The Gist

Mike Pesca, provocative cultural commentator and creator of The Gist, joins a film discussion to break down The Pitt. He praises the show’s structural strengths and weekly prestige format. They debate Hollywood’s recurring villain problem and racial patterns in antagonist portrayals. Mike also introduces his controversial "asshole patient" tracker and examines how production choices shape storytelling.

Richard Kreitner, historian of American secession, and Matt Yglesias, policy writer focused on urban growth, debate the nation’s future. They spar over tripling the U.S. population vs. regional breakup. Conversation jumps between historical secession movements, logistics of large-scale growth, electoral reform, and how size shapes global power and daily life.

John Ganz, political writer offering a progressive New Deal–style view. Nick Gillespie, Reason editor-at-large with libertarian analysis. They spar over whether Trump’s threats or Iran’s strategy produced a ceasefire. They debate airpower versus diplomacy, institutional failures around presidential capacity, libertarian critiques of centralized power, and the messy politics of tech and corporate influence.

Freddie DeBoer, a writer on education and mental health, and Devon Price, a social psychologist and neurodiversity advocate, debate the limits of neurodiversity. They examine language shifts, medical versus social models of mental conditions, the TikTok-ification of disorders, inclusion of severely disabled voices, and how identity labels interact with treatment and policy.

Noam Scheiber, NYT journalist and author of Mutiny, explores why college-educated workers are rebelling. He discusses Starbucks organizing, the trademark lawsuit that shifted leverage, shifting labor-market dynamics since the pandemic, and why many grads trade traditional career paths for ideological solidarity. The conversation also compares today’s union surge to a niche cultural moment.

Noam Scheiber, New York Times reporter and author of Mutiny, examines the rise of college-educated workers organizing at companies like Apple and Starbucks. He discusses how shifting job markets and dashed expectations fuel collective action. Conversations focus on the idea of

Mike Pesca, award-winning journalist and How To podcast creator, joins to unpack cultural nihilism, artists who romanticize violence, and contemporary protest aesthetics. They roam from Mesopotamian ghosts to the politics of celebrity gestures. Conversations hit labor activism, the Starbucks union’s militant signaling, and whether “joy as resistance” is effective or performative.

Raanan Hershberg, stand-up comedian and writer known for his special Morbidly Jewish, discusses comedy, Jewish identity, and political humor. Short, witty takes on naming a special, crafting original political jokes, debating conspiracy theories on Joe Rogan, and balancing Jewish material for broad audiences. He also shares odd personal anecdotes that reveal his comic voice.

Mark Oppenheimer, journalist and biographer teaching at Washington University, discusses Judy Blume’s rise and cultural reach. He traces how she invented middle-grade realism and dominated the book market in the 70s–80s. They explore Blume’s role as a stand-in for awkward parental conversations and the one personal topic she refused to discuss.

Tyler Goodspeed, economist and former White House CEA chair now at ExxonMobil and author of Recession, argues recessions come from random shocks, not moral punishments for booms. He discusses pattern-seeking fallacies, historical shock examples from locusts to oil, how shocks spread across sectors, and what policy should and should not do in downturns.