The Gist with Mike Pesca

The Gist with Mike Pesca An daily evening news podcast covering politics, culture, history, sociology, science & animal husbandry.

12/24/2025

Listen to the episode for the full fight over whether the administrative state is a bipartisan failure or a conservative surrender.

Plus Anthony Weiner () and John Ketcham (Manhattan Institute) spar over:
The rise of the administrative state and Congress’s long-term abdication of legislative responsibility
Chevron deference, its rollback by the Supreme Court, and what that changes in practice
The difference between bipartisan delegation and outright abandonment of core Article I powers
How fear of political accountability shapes modern governing behavior
Whether executive overreach produces worse governance outcomes than legislative gridlock

MikePesca AnthonyWeiner Governance ArticleI

12/23/2025

Thomas Chatterton Williams argues the summer of 2020 was a “hinge point” that didn’t have to end in moral panic, institutional collapse, and permanent polarization. In this clip, he and Mike walk through why the Jacob Blake narrative hardened so fast, and what got lost when “moral clarity” replaced basic fact-pattern reporting.
In the full conversation: why Kenosha felt more incendiary than Minneapolis, how institutions like the NYT and universities buckled under fear, the debate over objectivity vs “moral clarity,” the Wesley Lowry and anti-racism industry backlash, and why October 7, 2023 changed the discourse, even if old frameworks tried to come back.

Want more? Check out the full interview on The Gist Podcast - links in bio.

12/22/2025

Quico Toro explains how Trump’s seminars were designed to move people from one price tier to the next without ever delivering real education.
The full episode goes much further. Mike Pesca and Toro talk about Trump’s legitimate real estate successes, where the line between salesmanship and deception actually sits, and why Trump University matters even if Trump had never entered politics.

Listen to the Full Epsiode wherever you get your podcasts - links in bio

12/19/2025

Jay Jurden breaks down why his stand-up is built like theater, not a diary. From growing up in Canton, Mississippi to cutting jokes that pull audiences out of the moment, Jay explains how physical act-outs, speed, and references are deliberate tools. He makes the case that great comedy needs friction, surprise, and a willingness to be about 25% “evil” to stay honest and funny.

Check out the full conversation on the Funny You Should Mention Podcast - wherever you listen.

And Jay's Special Yes Ma'am is out on now.

12/18/2025

Nicholas Wright, a neuroscientist and author of Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, explains how identity and culture feed on each other to make nations feel real enough to fight for. The conversation also gets into why deterrence works (and when it doesn’t), Hamas and the psychology of shock, Israel’s challenge of force vs magnanimity, the US and China in “gray zone” competition, nuclear risk, and what wise leadership looks like in war.

Check out the full episode on The Gist Podcast, wherever you listen - links in bio.

Don't forget to check out Nichola's book 📖 Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain.

12/17/2025

From Dred Scott to Brown v. Board, he argues that Congress and the courts change because voters force them to change. So why does Congress now seem so eager to give its power away?

Want more? Check out the full interview on The Gist Podcast - links in bio.

12/16/2025

Soviet Russia was scarier than you think.

Mikhail Zygar tells the true story of Grigory Yavlinsky, a Soviet economist whose ideas were so dangerous the state tried to erase his research — and him — in one of the most cruel ways imaginable.

This wasn’t dissent. It was analysis.

After you follow The Gist👉
Check out Mikhail's Book :

Want more? Check out the full interview on The Gist Podcast - links in bio.

12/15/2025

Does Timeless music get made anymore? How do you judge a pop song when you’ve already heard it a thousand times?

Chris Dalla Riva breaks down why it’s so hard to tell what’s actually “good” in modern music, how controversy ages, and whether today’s stars can ever escape their era.

Want more? Check out the full interview on The Gist Podcast - links in bio.

12/11/2025

A politician offering protection from the marketplace’s pressures… a coalition of disaffected young professionals… and a newly energized bloc of Muslim New Yorkers. John Ketcham and Anthony Weiner explain why Mamdani’s rise made sense right now, and why his popularity may not stick.

Want more? Check out the full interview on The Gist Podcast - links in bio.



Also in this episode...
Anthony Weiner and John Ketcham break down a Congress being flayed by its own fringes, where the “crazies” sometimes deliver the sharpest institutional critiques. They then assess Pete Hegseth and the possible release video of a lethal Caribbean boat strike, the challenges reshaping New York politics, and what it really means to govern a city you once nearly ran. Goat Grinders takes on Waymo running over a dog , taxing pet food and fare-evasion crackdowns.

12/11/2025

A rational rage on the current Mets moves.

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