journalist Steven Greenhouse sets aside globalization and turns to the domestic forces suppressing wages and hammering workers: Republican-backed anti-union laws, a feeble response from Democrats, and cultural amnesia around the labor movement’s achievements. Greenhouse is working on a follow-up to his 2008 book, The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. For the Spiel, the photos of the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is virtue in delight! We chanced upon new building materials, better computer software, and a global economy by frittering away our time. On The Gist, author Steven Johnson says our flights of fancy may have driven most of human progress. Johnson’s new book is Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World. For the Spiel, the passings of 2016.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The current world order is fragile, and President-elect Donald Trump has shown himself to be sensitive, antagonistic, and gleeful about turning existing dynamics upside-down. How could this affect the United States’ role in defusing international conflicts? Dan De Luce, chief national security correspondent for Foreign Policy magazine, runs through a few scenarios. “The executive branch has expanded dramatically,” said De Luce. “We are a long way from where we were when this country was founded and the president has enormous power in foreign policy.” For the Spiel, the big headlines of 2017.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last summer, the Supreme Court stopped North Carolina from using a strict voter ID law that would likely disadvantage Democrats and “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.” Now, the court is facing two more restrictive voter laws that could seriously change American elections. Rick Hasen covers the wild world of election law on his blog. He joins Mike to discuss the new cases, and other ways that Republican-governed states have tried to suppress turnout. For the Spiel, a Pesca family musical postcard for the holidays. Today’s sponsors: Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Stewart had a rough time hosting The Daily Show. By 2015, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in years. Exposure to Fox News had taken a toll. Writer Chris Smith chronicles Stewart’s reign in a new oral history, which looks at the comedian’s broader impact on political culture.  For the Spiel, Mike has cat scratch fever! Literally.   Today’s sponsors:   Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing free when you go to Betterment.com/gist.   And Bon Appetit. For a limited time, you can give a one-year subscription to Bon Appetit for 15 percent off. Plus, they’ll even throw in a cool tote bag! Get this deal today by going to bonappetit.com/giveBA and use promo code 15OFF. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Michael McFaul knows well, sometimes the interests of the United States and the interests of Exxon Mobil don’t line up. “You have to find oil where it is … and that tends to be controlled by autocrats around the world, and you have to do deals with them,” says McFaul, who was America’s ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. Here, McFaul weighs in on the Rex Tillerson nomination for secretary of state, Russia’s likely hacking of the U.S. election, and Putin’s designs in the Baltics. For the Spiel, what we know about Trump’s plan for Taiwan.    Today’s sponsors: Soothe. For a massage delivered right to your door, go to Soothe.com. Use code GIST at checkout and you’ll get $30 towards your first massage. And LifeAfter.What happens to our digital lives when we’re gone? LifeAfter, a new series from GE Podcast Theater and Panoply, the creators of last year’s award-winning The Message, explores these very questions. Listen and download LifeAfter wherever you find your podcasts. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Osborne writes about energy and politics for the Houston Chronicle. He’s covered Rex Tillerson for years, yet they’ve never spoken directly. During his time as CEO of ExxonMobil, Tillerson has rarely granted interviews and only gives one press conference a year. For 15 minutes. Osborne says Tillerson has never really had to face the press—a luxury he’ll be forfeiting if he’s confirmed as secretary of state next year. In The Spiel, the media still doesn’t know how to cover blue collar workers. Today’s sponsors: 1-800-Flowers. To get beautiful bouquets starting at just $29.99, go to 1800Flowers.com on your desktop or mobile device, click the radio icon, and enter code gist. And by Stamps.com. With Stamps.com, you can buy and print official U.S. postage for any letter or package using your own computer and printer. For a four-week trial and a $110 bonus offer, go to Stamps.com, click on the microphone, and enter GIST. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kyle Kinane doesn’t want your agreement applause. Or your voting boosterism. In fact, Kinane is quite prepared to disappoint you—he’s kind of built a brand on it. On The Gist, Kinane raises a hand in support of jokes about rich people and racists—just let him explain. Kinane’s latest stand-up special is Loose in Chicago, you can see him in the Netflix series Love, and his podcast is called Boogie Monster.  For the Spiel, Mike goes trawling for another Lobstar.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Writer Jeff Chang went to Ferguson, Missouri, on the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown. What he saw there helped inspire his latest collection of essays, We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation (a book the Washington Post’s Carlos Lozada has called the year’s smartest). On The Gist, Chang explains why the calls for police accountability are valid even in cases when officers appear to follow protocol.  For the Spiel, an evaluation of the Trump Cabinet according to age, demographic, and proximity to women in bikinis.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump decried the cost of a very important plane, tweeting, “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Boeing then disputed Mr. Trump’s numbers, saying their contract was worth only $170 million. Turns out, unlike other Twitter rants, Trump was kind of right this time. But on The Gist, analyst Todd Harrison warns that lowering the cost of Air Force One might involve some compromises, like outsourcing the contract to a foreign company. Harrison is a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  For the Spiel, Mike works his sources to get you the latest on Canadian birds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ezra Edelman wasn’t planning to make a documentary about O.J. Simpson. But then ESPN offered him five hours of airtime. Edelman’s movie (which eventually grew to nearly eight hours) explores a variety of themes through the lens of Simpson’s life and trial. O.J.: Made in America has just been named to the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary.   For the Spiel, Mike goes to school on the Electoral College.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the nomination of Tom Price for health and human services secretary, it’s clear that Donald Trump wants to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a more conservative plan. Sarah Kliff has spent weeks looking through the health care plans put forward by Republicans such as Price and Paul Ryan. Her conclusion? Good news for healthy people, not so much for sick people. Sarah is a co-host of The Weeds podcast.  For the Spiel, what the media can and can’t do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tidiness is tyranny, and Tim Harford is here to set you free. The author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives makes the case for routine-busting labor strikes, cluttered desks, and leaving your emails unsorted. He also explains why we’re smart to want scatterbrained musicians and orderly accountants. Harford writes the Undercover Economist column for the Financial Times. For the Spiel, exciting times! Let’s dig into the Indiana tax code.  Today’s sponsors: Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. Take a multisensory journey into the InterContinental life and discover the Empathy stories where you learn about other cultures and expand your own life simultaneously. Download the Empathy audio stories on iTunes. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aaron Renn says the PEOTUS made a smart move by keeping Carrier in the United States. But saving one company is not an economic policy. Renn is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He recently argued Trump could fall into a “mayor trap” if he doesn’t start thinking about the big picture.  For the Spiel, Mike Pesca enters the (admittedly off-brand) Shark Tank.    Today’s sponsors: Placemakers, a new Slate podcast made possible by JPMorgan Chase. This podcast tells the stories of neighborhoods, businesses, and nonprofits that are working together to move their communities forward. Download and subscribe to Placemakers wherever you get your podcasts. MVMT Watches. Get 15 percent off today, with free shipping and free returns, by going to MVMTWatches.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does brainstorming light a creative fire or smother the sparks of invention? Our regular guest Maria Konnikova looks at the merits of spitballing. Konnikova writes for the New Yorker and is the author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, Donald Trump saves a thousand manufacturing jobs! Great. Now, what about the other 311,000?  Today’s sponsors: Placemakers, a new Slate podcast made possible by JPMorgan Chase. This podcast tells the stories of neighborhoods, businesses, and nonprofits that are working together to move their communities forward. Download and subscribe to Placemakerswherever you get your podcasts. LifeAfter. What happens to our digital lives when we’re gone? LifeAfter, a new series from GE Podcast Theater and Panoply, the creators of last year’s award-winning The Message, explores these very questions. Listen and download LifeAfter wherever you find your podcasts.Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, Thomas Frank has been the Cassandra of the Democratic Party, arguing that it had long since sold out working Americans and was using a socially liberal agenda to paper over its new corporate allegiances. Like Cassandra, he was largely ignored—until the election of President-elect Donald Trump. Frank is the author of Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? Ray Zaborney is a Republican political strategist based in Pennsylvania. He and Mike jousted on Twitter as the Blue Wall went red on election night. Today on The Gist, Zaborney pushes back against the notion that Trump voters in the Rust Belt were snookered by the candidate’s outsize claims. The Spiel is on hiatus. It will be back on Wednesday. Today’s sponsors:  Basecamp. If you’re running your own business on email, texts, chat, or meetings, you’re doing it the hard way. Luckily there’s a better way: Try Basecamp for free today at basecamp.com/gist. Indochino, the company that’s reinventing men’s fashion. Go to Indochino.com to get any premium suit for just $389, plus free shipping, when you use promo code gist at checkout. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is a new podcast game show from Stephen Dubner, the journalist behind Freakonomics. While radio quiz games are nothing new (in fact, Mike has hosted one himself), Dubner wants to do something different with this program, where experts have to engage with people from a field they are totally unfamiliar with. TMSIDK debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes podcast chart earlier this month.  For the Spiel, Donald Trump’s distraction game.    Today’s sponsors: Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing free when you go to Betterment.com/gist.   MVMT Watches. Get 15 percent off today, with free shipping and free returns, by going to MVMTWatches.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our favorite cultural cabal in Cleveland has spoken. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for induction in 2017—and the picks are incomparable as always, with Chic, Pearl Jam, and Kraftwerk in the running. Chris Molanphy discusses shoo-ins and long shots. He writes the “Why Is This Song No. 1?“ column for Slate. For the Spiel, a special holiday message from Mike Pesca.  Today’s sponsors: MVMT Watches. Get 15 percent off today, with free shipping and free returns, by going to MVMTWatches.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Shapiro is a pretty conservative guy. He’s written books like Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americansand The People vs. Barack Obama, and he’s a former contributor to Breitbart. But earlier this year, Shapiro quit the site over his editor’s unwillingness to defend reporter Michelle Fields, and he declared himself a never Trump-er. Now, he’s facing waves of anti-Semitic abuse by people on the self-declared alt-right. Shapiro is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire.   In the Spiel, we look to Canada for levity and insight.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Nigel Farage described it, the election of Donald Trump was “Brexit times three.” Comedian Josie Long knows this all too well. The comedian and radio host has a new stage show, Something Better, where she takes on the gloomy nationalist politics of her homeland and the scary parallels between Brexiteers and Trumpites. The show is playing in New York until Dec. 3, and in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the new year. In the Spiel, Tila Tequila is a Nazi.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hillary Clinton was supposed to have the most sophisticated digital ground game ever, while all Trump had was a ramshackle data bunker in San Antonio. We all know how that turned out. Sasha Issenberg is a Bloomberg contributor and author of The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. He says there are many explanations for what happened, including the Clinton campaign’s inadvertent encouragement of Donald Trump voters in states like Florida.  In the Spiel, it’s a Lobstar week. Oh yes, it’s a Lobstar week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wait, can Donald Trump really give his entire family national security clearance? It’s complicated, says Fred Kaplan, the author of Slate’s War Stories column. Kaplan also discusses the reasons to be wary of putting your family members in the White House.  Also, David Bowie liked his art to be as haunting as his music—even if the effect, at first, was off-putting. The Gist’s art correspondent Mary Lane tells us what’s intriguing about Bowie’s private collection, which was broken up at auction this week.  In the Spiel, what is the “new message” Democrats need to send to voters?   Our sponsors: Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dan Abrams is the host of Live PD, a new A&E show that follows police officers, in real time, as they interact with people in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Abrams says the show is different from Cops—it captures all of the moments in a police officer’s watch, not just the most sensational. But it has also come under fire for questions about privacy and the complicated issues of embedding with a police force.  In the Spiel, we look at President Obama’s claim that the arc of history is progressive. Our Sponsors:   Basecamp,a cloud-based system with tools to help you get work done in a sane, organized way. Try it for free today at basecamp.com/gist. HSBC. In a fast-changing global economy, HSBC is connecting customers to opportunities the world over. To register for our next webinar, Forging Ahead: Global Trends for 2017 and Beyond, search online for “HSBC Webinar.” Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat says the culture has changed drastically in America over the past five years. Daily Show alumni have taken over late night, late night comedy has taken a strongly liberal tinge, and companies like Apple have taken a stand on issues like transgender bathroom bills. He thinks this cultural shift has helped alienate many of the people who supported Donald Trump. Douthat wrote about the liberal hegemony of pop culture in a September column, “Clinton’s Samantha Bee Problem.”In the Spiel, what resistance should look like in the face of President Trump.   Our sponsors:  Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing FREE when you go to Betterment.com/gist.  And LifeAfter. What happens to our digital lives when we’re gone? LifeAfter, a new series from GE Podcast Theater and Panoply, the creators of last year’s award-winning The Message, explores these very questions. Listen and download LifeAfter wherever you find your podcasts. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trigger warning: Scrutiny of safe spaces ahead. Jonathan Zimmerman discusses the political-correctness fever sweeping the nation’s elite college campuses. Zimmerman is the author of Campus Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know.  In the Spiel, blinded by a baccalaureate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did the polls lead us astray in this election, or did we simply fail to heed everything they were telling us? FiveThirtyEight senior political writer Harry Enten says the lesson of 2016 is familiar to any close observer of politics: “There are no permanent majorities.” Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, puts the 2016 election in historical context. Zelizer hosts the Politics & Polls podcast produced by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a rare Saturday Gist, as the show’s post-election interview blitz continues: New York Times columnist Gail Collins explains what we tend to forget about the way women vote, and NPR’s David Folkenflik ponders the media problems exposed by the presidential race and its surprise outcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, another double feature. Evan Osnos explains what Trump’s first term might look like, based on reporting he did before the election for the New Yorker. Reid Wilson, who covers down-ballot politics for the Hill, surveys the Republican gains in statehouses across the country.  For the Spiel, some introspection. And keep an eye on this feed for more interviews over the weekend.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist isn’t serving up a Spiel today—too many questions, too few answers. Instead, Mike puzzles through the day with a few friends of the show: Jacob Weisberg reacts to the chants of “not my president.” Weisberg is the chairman and editor-in-chief of The Slate Group and the host of Trumpcast. The New Yorker’s Adam Davidson expects a poorer country and world under President-elect Donald Trump. He outlines the range of possible economic changes. John Dickerson, moderator of Face the Nation on CBS, delves into the details of Hillary Clinton’s loss. Dickerson is also a political columnist for Slate and author of Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, things are getting dark, but at least the show isn’t going dark, which is more than we can say for our friends at the Radio Free GOP podcast. Host Mike Murphy, a longtime GOP strategist and Trump critic, says the show will go on hiatus in light of the election result. Plus, the New Yorker’s Adam Davidson explains the link between the presidential election and confusion in the financial markets. For the Spiel, a clarifying idea from Slate’s Election Night Watch Party featuring author and journalist Virginia Heffernan.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamelle Bouie has written about the deep, ugly divides in America that have surfaced during this presidential campaign. In the final hours of election day, Slate’s chief political correspondent approaches the idea of national unity after the most unruly campaign in modern history.  Bouie was recently named the breakout star of the 2016 campaign by the Poynter Institute for Journalism.   Our Sponsors:  Goldman Sachs. To learn about developments currently shaping markets, industries, and the global economy, subscribe to the firm’s podcast, Exchanges at Goldman Sachs, available on iTunes. And InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. Take a multisensory journey into the InterContinental life and discover stories that will excite your curiosity by going to intercontinental.com/life. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Much of the 2016 presidential campaign media coverage has cast Trump fans not as bigoted, but “economically disaffected.” As Slate’s Michelle Goldberg reports, for many supporters, that’s far too charitable. Goldberg has been reporting on issues like sexual assault and feminism in the Republican Party throughout the campaign. She argues 2016 might turn many women off to the idea of running for president, even if the glass ceiling is broken.    In the Spiel, the final Trump Anxiety Hotline (we hope).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re like us, you’ve been checking the FiveThirtyEight election forecast like it’s a weather report before a hurricane. This week, Donald Trump’s chance of victory in the presidential race went from 15 percent to over 30 percent, causing much anxiety for Democrats. But how serious is the swing? Harry Enten is the senior political writer for FiveThirtyEight and a frequent Gist guest.   For the Spiel, why Hillary Clinton should own her terrible comic timing. Today’s sponsors: Indochino, the company that’s reinventing men’s fashion. Go to Indochino.com to get any premium suit for just $389, plus free shipping, when you use promo code gist at checkout. And Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans. Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage process into the 21st century with an easy online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at QuickenLoans.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have (almost) survived a presidential campaign. Are we any smarter about taxes? On The Gist, Adam Davidson considers Donald Trump’s apparent tax practices and explains the biggest barrier to bipartisan compromise on tax policy. Davidson covers business and economics for the New Yorker.  For the Spiel, even Mike Pesca can’t sooth your nerves over volatile polling.  Today’s sponsors: Placemakers, a new Slate podcast made possible by JPMorgan Chase. This podcast tells the stories of neighborhoods, businesses, and nonprofits who are working together to move their communities forward. Download and subscribe to Placemakers wherever you get your podcasts. And InterContinental Hotels and Resorts. Take a multisensory journey into the InterContinental life, and discover stories that will excite your curiosity by going to intercontinental.com/life. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On The Gist, a pair of political heavyweights.  Obama administration alumnus Tommy Vietor wonders how the interregnum following this election will be different for Hillary Clinton than it was for President Obama. Vietor co-hosts the Ringer podcast Keepin’ It 1600 with his former White House colleagues Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer. Plus, Steve Sebelius, columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, assesses the U.S. Senate race in Nevada, including the Republican candidate’s efforts to distance himself from Donald Trump without denouncing the nominee.  For the Spiel, how Clinton is using Miss Universe to bait Donald Trump all over again.  Today’s sponsors: Basecamp,a cloud-based system with tools to help you get work done in a sane, organized way. Try it for free today at basecamp.com/gist.  Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A look inside one of the closest congressional races this year, New York’s 19th. Former Gist guest and Bernie Sanders–favorite Zephyr Teachout takes on Republican state Assemblyman John Faso for an open seat. The race is one of the few that the Cook Political Report has labeled a toss-up, and it’s a microcosm for lots of American anxieties. Teachout opposes fracking and supports carbon pricing in a district that relies heavily on cars, while Faso is a Trump-ambivalent Republican who hasn’t even said who he’ll be voting for come Election Day. In The Spiel, the antics of James Comey, explained.  Our Sponsors: Harry’s. Get quality shaving products delivered right to your door. Sign up for a shave plan at Harrys.com and use promo code gist at checkout to claim your Free Trial Set and post-shave balm. And Betterment, the largest automated investing service. Get up to six months of investing FREE when you go to Betterment.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric Zorn from the Chicago Tribune joins Mike to discuss two contentious races happening in Illinois this year that could swing the balance of power in Congress. Incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk is trailing badly to his Democratic opponent, Tammy Duckworth. And in the 10th congressional district, Rep. Bob Dold is facing a tight battle against his predecessor, Brad Schneider. Both races showcase an increasingly rare breed in Congress: the moderate Republican. In The Spiel, what Halloween can tell us about partisan politics. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we’re reaching into The Gist’s vault to bring you two favorite segments from the past year. First, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper explains why he saw the movie Deep Throat with his mother and reflects on his state’s move to legalize marijuana. Hickenlooper’s book is called The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics. For the Spiel, why are we so scared when we hear talk of a rigged election?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are dating longer. We are dating differently. Is it making us happier? Mike’s not buying it. Former Gist producer Andrea Silenzi wades into an impromptu debate about dating today. Check out Andrea’s new show, Why Oh Why, a Panoply podcast about dating and relationships. Andy Miccolis created Why Oh Why’s theme music, included in today’s show. For the Spiel, Donald Trump’s surrogates.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does Trump so need women that he despises them? On The Gist, love and sex advice columnist Dan Savage considers Trump’s misogyny. Savage also clears the air about his withering criticism of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and gives third-party enthusiasts a reality check: “Elect some congressmen, elect a governor, and then we can talk about who you’re running for president.” Savage hosts the Savage Lovecast and writes for the Stranger.  In the Spiel, poor old Admiral Kuznetsov. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America’s favorite debunker, Adam Conover, takes on the election in his TruTV special. Conover, famous for “Adam Ruins Everything,” talks to Mike about how comedians can change society, and the limits of satire as an art form. Conover’s special airs Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 9 p.m.  For the Spiel, what America was like the last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices