The Gist Not Even Mad: Joe Nocera & Jonah Goldberg
23 snips
Feb 12, 2026 
Jonah Goldberg, conservative commentator and editor-at-large at The Dispatch, and Joe Nocera, veteran business journalist and senior editor at The Free Press, unpack the Epstein files fallout in the UK vs US. They spar over whether Democrats are structurally equipped to win and critique legacy news strategies, from Wordle-driven growth to The Washington Post’s struggles. Plus rapid-fire cultural gripes and media oddities.
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Hypocrisy Hurts More In UK Politics
- Britain still treats hypocrisy as a political killer while U.S. politics has become largely immune to shame.
- Jonah Goldberg argues American shamelessness and polarization have priced moral depravity into politics.
Nocera Found Himself In The Files
- Joe Nocera found his own email in the Epstein files: Edward J. Epstein had forwarded one of his columns to Jeffrey Epstein.
- He uses this to illustrate how broadly Epstein's archives captured public figures and correspondence.
Files Blur Serious Crimes And Casual Contacts
- The Epstein files mix serious criminality with mundane contacts, creating unfair reputational damage.
- Joe Nocera warns the released records weaponize contextless associations against people.
