Depending on where you get your news, the storied Hamas tunnel network is either a "vast labyrinth" or a 160-yard tunnel with little room for a command center capable of orchestrating the October 7th attack. Aric Toler is a reporter on the Visual Investigations team at The New York Times, where he combines traditional reporting techniques with "open-source" reporting practices, and he recently contributed to a Times investigation about the tunnels. Also on the show, Derek Chauvin was stabbed 22 times while in a prison library making copies. Don't make the Saturday Night Live "makin' copies" joke, okay. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Boston Globe investigation into foster care adds to the sum of human knowledge only to have a botched MSNBC rewrite subtract from it. Also on the show, Nathan Thrall is an American author, journalist, and former director of the International Crisis Group’s Arab-Israeli Project. He joins us to talk about the war in Israel, and to ponder if peace is possible. We also discuss his most recent book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy. See Mike Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It would seem China is in a state of decline, but it's hard to know for sure. The Economist's Ted Plafker joins to discuss what we can discern about the property crisis, political firings, and how countries who borrowed as part of the Belt And Road initiative got steamrolled. Plus, Ron DeSantis doesn't want to answer for Donald Trump's use of animal imagery. And a touching tribute to the late, great North Dakota hope Doug Burgum. See Mike Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we explore a few catchy political slogans that turned out to be deceptive, confusing, or just kind of dumb. First we listen to Tuesday’s spiel about the expression “From the river to the sea,” and then we listen back to Mike’s June 5, 2020 spiel about the slogan “Defund the police.”    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot Cohen, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies and former Counselor to the Secretary Of State has always thought Shakespeare had great insights about great leaders. His book is The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall. Plus, George Santos gets bounced, and Ron DeSantis has a crap map. See Mike Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk's intemperate but tempestuous remarks show us a man whose not hard to understand but difficult nonetheless. Plus, we're visited by Kliph Nesteroff, author of Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars. And Malawi get into the Israel act. See Mike Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Bradley Tusk's new novel Obvious In Hindsight, a flying car company attempts to get government approval, even though the politics are dicey, the lobbyists are dirty, and the cars just might not ... uh, what's the word? Fly. Plus, after seventeen days, workers freed thanks to rat tunnels. And the very leftist Youtube channels going beyond even Hamas' obfuscations to flat out allege that Israel targeted their own citizens. Catch The Gist Live on December 6th Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a slogan of war suddenly becomes a call to peace. Also on the show, we pick back up where we left off with the New York Times' David Leonhardt. His new book is Ours Was The Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. Plus, the refused-to-be-addressed crisis at the border. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize winning NY Times writer David Leonhardt is here to discuss Ours Was The Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. The hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas is working and showing us that countries are right to care about their own citizens. Plus, a few furry friends become entrees, and a Fertile Turtle is at the center of the ordeal. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, as Israel and Hamas agree to a cease fire, we listen back to Mike’s 2014 interview with Mitchell Reiss, author of Negotiating with Evil, who suggests that the question is not whether to negotiate with terrorists, but how to get the best deal. Then we listen back to Mike’s Tuesday Spiel in which he envisions where the war in Gaza goes from here.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike spent the majority of last week reporting from Israel. On his trip, he met and interviewed many people living through the current crisis, and this special Thanksgiving weekend episode is a collection of said reportage, in which he tells the stories of those people who’s lives were forever changed by the events of October 7, 2023. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Des Fitzgerald, Professor of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at University College Cork in Ireland, is out with a new book The Living City: Why Cities Don’t Need to Be Green to Be Great. The European title gets at things more straightforwardly: The City of Today is a Dying Thing: In Search of the Cities of Tomorrow. We’ll discuss the need for two titles. Plus, on the day Israel and Hamas agree to a hostage release and temporary cease-fire, attempting to watch the 47-minute film of Hamas atrocities with an emphasis on humanity over dehumanization. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBA veteran Carlos Boozer is here to talk about his upbringing, his career, and his new book, Every Shot Counts: A Memoir of Resilience. Plus, what if the city issued all citizens a False Testimony Tax? And Mike lays out where he sees the war in Gaza going from here. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lee McIntyre author of “On Disinformation" discusses and debates with Mike, how to conceptualize disinformation, and how not combat it consistently no matter who is getting dissed. Plus, new evidence about Hamas operations under hospitals. And…PANDAS! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, something a little different. If you’ve been listening to The Gist this past week, you’ve heard Mike reporting from Israel. He’s home safe now, but he spent several days traveling around and recording the stories of Israelis as they come to terms with a recent tragedy and face an unknown future. So today we wanted to share an episode of an Israeli podcast called Israel Story, which has also focused on human stories in the wake of October 7th. Their show is sad and funny and attempts to capture the complexity of their society, so it’s no surprise that it’s often referred to as the This American Life of Israel … even by them … on their website. We would love to hear what you think of it.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Israeli Defense Forces explore and document what was found in and under Al-Shifa hospital, verification is hard, and doubt is free and easy to sew. Plus, Robert Pape wonders, "What makes a terrorist ... international vs. domestic?" Pape is a professor and the Director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. Also on the show, American decadence versus Israeli seriousness. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike visits Kibbutz Be’eri, which saw carnage on October 7th, and he’s told the story of what happened there. Also on the show, Roma Agrawal is a structural engineer who spent six years working on the tallest building in Western Europe—The Shard in London. She is out with a new book, Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way, in which she talks about how the simple inventions like the wheel, the nail, and even string are a part of the building blocks of our modern world. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Mike’s second day in Israel, he attends the meeting of people trying to bring their family members kidnapped by Hamas home from captivity. Also on the show, Patrick T. Brown, a Ph.D. climate scientist and Co-Director of the Climate and Energy Team at The Breakthrough Institute, joins us to talk about his recent piece in The Free Press titled “I Left Out the Full Truth to Get My Climate Change Paper Published.” Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gigi Levy-Weiss is a former Apache helicopter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, a tech entrepreneur, and a member of Brothers In Arms, reservists who refused to support Netanyahu's government as it tried to reshape the country’s highest court. Mike sat down with Levy-Weiss to discuss his role in a new organization called Brothers and Sisters of Israel, which is tasked with supporting soldiers, civilians, and, in a twist, the government he protested just months earlier. Also on the show, when a nation looks past its ideologies to band together despite its leader. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gus Perna was a four-star general a month out from retirement from the Army, when the Trump Administration tapped him to help lead the logistics of Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership to get Americans a COVID vaccine that was effective and safe, and to do so quickly. Perna joins us to discuss the challenges of vaccinating America and getting the country back to business as usual. Also on the show, no matter how bombastic or scary his rhetoric may be, it's probably worth remembering that Trump follows through about as well as he eats green vegetables. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, first we rewind to the summer of 2014, when Israel and Palestine were again locked in armed conflict. To understand the Palestinian perspective, Mike interviewed Canadian human rights worker Diana Buttu who was then in Nazareth. Then we listen back to the Spiel from the Tuesday, November 7, 2023 show about the meaning imparted in the misreported presence of beheaded babies in Israel.    Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History is the product of remembering our past, so it involves the mind, though we have underused neuroscience in understanding how we know what we think we know. Abby Smith Rumsey chairs the board of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and she is out with a new book Memory, Edited: Taking Liberties with History, in which she looks to science to help her understand the past. And a false narrative about children dying in Gaza is amplified by the media echo chamber. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

China recalls its pandas, and Americans bid them a tearful adieu. If only we could form such a tight bond with the Uyghurs. We are also joined by Dr. Jonathan Howard, author of We Want Them Infected: How the failed quest for herd immunity led doctors to embrace the anti-vaccine movement and blinded Americans to the threat of COVID, to discuss the concept of herd immunity. Then we turn to yesterday's GOP debate, where shooting people was proposed as a U.S. policy for immigration. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aquilino Gonell was a Capitol Hill Police Officer who, on January 6th, was beset upon by an angry mob then all but abandoned by officialdom in the aftermath. He's out with his story in a new book, American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy. Plus, election day shows the U.S. wants their rights, but not a revolution. And Donald Trump actually is doing much better than predicted with black Voters. Could it be the mug shot? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Judis and Ruy Teixiera drop by to answer the question posed in the title of their new book Where Have All the Democrats Gone? Their warning is that the more Dems tack left, the more likely the only constituency left will be "the left." Plus, the guilty plea of a mass shooter's father. And the meaning imparted in the misreported presence of beheaded babies in Israel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soyeon Lee fled North Korea, was caught, was jailed, was beaten, then fled again. We will talk to her, and the documentarian Madeleine Gavin, about the new film Beyond Utopia, which includes surreptitiously recorded video of dangerous escape attempts. Plus, Joe Biden trails Trump everywhere that counts. Is the "people will figure out Trump is worse" strategy the best strategy? And protesters attack a seventeenth-century oil painting, because they hate paintings. No, wait, it's that they hate oil. Both are equally sensible. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new Netflix film, Pain Hustlers, starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans, is getting a lot of buzz, so we dug into the archives to unearth an interview with Evan Hughes from February 2022. Hughes is author of Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup, about his coverage of an out-of-control drug maker that destroyed lives and paid a price for doing so, which was the inspiration for the film. Then we check out a podcast extra with Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Greg was on the show this past week discussing his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution.  Check out Mike’s recent appearance on the Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em podcast.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walt Hickey is a Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist and also a real pop-culture-impersonated peruser. His new book is You Are What You Watch, How Movies and TV Affect Everything, and he makes a good case. Plus, when it comes to cease fires, casualties, and rules of engagement in Gaza, meanings are fluid.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do George Santo, the Stellar's Jay, Donald Trump, the Anna Hummingbird, Adam Kinzinger, and the Cooper's Hawk all have in common? Yes, they are all in the news today. Yes, they are all on the show today. But their common connection, as far as we're concerned, is that their fates were governed by principles. Tune in to learn how. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Philadelphia, an after-action report on the prisoners who escaped a city jail, despite the best efforts of napping and non-fence-repairing guards. Plus, the difference between an odious threat and an actual chant. And we're joined by Laura Meckler, author of Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity, about the Ohio suburb that tried and tried ... and still tries ... to get the thorniest question in American Education right. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, returns to continue our discussion about his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution. Plus, how much has changed in the degree to which Joe Biden backs Israel. And Dean Phillips is a Presidential candidate for Halloween! How cute. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Biden is pretty suspicious about official counts emanating from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza. News outlets aren't squelching those figures, but they are labelling the agency the "Hamas-controlled health ministry." And Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, discusses his new book, The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution. Plus, a made man who didn't sock away sufficient savings from the Lufthansa Heist. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melissa DeRosa is out with a new book, What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, and we had her on the show earlier this week to talk about her experiences in the Andrew Cuomo administration. On this episode of BEST OF THE GIST, a podcast extra with Melissa about power and her assessment of how it was used and wielded in the state house of New York. Naive people, be ready to be disabused of your notions of power. Then we listen back to Monday’s Spiel about the latest reports on the wealth gap in America.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the world debates Middle East peace, Israeli defense expert Kobi Michael gives us a window into how he and many of his countrymen are thinking about this moment. He says it’s not so much a daunting theoretical challenge as it is simply life or death. We talk ground offensive, Hezbollah, tunnel fighting, and how American opinion will ultimately impact Israeli tactics. Plus, in the wake of yet another horrific mass shooting, how Maine compares to other states in this awful category. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Bright is a death penalty lawyer and critic of our illogical, slapdash system of criminal justice. He's out with a new book, The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts. Plus, why Americans hate the robust economy. And a Polish priest wants us to look up the definition of "sex orgy." So we do. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vincent Bevins has covered Brazil for the Los Angeles Times, and Southeast Asia for the Washington Post, and during his tenure he's covered many protest movements. In his new book, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution, Bevins weaves together the various movements and examines their lessons. He'll discuss what works, what doesn't, and if the protesters realize this themselves. And it's pits for a peach company. Plus, a Speaker! Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melissa DeRosa was a top aide to Andrew Cuomo, and her new memoir is titled What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis. DeRosa is back to discuss the sexual harassment scandal that brought down her former boss. Plus, a call for university presidents to be more condemnatory of pro-Palestinian sentiments. And the United States of America's LinkedIn Page reflects a certain key position is unfilled. Can you guess which? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melissa DeRosa was the closest aide and top advisor to former NY State Governor, Andrew Cuomo. In her new memoir titled What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, she examines the trauma of the pandemic and offers perspective and new information about the scandals that befell her former boss. Plus, is calculating the death toll in Israel compared to 9/11 clarifying or misleading? And the latest wealth figures offer good news—both overall, and in terms of the the black-white wealth gap. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, this past week was a big one in the life and career of House of Representatives member Jim Jordan. The 59-year-old Ohioan reportedly tried to browbeat his colleagues into choosing him as their leader, and, as of Friday evening, he hadn’t done so successfully. So, to put some context to this moment, we dug up a 2018 Spiel we thought might help paint a more full picture of Jim. After that, we’ll listen back to our past Tuesday Spiel, in which Mike asked, “Who, really, is endangering the Gazan citizens?”  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A volume that deals with the heights of the depths The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works is the latest work by Helen Czerski, British physicist, oceanographer, and expert on things vast and briny. Plus, Biden resonated with Israelis. And examining conflict in Gaza though U.S. ethnic identity. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, a double interview. First, Mike is joined by David Wain, founding member of the influential and anarchically funny sketch comedy group The State, who are touring now. Then, we turn to Michael Vickers, former under secretary of defense for intelligence in the Obama Administration, about his new book By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy. Plus, Georgia State Prosecutors crack the case of the Kraken, as Sidney Powell pleads. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An interview with Dr. Dannagal G. Young, author of Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive our Appetite for Misinformation. Plus, sorting out who fired rockets, or dropped bombs, on or near a hospital in Gaza.  Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean are out with The Big Fail: What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind. Among those who failed include those who bungled PPE procurement, prolonged school closings and lock downs, and misstated "the science." Plus, who is really trying to keep Gazans alive? And wrestling with the possibility of Jim Jordan as Speaker. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matthew Levitt, Fromer-Wexler Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, discusses operational failures that led to Hamas' terrorist attacks and analyses worst-case scenarios. Plus, an examination of the trope of Gaza as "outdoor prison." And international election results in Poland, New Zealand, and Ecuador go every which way. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, during Mike’s interview with Tablet Editor In Chief Alana Newhouse, which aired this past week, they discussed what’s going on in social media in the days after Hamas attacked and killed over a thousand Israelis. Israel has since retaliated, killing at least as many Palestinians. Then we listen back to Mike’s 2014 interview with Dr. Dalia Gavriely-Nuri from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She offered translations and insight into Israeli operation names such as Operation Protective Edge (2014)and Operation Pillar of Defense (2012). Israel has named its ongoing response to the Hamas October 7th attack Operation Swards of Iron. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara  Email us at [email protected]  To advertise on the show: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Subscribe to our ad-free and/or PescaPlus versions of The Gist: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/  Follow Mike’s Substack: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rajiv Shah is the former Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and current President of the Rockefeller Foundation. In his new book, Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens, he argues that big ambitious asks are the key to progress. But won't that sometimes disappoint or tempt the askers or the asked to discount any progress that's less than total? Plus, much of the the left is immolating itself with it's defense of Hamas. And in the Antwentig, Airplane!'s inspiration goes unignored. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steven Simon, former official with the Obama and Clinton administrations concedes that, yes, Israel really could decimate Hamas as a fighting force, but the costs might be enormous. Plus, Biden wisely froze Iran's $6 billion. And most Dallas math students are advanced, while also doing horribly in math. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everything in the U.S.—and maybe the West—is Broken. It's decayed. What once worked didn't; what never did fails to launch. Alana Newhouse, Editor-in-Chief of Tablet Magazine, who invented the term "Brokenism," is here to explain why it's an apt description, but also one that offers hope. A close observer and chronicler of Israeli society, we get into what Alana is reporting and feeling about the war there. Also, Kamal Harris struggles with answers. And different factions just can't abide living in a moment of U.S. unity behind Israel. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at [email protected] To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices